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Alternatives to your bored lifestyle, if you think you have one.

Being creative and using your imagination is important and lead to the greatness of death metal and black metal, so taking that concept further, I'd like to shine some light on things that are seemingly more important than others, in a daily life. Thinking more along the lines of only involving yourself with things that benefit you, even potentially, is an excellent start. That's not to say that being selfish is entirely good, either. Hopefully this'll help people see life a little differently, if they desire to.

*Lets face it: TV is so fucking boring. You're staring at a piece of sheet rock (conceptually speaking) that has zany visual effects built inside of it. Yes, you're watching something (maybe even something educational), but the way its presented is brainless. It's the mental equivalent of staring at a wall, and how stimulated is your brain when you do that?

 - After having spent your whole life growing up surrounded by people that advocate it, it might be a little tough to think outside the idiot box. Move your television aside and make room for a guitar and amp to fuck around on during commercials, even. Anywhere is a start, even trying to learn your favorite riff for starters. What's cooler than playing that awesome first part of Apocalyptic Warrior as loud as can be so you can FEEL its intensity? Sounds invigorating, AND it gets your head to where it needs to be.

 - Those obnoxious things take up a large amount of room, especially for what accommodates it, like an entire room of your house, and not to mention the furniture to really set that "family bonding" sort of mood. Turn it off when nothing's on and pick up a book to read, maybe even put on some Wagner to help get your imagination going (assuming you're watching TV in your lonesome).
 
- When those FUCKING annoying commercials come on and start yelling at you to buy their magic paste (and behind the scenes overdose on cocaine), turn that godawful shit off, because no one wants to hear it, despite what those corporations think. Go to your fridge and make yourself something healthy, like a salad or a bowl of the most nutritious cereal you've got. Healthy eating leads to healthy lifestyles, plus it makes you feel like you won the lottery every time you wake up. All that fat in your body physically demotivates you and doesn't make you want to get out of your chair even, it's literally just a waste.

 - The Discovery channel is awesome, you can see extremely remote locations throughout the world and take a peek at different cultures...but it's being projected to you. Imagine yourself standing on top of Mount Everest, no television or video could ever emulate the overwhelming sense of accomplishment you would feel. Travel the world (if you've got the funds for it) and personally witness the beauty of the simplest of things in life: Mother Nature. They don't call it the great outdoors for no reason!


*Jobs suck, don't deny it. Especially if you're putting cover sheets on TPS reports before they go out and in a cubicle from 9-5, very mandated lifestyle. Seek to go "out of bounds" in a way, but don't light your place of employment aflame. Jobs that pay you to help them make money for themselves aren't where you want to work.

 - If you have a boring/stressful job, now's the best time to start thinking of a new place that will hand you paychecks in their name. Get brainstorming on productive careers that might interest you. For example, solar energy engineering. You're getting paid to help keep the Earth green, where's the stress in that? Just think of jobs you can use to your advantage, and the planet's as well.

 - Volunteer jobs don't get you closer to that Ferrari, why bother? Think of who you're helping, and who you're helping with. People at non-profit organizations are often very intelligent in the fact that they care little to nothing about how much they are paid for what they want to help or create. Being around people like that boosts your own self-esteem, which will hopefully motivate you more to live life similarly.


*Video games............everyone's favorite. Nothing's more fun than kicking virtual ass, probably because you can't do it in real life. That's most likely why it's so fun, shooting people in the head and being rewarded for it? Fucking awesome...or is it? What you've been sold is a disc that WANTS you to suck the hours out of your life, all to achieve something that doesn't even REALLY exist, for as long as it spins and occupies space on your hard drive. World of Warcraft is an excellent example, no game takes "being a loser" to such a positive end. Being rewarded for playing a combined total of 5000 hours isn't anything to tell your friends about, don't even consider it a good thing to know. All those hours of playing and you're paying $14 a month to a VIDEO GAME CORPORATION that makes more money than some third-world countries, and why? Because they know how to hook your sorry ass, making you WANT to play their game so THEY make that $14 a month. Exponentially, that's $14 to 14 MILLION people playing it, there's a reason it's so addictive. Video games are legal heroin, and encouraged. Makes perfect sense, at least to a shareholder.

