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Monday, August 7, 2017

A Warning For Our Ever-Connected Times

Thus opined my good friend Silverfiddle of the now-archived blog Western Hero, in response to this blog post at FreeThinke:

[W]e're pestered on all sides by mass consumers who wouldn't have a thought in their heads were it not for the Infotainment Media Complex.

We are being poisoned.


Let us remember that many of these "mass consumers," who do not have a single original thought in their heads, will vote in future elections. Therefore, we should not expect the onslaught of the "Infotainment Media Complex" to discontinue.

I'm hitting the Off Button more and more frequently.

Moreover, I find that Watership Down, the novel I'm reading right now, is much more interesting than anything on a screen. Another excellent novel by Richard Adams (May 9, 1920-December 24, 2016 ): Traveller.

48 comments:

  1. Thanks for the kind words! I hit the off button long ago, but I am a new junkie, getting it all on-line.

    I picked up a book of a few novellas of Joseph Conrad, and it has a lengthy introduction on Conrad's life, and his experiences of the time that led him to write his stories.

    Believe it or not, I have never read Heart of Darkness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SF,
      I, too, need to read Heart of Darkness. I have a free edition on my Kindle.

      Delete
  2. Replies
    1. The article was okay

      The headline was clearly intended to grab attention.
      It was misleading and was corrected.

      At least the body of the article was reasonable.
      But to really get the truth where would you go?

      Breitbart? Hannity? Faux Snooze?

      Delete
    2. no...say it ain't true...a headline clearly intended to grab attention but is misleading? Check out Yahoo.com, okay?
      And yes, sadly...Fox News is about the only channel anymore that has both sides nearly always represented. I dare you to find two conservatives a day on CNN. Okay. One. Good luck.
      THAT's not "faux snooze" unless you just plain don't believe in truth or giving Americans two ways of looking at things.

      Delete
    3. You make the assumption that I watch cable news.

      Can't imagine why anyone would be so uninquisitive that he would accept Tucker or Morning Joe or Wolf or any of the other trained seals as definitive.
      But I guess if you do consider Faux to be balanced you end up accepting statements like Danes can barely afford to purchase homes (the ownership rate is virtually equivalent to the U.S.) uncritically, if you get my drift.

      There is ample opportunity to get a variety of opinion (you'll have to lean heavily on periodicals and books) but if you depend on cable news you'll just become a skull drilled zombie.

      Delete
    4. Ducky, do you think CNN gets it right every time? MSNBC? FOX? NONE.
      And you're the one who brought up FOX, not me...I'm responding...I don't need a lecture on how watching cable tv stinks (it does), trust me.

      Delete
    5. And Ducky, by the way, you have never responded to my frequent reminders that FOX is the only cable channel having liberal participation in probably 90% of their panel discussions and interviews. Do I think that helps get a better understanding, to have both sides represented? I can't imagine otherwise. Until I watch MSNBC or CNN and it's like sitting in a university with yet another liberal prof grading down for any opinion other than his.

      Delete
    6. Z,
      Thank you for your comment of 12:48 PM. Spot on!

      Delete
  3. Hello, My name is Ed.
    I'm an on-line junkie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ed,
      Lots of us here. Should we have a meeting and share?

      And, Ed, thanks for sharing.

      Delete
  4. Nietzsche, "On the Future of Our Education Institutions"

    "For centuries it has been an understood thing that one alluded to scholars alone when one spoke of cultured men; but experience tells us that it would be difficult to find any necessary relation between the two classes today. For at present the exploitation of a man for the purpose of science is accepted everywhere without the slightest scruple. Who still ventures to ask, What may be the value of a science which consumes its minions in this vampire fashion? The division of labor in science is practically struggling towards the same goal which religions in certain parts of the world are consciously striving after—that is to say, towards the decrease and even the destruction of learning. That, however, which, in the case of certain religions, is a perfectly justifiable aim, both in regard to their origin and their history, can only amount to self-immolation when transferred to the realm of science. In all matters of a general and serious nature, and above all, in regard to the highest philosophical problems, we have now already reached a point at which the scientific man, as such, is no longer allowed to speak. On the other hand, that adhesive and tenacious stratum which has now filled up the interstices between the sciences—Journalism—believes it has a mission to fulfill here, and this it does, according to its own particular lights—that is to say, as its name implies, after the fashion of a day-laborer.

