But as a grass roots phenomenon. When I see him at these big functions it annoys me. I want to see him on the dirty back streets, that's the Sasha I love.

Sacha has left the backstreets for the big time.

would lead to fame and riches.

In life we must experiment.

You never know. But that pic has made me laugh for many years - laughter a strangely precious commodity in these times.

I notice your avatar. Did you see Hugo? That was a good film. The idea of the value of recording a person's dreams, something which so easily slips away, so easily lost to time. It speaks to me directly of the value of information age, where these nonsense ideas spewed forth on DU will be accessible to people 200 or 300 years from now, who knows.

PEace

Kudos to Scorcese for bringing the early cinema to public awareness.

What you said about the future - lately I marvel at the archive being made with the internet. However, I spend too much time digging around and wonder how it impacts my productivity. So imagine in 2-300 years there will be drugs to control focus and all the stuff will be organized cleanly? Nothing like a good web surf in the human archive.

But what should we be focused on? That's the one I have a hard time answering anymore.

I think I was happier before the internet dominated my life. But at this point it's too hard to remember those times.

Maybe it's like moving from the country to the city.

Information technology seems to magnify the mediocrity of most peoples lives, even the very smart people get their details exposed. Too much information! So there's not much mystery and magic left except for the technology itself.

My father has not gotten into computers. He reads real books and talks on the phone and knows that there isn't much he's missing. When I think about it, he's right.

When I've been away from technology for a few days it's always surprising how nothing happens that I needed to be on top of.. maybe we should be focusing on spending time away from technology? A little anyway.

I think I was happier before the internet dominated my life.

Yeah, I think its the price of the power. Its like going home and picking up a newspaper, but then you say something to it and it starts shouting at you...The whole thing is way to engrossing, way to engaging. So picked up the paper to skim it, but four hours later....

Information technology seems to magnify the mediocrity of most peoples lives, even the very smart people get their details exposed.

Ah, but its 'through a scanner darkly' to quote Phillip K. Dick... GOD I wish the details were exposed. I wish people could see what's really going on with you, with me, with each other. But they don't. The get enough noise to establish an impression they know what's going on, but its a reality substitute. Simple truths framed in an illusion so elaborate its difficult to see.

The illusion is about which facts are really significant: tech shapes our brains, its a back-and-forth. We get flooded with so much data we never actually look at the picture and ask "why" deeply, even give it the attention of a decent novel because 5 seconds later, some new piece of noise is exploding, and the really important truth slides by, pervasive as the dusk but too subtle to be captured in 5 seconds...

maybe we should be focusing on spending time away from technology? A little anyway.

Yeah, but can we? I remember I used to go to the coffee shops and meet people young and old for chess and whatnot, but now everybody in there just stares at screens. Its not just a few of us tied into this stuff...

?

PB