Lair of Tyranicus

I’ve been having a lot of trouble sleeping this week.  Insomnia is something that comes and goes with me.  I will go weeks or months with no problem, but then something will shift in my head, and I cannot sleep for hours after going to bed.  When I am lying in bed not sleeping, the urge to be creative often strikes.  This is a bad thing, as creativity does not come easily for me.  As such, I have to think of things to do.  Last night, I wrote a letter to someone.  Tonight, my creative efforts shall result in a mediocre blog post about nothing in particular.  Tomorrow night, if I still cannot sleep, (and most likely even if I can, as the deadline is approaching) I will participate in a monthly writing project that I joined last month.

Sleep is such a capricious thing.  I have often found myself tired when I do not want to be, and yet, here at 1:30 on a Wednesday night, when most sensible people are asleep, I lie awake pondering my life.  What is it about thought that keeps me from losing consciousness.  Dreams are thoughts, aren’t they?  Why can’t I think these thoughts as dreams?  Why must I lie awake hoping for rest that never comes?  As I often do whilst trying to find the answer to something, I take a look a Wikipedia.  It informs me of all sorts of disorders, both physical and mental, that I may be suffering from to cause this insomnia.  However, I do not think this is caused by any of these.  I know I don’t have rheumatoid arthritis, and I certainly hope I do not have schizophrenia.  I am also now terrified to discover that there is such a thing as “sporadic fatal insomnia.”  Fortunately, I do not as yet fit the symptoms of that disease, but that lingering fear will most likely be there for quite some time.

And so, I return to this blog, for the first time in months.  I doubt you will be hearing more from me, unless I truly do come down with fatal insomnia, in which case I shall try to document the ensuing dementia.  I am somewhat curious to see if anyone reads this blog.  If you do, and if you have your own insomnia stories or advice for falling asleep, feel free to comment on this post.  For now, I will be signing off and hoping this brief spat of creativity will allow me to rest.

Bonus points to anyone who gets the reference in the title.

I went to see Regina Spektor perform at Dickinson College on Saturday evening.  She is a wonderful artist, and I was very excited to find out she would literally be a block away from my front door.  The concert was incredible.  She sang several of my favorite songs, and to say she looked amazing would be quite the understatement.  I was anticipating a long wait, so I bought an ebook of a book I was already reading for the Amazon Kindle app on my iPhone.  Yes, i could have taken the physical book with me, but I would have needed to keep track of it and carry it around.  Perhaps it’s because I have the young eyes of a 23-year-old, but I have no issues reading a book on my iPhone screen for an extended period of time.  I know that is one of the biggest complaints people have about ebooks, but I don’t see it.  Another complaint people have is the price.  Honestly, I don’t think the price is that bad.  Kindle books on the Amazon store are all pretty much $10 or less.  If it is an older book that’s available in paperback, it’s usually around $5.  In other words, they are still cheaper than buying the actual book.  Ebooks may not have truly taken off yet, but I still believe that they are the future.  Will physical books disappear anytime soon?  Not likely.  Will I continue to buy physical books to read and add to my library?  Absolutely.  However, digital media is the next thing, and at some point, it will truly be the dominant format.

Take music for example.  Sure, people still buy CDs, but not nearly as many or as often as 10 years ago.  Digital providers like iTunes, Rhapsody, and the Zune store have really taken off.  If I want to buy music, I buy it in iTunes.  Most of my friends do the same thing.  Movies and TV shows are moving this way too.  While I don’t actually know very many people who buy movies on iTunes, they do sell some.  Where digital video distribution really shines is with services like iTunes, Amazon, PS3, and the Xbox 360, where you can rent movies and shows very cheaply.  Also, streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu are becoming more and more popular.

So, to all those who deride digital media, let me just say this.  You are wrong.  There will come a time when it is much more common to get a digital copy of something than a physical one.

I will close this out with some pictures I took of Regina.