Among the many, many, many remembrances, Ross Douthat's takes the form of an ironic, grudging concession that Steve Jobs was a revolutionary even for late-adopters like him. The last outpouring of response this big to a death I can remember was when Michael Jackson died. Speaks to the way media and consumer culture have crept into everyday life. The number of people who hadn't had Michael Jackson as soundtrack to some part of their life was like the number who haven't tapped at a sleek Apple product. Not that many.
Speaking of products, neat stuff happening at a tech school in Boston. Can't say I ever went to class in the ... Liberty Mutual Alternative Fuels Lab. But these kids do.
I happen to think Mormons of a certain age have plenty to answer for on their, um, policy platforms, but the loose-lipped accusations of a Rick Perry endorser only make Mitt Romney look more like the Proverbial Adult in the Room, and that's the kind Republicans like to nominate. Not sure how long this 10-gallon hat can stay afloat.
The bigger, more serious point, is how generally accusatory our politics have become. Not just the gaffes on the campaign trail, but all this un-American, un-Christian food-flinging. I just don't think this happened back in the day. Even back in my high-school days, when Clinton was fending off Whitewater and sex scandals, there was at least the shadow (well, sometimes more than that) of a basis for the attacks. Are the instant media the cause, or just a symptom?
Finally, I want comments. I'm not expecting 972 per post, but some would be great. I just changed the comments setting so all you need is a Google account to get in. Hop on board!
Love the wide variety of topics you comment on here. I always fear if I were to dive into blogging that I would not really know what I'm talking about, but you don't seem to have that problem! I feel like I can learn a lot about random topics that I may not pay strong attention to on my own!
ReplyDeleteI can fully confess to being a mostly-happy user of some Apple products, but on the Michael Jackson front, I never did adapt his stuff into any parts of my life. Maybe something to do with my parents warning me about the dangers of rock and roll or something vaguely confusing like that.
Glad you like it and find it informative, Thom! I'm trying to focus on a couple strength areas while being open to more-diverse topics. We'll see how the balance goes moving forward.
ReplyDeleteAs for Michael Jackson, I think it's true that the amount he infiltrated everyday life depends on your age. There's a cut-off: I don't think today's teens are exactly bumping to "Thriller." The mass-market mourning for him may be based on who controls the airwaves (radio and TV)--older folks for whom both MJ's early Jackson Five work and later solo corpus were inescapable.