Amusing Ourselves to Death

Time for another instant 15 minutes of fame (for all the wrong reasons).

Neil Postman wrote a short, concise book about how technology changes public discourse and the way we communicate and perceive things called "Amusing Ourselves To Death".

Musician Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame) recorded a terrific album called "Amused To Death" which incorporated Postman's ideas.


I read the NY Post online the yesterday and saw that the Governor of New York resigned after being caught utilizing the services of high priced call girls (translation: prostitutes).


"What is the heart life of a colour TV? What is the shelf life of a teenage queen?"


I saw on the television news last night that one of the "call girls", a 22-year-old aspiring singer from New Jersey was identified. (No need to name her here, she'll be famous enough soon.)


"News hound sniffs the air, When Jessica Hahn goes down"


The news hound on my local station told me that this gal had a MySpace page and proceeded to show the girls MySpace photos.


No exageration here. The very first thought that went through my mind was, "I wonder if she'll get a million bucks from Playboy or Penthouse?"


"And the children of MelroseStrut their stuff. Is absolute zero cold enough? And out in the valley warm and clean. The little ones sit by their TV screens. No thoughts to think. No tears to cry. All sucked dry. Down to the very last breath. Bartender what is wrong with me? Why am I so out of breath? The captain said excuse me ma'am... This species has amused itself to death."


I expect at least temporary fame and fortune for the former hooker very shortly. Look for her to be mobbed by paparazzi while out for a night of club hopping with Paris or Brittney.


To drive home Postman's theories a bit, figure this: there was another well-known former prostitute. Her name was Mary Magdalene. Millions came to know that name over centuries through oral history, then print (starting with Guttenberg's Bible), then radio (evangelist broadcasts), then movies (the silent King of Kings), then television (ah, the History channel) and of course the Internet now (where you'll probably find hundreds of weird theories about her).


Today, it's instant fame. Millions have come to know this new former prostitute's name in a day.



"We did as we were told.
We bought and sold.
It was the greatest show on earth!
But then it was over.
We ohhed and aahed.
We drove our racing cars.
We ate our last few jars of caviar.
And somewhere out there in the stars
A keen-eyed look-out
Spied a flickering light
Our last hurrah
And when they found our shadows
Grouped around the TV sets
They ran down every lead
They repeated every test
They checked out all the data on their lists
And then the alien anthropologists
Admitted they were still perplexed
But on eliminating every other reason
For our sad demise
They logged the only explanation left
This species has amused itself to death
No tears to cry no feelings left
This species has amused itself to death"

And now, I'm part of the problem. Sending my opinions into cyberspace.

I'm getting grumpier by the minute.