    "It is precisely in journalism that the two tendencies combine and become one. The expansion and the diminution of education here join hands. The newspaper actually steps into the place of culture, and he who, even as a scholar, wishes to voice any claim for education, must avail himself of this viscous stratum of communication which cements the seams between all forms of life, all classes, all arts, and all sciences, and which is as firm and reliable as news paper is, as a rule. In the newspaper the peculiar educational aims of the present culminate, just as the journalist, the servant of the moment, has stepped into the place of the genius, of the leader for all time, of the deliverer from the tyranny of the moment. Now, tell me, distinguished master, what hopes could I still have in a struggle against the general topsy-turvification of all genuine aims for education; with what courage can I, a single teacher, step forward, when I know that the moment any seeds of real culture are sown, they will be mercilessly crushed by the roller of this pseudo-culture? Imagine how useless the most energetic work on the part of the individual teacher must be, who would fain lead a pupil back into the distant and evasive Hellenic world and to the real home of culture, when in less than an hour, that same pupil will have recourse to a newspaper, the latest novel, or one of those learned books, the very style of which already bears the revolting impress of modern barbaric culture—"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kierkegaard also hated reporters.
      He didn't kiss the asses of elites, however.

      Delete
    2. Nietzsche fell out of love with his elites (Wagner and Cosima Lizt) and blasted them. He was no *ss kisser. He'd gone through Ariadne's double negation of Theseus.

      Delete
  5. Because of the inherently self-destructive aspect of Human Nature, the majority too easily fall prey to anything that appeals to inertia, –– lack of ambition, lack of willingness to learn, to make physical effort, the desire for things always to be easier, to come faster, the ever-growing desire for increased appeasement of fleshly appetites, the desire always to be entertained, etc. –– we easily fall prey to selfish mischiefmakers who craftily degrade the quality of life for fun and profit with false promises of "ease."

    Wantng too much ease is a form of DISEASE –– a mental disorder that works to speed mankind towards a dreary, slave-like susitence way of life that eventually must lead to our extinction.

    Just look at the deleterious effect mass production, mass communication, the plethora of labor-savng devices that effectively take all the fun out of domestic pursuits and how technology has isolated the individual and alientated him from formerly rewarding social interaction.

    I'm not sure there could ever be a way back to the simple life we used to enjoy so thoroughly when I was a young boy.

    Technology has given us the near certaintiy of ja hideous, dystopian future.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Watership Down... the cartoon that scarred my psyche for life at age 8...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I do agree that we are being poisoned, but it is self-administered. We are turning into Europe ... God help us ... were we are no longer able to think for ourselves.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mustang,
      We are turning into Europe

      Yes, we are.

      So much for the New World, huh?

      Delete
  8. From Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?:

    ...There’s not a single exception. All screen activities are linked to less happiness, and all nonscreen activities are linked to more happiness...

    The article is not about people of our age, but a lot of what Twenge says should give us pause. Most of us are online hours upon hours each day.

    Read the entire article HERE.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I haven't been able to watch TV or listen to talk radio, or any radio actually for at least 8 years now. The air is So much cleaner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kid,
      I hear ya! I'm sick of agenda, agenda, agenda all the time!

      Delete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...and you've turned into a total libtard buffoon propaganda parrot with an audience of sane people laughing their asses off at you.

      Delete
    2. Isn't Fox & Friends the show that has Steve Doocy giving the liberal point of view?

      Delete
    3. Ducky,

      I don't know. I don't have cable, and I don't know who Steve Doocy is.

      "This One" gets a propaganda jolt in his ass from some leftwing cattle prod, and he rushes around posting it everywhere. No thought.

      At least you have some thought, theories (no matter how discredited) and philosophy behind your particularly caustic brand of Bolshevism.

      Delete
    4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    6. LOL! The popularity of Fox & Friends is growing!

      "Fox and Friends, Pres. Trump’s show du jour, is on pace to have its highest-rated year in network history."

      Source: http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/fox-news-remains-the-no-1-cable-network-in-total-viewers/336925


      Donald Trump and the New York Times agree:

      'Fox & Friends' is 'most powerful TV show in America'

      It also says the morning show is "easily the most-watched cable news morning show, averaging 1.6 million viewers in the year’s second quarter, following a post-Trump ratings boost."

      Trump's early morning tweet came after a "Fox & Friends" co-host held up a copy of the Times with an ad that featured the line from the article calling the Fox News show the "most powerful TV show in America."


      http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/344061-trump-quotes-nyt-fox-friends-most-powerful-tv-show-in-america

      Bigger rating than MS LSD Baloney's Morning Ho and Zika virus! HA!

      Delete
    7. LOL! the Libtard trash the weblog hostess keep tossing to the hogs is breaking the big news that... wait for it... wait for it... President Trump loves the program Fox and Friends!!!

      *GASP!* Can you believe it??? OMG!!!

      Here's another bombshell. Brace yourself. Fox and Friends loved President Trump!

      Can you feel the earth shake and shatter???!!! IT'S UNREFUTATIONAL AND THE TRUTHIEST OF TRUTHIE TRUTHS. It is un-ReButtable! Not even Wonder Woman could fight this TRUTH!

      The writer of the OPINION piece is a total buffoon who does not understand that morning fluff shows are not part of any network's news department, yet the article calls Fox and Friends, News.

      Consider the source, kids.

      This is nothing compared to how the fawning press became a pom pom waving cheerleader squad for President Obama.

