Cutting the Cord

"There are two ways of getting home; and one of them is to stay there. The other is to walk round the whole world till we come back to the same place..."

This is how G.K. Chesterton introduces "The Everlasting Man" to his readers. It is the third book I have started, and I anticipate it will be the second I finish. It is certainly a book in keeping with my theme of exploring the state of our social and cultural consciousness. Chesterton is not for the thin-skinned or faint of heart. Naturally, I love it. After the grind of the Iliad, it is nice to roll through his jocular style and self-deprecating humor. Also, after the eccentricities and viciousness of Homer's gods, it is refreshing to read about the sanity of Chesterton's God.

Speaking of sanity, there is something I need to tell you. Due diligence. I don't have television. This bears some clarification and a back story. I have never, do not, and never will own a television set. There are some ramifications for this rebellious choice. A couple of items of note:

1. I often get passed over during conversations in some social settings:
Buddy: "Yo, Dan, did you see the game/show/episode of X last night? Oh, sorry, forgot..."
2. Less visitors. Even family members have declined offers to come over, and have cited an important TV event and their need to feed the TV monster.
3. Strange conversations with telemarketers ensue:
Dexter: "Hello Mr. >mispronounces name<, I'm Dexter with DirecTV and I'm calling to talk about switching your TV service to our outstanding package of satellite entertainment. Can you tell me how much you're paying currently for cable?"
Me: "We don't have cable."
Dexter: "We don't show you having DirecTV service currently, are you using another satellite provider?"
Me: "No, we don't have satellite either. We don't have a TV."
Dexter: Uhhh....>completely off script< Well, how would you like to have 600 channels of high quality digital programming instead of just 4?"
Me: "Fine, but we don't have a TV to plug your satellite into."
Dexter:......
Me: "Are you there?"
Dexter: "No TV?"
Me: "Right. No TV set- the box with the cord and stuff."
Dexter: "Why?"
Me: "Dexter, I'm glad you asked..."

4. Extra free time. Like to read books. And talk to people. Strange, I know. People feel uncomfortable sometimes, in our living room. They have to look at each other, us even. They look around nervously for the normal focal point, the Feng Shui schwerpunkt as it were, of the modern American home. Most of my friends have one set in each room. Their cars have more TV screens inside headrests than I'll have in a lifetime.

5. Weird threats. Some guys at work think it is a great injustice, my TV poverty. They have plotted to get on Craigslist and Freecycle, getting all the old "free" TVs and making an offering. Imagine 40-50 old tube-driven, analog programmed beauties strewn about my lawn, on my cars, my porch. What barbarians would think of that?

This is a choice, of course. Growing up we had just three and a half channels (24 was real grainy) and when I moved out, it never crossed my mind to purchase a TV. My roommates had a TV in college, so I never felt obliged to shop for one. Upon living solo, I realized the great freedom of a TV-free lifestyle. Plus, money was tight. Not just for the box, but cable? Who could just have the over-air programming? My wife also never owned a set. So, when we got married, we made the conscious decision to cut the cord. And we're better off for it.

Many have asked me how I can live without a TV. I tell them its the same way they stopped smoking crack cocaine. If you never start, it's easier to do without. My family will argue that, even without a TV, we're not TV-free. And they have a valid point. Even without a TV, TV begins to crowd into your life. Online shows, videos on your computer, visiting friends who must have it on as background noise. My reading drive is a way to further break away from social programming. That's the proper way to think about TV. Who's programming you? What's the program? "Buy, Buy, Buy! You are inadequate!"

This year, I'm beating back the TV's tendrils, like a digital kudzu. It may be the "long way home", but I'm seeking a deeper independence from this culture that now finds itself with an unprecendented moral and economic crisis.

Give me Chesterton, or give me death. Book on!

99 Books on the Wall

And the Iliad's spirit flew to the land of the Dead, and its armor clanged against its ribs, as it swirled to the ground and lay in the dust for dogs to lick its....

Sorry. Four days of reading Hellenic prose, and your speech patterns get twisted. One down and 99 to go. A cultural observation- if you carry a big, thick book around in public, you get some funny looks. Which is a little inconsistent, because no one gives a second thought to plugging themselves into an umbilicus and talking to themselves in public or in their own car (iPod/cell phone), or to hunching over a tiny screen for hours on end to play a game (PSP/DS). But a book! Freak! Be prepared to field such questions as, "What class are you taking?", "Are you a grad student?", "What's that!?!?"

