Even though I am not hard of hearing, I find CLOSED CAPTION
TV very useful. Even viewing videos, I am annoyed by garbled conversation.
Often the caption can CLARIFY the dialogue. How pleasant to actually
make some sense of all that song lyric gibberish!
I am no technical brain , but I must ask : Can't radio sets in the
near future also have built in to them a CLOSED CAPTION device with
a screen ( even a print out ! ) ?
Just think how silly a transcript of most talk shows will seem !
In many ways radio has even more potential than TV. People can
listen to radio while they are working. Watching TV on the job is
almost always shilly-shallying .
And would CLOSED CAPTION RADIO be cheap enough to be
marketable ?
Monday, August 31, 1998
Harrop,Kerr letters SILLY
Two recently published letters commenting on Kerr and Harrop
columns were unusually SILLY!
Not because they disagreed with the points of view :
One of letter writers imagines Kerr to be clinically MISERABLE
because he was dismayed by library vandalism. ( Should we recommend
" The Power of Positive Thinking " for Bob Kerr ? )
The other letter writer recommends mental health therapy for
Aroma Harrop. I guess only the imbalanced will not be cheerleaders
for the STARR CHAMBER proceedings.
I recommend " People of the Lie " for Froma. ( The author, Scott
Peck, does not regret ALL his infidelities ! )
Perhaps one sign of mental health is not even taking yourself
and your weighty OPINIONS too seriously .
The letter writers are perhaps themselves in need of medical
attention. Or a new astrologer !
columns were unusually SILLY!
Not because they disagreed with the points of view :
One of letter writers imagines Kerr to be clinically MISERABLE
because he was dismayed by library vandalism. ( Should we recommend
" The Power of Positive Thinking " for Bob Kerr ? )
The other letter writer recommends mental health therapy for
Aroma Harrop. I guess only the imbalanced will not be cheerleaders
for the STARR CHAMBER proceedings.
I recommend " People of the Lie " for Froma. ( The author, Scott
Peck, does not regret ALL his infidelities ! )
Perhaps one sign of mental health is not even taking yourself
and your weighty OPINIONS too seriously .
The letter writers are perhaps themselves in need of medical
attention. Or a new astrologer !
Sunday, August 30, 1998
Mental illness and the soul
Scientists everywhere are mentally conditioned to seek a
a scientific explanation of all phenomena, They routinely put aside
superstitious , supernatural, metaphysical explanations and seek a
" simple " - MATERIALISTIC - explanations, even for the baffling
social problem of mental illness. Epilepsy, for example, was once thought
to be a form of demonic possession. A famous ancient Greek physician
figured out what it really was - a brain disease .
Our society takes stock in the quasi-theological idea of
FREE WILL. It is our most respectable LIE. We routinely clamor for
death penalty for the criminally insane killer. If a man has a diseased
heart or a diseased liver, we usually do not see this as absolute proof
of an evil soul. But the human brain is an ORGAN just like the heart or
liver. Being more complex it is all the more likely to malfunction.
A diseased brain deserves as much medical attention as a diseased
heart or liver. As far as science is concerned the product of the
brain - thoughts, ideas, consciousness - this product is inseparable
from the physical organ.
But when we put the deranged criminal on trial, we judge his SOUL
to be wicked. And where in the physical brain resides the soul ?
All our babble about EVIL in an individual - like psychopath
Craig Price for example - just ignorantly IGNORES an everyday fact
of medical science : ANY body organ can malfunction !
On the brink of 2000, we still think DARK AGE thoughts !
a scientific explanation of all phenomena, They routinely put aside
superstitious , supernatural, metaphysical explanations and seek a
" simple " - MATERIALISTIC - explanations, even for the baffling
social problem of mental illness. Epilepsy, for example, was once thought
to be a form of demonic possession. A famous ancient Greek physician
figured out what it really was - a brain disease .
Our society takes stock in the quasi-theological idea of
FREE WILL. It is our most respectable LIE. We routinely clamor for
death penalty for the criminally insane killer. If a man has a diseased
heart or a diseased liver, we usually do not see this as absolute proof
of an evil soul. But the human brain is an ORGAN just like the heart or
liver. Being more complex it is all the more likely to malfunction.
A diseased brain deserves as much medical attention as a diseased
heart or liver. As far as science is concerned the product of the
brain - thoughts, ideas, consciousness - this product is inseparable
from the physical organ.
But when we put the deranged criminal on trial, we judge his SOUL
to be wicked. And where in the physical brain resides the soul ?
All our babble about EVIL in an individual - like psychopath
Craig Price for example - just ignorantly IGNORES an everyday fact
of medical science : ANY body organ can malfunction !
On the brink of 2000, we still think DARK AGE thoughts !
Saturday, August 29, 1998
Why I hate talk shows
I gave up TV watching years ago . What an ignorant and
absurd circus. But now I find radio just as bad. Most talk shows - the
arrogant, loud mouthed hosts and dumb and dumber callers -are the
intellectual pits of our times.
The same jackasses check in every day . Many annoy the listener
by taking forever to make a point. Other frequent callers are hit
and run artists.
How much I prefer the written word or the e- mail letter. You
have to THINK first before typing words out on a keyboard. The receiver
of the letter can pay as much or as little attention to it as he or she
pleases.
I NEVER call talk shows because I insist on having a little time
to think about unpredictable questions that arise in a controversy.
Those regular talk show callers just need a chattering mouth and
a spinal cord.
The talk show hosts are rarely a cut above the callers - just
more articulate and arrogant.
Just now I hear an idiot host that Boston could be made blissful
if only the police would confiscate cars that are double parked !
Just double park once and you lose your car to the city!
" Oh they'll cry fascism but the problem will be solved ". ( near
quote )
In the real world space AND time is precious. Stupid talk show
hosts and their callers are hogging precious air time.
Listening to them is hazardous to your sanity !
absurd circus. But now I find radio just as bad. Most talk shows - the
arrogant, loud mouthed hosts and dumb and dumber callers -are the
intellectual pits of our times.
The same jackasses check in every day . Many annoy the listener
by taking forever to make a point. Other frequent callers are hit
and run artists.
How much I prefer the written word or the e- mail letter. You
have to THINK first before typing words out on a keyboard. The receiver
of the letter can pay as much or as little attention to it as he or she
pleases.
I NEVER call talk shows because I insist on having a little time
to think about unpredictable questions that arise in a controversy.
Those regular talk show callers just need a chattering mouth and
a spinal cord.
The talk show hosts are rarely a cut above the callers - just
more articulate and arrogant.
Just now I hear an idiot host that Boston could be made blissful
if only the police would confiscate cars that are double parked !
Just double park once and you lose your car to the city!
" Oh they'll cry fascism but the problem will be solved ". ( near
quote )
In the real world space AND time is precious. Stupid talk show
hosts and their callers are hogging precious air time.
Listening to them is hazardous to your sanity !
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