Friday, August 28, 2009

mp3 players

Due to a request by Hungy, today's blog will be somewhat shorter than normal. As compensation, expect tomorrow's to be longer. :)

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Every morning on the train, on the bus, on the way to school, I observe all kinds of people listening to mp3 devices, totally removed from the rest of the world. It's like they've been insulated in some of kind invisible bubble, thousands upon thousands of them descending upon the city every morning like some greyish mass of humanity. But at what cost? Sure, you can swap music, and that's pretty sociable, but at the end of the day, when you're on the train with four other guys, and no-one's talking because they're all listening to music...that's just sad. This isn't like the Internet creating anti-socials, because the Internet is the greatest tool for mass communication that exists today. But mp3 players? You're just rebuilding the Tower of Babel, seperating the population in a jumble of people who are unable to communicate with one another because, even if they desired to do so, the other party would not be able to hear them. You're creating a society in which everyone listens, but no-one speaks.

Yes, I'm a hypocrite. I'll gladly don my headphones every morning, afternoon and night. But hey, what else is there to do? Silence is deafening.

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Just finished the first three books of the Alex Rider series, and they're pretty good. Not as good as, say, Matthew Rielly, but still good nonetheless. Fancy gadgets, sure, but usually only one use, and rarely more than two or three each book. Anthony Horowitz can really piece together a good plot.

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Note to anyone wishing to buy any of the professional pictures from the Melbourne High School Year 12 Formal 2009, they'll be available for purchase next Tuesday 1st September at the Hockey Pavilion.

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Memory of the day: Grade 6, Cross country. My vice captain and I agreed to run across the line together and so finish equal first, thus increasing the point value of our victory by a bit, and relegating the next person to measly third place. We pulled it off, handily. Looking back, I was a bit of a bastard...fun, though, that's for sure.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah thats true, but maybe talk isnt always the best option. Maybe at some point in our lives we just need to enjoy the silence, or in this case music, with friends keeping company. You cant always talk OJ. So i wouldnt classify it as sad, but rather reflective and wat is the cost OJ? That our voices arent continuously heard by others who are on the same carriage as us? That we can never speak to each other again if we dont talk? And if you ever need someone to listen to you OJ you merely need to stick a finger into their ribs to get their attention and convey to them your deepest thoughts and emotions. Im sure they'll understand. :P Dragon

FROGGY said...

omg alex rider. i remember that series !!!!!!!!!

Steve said...

Hm...i guess you could say that about mp3's...but sometimes it's good to have a little time alone oj =] If need talk, like long said, just poink in the ribs =p It is a bit sad that strangers don't often talk on trains anymore though. Our society isn't really at its most social on the train network =="

Lol at the cross country memory man =p

Spcogg said...

Okay. First things first: OJ, if you're going to make a blog 'shorter than normal', make it 'shorter than normal' not 'just as long as normal' (I must confess I wrote this before reading the actual blog.)

You need a bloody forum or something for all these hugeass comments (feels just like train rides for some stupid reason).

Long, dragon makes your comments look really stupid, not that i bother to read them (they're too long. Oh the pun).

And oj, its not because they don't speak, they just don't wanna speak to you. How much more obvious do you want it to be? And its only on the train...its not like people are doing that 24/7..oh wait i forgot you're retarded and this is the internet. Wait i mean, you're normal and i'm retarded. Oops, my bad.

OJ said...

Old rule of thumb; Two ears, one mouth. Listen twice as much as you speak. If no-one speaks...then what are we all listening to?

If you're not actually talking to your friends, they might as well not be there.

I would also like to point out the difference between talking and speaking. I'm refering to speaking here. Talking is a waste of time.

Well, Hungy, there's less content...the extra spaces just make it look bigger XD

Anonymous said...

music? bahahahahah :) theres a difference between talking and speaking? dont both involve words coming out of one's mouth? and you cant really talk OJ, you are after all the only one who sometimes decide to go off and read whilst we DO talk. And since you want quotes here one :P "He who does not know how to be silent will not know how to speak." Ok i looked that up, but still gotta admit, its true. Dragon

OJ said...

When you speak, the words have meaning, are worth the effort. When you talk, it's wasted air, filling time, nothing.

When I read, I don't listen, so it doesn't count. Try and talk to me when I'm reading. Go on. The only way you can get my attention is if you're really close, or if you take the book. Also why it pisses me off.
I'm more silent than you, Long. =="

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