So, the counter-cultural aspect of this endeavor is in full swing. I have not selected the next book, but I am finishing Lancelot as a bridge. I plan on always reading one big and one pocket sized book for tactical reasons. As a peace officer, I often find myself trapped at crime scenes, waiting for the bureaucracy to grind out a decision. A pocket-sized Shakespeare has saved me in the past. It does get some funny looks. There is a policy against reading materials not directly related to law enforcement while on the job. I just look incredulous, and say "Cops are constantly dealing with Tragedy and Comedy, Love and Revenge. Therefore, Shakespeare is not only relevant, it ought to be required reading." No one wants to argue with a lunatic, so it hasn't been a problem.

The Iliad has left me with no doubt that this is going to be more work than I anticipated. I'm already behind the curve, so no more time for blogging... Book On!

DAY 2: Battle!

"Rage!"

The first word of the first book of this year is apt. Of course, the book is The Iliad of Homer. Reading the Iliad in the dawning days of the year 2010 is an exercise in mixed emotions. Fitting and exciting, that this epic work detailing the greatest battle in literature, the great big Trojan/Argive brough-ha-ha that seals the fate of Troy and Helen, Hector, Achilles, and the lot. I would wager that many of my fellow Americans know the sketch of this story, and the crushing majority have never read the book. And so, it is also sad to read, as it is not even a book in the traditional sense. The oral tradition and cultural heritage it represents is long dead, replaced by iPods, CNN, and Hulu.com. My anger at the time I've lost to inane digital media addictions is fueling this little counter-cultural experiment.

As I proceed through these 100 books, I plan on sharing my love of literature, my sordid history with books, and my fears and hopes for our culture and its dangerous fascination with digital media and the destruction of critical thought. As a way of beginning, I chose the name for this blog and the first book to be read because of the nature of this undertaking. It is a battle.

I contemplated reading the Odyssey first, but ultimately realized that reading 100 books in 365 days is a direct assault on the digital age. It is not a journey. It requires a battle plan, not an itinerary. I laid out my strategy last week: minimal internet usage. Checking e-mail, updating the blog, and a quick fb check once in a while. No TV. That's easier, as I don't have one. Always have a book. You can't read if you don't have the book! This necessitates reading multiple books at once. For example...

Although I started the Iliad first, reading a few of the first books in the saga, this morning found me in a tree stand hunting deer at 0715, in single digit temperatures. The Iliad is not exactly light material. And it's thick. So, to pass the time in the tree (think Stylite) I had a trusty paperback copy of Lancelot by Walker Percy. If you've never read Percy, it's fantastic stuff and even better with a deer rifle as a book rest. Lancelot is memorable, as it is told first person from the narrator speaking to his old friend, a friend with no dialogue in the book.

While I didn't kill a deer this morning, I've nearly killed off Lancelot from the list, and the Iliad is about a third of the way finished. It's Day Two. I'm on track.

GENESIS

Welcome.

You are about to enter a world of great madness.

This blog will chronicle a counter-cultural journey. I have, forsaking all that is American, decided to enter a strange race against time and human endurance. I will read 100 books, significant tomes of literary merit, in the 2010 calendar year.

This would be easy for the itinerant. I am employed full-time as a police officer in a large urban area. I am married with three kids, and run a side business as a corporate trainer and public speaker. Somewhere in the middle of my human race, I intend to defy our unsustainable digital society, flaunt my bibliophilia, and see how far my hard-bound rabbit hole goes.

No easy feat this. I intend to blog my progress, and over the days and weeks ahead, commit to screen my purpose, resolve, and no doubt unraveling sanity.

A final word on sacrifices. I am not picking the collected works of Dr. Suess for this test of will. Although he might be the greatest American author of my time. (Either him or Walker Percy). On the contrary, some of these books, of necessity, will be lengthy. At 3.65 days per title, this could get dicey. So, I will blog, but not much more online. No TV, no Hulu, a severe face(book)-cation, and some long nights are what the new year holds for me, the Centurion.