 - Ever wonder why there's a new "NEXT GEN!" FPS coming out every quarter? Probably because it's based on visual effects, like television, that are engineered to make you want to play it and experience it every waking hour of your life. In reality, you're only experiencing code moving in different ways, shapes and colors on your monitor. Experience REALITY -- go buy a pair of dumbbells and some weights to slap on them. Since you're probably pale and afraid of sunlight, you can use them in your own room if you want, with all the privacy you want (I wouldn't want to go publicizing my pale and fragile physique to the general public, so that's even more motivation). The best part of them is that there's hardly any exercise you CAN'T use them for, and getting jacked makes you desire THAT more than the video games, so take your pick. It also rids you of your virginity so your friends will stop making fun of you.

 - Ask your friends (if you have any) if they want to do something, most of them smoke pot so you can always just go do that instead of wasting your life away sucked into a virtual reality. Even doing nothing important under the blissful spell of marijuana is more beneficial than staying home, alone, sober and bored while you're raiding some digital enemy. Go out and have some fucking fun, it's even better if you're with people who think the same way. Try to get constructive with it though, otherwise you're just doing the same thing you were before.

 - Instead of double-clicking that .exe to end the night, browse the internet and find things that interest you more. Stumble works wonders, just type in your interest criteria and it randomly brings up any site related to what you've specified. That'll give you something to do instead of getting the next tier set, because you're gaining something in return for your time invested with it. Video games are an exception to the latter, as false as that is to some (worthless) people.



There's a lot of subjectivity in this, and subjectivity in those who read it, along with my sarcasm. Meant for people curious enough to stumble upon this site in the first place.

brb, playing CoD 4

Amusingly, I'm going through this list methodically.  I've already given up TV, I have vowed never to work in an "office", and I've cut out all video games but Dwarf Fortress, the tactical/strategic/management side of which I find to be beneficial, and, embarrassingly, Call of Duty 4 or 2, whichever I'm used to at the time.  The latter two do nothing for me but focus my mind on something useless and amusing, and vaguely improve my reflexes against gun toting Nazis/Spetsnaz.

It took me a year to get myself "unhooked" from the TV, and that was mainly through deciding to watch nothing but "good quality" television, then nothing but Documentaries, then nothing but Ray Mears's Survival programs.  Now, I have YouTube, which has all the Ray Mears I could ever want.  I'm wondering whether I should give YouTube up as well, since I now have a large number of books on Survival/Permaculture/Camping/Hiking/Outdoor etceteras.

I've basically cut TV out of my habits as well. It really doesn't afford much entertainment for me, because even when you're watching something potentially informative, its interrupted every 5 minutes by commercials advertising products to make your dick bigger.

Video games is something I still do from time to time, but everything in moderation. If it were warmer out, I'd be outside taking a walk and such. Even so, I'd say video games take up a small percentage of my time, and I feel nothing is lost.

Most books are dreadfully dull, I've only been able to sink my teeth into a few choice novels. But they are good when I'm at work in need of something to do.

What's funny is that I have a TV in my room (was a hand-me-down from a friend). I barely use it. It just sits there for a good 98% of the time.
No.

Having reviewed the thread, baby Jesus is most definitely weeping at this point.

I've basically cut TV out of my habits as well. It really doesn't afford much entertainment for me, because even when you're watching something potentially informative, its interrupted every 5 minutes by commercials advertising products to make your dick bigger.

Couldn't agree more. Oops, there went what little attention span you had, instead of koala bears TRY THIS AWESOME ELIXIR TO LOSE FAT FAST!!!!!

What's funnier to me is that people are WILLING to sit through that just to see the remainder of their favorite Will & Grace episode. The only thing from a commercial I've ever bought was the magic bullet, which is actually really nice minus the obvious flaws that come with consumerism and manufacturing. Turned an entire bag of grilled chicken pieces, a stalk (?) of broccoli, and a wedge of parmesan cheese into pure mush. It looked like green tuna.

Adverts aren't quite as bad in England as they are in America, but they're still awful.  We have this thing where the volume of the adverts is actually higher than the volume of what you're watching, so you're constantly turning the volume up and down.

^ It's not that extreme here, but the last bit of television I watched fluctuates as well in volume. One minute you're hearing the ambience of some mysterious cavern someplace in the world, all is calm...and then, like hot sauce to an open wound, HAY THERE IT'S BILLY MAYS I'VE GOT THE NEXT PIECE OF SHIT HERE TO SELL TO YOU FOR THE LOW PRICE OF $20, BUT ACT NOW AND YOU GET TWO, THAT'S RIGHT, TWO ORDERS OF THE (insert lame wordplay for a product name here) FOR ONLY $20!!! Fuck, it's like a foghorn in your ear during REM sleep.

A lot of people, when they mention they gave up TV, fail to mention how often they use the internet and to what end. The internet has the potential to be as destructive if not more destructive than television.

