The Age of the Ass

Yeah, it may seem a little OT for this blog, but in many big ways it isn't. Ya know? Do ya?

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "Technology has not helped in this area. Cellphones are wonderful, but they empower the obnoxious and amplify the ignorant. Once they kept their thoughts to themselves. They had no choice. Now they have cellphones, into which they bark, 'I'm on line at Duane Reade. Yeah. Ex-Lax.' Oh, thank you for sharing. How much less my life would be if I didn't know.

BlackBerrys empower the obsessed. We wouldn't have them if the economy weren't high and we weren't pretty well off. Once, a political figure in New York invited me to a private dinner. I was seated next to him, and as the table conversation took off he leaned back, quietly took out his BlackBerry, and began to scroll. It occurred to me that if I said something live in person, it would not be as interesting to him as if I'd BlackBerryed him. It occurred to me that if I wanted to talk to him I'd have to BlackBerry him and say, 'Please talk to me.' And then he would get the message."