possession, possessor, possessed.

Today I would like to rant about why the modern world is so unbelievably superficial. Why we prize digital TV with 5 million channels, PlayStations, and electronic gadgets over things that really matter, like spending time with family, doing exercise, and so on. It's not so much a case of 'the things we own end up owning us' (Fight Club mantra) but more an unwillingness to detach ourselves from the excesses of the materialistic world. People should find it lamentable that a general pervasive lack of sagacity has spread throughout this once-proud nation. Sagacious or not, I find myself longing for an escape from the quotidian mundanity of urban life, seeking consequent refuge in more imperturbable rustic surroundings. Perhaps I am digressing.



In the ongoing debate about 'do violent video games make psychopathic children' or the similarly posed question, 'do violent films make James Bulger killers', I would like to say, simply, that it's a crock of shit. First of all, everyone, in particular civil libertarian-types (whom I loathe completely) will, at the slightest provocation, let you know that freedom and free will are of paramount importance in a developed society. (Ironically, this is the Western world's biggest problem: no discipline and control.) Viewing Child's Play 3 does not automatically turn you into, say, Ian Brady. Second of all, how a child interprets a violent film is mainly down to the upbringing it has received up until that particular point. Suppose that child's parents are advocates of hitting people because they can't get their own way, or using violence to get what they want. The child will have seen his/her parents react as they are wont to do and conclude that this is the 'normal' way to get a result. In that sense, the violent film has a painfully insignificant effect on the child because he/she has already been conditioned to believe that social violence is acceptable. Finally, if we are all led to believe that free will really is of the greatest importance, then people should also be accountable for their actions. In short, you can't cut the cake both ways. In legal terms, a 10-year-old is still capable of exhibiting a mens rea. (guilty conscience or knowledge that an act is wrong and illegal) Why then are they tried and sentenced as if they were of infantile cerebral development?



I have found a solution around the stupid broken hi-fi. (see entry of 3rd Sept) I will use my CD walkman and plug it into the DC supply, then use the line out cord to lead into the hi-fi and out through the speakers, thus bypassing the CD changer. The speakers aren't the problem, and it worked in theory and practice, as evidenced last night. It also goes plenty loud enough, 100W each i think. Good save.



Proms later this evening, the last of which I have tickets for. The programme is Debussy, La Mer, and Messaien, Eclairs sur l'au-dela, concerning glimpses of the world after death. So, a relaxing evening's viewing then.