      Emails show Washington Post, New York Times reporters unenthusiastic about covering Clinton-Lynch meeting

      Here's my favorite quote from the article:

      "Matt Zapotosky with the Washington Post emailed a DOJ official the same day after several other emails to say that his editors "are still pretty interested" in the story but that he wanted to "put it to rest.""

      Could you imagine someone from the Washington Post or NY Times calling President Trump's staff offering to help put the Russia Collusion thingy to rest?

      LOLZIE!!!

      Delete
  11. Gotta love this...

    Google Fires Author of Divisive Memo on Gender Differences

    The fired engineer expressed the opinion--which is backed by research--that biological differences may account for more men than women pursuing tech careers and leadership roles. I remember being taught this in the blessedly few social science college classes I had to sit through, and I'm not that old.

    I love this particularly Orwellian statement from Google:

    “We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company,” Brown said in the statement. “We’ll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul.”

    ... which is why the fired (EXcluded) an employee for deviating from the group-think hive and expressing a dangerously diverse opinion.

    Why aren't the Gender Kommissars concerned about the appalling lack of women roofers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SF,
      Coincidentally, before I saw your comment, I posted this at my FB page:

      defining the physiological and structural basis of gender differences in brain function.

      The study was huge!

      46,034 brain imaging studies

      Fact: The parts of the brain linked with vision and coordination were more active among men. DNA wired, IMO.

      Delete
    2. SF,
      That Google fiascso is now all over the news -- all the news media (Left, Right, and Center).

      Nevertheless, the beat of social justice warriorism continues.

      The beat goes on!

      I'm hitting the off switch.

      Delete
    3. SF,
      As you know, group-think is everywhere. Those in Right-leaning think tanks are in a closed hive, too.

      Think tanks are ivory towers. I've now developed an aversion to almost any participant of a think tank.

      Delete
    4. Indeed. No camp is immune, but since progressives are in the drivers seat and are the de facto referees/gatekeepers, their brand of intolerance is particularly dangerous.

      Progressives now brand anything outside their narrow ideological dogma to be "intolerance," "Hate," "Homophobia," "Transphobia," etc.

      They are ushering our society into a dangerous place by chilling free speech.

      A symphony in LA is up in arms over Dennis Prager guest-hosting. He has expressed religiously-orthodox and ideologically conservative positions on homosexuality and other hot button social issues, and they brand it hate, which is sickening.

      Prager has expressed himself in scholarly, non-inflammatory language and he has not disparaged or name-called Homosexuals, Muslims or any other party he takes issue with.

      What we have now are torch and pitchfork progressive pogroms going after dissidents and blasphemers.

      This Orwellian speech > thought > speech > thought closed loop is guaranteed to stifle intellectual ferment and make us stupider--individually and as a society.

      Delete
    5. I will state the obvious:

      The Google case is a blatant example of propagandizing--and forcing everyone to parrot the propaganda--in pursuit of the ideological agenda to deny biology and science and force everyone to believe there are no gender differences.

      It is scary how many so-called educated people have already ingested, digested and scatologized such unscientific, illogical disinformation.

      Delete
    6. Thank G_d for the Deep Dark Web! We need to get back to writing in our own language again (Latin). ;)

      Delete
    7. Love your neighbor! But 'F trying to "understand" and empathize with him. ;p

      Delete
    8. An update on the Prager conducting flap

      Leave it to Rush Lite to claim he's being run out of town. The liar.

      Delete
    9. I don't listen to Rush, so I can't gauge the veracity of your characterization. Seems precious snowflake disease isn't just for pampered college students.

      It is disconcerting how a little difference of opinion--benignly stated--can cause such tortured histrionics is educated adults.

      Delete
    10. Anyone who rejoices in a world where people are shunned for dissenting from the hive cannot call themselves a liberal.

      This is why I like the term progressive. It fits the totalitarian left, who bear no resemblance to liberalism.

      Delete
    11. SF,
      Yes, the term progressive is a more accurate word.

      Delete
    12. The term Fascist is an exact definition!

      Delete
    13. The Commies think like the Islamicists, that Individualism leads to jahiliyyah, a kind of social "purposelessness"... and that it is their duty to the rest of us a "purpose".

      Delete
    14. F the commies.

      We need to tell China that the United States is no longer interested in a future that lacks the blood of millions of North Koreans on our hands and that we're going to turn South Korea into an island by the time our bombs stop falling and that they have 36 hours to figure out why doing so wouldn't be funny as f.

      Delete
  12. Readers,
    I ask that all of you read this over at IBA:

    The Fourth Amendment’s Digital Update.

    We have little to no privacy online.

    It is what it is. I no longer give a damn. One of the advantages of being over 65.

    ReplyDelete
  13. The 4th Amendment has been dead for decades.

    Governments must monitor and spy on us because we are a threat to them. Think about that...

    ReplyDelete

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