Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Beware ...

I’ve just spent ninety minutes trying to figure out who Lindsay Lohan is, why Rosie O’Donnell got fired from her TV show and what new grotesque photographs of Princess Diana’s death scene are about to be released on British TV. I could have spent that time playing with my three-year-old, reading the new Thomas Pynchon novel or doing sit-ups … but I didn’t. I used to think television, heroin, crack, cigarettes, sex, gambling or booze were the most frightening addictions to which a person could succumb but I’m having second thoughts. The Internet is a siphon that takes your time away while making you believe you’re doing something productive.

Labels:

9 Comments:

Blogger Lynda said...

Well I would have to agree with you on the addiction side - there is no greater way to 'pretend' to be 'doing' something that wasting time on the internet.

How did the Rotkohl turn out? I found it funny that an American living in Germany would turn to me living in Australia for a German recipe..LOL

12:27 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

:-) oh yes sooo true.....

3:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wish I didn't know who Lindsay Lohan is.

4:25 AM  
Blogger Berlinbound said...

Lynda ... It wasn't so much that I turned to you, more that I turned and you were there. Just that day I had been thinking about finding a recipe and there was yours. Haven't tried it yet - I'll report back.

Lillian ... Scary, no?

Natasha ... Yes, there's a growing list.

5:45 AM  
Blogger christina said...

Truer words were never spoken!

I don't care about Lindsay or Rosie or seeing Lady Di's last moments but I STILL manage to fritter away much too much time on this thing.

Better go do some situps.

1:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

in what way is tv any different? channel surfing without thought wastes just as much time. i spend a lot of time on the net, but it's time i enjoy which i never consider wasted, because it's a conscious choice to look for things that interest me, and return to those places i've found worthy.

2:39 PM  
Blogger Berlinbound said...

ian ... I suppose the only difference in that with tv I eventually fall asleep.

5:21 PM  
Blogger Held Hostage in Atlanta said...

One of the reasons I enjoy your (and other ex-pat's) blogs is that your insights and everyday experiences don't include such stuff as Lindsay, Rosie, etc., and make my time on the 'net feel more productive...or at least more profound.

Or, maybe it's just a massive rationalization. As they said in The Big Chill, "Don't knock rationalization... I don't know anybody who can get through the day with out 2 or 3 juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex." Did I just date myself?

11:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Held Hostage--I remember that line too and have quoted it myself. Jeff Goldblum delivered it on screen in The Big Chill. And no, we ARE NOT OLD. ; )

I spend a lot of time online, some of it worthwhile, some of it frittered away. I remind myself that before I was attached to the computer I was constantly reading magazines and catalogs and newspapers and it's much the same. Feeding my brain tidbits of information, some nutritious, some like junk food.

9:30 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home