I was standing at the sandwich stall at lunch time today, waiting for my Cajun Chicken 'big boy' Roll when I noticed this stack of greeting cards next to me. They've always been there and I have, on occasion, browsed through them (I put this mainly down to boredom). So, between the time when I ordered my roll and the time the nice old lady handed it to me, I had a thought (which I smsed tomyself, lest I lost it) - greeting cards have become crude social indicators. Yes, I said it - social indicators.
If you look at the themes behind greeting cards - birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs etc - they all reflect patterns in what we, as human beings, do socially, and new trends in our social activities as well - look at this for an example, I saw a card today which roughly read, "You're leaving work to have a baby!". Now doesn't that point to the fact that more and more people are going on maternity leave? Agreed, as a social activity maternity leave isn't very rich in its substance, but the potential of greeting cards to act as social indicators is certainly there, isn't it? Especially nowadays. The fact that there is a greeting card detailing some activity means that that activity is being practiced on a regular basis, or at least an indication that that activity is being practiced more and more. Let's hope we never get greeting cards reading, "Hope the holocaust went well", or "Happy apocalypse!"
But all bad jokes aside (well, maybe we'll keep some in there for good measure), things are changing more raidly nowadays. To take another example, in the last decade digital pirates have become everything from social commentators to movie critics. I swear I was dumbfounded when, while downloading the torrent for some movie, I read the user comments - comments like, "artistically and visually, an excellent movie. Bruce Willis at his very best. Could do with a more well thought out sound track", and "what a crap movie! I don't believe anyone actually paid for that! Bad dialogue, poor acting - just Blair Witch Project in the middle of the ocean!" Artistically and visually?! You guys are pirating this movie! Who cares what you think?! You're not experts! Except, they sort of are (or have become) experts because they actually watch these movies and have built up a taste for what's good and what's bad (much like any other regular movie-watcher), and people do care what they think. Even me. I wouldn't download a movie if it's been branded crap by one of my fellow pirates.
Man, times are certainly changing. More dyslexic children, bigger wars, interactive porn. I was watching a television program the other night where they were describing this new concept. The viewer is capable of putting on a pornographic DVD and, instead of just watching it, is able to actually direct the action! Anal? No problem, just choose the option off the interactive menu. Is this going to give birth to a whole new generation of porn watchers - with dick in one hand and remote control in the other? So porn stars themselves are now straddling the line between actors/actresses and escorts/working girls and rent boys - virtual escorts at least, submitting to the viewers will (obviously within reason). the modern age really does b
oil down to the blurring of lines and boundaries, doesn't it? I built an entire MS Access database recently, having known absolutely nothing about MS Access in the beginning, with help almost entirely from the online community - forum sites and the like - from people who weren't even professional teachers. Or maybe they were - professional social teachers. I know what you're all thinking - Jesus Christ wasn't a professional teacher, but he taught. This is different though; now a wealth of knowledge is available at the touch of a button. It's amazing, and I love it!
I was reading an article online recently which hinted at people putting their gaming achievements down on their CVs. Amazing. It's amazing to think that the things you do in your virtual life should sit alongside the things you do in real life, and should be accepted by potential employers. The example the author of the article used was a person noting in their CV that they had run a guild in World of Warcraft. Looks like 'gaming', usually restricted to the 'Other Interests' section of your life story, is going to be making headlines in the main event.
I'm just in awe of nowadays, and it's not like we even notice how far we've come (which is quite sad). Nowadays we can do virtually anything, the possibilities are truly limitless.
If you look at the themes behind greeting cards - birthdays, anniversaries, new jobs etc - they all reflect patterns in what we, as human beings, do socially, and new trends in our social activities as well - look at this for an example, I saw a card today which roughly read, "You're leaving work to have a baby!". Now doesn't that point to the fact that more and more people are going on maternity leave? Agreed, as a social activity maternity leave isn't very rich in its substance, but the potential of greeting cards to act as social indicators is certainly there, isn't it? Especially nowadays. The fact that there is a greeting card detailing some activity means that that activity is being practiced on a regular basis, or at least an indication that that activity is being practiced more and more. Let's hope we never get greeting cards reading, "Hope the holocaust went well", or "Happy apocalypse!"
But all bad jokes aside (well, maybe we'll keep some in there for good measure), things are changing more raidly nowadays. To take another example, in the last decade digital pirates have become everything from social commentators to movie critics. I swear I was dumbfounded when, while downloading the torrent for some movie, I read the user comments - comments like, "artistically and visually, an excellent movie. Bruce Willis at his very best. Could do with a more well thought out sound track", and "what a crap movie! I don't believe anyone actually paid for that! Bad dialogue, poor acting - just Blair Witch Project in the middle of the ocean!" Artistically and visually?! You guys are pirating this movie! Who cares what you think?! You're not experts! Except, they sort of are (or have become) experts because they actually watch these movies and have built up a taste for what's good and what's bad (much like any other regular movie-watcher), and people do care what they think. Even me. I wouldn't download a movie if it's been branded crap by one of my fellow pirates.
Man, times are certainly changing. More dyslexic children, bigger wars, interactive porn. I was watching a television program the other night where they were describing this new concept. The viewer is capable of putting on a pornographic DVD and, instead of just watching it, is able to actually direct the action! Anal? No problem, just choose the option off the interactive menu. Is this going to give birth to a whole new generation of porn watchers - with dick in one hand and remote control in the other? So porn stars themselves are now straddling the line between actors/actresses and escorts/working girls and rent boys - virtual escorts at least, submitting to the viewers will (obviously within reason). the modern age really does b
oil down to the blurring of lines and boundaries, doesn't it? I built an entire MS Access database recently, having known absolutely nothing about MS Access in the beginning, with help almost entirely from the online community - forum sites and the like - from people who weren't even professional teachers. Or maybe they were - professional social teachers. I know what you're all thinking - Jesus Christ wasn't a professional teacher, but he taught. This is different though; now a wealth of knowledge is available at the touch of a button. It's amazing, and I love it!I was reading an article online recently which hinted at people putting their gaming achievements down on their CVs. Amazing. It's amazing to think that the things you do in your virtual life should sit alongside the things you do in real life, and should be accepted by potential employers. The example the author of the article used was a person noting in their CV that they had run a guild in World of Warcraft. Looks like 'gaming', usually restricted to the 'Other Interests' section of your life story, is going to be making headlines in the main event.
I'm just in awe of nowadays, and it's not like we even notice how far we've come (which is quite sad). Nowadays we can do virtually anything, the possibilities are truly limitless.
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