Repetition TV is turning our brains from mush into puree

It's not bad enough that quality, educational and intellect-stimulating TV shows are a dying breed, an alarming trend has developed for repeating salient facts within shows, sometimes up to 5 times within an hour. What is this? Are our memories assumed to be so poor that we need reminding every ten minutes what the show's about? Are most shows so short on content that repetition is the only way to make up the footage minutes? Or is it simply that in this world of increasingly short attention spans, where scanning has taken the place of reading, where automation has replaced effort, where deep thinking and contemplation is no longer encouraged, that repetition TV is the only way to keep our brains engaged?

I find this really frightening. I rarely watch television these days, but when I do, I often find myself the victim of repetition TV. It leaves my brain feeling so undernourished that I feel compelled to do something intellectual like puzzle-solving straight after to prevent the death of a few brain cells. But I wonder how many people feel the same way. I suspect most don't, and are happy to sit in front of the idiot box, brain cells dying by the minute. Certainly the prevalence of commercially successful vapid TV shows would suggest so.

Fashion dictates that trends will be reversed. When balloon skirts are in, it is practically ordained that pencil skirts will be in the next season. Let's hope that the season for dumb, repetitive TV shows is just that - a season with an end date. Let's hope that it will be replaced by a season of stimulating and brain-expanding shows that leave us feeling we've learned something and our brain cells have multiplied rather than died. Let's also hope this happens before the current kids' generation, who are growing up with vapid TV, isn't beyond redemption.

Can 'thinking time' be sold as part of a project?

As I sit here finishing up the tail end of a long, intense and fast-paced project, it occurs to me that we really didn't have enough thinking time on it. I mean time to *really* think about design alternatives, think through implications of our design decisions, bounce ideas off third parties etc. The sort of time that bears inspirational fruit. The sort of time that creates 'eureka!' moments. Sigh.

In the end we ended up spending more time documenting our decisions for the client's benefit than really thinking through them. This is such a shame, and a risk to the client and our overall solution. Why can't we sell thinking time? Why can't clients accept that it is a fundamental and necessary component of design? Project plan, Schmoject plan. If a client could sit in on one of our 'war rooms' at work, see the number of post-its, sketches, printouts, and random scribbles etc. on the walls, floor and desks they might realise the value of this sort of thinking time and cough up the cash for it. Maybe.

Feeling mildly rejected (on Facebook)

Is it dumb to feel a bit rejected when you find out someone's removed you as a friend, even if you didn't particularly like him and thought he was a wanker? I just happened to look this guy up on a whim, and lo and behold, he was no longer in my friends list. And then I looked a little further and found an ex, and some of his friends, who used to be my friends.... who haven't added me as a friend.... sigh.

Erk. Facebook can be great in so many ways, but can also leave you feeling a bit socially excluded at times. Darn, I should just be happy with the 220+ friends I have, shouldn't I?

The charity 'click'

More and more organisations and people are jumping on the 'click to give' bandwagon. This is where you can click on a button online, or even download a small text file, and by doing do, donate sponsorship money to a cause. I think it's great - it's so easy, and so accessible. Everyone should be giving in this vein. I now subscribe to The Hunger Site which also links off to sites for Breast Cancer, Child Literacy etc., Project Download, where a girl is trying to raise money for medical treatment, and Freerice.com where you can even improve your vocabulary and spelling while clicking to give. If everybody did this every day, imagine what a difference we could all make.

Animal rape?

This week I have witnessed what I believe to be a pigeon mating ritual: a highly ruffled-up male pigeon doing a weird head-bobbing dance, while following a female pigeon. I've seen this a couple of times in the same place, so I'm not sure if it's the same pigeon(s) each time. However, on each occasion the female is beating a hasty retreat, while the male is getting himself all worked up.

It's made me think: how often is animal mating 'rape' as we define it (i.e., sex without consent)? I mean, I know about animals being on heat, and mating cycles etc., but more often than not, I see male birds persisting in chasing seemingly unwilling female birds. Intrigued, I did a bit of 'net research, and while I haven't been able to find any authoritative writings on the subject (guess I'd have to go to a proper library for that) I did find some interesting forum postings.

There were debates on whether we can apply a 'human' term to animal behaviour; debates on what constitutes lack of consent in animals; and reports about 'rape-like' behaviour in dolphins, mallard ducks, dogs and a variety of monkeys. It appears that some animal behaviour definitely falls under our definition of rape. I doubt if anyone has measured how widespread it is though. Maybe because, if found to be prolific, it could fuel dangerous thoughts in male humans?

In a stupid question post John Ruch tells us:

"...animal rape has been a major controversy between biological determinists and social scientists for 30 years. The former think that animal rape demonstrates that rape may be genetically hardwired into human males, while the latter say that’s a weak inference and that consciousness and culture make our behavior much more complex than that. (I only caricature the extreme positions; there are many middle-grounders.)"

Hmmmm. Instinct vs. Evolved consciousness? That's a debate for another day.

Medium vs. Ghost Whisperer

I just saw an ad for a new series of 'Ghost Whisperer' which is soon to be screened on telly, and I am pissed off. Ghost Whisperer is a dumbed-down, boob-enhanced version of Medium with scant plot or character development. It's also got Jennifer Love Hewitt in it dressed in skimpy clothes (see reference to boob-enhanced earlier). And where, I ask, is Season 3 of Medium? I've only been waiting 8 months for the next season of my favourite show! A show with a fascinating theme, which is well written, with real characters, and heart. No wonderbras there!

Yet another disturbing sign that tv today is becoming more and more the domain of the vapid. But you knew that already.

I'm going to try and contain my nausea and hope with all my might that Medium carries on. And comes back soon! *sob*

Beware, Jehovah's Witnesses are now targetting bus stops

A Jehovah's Witness handed me a leaflet today while I was waiting at a bus stop. The leaflet was entitled "All suffering SOON TO END!"

I read it out of curiosity. So, so many points to marvel at in that there little leaflet. My favourite quote: "All the evidence shows that we are nearing the end of man's tragic experiment in independence from God". I didn't know these people were also scientists, and took objective measures to prove or disprove their hypotheses. Interesting!

As well as entertaining me somewhat, today's little encounter made me think about who religious types often target: loners. I was by myself at this bus stop. It reminded me of an occasion some years ago at Melbourne University. It was a Saturday, and I was doing some work for the Convention Centre. I was on a very short lunch break and eating my sandwich when I was approached by a young girl who started asking me all sorts of very focused questions about me - what I studied, what my family was like, what I was into etc. I was sceptical about why she was talking to me... people don't generally initiate these kinds of conversations. Finally she asked me if I read the bible and I thought "a-ha!". I asked her if she was recruiting for a Christian group, and she admitted she was. I just lost it and blasted her for approaching me on false pretenses (hello... aren't you Christian?) and wasting my precious lunch break. These people can be so manipulative! And that wasn't the first time that had happened either. Must be my sweet and innocent face that lures them... ;)