Introduction

Alright... so we're supposed to keep a blog chronicling our media interactions which is a simple enough task save for the fact that I tend not to interact with the media in the way that most of my peers do. I have my few guilty pleasures that will probably coincide with those of others (researching choice musicians, sports and movies on the net and playing a decent amount of video games) but I'm very much detached from the media in general. Okay... I've got a smart phone too, but I often wonder why since I don't use any of its features save an occasional internet search to look up directions or find out a movie time (and I'm usually only going to the movies on a whim with my girlfriend because we can't think of anything to do on a Friday afternoon when most of our housemates are at P&Gs happy hour - you'll see us there from time to time as well when it turns out nothing good is playing). I probably have the smallest contacts list in my phone of anyone I know - 26 in total, including my current and previous employers, my dad's cell, my brother's cell, my home, my girlfriend and several members of my hockey team and extended family.

I really don't have many friends outside of those that necessity provides; I am buddies with my housemates and the guys on the hockey team and my closest relationships are with my girlfriend, younger brother and father. In other words, I really don't need a smart phone, don't have many people to text/texting me, don't have a 'poppin' facebook and in general, don't engage in a lot media based communication. I also don't watch a lot of television on my own, and my small group of friends means that I'm not often in situations where it's necessary to watch in order to socialize. With these limited relationships as the groundwork for my everyday social interactions, it's really easy for me to narrow down my use of media to a few choice activities.

And that's where things get a bit odd...

I'm currently reading (like, actually reading with interest, not just mindlessly perusing because a course insists on it) several books; some for school, some for pleasure. The titles are as follows (see if you can't find some common threads): Amusing Ourselves to Death, Trust Us We're Experts, Propaganda, Trillion Dollar Conspiracy, Worlds Before Our Own, Proof of Illuminati, Corporatism: The Secret Government of The New World Order.

When I'm not reading one of these, I'm endlessly online visiting lunatic sites like www.truthism.com (don't bother going there, 99.9% of people will reject 90% of what is written - I only can stomach about 1/2 of it without laughing at the author) or searching phrases like: sphinx on mars, archaeological anomalies, Guttenberg Bible, Agharta, ancient Sumeria, Bilderberg Group, etc.

These daily searches can lead to hours of research into fascinating subjects like the Great Pyramids, their actual age and construction and what kind of technology may have once existed on this Earth. I usually try to compile most of what I find in a copy/paste word document with some of my own thoughts so that I can share it with my equally paranoid, truth seeking younger brother, without whom I would probably be very unsure of my own sanity. Ultimately, when the research is done or I hit a dead end or burn out, I'll call or text him with some of my findings. We'll either chat via facebook or give each other a phone call. I'm positive that 80% of my monthly cell minutes are allotted to our conspiratorial rantings and I doubt I'd even go on facebook anymore if I weren't looking to catch up with him. Consequently, all of this extra curricular reading and research makes most of my school work seem vague and uninteresting and not the stimulating intellectual experience that was advertised to me when I was preparing for college.

Of course, sometimes I just like to look for humorous videos to share instead or spend hours mindlessly reading about the next wave of rookies that will hit the ice for the first time in the NHL this year, but more than likely, there isn't a day that goes by without delving into some investigation of deep ecology, church corruption, illuminati master plans or other topics that ought to cement me as a certifiable weirdo in most people's minds. And than there's always video games, right? What could be weird about a college guy kicking back and slaughtering some virtual dudes on a 46" screen that's not even hooked up to a cable box?

Well, usually nothing... I play a lot of NHL because hockey is and always has been my great distraction. But when it's not hockey I stick to games like Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Assassin's Creed, both of which have some historical basis (Assassin's Creed significantly more so) and both which hint at global conspiracies and ancient discoveries long since covered up to keep the masses unaware. Assassin's Creed is ripe with these kinds of theories and the entire storyline seems to hinge upon the existence of the illuminati or some similar organization, the previous presence of ancient extra terrestrials on Earth, and some sort of master plan to take control of the general populace. Yes, I realize these are fictitious stories cooked up to provide entertainment and turn profits, but I also believe that the people who makes these games (just like the people behind movies like the Matrix) are artists who are attempting to convey a message... and that's largely why I play these games. Sure, they're also very good games that a lot of people have played and which have won critical acclaim over the past few years, but for me it's the story lines and hidden plots and messages that most people overlook (and Assassin's Creed is full of these, there's even binary code in the background of some scenes that is completely unrelated to the game but can be copied down and translated into actual messages such as "Ancient Indian city of Rajasthan irradiated by nuclear blast over 8000 years ago") that make these games enjoyable pass times. I don't play other popular titles like the monumentally popular Call of Duty that half of the world's male population seems to enjoy.

Ultimately, this makes up the bulk of my interaction with the media. I rarely read the news because I don't find it to be news. I don't look to the mainstream media for answers and for some reason, I consistently find myself looking to the past for information instead. Even my recreational reading and video game use is influenced by my fixation with studying our ancient history and unearthing some kind of resonant truth that I can believe in. My occasional interactions with the media outside of these pursuits involve watching and playing hockey, coordinating meals with my girlfriend via text message, calling up my dad from time to time to keep in touch and taking in a movie or 20 random minutes of television once in a blue moon. As I detail my media use from here on out expect to find some of that and a lot more of the eclectic ideas that are only hinted at in this introduction. I'll make sure to make a note of it every time I get sucked into a mainstream media trap and try to provide the most accurate representation of my media use possible, but in following this blog you're likely in for some very ... out there postings.