As I was riding the G train back from a Greenpointe party last night, an ad for Dentyne chewing gum caught my attention. Somehow it felt like a follow-up to yesterday’s post.
“Power down.
Log off.
Unplug.
Have mercy on your thumbs.
Browse the world wide something else.
Send some not-so-instant messages.
Undo.
Hit cancel.
Be together.
Make face time.”
ADDENDUM — OCT 3
It turns out I wasn’t the only one touched by the above ad at a dead hour on the G. In fact, it seemed to have caused quite a wave of reactions. Here’s an interesting article about it from The New York Times.
(…)
And next Sunday, G train will be hot! All the ways will lead to Greenpoint :).
Straight to the point, that ad.
Straight to the point, that ad.
Hi Anja! I really liked the connection between your (heart-breaking) last post and this one. I too feel slightly ambivalent about the current social networking craze… it feels a bit like Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets William Gibson. Surreal science fiction. But then I think of the blogs that I love and the stories that make me feel connected to others… and about how much I enjoy writing my own. We are living in a weird kind of virtual village.
Maybe you'll like this poem I heard on the Radio by Matt Harvey for Matthew Ahmet, a young Londoner who gave it all up to become a Shaolin monk in China. You can read it here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/saturdaylive/mattharvey.shtml
And see a clip of Matthew here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEwTKw_-Uq8&feature=related
Yes, that ad really got me, Jenny!
A weird kind of virtual village it is, Monna! I love your Gabriel Garcia Marquez meets William Gibson comparison. It does feel that way at times, definitely.
Thanks for the poem, Heather! Loved it. I think so many of us are struggling with the same issues these days. It’s good to voice it sometimes.