– Dog Days in China. By Roger Cohen. He isn’t happy that he ate dog, but he’s happy that China eats dog. (Via The New York Times, via The Morning News.)
At first glance, emotional connectedness to machines sounds like an outlandish statement. Americans have a very utilitarian relationship with machines: they use the microwave to heat food, the dishwasher to clean dirty dishes, and the lawn mower to groom the lawn. With the exception of cars, we consider machines to basically be cold objects…
The Japanese stand in stark contrast to us. They are exceptionally fond of their machines, which are without exception small and beautifully designed, even cute. Whether it’s their legendary programmable toilets or their meticulously compact coffeemakers, Japanese household machines fit seamlessly into their environment— man and machine locked in a harmonious tango.
By making books commodities, the modern market has stripped them of much of their romantic charm. I like the smell of a moldy book as much as the next bibliophile, but not as much as I once did… I’ll become even less romantic about books—just as I became progressively less romantic about music as my collection has shifted from vinyl to CDs to mp3s. Holding an LP cover or even a CD jacket used to anchor the listener to something corporeal. But not anymore. The same is happening to books. The ancient ceremony of reading by turning its pages being disrupted by the e-book’s clicks and swipes. In the process it distances us from the old magic conjured by books. Books are being replaced by reading.
Via The Economist.
– “The whole idea of milestones, of course, is something of an anachronism; it implies a lockstep march toward adulthood that is rare these days. Kids don’t shuffle along in unison on the road to maturity. They slouch toward adulthood at an uneven, highly individual pace. Some never achieve all five milestones, including those who are single or childless by choice, or unable to marry even if they wanted to because they’re gay. Others reach the milestones completely out of order, advancing professionally before committing to a monogamous relationship, having children young and marrying later, leaving school to go to work and returning to school long after becoming financially secure.” “What Is It About 20-Somethings?” by Robin Marantz Henig in The New York Times
I think I enjoy surliness. If you have time, read this interview with Albini. He gives his opinion on everything from the “end” of radio, band promotion via the internet, John Peel, how Sonic Youth should be embarrassed by their behavior, and fashion.
“I worry that people growing up today are losing the experience of deep reading—of losing yourself entirely in a novel and trying on new identities,” Lewis says. “How can you do so if a hyperlink or an email jolts you back into the here-and-now?”
“However, what the Kindle cannot do… is that it doesn’t allow for discovery…for an epiphany. For the first time in a very long time I was absolutely seduced by a book I hadn’t heard anything about until I happened to be walking by the store on a rainy evening. Being able to go into the Harvard Book Store and touch the book, browse its pages,as well as become engrossed in its words will never happen with a Kindle. A Kindle is a storage device…The Kindle will never give me an spot in time, that fleeting moment when everything else is shut out around you…Perhaps that isn’t the Kindle’s mission but if not, that’s sad since that is ultimately the whole point of a discovering a book you didn’t know you’d love - lighting the fire of an idea in your mind while wandering the streets in search of a beer.”
Via Derek Powazek.
After a trip to England, Ryan Avent pines for an American equivalent to the British pub. Why it doesn’t exist…
Via The Atlantic.
– Bill Nye
– (Source: Wired)Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game
