A nation of yahoos?

So what's the deal witht he Internet? Is it making us a nation of ignorant fucks mainly interested in pr0n and sports a la Idiocracy? Or is that kind of talk the whining of an intellectual mandarinate that has never gotten the respect it thinks it deserves? I think the truth is somewhere in the middle, myself - we've always had a large population of people that aren't interested in classical music and other high-falutin' pleasures, and the Internet now allows them to have their thoughts & preferences on display for the rest of the world to see. (Rachel)

I think one of the obvious rejoinders to Michael Gorman's whining is the spread of music videos as an art form (oh, hey, Stahlregen's got a new one out, BTW) since these combine video imagery and music in complex forms that at their best require repeated consideration and analysis. Not only is the form itself complex, but crafting them has gone from a rare skill practiced by a handful of people with expensive -occasionally custom-made- equipment to a popular form of entertainment accessible to millions of adolescents using off-the-shelf hardware and software packages that are only moderately expensive. I don't think anything has had this kind of impact on popular culture since the advent of the electronic synthesizer.

On a more personal level, I think I need to tweak the WMP settings on the Dell. I tried to burn a new mix CD before work today, but it crapped out after eight songs. There was nothing obviously wrong with the CD I was using, so I may try burning it again at a lower speed and see if that works better.

A nation of yahoos?

So what's the deal witht he Internet? Is it making us a nation of ignorant fucks mainly interested in pr0n and sports a la Idiocracy? Or is that kind of talk the whining of an intellectual mandarinate that has never gotten the respect it thinks it deserves? I think the truth is somewhere in the middle, myself - we've always had a large population of people that aren't interested in classical music and other high-falutin' pleasures, and the Internet now allows them to have their thoughts & preferences on display for the rest of the world to see. (Rachel)

I think one of the obvious rejoinders to Michael Gorman's whining is the spread of music videos as an art form (oh, hey, Stahlregen's got a new one out, BTW) since these combine video imagery and music in complex forms that at their best require repeated consideration and analysis. Not only is the form itself complex, but crafting them has gone from a rare skill practiced by a handful of people with expensive -occasionally custom-made- equipment to a popular form of entertainment accessible to millions of adolescents using off-the-shelf hardware and software packages that are only moderately expensive. I don't think anything has had this kind of impact on popular culture since the advent of the electronic synthesizer.

On a more personal level, I think I need to tweak the WMP settings on the Dell. I tried to burn a new mix CD before work today, but it crapped out after eight songs. There was nothing obviously wrong with the CD I was using, so I may try burning it again at a lower speed and see if that works better.

not a good end to the day

Today was moderately busy at work; I spent about half of it mangling spreadsheets and maybe another hour or so doing research, closing AU, and enjoying similar wild delights. So it was okay - not jumping through my butt to get things done, but not desperately trying to look busy, either.

Unfortunately things went downhill immediately when I stepped out of the building to head home. It's supposed to hit 91 degrees today, and I was thinking about swimming when I got home, but there's laundry to be done and I don't see how I'm going to do that plus the dish washing that needs doing, much less get in an hour in the pool. Especially since I managed to lose my keys on the way home. >_< Worst case, they came off on the bus and I'll never see them again; more hopefully, they're at work somewhere. We'll see. I'm holding off having new keys cut until I see if they show up at work.

I picked up CJ Cherryh's Chanur's Legacy, which is an omnibus of Chanur's Homecoming and the title novel, which I hadn't been aware of before I saw the paperback combo-pack edition. I'm thinking I need to re-read it before I know what I really think, but my first impression is that it's Chanur Saga: The Next Generation, what with the main character being Pyanfar Chanur's niece Hilfy, who is captaining a ship of her own and -much like her aunt - winds up in a hairy situation she wanted no part of at all.

Well, I suppose I better get going on dinner so I can do all the other stuff on tonight's agenda.

not a good end to the day

Today was moderately busy at work; I spent about half of it mangling spreadsheets and maybe another hour or so doing research, closing AU, and enjoying similar wild delights. So it was okay - not jumping through my butt to get things done, but not desperately trying to look busy, either.

Unfortunately things went downhill immediately when I stepped out of the building to head home. It's supposed to hit 91 degrees today, and I was thinking about swimming when I got home, but there's laundry to be done and I don't see how I'm going to do that plus the dish washing that needs doing, much less get in an hour in the pool. Especially since I managed to lose my keys on the way home. >_< Worst case, they came off on the bus and I'll never see them again; more hopefully, they're at work somewhere. We'll see. I'm holding off having new keys cut until I see if they show up at work.

I picked up CJ Cherryh's Chanur's Legacy, which is an omnibus of Chanur's Homecoming and the title novel, which I hadn't been aware of before I saw the paperback combo-pack edition. I'm thinking I need to re-read it before I know what I really think, but my first impression is that it's Chanur Saga: The Next Generation, what with the main character being Pyanfar Chanur's niece Hilfy, who is captaining a ship of her own and -much like her aunt - winds up in a hairy situation she wanted no part of at all.

Well, I suppose I better get going on dinner so I can do all the other stuff on tonight's agenda.