I Just Can't Stand It

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by wolf

After being exposed to Hep, TB, and STDs today (that's a healthcare mandatory training joke), instead of heading right home to contemplate some really awful photographs that are part of the training in solitude, I decided to head to the Target to hook up on some Easter Stuff, since I accidentally found out that Easter is this weekend by listening to the radio this morning. Hey, when you're not a Christian, you miss that whole Palm Sunday thing, you know?

So, anyway ... I was in the Target and was reflecting on that very issue of burgeoning stupidity. Not a cause, to be sure, but a consequence ... The DVD section was THREE TIMES the size of the book section. More than THREE TIMES if you don't count the aisle of coloring and activity books as books. Four times, if you ONLY calculate based on the adult book section.

yeah, I'm using a lot of capital letters. But this is upsetting to me.

And I don't think the difference is entirely driven by the popularity of ereaders.

It's the rise of stupid.

At Wally World about all you can buy are God Books, Amish Romance, and whatever wampire/werewolf/stoopid fantasy creature series is popular right now. There you go, the dumbing down, the rise of stupid. Sheep.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

At Wally World about all you can buy are God Books, Amish Romance, and whatever wampire/werewolf/stoopid fantasy creature series is popular right now. There you go, the dumbing down, the rise of stupid. Sheep.

amazon reaches everywhere. And, FWIW, the wallyworld website has a much broader range of interesting reading than you would expect.

Perhaps a means of combatting stupid is to take books you are done with and leave them in places where people wait. Doctor's offices, bus stops, auto mechanic shops, whatever. Maybe they'll get thrown out when someone is cleaning up, but maybe they'll get picked up and read and change someone in a positive, even if small, way.

[infinite monkey]

Oh yes, I get a lot of movies and books from Amazon.

Probably the local wally world caters to our locals. But I have found books there...it's not like a Barnes and Nobles or anything though.

I find Amish Romance to be a really hilarious genre. I'm waiting for the Robot Romance craze. What are the chances of two crazy young robots finding love?

I like the idea of leaving books, except I keep all my books. I would like to leave them around for car sitters and bench sitters. Car sitters who wait for whoever they got in the store, sitting staring straight ahead, looking at nothing. Bench sitters who wait for their turn to see an FA person, who sit and stare straight ahead, looking at everybody who walks by. I think "hey, maybe if you used that time to crack open a book you wouldn't be sitting there waiting to talk about what happens when you drop or fail your class."