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Sad as Hell

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Re: Sad as Hell

#61

Post by Psyonic »

lionhearted wrote: post #30
Semiapies wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is entirely voluntary. For instance, I know that Bieber exists, and I can probably count on my fingers how many times I've seen pictures of him. I found the one or two songs of his I've heard innocuous and utterly forgettable - I probably couldn't identify him if I heard those very same songs again. I'm not even aware precisely why he's the go-to example of annoying celebrity, lately. I'm not utterly isolated fr…

> This is entirely voluntary. Indeed, and I've pretty much done it. But it takes effort. You need credible replacements for the mindless time, and then you need to actively push yourself towards the new stuff as opposed to the old stuff. The credible replacements is everything. If you commute by car, you need either: -Some audiotapes/audiobooks/podcasts -Someone to carpool with -Some way of not driving any more (car…

You're also in a different country, where you don't understand the pop culture around you, and you're far removed from yours. When I spent a month in Thailand I didn't even have to try, but back in the states it's not quite so easy.

Re: Sad as Hell

#62

Post by Psyonic »

jamii wrote: post #33
SourPatch wrote: post #7

"It is my firm belief, and I say this as a dictum, that all these tools now at our disposal, these things part of this explosive evolution of means of communication, mean we are now heading for an era of solitude. Along with this rapid growth of forms of communication at our disposal — be it fax, phone, email, internet or whatever — human solitude will increase in direct proportion." -Werner Herzog

Thanks to the internet I can work anywhere in the world. Thanks to HN, Reddit and my RSS reader I can keep up with the cutting edge of my profession whereever I go. Thanks to email, jabber, skype and facebook I can travel the world without losing touch with my friends and family. Thanks to couchsurfing.org I've made friends all over the world and experienced dozens of different cultures. If the internet is making you…

I don't understand the obsession with working anywhere in the world. Yes, you can... and? Do you really want to be traveling all the time? If so, that's a good thing to have... but I just can't sympathize. I like to travel, but it's also nice to feel home.

Re: Sad as Hell

#63

Post by Mz »

jamii wrote: post #33
SourPatch wrote: post #7

"It is my firm belief, and I say this as a dictum, that all these tools now at our disposal, these things part of this explosive evolution of means of communication, mean we are now heading for an era of solitude. Along with this rapid growth of forms of communication at our disposal — be it fax, phone, email, internet or whatever — human solitude will increase in direct proportion." -Werner Herzog

Thanks to the internet I can work anywhere in the world. Thanks to HN, Reddit and my RSS reader I can keep up with the cutting edge of my profession whereever I go. Thanks to email, jabber, skype and facebook I can travel the world without losing touch with my friends and family. Thanks to couchsurfing.org I've made friends all over the world and experienced dozens of different cultures. If the internet is making you…

Solitude and loneliness are not the same thing. Some people like their solitude and are probably happy that alternate means to communicate empower them to enjoy more of it.

(My attitude seems to be evolving into: "Don't friggin' call me and expect me to drop everything to chat with you. Shoot me an email and I will get back to you within a reasonable period of time without dropping everything like it's some crisis." And I'm a former phone-junkie.)

Re: Sad as Hell

#64

Post by jholman »

Ixiaus wrote: post #32
jholman wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> his her If you can't check your sexist assumptions, then you could check the byline.

I was referring to both the author and Shteyngart using the masculine pronoun to make what I had written, "more personal" (instead of using "they"); a bit loose, I know, but this is a casual discussion medium.

Wow. I've often heard people complain about using "they" as a non-gendered singular pronoun because it was inaccurate, but I've never before had someone argue against it because it was _too_ accurate. I guess what I'm saying is that the stylistic choice you say you made (to use a singular pronoun when referring to two people, one of whom was male), totally confused me.

I note that nothing in this piece discusses Shteyngart leaving college (where the college link was how I resolved the pronoun in your first paragraph), and that surely Shteyngart will not write a follow-up to "this piece", (which is how I resolved the pronoun reference in your last paragraph). I guess I just don't understand how the male pronouns in your comment refer to Shteyngart.

Re: Sad as Hell

#65

Post by jamii »

Psyonic wrote: post #62
jamii wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks to the internet I can work anywhere in the world. Thanks to HN, Reddit and my RSS reader I can keep up with the cutting edge of my profession whereever I go. Thanks to email, jabber, skype and facebook I can travel the world without losing touch with my friends and family. Thanks to couchsurfing.org I've made friends all over the world and experienced dozens of different cultures. If the internet is making you…

I don't understand the obsession with working anywhere in the world. Yes, you can... and? Do you really want to be traveling all the time? If so, that's a good thing to have... but I just can't sympathize. I like to travel, but it's also nice to feel home.

> Do you really want to be traveling all the time?

Personally, yes. I'm aware that this is unusual. Maybe I will settle down one day but the few times I have tried so far I have experienced what I can only describe as cabin fever.

> ... it's also nice to feel home

I suppose that I do have the same instinct to seek out shelter/security/safety, manifested in an irrational fondness for my tent and the few other belongings I carry with me.

Re: Sad as Hell

#66

Post by jamii »

Mz wrote: post #63
jamii wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks to the internet I can work anywhere in the world. Thanks to HN, Reddit and my RSS reader I can keep up with the cutting edge of my profession whereever I go. Thanks to email, jabber, skype and facebook I can travel the world without losing touch with my friends and family. Thanks to couchsurfing.org I've made friends all over the world and experienced dozens of different cultures. If the internet is making you…

Solitude and loneliness are not the same thing. Some people like their solitude and are probably happy that alternate means to communicate empower them to enjoy more of it. (My attitude seems to be evolving into: "Don't friggin' call me and expect me to drop everything to chat with you. Shoot me an email and I will get back to you within a reasonable period of time without dropping everything like it's some crisis."…

> Some people like their solitude and are probably happy that alternate means to communicate empower them to enjoy more of it.

It's not just communication but the ability to easily keep track of where people are in the world and to coordinate meetings and shared holidays. Facebook is particularly good for keeping in touch with old friends and acquaintances because of the contextual information it supplies. I saw recently that a friend I haven't seen in years is spending a month in Thailand and I arranged to change my travel plans so that I would be passing through during the same period. We weren't close enough friends that we would still be in touch if it wasn't for those kinds of coincidental connections.

I also meet a lot of new people through couchsurfing.org and various expat sites. Couchsurfing is particularly interesting because its goal is explicitly to create friendships between people of different cultures. I would probably be much more lonely when traveling without it.

Re: Sad as Hell

#67

Post by Psyonic »

jamii wrote: post #65
Psyonic wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the obsession with working anywhere in the world. Yes, you can... and? Do you really want to be traveling all the time? If so, that's a good thing to have... but I just can't sympathize. I like to travel, but it's also nice to feel home.

> Do you really want to be traveling all the time? Personally, yes. I'm aware that this is unusual. Maybe I will settle down one day but the few times I have tried so far I have experienced what I can only describe as cabin fever. > ... it's also nice to feel home I suppose that I do have the same instinct to seek out shelter/security/safety, manifested in an irrational fondness for my tent and the few other belongin…

Fair enough. Enjoy traveling!
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