Posts by 3410
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This was already true when Postman wrote his book.
Already true in the US. I really mean it when I say that in those days our socio/media trends were a decade behind them.
I'm sure I've mentioned before that the early seasons of the Simpsons were so hilarious here in part because what was, for Americans, social commentary was, for us, effectively prescient.
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the purpose is the transmission of timely and relevant information
sorry, it's only entertainment to deliver audiences to advertisers
Ah... actually, you're right. I forget, sometimes. Curse my idealistic nature!
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TV news' obsession with live crosses is another example.
I've always considered it a kind of cargo-cultism, where the networks do their best to make the show look like a proper (ie US / UK / Aus.) operation, instead of understanding that the purpose is the transmission of timely and relevant information.
Of course, those "proper" news organisations do that too, but not, in my experience, quite to the Pythonesque levels that we see.
Ooh, Curb Your Enthusiasm is on. This week: "Larry is forced to cover his tracks after he accidentally causes the death of a country club member and kills the club's mascot in an act of self defense." -
Alternatively, it looks like most or all of it is on the YouTube.
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Chlorine is a huge turn-off for this human animal
And probably would be for this one too, if I lived in Mahitahi. As it is, we city-dwellers eat, drink, and breathe poison every day, so we have cast-iron stomachs. ;)
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I think you're right!
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The problem is when its omnipresence smothers other aspects of life.
I spoke clumsily. To be honest, I knew as I was writing that that I hadn't nailed it.
I'm thinking about the fact that "entertainment" (ie the showbiz type, not the seeing-people-slip-over-on-muddy-grass type) is, mostly, capital-I Industry. Make no mistake; the creators of content inject the psychological equivalent of whatever it is that Griffins put in Chocolate Chippes that makes you unabled to stop eating them.
When that works - and it does - is it any wonder that resources eventually get diverted away from other areas? News suffers, "challenging" drama suffers, Current Affairs and the provision of documentary content suffers, the curation of historically important stuff suffers, and eventually the populace becomes inadequately informed (and, yes, I do include myself). That has real and significant impacts on society.
I don't blame the "low-brow-ness" of consumers or the opportunism of producers; it's a systemic problem; an economic one, as much as anything else, I suppose.
It may not be a very "hip" idea, but fuck it; that's what I think.
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Apparently they like their water source to be away from their food source.
They also seem to prefer semi-stagnant, for some reason. I'll put out some new water and they'll ignore it and go off and guzzle from the saucer of a plant pot.
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It's forgotten. :)
My apologies for the misunderstanding.
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Intellectual snobbery? Come on. Everyone knows I'm a high-level consumer of pop culture rubbish. That doesn't mean I'm not concerned about the effects.
But yeah, sorry, I forgot for a moment that this topic was on "the list".