Analog and romance

Hello good people,
I just realized that it has been some time since I have stood on my virtual soap box, and offered my "opinion" on something (even though you didn't ask for it). But I was sitting in my apartment playing video games and listening to some MP3's, when something struck me. Technology has put all notions of romance on the brink of scarcity, and possibly extinction.

To some of you this is nothing new. Others, may find this to be illogical, unsound, or at best just a pointless statement. These are most likely the people who will stop reading about now (Farewell, and I'll catch you on my next rant). But, for those who choose to continue to read, please understand two things. 1) By romance I am not referring the "heart melting and cheesy" things usually associated with the word. I am using it as my default word for the extreme care that goes into producing a product (or sentiment) for someone or something. 2) This is also not a bashing of technology and technological advancements. Actually, it's quite the opposite. I think technology has made life of great ease and comfort. In fact, it has done this so much so, that we no longer have to toil over our "labors of love". (Think of this as my intervention to our dependency problem with technology). Believe, me I am not about to lie to you all and tell you that I'm ready to trade in my 8 ounce MP3 player that holds more songs than I actually own, for an old school Sony Walkman that you have to replace the AA batteries every 45 minutes.

However, I have discovered one simple truth... technology is not romantic. Really. I have never read an email more romantic then a hand written letter (and I have read some pretty lame love letters). Perhaps some have been more "descriptive" (and feel free to replace "descriptive" with any number of synonyms for sexy), but none more romantic. This is perhaps because of three things that are so obvious, we find often find ourselves oblivious to there significance.

The first: actual writing. It sounds simple, but we must remember that writing is the corner stone in which civilization was built upon. Now this is not to say that 10 million emails and text messages we send to our BFF's everyday isn't communicating. But, it certainly isn't expressive. There is a voice to a letter that has been hand written. I could tell how smitten she was when she made the little curly designs when she wrote my name. I could hear his pain when the ink was smudged from the tears that hit the page while writing. But these "inflections" you don't get when you read words produced from the pounding of keys on my laptop. You can't tell if I'm feeling lonesome (which I'm not), or if I'm wasted (which I am). But given the state of my hand writing, one may have clues to my mental state when writing at that particular moment.

Second: I took the TIME to WRITE you a letter! Do you know what that means?!?! It means I looked for a pen (or sharpened a pencil), found paper and began to write! I had to constantly check my spelling (as to not appear like a dumb ass if I accidentally write their instead of they're), because "spell check" can't save my ass. I may have taken the time to lick a 35 cent stamp and hike over to the nearest postal box, just to get it to your location. I even risk the ridicule of my atrocious hand writing, just to send you a message. That's a lot. It reminds me of another long lost analog art... the mix tape. Say what you will about mix tapes, but there was a magic to them. When you sent a mix tape to someone, you sent 60 minutes of your every feeling (no matter how cheesy) about a person. And there was a reason for this- you took the time to make sure that it came out the exact way you meant it to. Let quickly analyze this. You had to first, find a song that described your feeling. You then had to press play and record at the same time, and then listen to the entire duration of the song. And once the song was over, you had to hit stop just in time to not catch any unwanted audio that may ruin your slow jam cassette. And after all of this you have to repeat the process at least 20 times to fill the tape. Whew, that's work! But, it was worth it. You knew that as soon as she pressed play on your "masterpiece collection" of "smooth" sounds, that she would know exactly how you felt (and possibly feel a certain way about you too).

Lastly: I came in an envelope... and there are fewer things more powerful then the contents of an envelope. There is something about a sealed envelope that's almost mythical in a way. In fact, I can prove it's very power through a simple experiment. The next time you receive a bill in the mail, open it while standing in front of a mirror. After you read it look into the mirror and notice your facial expression. Now repeat this experiment, but this time replace the bill with a check you've received. The difference between the to facial expressions are that of night and day. Besides, there is an intrigue to the contents within. What does it say? How long is it? All of these secrets that can only be answered after you tear open, the very thing that has been sealed to guard words meant only for your eyes (think about it...).

So I say to you today, there is nothing wrong with being a little analog in this digital world. If this is our generations version of taking the time to smell the roses, then I say to you "sit at your desk with a pen, and write of life's many aromas." Go out and write letters, and make mix tape (or at least burn mix CD's). Show that you actually put a labor in to your love.

Peace and gummy bears,
Kenny

PS
Sorry, for the length.