Lost Time

Before the factory gate
the worker suddenly stops
the good weather has tugged him by the coat
and as he turns round
and looks at the sun
all red all round
smiling in its burning sky
he winks his eye
familiarly
Say my friend Sun
don't you find
it's rather stupid
to give such a day
to a boss?

                                 -Jacques Prevert

The Message Is The Medium

McLuhan said that 'The medium is the message', in other words that the message is influenced by the medium used to transmit it.

He said it was actually the medium itself that shaped the message.

In the past, messages had limited media for distribution.

Today, we have a plethora of media which are not just shaping the messages but these are now being created just to make use of the media. 

We are making messages to make use of the media.

Messages of no note.

Like blog posts.

Oh.

Sightseeing Monks Or Freedom From Desire Isn't Part Of The Tour

I saw some sightseeing monks the other day.
They were Buddhist monks with shaved heads and saffron robes. They were near the Eiffel Tower. They had cameras around their necks. 
Now call me unenlightened and banish me from Nirvana, but isn't one of the basic tenets of Buddhism that much of the suffering in life comes from desire? Once necessities are covered -shelter, food, soft toilet paper- then isn't it the relentless chasing after superfluous crap that makes us miserable especially when we can't afford it?
I could be wrong, of course. Maybe the goal of freedom from desire doesn't include the desire to take your Nikon D3200 with telephoto zoom on a jumbo and fly across the globe to take photos of the Eiffel Tower.
Actually, I hope I'm wrong, because otherwise I feel some bad karma coming my way...

New Information For Immediate Consumption

*New message*
Quick, here’s some new information from someone doing something somewhere.
Wow, it’s so much more interesting than the thing I am doing here and now.
Especially as I am not paying attention to what I am doing here and now as I'm reading about the something someone is doing somewhere.
I bet if I was doing the something someone is doing somewhere I would be enthralled and not be distracted reading about another something that another someone is doing another somewhere.
Focusing on the here and now is so boring especially since I'm not focusing on it.
I can’t wait for the next new message.
Hurry up, this message is so yesterday.

Blind

‘Hey, Max, you look pensive, what’s up?’
‘Well, Max, I helped a blind lady in the street the other day.’
‘Wow, what do you want, a medal? And so?’
‘So, I was crap. I walked her the way I walked, you know, against red lights, jumping puddles, slaloming other pedestrians... I was pulling her all over the place.’
‘I hope she hit you with her stick.’
‘I realised that I walked like everything else was an obstacle to me.‘
‘I sense some profound nonsense coming up...’
‘I realised that, although she was blind, I was the one who couldn’t see.’
‘Oh, Jeezus...’
‘Because she just walked like everything else simply was.’
‘I hope you realise that we wouldn’t be having this conversation if she had a dog...’

A Funny Thought Provoking Quote

I wanted to post a quote by a writer who was thought provoking and funny.
But Voltaire said, 'A witty saying proves nothing.'
So I decided not to.
Oh.

In Praise of Idleness

"The road to happiness and prosperity lies in an organized diminution of work." - Bertrand Russell

Russell was arguing that a decrease in work time would lead to an increase in leisure time, further resulting in an increase in involvement in cultural pursuits, promoting increased knowledge and a more contemplative habit of mind. He thought that what was needed in our very complex modern society is calm consideration with readiness to call dogmas in question and freedom of mind to do justice to the most diverse points of view.

Indeed, you could see why many wouldn't like that. Better to keep people busy.

Speaking of which, must dash…