Headquarters for the Slender Fungus Cycling Association

Headquarters for the Slender Fungus Cycling Association
Brewers of Hardy Rides.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Living in the Past and staying there.

I must admit that I am aware of what is going on around me. I am not blind by any means. We used to live in a more rural setting and things were actually a bit more mellow. After moving back to the outskirts of The smelly onion city we have noticed the "urban" pace that everyone carries. Everyone is in a frantic hurry, all the time. There seems to be no time to even take a longer breath. 
Electronics have taken over  everywhere and they were marketed to make lives easier and offer more off time. Obviously what they have done is add more to our plates and they have taken away all our free time.  People pay with their phones, take pictures and videos and just about do everything with the new member of the human body. We drive around with the phone glued to our ear. We walk around hugging the otter cased device. Who called? Who texted? Who made a comment on Facebook? 

I have refused to buy into the smart phone lifestyle. Because of this I have been forgotten by some people. I am not connected, not part of that group, so nobody has the time to "dial" my number and talk to me. Wait, why did you buy the phone?  Twitter, Facebook,Strava, Watts, Zones, etc, etc, etc. Where is the limit??
I do not have a facebook account either. I miss out on a lot of good things I guess. I get excited to see a payphone. I love to listen to radio and read some real  books made of paper. I love to look at real art work and thumb through pictures. I think we have been all too quick to abandon all these things for that dumb smart phone. I think it is time to slow down. 
Just a thought,
My trusty, analogue radio. 

real life posters and art work. 

Compact disc. They work with a player and you don't need I Tunes. 

I have had this analogue clock for about 30 years. 

We lost a vast book collection in our last move but we will rebuild. 

More real books. My oakleys and Trek belt buckle. 

Real film cameras. Yes, they still work and take amazing pictures. 
Ari 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also read real paper, and shun the Smartphone.

Guitar Ted said...

Ironically we have a co-worker at Europa who brought in a killer Sansui reciever/amp and tuner set up. Man- I would love to have something like that, but he needs $500.00 to take it off his hands. I'm still looking....

Anyway, I agree with ya on many points, but in an ironic twist of fate, most everything I do is tied up to this device crap.

At least I still have a "dumb phone"!

Ari said...

This came to my head and I just had to get it out. I do believe I have lost contact with a lot of people because I have not joined facebook or have a smartphone. I don't even know how to text. I just cannot handle the busy busy that is engulfing us. We have been studying a steady decline in childrens bicycles in the Bike business. This is because the bicycle is no longer on top of the list. Ask a child to make you a list and I bet on top of that list will be an Ipad,then Iphone then and IPod touch. Following that will be their own T.V for their room, a new game console. I think some kids get annoyed when they receive a bike because their friends dont' think it is cool. Man, this topic has me really annoyed.
Ari.

JAG said...

Ari, I know the feeling of being an analog guy in a digital world- no smart phone, no facebook, and I even now pay extra to not handle accounts on line. I resist getting caught up in this brave new world, after all, what does a spider do with what gets caught in its web? I think of Winston in 1984 who tried to escape the false reality imposed upon him and really live. I think all of these devices are the mechanisms of control that the system places on us like shackles on slaves and the sheeple are so conditioned that they even beg for further enslavement. Have you tried having a real, meaninful conversation with someone who is totally wired in? The corporate controllers of this 'system' are like the spider slowly wrapping us in silk to drain us like psychic vampires sucking all of our energy. The constant bombardment of useless information keeps us confused about the true nature of reality and our real purpose in life and ironically blinds us to the true cost of our participation in the system, even causing us to ignore the slave factories with suicide nets to catch the hopeless workers who make the next 'gotta have it' device for we ugly fat americans who stand in line for them. The cosmic principles of cause and effect with a twist of irony will turn the tables on us and in that moment we will see our true condition and realize too late the actual cost we are all paying for this. Wake up Neo.

Ari said...

JAG,
I really need to see you this year.
Ari

Ari said...

JAG,
I really need to see you this year.
Ari

Anonymous said...

I take my son to the pool every Sunday. We swim and have fun. I see parents sitting outside of the pool on laptops and smart phones while their kids play. I even see one guy who who brings his IPhone into the pool in a waterproof case. Really? What the hell is wrong with people?

Bonk King

Anonymous said...

Im addicted to my iphone. It totally sucks!! Dont ever ever get one. Seriously.

Mike Feller

Ari said...

Sorry to get into this conversation but I am just in desbelief. I grew up in an inmigrant house. My father always told me how private people in America were. Nowadays you can here everything that is going on in their lives.People don't care to be sharing all their personal happenings in public. Am I missing something? My sister in law rented out a clubhouse to host a birthday party. We had a guest sit at the table the whole time on his i-pad.
Am I missing something?

JAG said...

Ari, I would text you my coordinates so you could utilize your navigation ap 2.0, but I don't know how to text or knw t lnge lol :), so you might get lost on the way using a fold out map. Maybe you could just hire Sacajawea. Yes Ari we must ride together again!!

kariotakis said...

thank very helpful

http://teleteskariotakis.gr