Thank you, Keir Graff

[bunnyjadwiga]

For summing up my thoughts on the subject:

I am so sick of “death of publishing” articles, so tired of talking about the ridiculously oversimplified “print versus web” argument that I could spit.

"Aleksandar Hemon and Jacob Weisberg Not Quite on the Same Page"
http://blog.booklistonline.com/2009/06/03/aleksandar-hemon-and-jacob-weisberg-not-quite-on-the-same-page/

One of the panelists brought up a side note: "When discussion turned to “the public sphere,” Hemon and Weisberg disagreed on what we’re losing as channels multiply, audiences grow more selective, and, above all, people stay indoors. Hemon lamented the loss of common conversation..."

I lived next door to a couple from Georgia (Soviet Union) for a while; the lady was continually astonished by the lack of an outdoor, social communal life in our neighborhood-- which was, being lower middle class, more social than most. I personally blame air conditioning for this trend. :)

Comments

[jdulac.livejournal.com]

I personally blame air conditioning for this trend. :)

I've heard cars blamed for it. In my neighborhood, which is full of triple-deckers on narrow residential streets, everyone has a front porch on every story. Old-timers who grew up here remember everyone sitting out on their front porches and hanging out, especially in summer. Nowadays, those porches are less heavily used and someone blamed it on the cars -- it isn't as nice to sit out there with so many cars going down the street.

Air conditioning and TV are probably bigger culprits... It used to be that the only place to be on a hot night (or day) was outdoors. I am old enough to have grown up in an era when summertime meant chucking the kids outdoors to "play" and expecting them home for dinner. Now I know families where young kids spend their play time in front of a computer and see the outdoors as rarely as the average office worker.