I was in New York this week, and unfortunately cell phones have lowered the collective intelligence of pedestrians. When I lived the city, few people would walk down the street with their face stuck in The New York Times while wearing large, sound proof earmuffs. Now, everyone is doing the digital equivalent, and it’s not just oblivious tourists in Times Square. It’s especially frustrating when I’m trying to keep people from slamming into my son’s wheelchair. We were at Comic-Con yesterday and it was safer than a city street because the crowds were at least aware of their surroundings.
It occurs to me that we haven’t really evolved any meaningful etiquette around smart phone usage. For instance, decades ago, you might read a newspaper, magazine, or a book while eating alone at a late-night diner, but you’d never do this at a fancy restaurant. However, I’ve seen people have full-on conversations on their phones while the waiter is trying to tell them about the wine list. On the train ride up from Washington DC, the guy next to me spoke on his phone the entire time. This technology keeps us constantly connected while disconnecting everyone from the people physically around them.
If air traffic control allows, I return to Portland today and will continue my Simpsons Halloween marathon on the plane. I’m now up to Treehouse of Horror XII from November 6, 2001. This was a difficult period when the Halloween special aired after Halloween. Was nothing sacred anymore post 9/11? This one includes a Harry Potter spoof that has no references to J.K. Rowling’s open bigotry. There was no social media so she just kept quiet and cashed her checks. It was a simpler time.
One of my favorite bits is Homer rushing into a room with a balloon that he clearly stole from a child and boasting, “Ah, the perfect crime .. Marge, I have to be in court next Tuesday.”
My Halloween subscription sale is still in effect. I’m offering 40 percent off annual subscriptions until Halloween. That means you can help keep this newsletter in stolen balloons for just $48 a year. Thanks to all who have upgraded to paid subscriber status recently. In lieu of cat photos, I’m sharing photos of my seasonal decor: This one’s a skeleton lantern! It casts no light, though, so that’s really spooky.
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Here’s what ran this week.
I was thinking the same thing about cellphones and pedestrians and Portland when a similarly "blinkered and muffled" young man staring at his phone meandered across MLK and DIDN'T EVEN LOOK LEFT OR RIGHT AT THE FOUR LANES OF TRAFFIC. I earnestly hope to end my lifetime driving career without hitting or killing anyone.
Hell this article reminds me of the promise of the Internet, and it then evolved into just another convenient vehicle for crooks to hurt us. And then you get a lot of people who take the limitless information of the Internet and decide they want to suffer medieval maladies.