trigger 1: The origin of the google doodle tradition. There’s nothing wrong with fun-loving. Done well, your creative fun_art can create joy for a large audience, just like a street comedian.

(Large audience .. is a rare and key ingredient of google’s doodles. Most of the discussion in this blogpost doesn’t assume an audience of more than 2.)

This topic is wide-ranging. My thoughts are centered around effort, hobby, wellness …

Suppose you love some fun_art so much that you put in effort and absorbency to create something. Not necessarily artistic in itself, but it helps other people enjoy the same fun_art … Congrats you have created value with that fun_art. You have become a hero of some sort, a role model for the youth.

As a hobby, creating fun_art is mostly positive; consuming fun_art? .. is a “harmless” recreation up to a point. After that point, it becomes an obsession. Many (including students and retirees) spend too much time “consuming”. There’s no effort, no creativity in consuming fun_art. Consuming (not creating, usually) fun_art can become excessive and unhealthy. Self-regulation required, just like news junkies.

• eg: reading is better than screen-based “consuming”. The screen often gets hijacked by marketers. With screens, we often feel compelled to complete the “journey” because it’s not easy to stop, bookmark, and come back another day.
• eg: movie/anime/gaming industries are some of the biggest industries founded on fun_arts. The creative artists are fine but the commercial operators seem to prey on captive consumers
• eg: one of my top 5 hobbies nowadays is blogging online (published). Not really fun_art, but it shares many features with creating fun_art.
• eg: if consuming is physical activity (rare) then it is healthier than sit-at-home consuming. Home decoration is my wife’s creative fun_art.. physical 🙂 There’s some small $cost, usually not expensive.
• eg: classical music playing .. not fun_art to the young, but is fun_art in my opinion. “Consuming” classic music .. is widely endorsed, but please don’t sit at home and listen for hours every day. Go out and get some exercise.
• eg: my recreational xx with magazines? I always prefer recreational xx rather than just recreation.

— How about solitude? I have a growing preference for recreations that do not depend on other people.
Some creative fun_arts meet this criterion. Consuming certain fun_arts can also meet this requirement.

I think this topic becomes important in retirement. I feel grandpa might be suffering more than grandma.