Digitally disembodied
You are reading this on the Internet, so you have probably developed some level of digitally-enabled “ambient awareness” – a constantly-updated sense of what’s happening near and far. The Internet can extend our senses around the world, even if it’s just getting the latest snaps from family and friends.
In an excellent article in the New York Times, Clive Thompson talked about the cumulative effect of social media updates: “the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives.”
That’s the upside. The downside is that constantly looking at screens can cut you off from your other senses.
Having studied a number of languages and having taught English to Ukrainian and Syrian refugees for the last three years, I realise just how little use English spelling is as a guide to English pronunciation.
"You guys's" may not be elegant, but as a pragmatic plural it’s very functional and very English.
THE KEY QUESTIONS OF LIFE (AND DEATH)
- WHAT DO I NEED?
- WHAT ACTIONS COULD I PERFORM?
- WHAT DO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW?
SO... WHAT'S THE BEST THING TO DO NEXT?
For me, these Euros ticked all the boxes. The fact that it was women playing made it even more entertaining. What a cast of characters!
Whatever your news diet, do you ever ask yourself: how are they paying for this? how are you paying for this? And what does that mean for what you’re being shown?
I’m not grinding toward some finish line; I’m cultivating a relationship with these things that speak to something essential in me..
Relying on the USA to defend Europe from Russia has proved to be a very weak and stupid strategy. Trump has exposed the weakness and stupidity.
For me, disembodied “Learning About” is, at best, an appetizer for the real thing. That’s why I love the saying: “Knowledge is only a rumour until it’s in the muscle.”
Afer the death of Zakir Hussein, I have been casting my gaze apprehensively over other “stars” who have illuminated my musical firmament all these decades
