by profession i am a development specialist.  my job requires me to be on pulse with trends, ahead of the curve in popular philanthropy.  i’m an avid notetaker.  i pulled out my notes from 2011 and flipped to a page with the header “buzz words”.  half way down the page i had recorded the following note:

“the age of intimacy — how ‘bricks and mortars’ … live things (shops, performances, etc.) need to put the THEATRE back into the live space in order to compete with a digitized society.”

i’m not really quite sure where i read this.  i wrote the note down but apparently in too much of a rush to source its reference.  whomever said this is cleverly wise … we spend too much time in our virtual universe.  lately i’ve found i don’t write much on this space but my journal fills up much faster.  i’ve subscribed to the newspaper again and spend way too many toonies (and time) at the bean downtown.  but here on the quiet streets of this small town something is happening … empty window spaces are filling up with picture and words.  people are reciting their words out loud.  more people seem to be pedalling.  more people admitting to loving their library card more than their credit card.

the actors — true life human characters — are performing on the streets again.  its as if being online these days is to overload.   to be offline, well is to disconnect.  and when  we quiet our activity in the digital world and take a stroll down the street we realize that our computer screens are the masquerade … for there is nothing in the public realm that any smartphone or macbook can replace.

so if you’re reading this, log off.  shut it down.  go outside and play–perform–in your favourite public space.