This weekend I attended Zurich Pride. I first joined decades ago and the event is celebrating its thirtieth year. It used to be called CSD but changed its name to Pride in recent years. In the past it was a protest, a celebration and a party, a place where homosexuals have their annual moment in… Continue reading The Commercialisation of the Pride parade
Tag: social media
Never Less Free
In my life I have never felt less free to express my opinions. What have we done to the world? There have always been generational differences and youthful rebellion. What is unusual at the moment is that the older generations are saying that we need more freedom and should welcome different perspectives and ways of… Continue reading Never Less Free
The Philosophy of the Masses
Today church bells are ringing like crazy while people kill other people in the lands where this cult is said to have started. The bells are not in protest at the killing but are rather a reminder of power and authority. Most people used to have religion to tell them what to think; some still… Continue reading The Philosophy of the Masses
vinyl records and the Hollywood actors strike
Commercially successful popular musicians used to make most of their money out of vinyl sales, albums and singles throughout the 1950s to 1980s. Touring used to be commercially significant for promotion purposes – to increase record sales and consequently to increase overall earnings. Then in the 1990s P2P file sharing came along, then Napster and… Continue reading vinyl records and the Hollywood actors strike
live music concerts
I saw some concerts at an outdoor festival recently. With well-known performers, the audience seems to be waiting for one or two familiar hit songs and, in the meantime, they chat or look at their phones while the artists run through the rest of their repertoire. Then they play the familiar hit and suddenly I… Continue reading live music concerts
Contemporary Totalitarianism and the Successors of the Red Guard
I recently read about the Four Olds of the Chinese Cultural Revolution which were Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Customs, and Old Habits. The campaign by the Red Guard against these took place because they are pre-communist ideas and so they needed to be replaced with other things more in line with communist thought.I wonder… Continue reading Contemporary Totalitarianism and the Successors of the Red Guard
the collective insanity of social media
Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion shout about climate change being the greatest threat humans face. I disagree. The greatest threat humans face is social media. I grew up without this and have watched as it developed and became the dominant force in people’s lives that is now is. Walking around, people in the street look… Continue reading the collective insanity of social media
shouting the loudest
Maybe, in a world highly influenced by social media, the loudest voices are those which evoke strong emotional responses. These are the voices who are liked (and disliked) into our social media feeds – the silent majority does not react any more. Those who should the loudest are on the extremes of opinion. Personally I… Continue reading shouting the loudest
modern day sophists
I think that is is interesting to listen to Milo Yiannopoulos and Ben Shapiro on YouTube. They are both excellent debaters, Milo in particular is charismatic and persuasive, Ben is obnoxious but also persuasive. Sometimes they will argue based on numbers and facts, sometimes they will discredit or ridicule their opponents personally, sometimes they appeal… Continue reading modern day sophists