A lot of people, when they mention they gave up TV, fail to mention how often they use the internet and to what end. The internet has the potential to be as destructive if not more destructive than television.
That's funny, you forgot to mention what you use it for too!

A lot of people, when they mention they gave up TV, fail to mention how often they use the internet and to what end. The internet has the potential to be as destructive if not more destructive than television.

I think you have a point. As long as we aren't using that point to enable TV-watching.

I'd say that if you're spending much time reading on the internet or discussing some issue that requires a bit of thinking on your part, then you're using it effectively.

The computer SHOULD NOT be used as a surrogate TV.

The internet can get addictive, even is doing 'boring' things. When I gave up tv, I got addicted to science journals online. I would be up til sunrise sometimes just reading physics journals. I kind of regret becoming so introverted for such an extended period though I'm glad I learned quite a bit. Habits are really easy to form, and if you repeat an activity for a few days, it becomes routine. Little to no outside stimulation while in your house makes habits extremely easy to form and extremely hard to break. I guess being addicted to learning isn't that bad except that I sacrificed time with other people. The internet is not as bad as tv though because you can take a break. If you leave your tv, you miss your show. I spent quite a bit of time sitting in front of the computer just thinking; I even figured out a way to represent the fourth dimension on paper.

Video games are legal heroin

The video game problem is a lot worse in Asia than anywhere else. People die playing World of Warcraft because they don't sleep or leave their chairs for days at a time, not even for the bathroom. I'm not making this up; there's several documented cases. I forgot what country, but they passed laws limiting the number of hours a day people are allowed to play video games because the problem was that severe. They even set up rehab centers.

Worse than any other game created is 'Second Life.' It's like the Sims but much better designed. Every single aspect of reality is put in to the game. You can even use real money to buy land in the game. People become addicted to this game much more because it grounded in reality, and it literally becomes a 'Second Life' where you're not a loser, or fat, and you have no skin condition. I use the word 'game' loosely because it is not really a game. There are no objectives or achievements; it's just life. It's kind of like paying to have the illusion of a social life. You can go to clubs, parties, etc. in the game. It may be the worst creation of man and is the next step to people living 100% virtual lives.

I don't think video games as a concept are a problem. I think the real problem is that people take them too seriously and neglect real life. Video games can be useful ways to use your brain in a similar way to a game of chess. The problem I have is that I am playing against a computer and no matter what I do in a situation, the computer will always react in the same way(or in similar ways that are easily predicted), unlike another human. Board games will always be more interesting than playing against an AI. I guess you can play LAN strategy games, but all my friends would rather play mindless nintendo games or shooters when playing anything multiplayer.

Worse than any other game created is 'Second Life.' It's like the Sims but much better designed. Every single aspect of reality is put in to the game. You can even use real money to buy land in the game. People become addicted to this game much more because it grounded in reality, and it literally becomes a 'Second Life' where you're not a loser, or fat, and you have no skin condition. I use the word 'game' loosely because it is not really a game. There are no objectives or achievements; it's just life. It's kind of like paying to have the illusion of a social life. You can go to clubs, parties, etc. in the game. It may be the worst creation of man and is the next step to people living 100% virtual lives.

In all honesty, how is a video game any less real than a career, socialising, building a home and smoking pot with your friends? Neither is organic and both paradigms have their own set of internal values. However, a tribesmen in Africa wouldn't care less about your work experience OR your video game high score.

Edit: Sorry, I wasn't replying to any point you were making, however, I inferred that people living 100% virtual lives would be a bad thing from your post, I'd argue that it would make no difference.


In all honesty, how is a video game any less real than a career, socialising, building a home and smoking pot with your friends?
Are you serious or are you taking the piss? That's a pretty stupid comment / rhetorical question if you're serious in the slightest.

It's completely serious. The original poster offers smoking pot with friends as an alternative experience, but what makes it anymore authentic than spending time on a video games and/or virtual reality? Merely being fun and physical doesn't constitute worthwhileness or real, both are constructed experiences with little or nothing to do with reality outside of our little homestead we call a society.

Listening to someone moralise on how virtual reality/video games is wrong is tiring, especially when they are diluted enough into thinking that whatever social contribution they make actually matters.

It's completely serious. The original poster offers smoking pot with friends as an alternative experience, but what makes it anymore authentic than spending time on a video games and/or virtual reality?

They're both similar in a socializing perspective, but smoking pot gets you outside and away from Orgrimmar. That's the gist of what I was trying to say, even baby steps are still progress.