Quote from Douglas Adams
Has anyone ever noticed the generational shift of America’s sport from baseball to football and basketball, etc? Everyone, Americans in particular, are so obsessed with time that it’s no wonder that the shift was from an un-timed and arguably dull sport to sports inarguably transfixed on time. I wonder what it would feel like to not be so conscious of the passage of time. Sometimes, I dither between time as absolutely relative and time as the only constant. And of course, Twitter is somehow strewn throughout my brooding.
If timing is everything — what you say, when you say it, how you’ve said it and who will see it — think of the infinite possibilities of saying the right thing at the right time so the right person will see it? I don’t want to be a slave to time though, carefully assessing timing to optimize results. But wait, aren’t we all opportunists in a sense? Don’t we all mind the time?
Crazy that you say that! I used to be obsessed with basketball, but finding no time for it now I’m leaning towards baseball. Strange, isn’t it? I think that I found myself tuning into the last 5 minutes of a basketball game for the most exciting chunks, while baseball has random excitement throughout.
Hahaha. This is why Americans cannot stand soccer.
As per saying the right thing: I say never underestimate the audience’s willingness to (mis)construe what is said in a better light. God knows that is how I roll — let the audience PC-ize my comment. To hell with self-censure! Else I would be the Dutch cartoonist who never sketched a most important cartoon. Dilbert ain’t got shizzle on me!
Hi Millie,
Great blog and column for the DB, I am working on a project about the impact of technology on journalism for my multimedia class at Cerritos College and I was wondering if you’d have some time to do an on camera interview for it? I know you’d have some great insight! spinodino@gmail.com Drop me a line if you’re interested.
Thanks,
Ashley
@Amber: Of course my observations are completely generalized… but I do think that football/basketball are more popular than baseball nowadays, whether you, as an individual, have time for it or not.
@Jen: .. LOL. How I love thee, let me count the ways. Ohhhh, eff it! It’s clearly infinite.
I predict in the next 20 years, soccer and badminton overtake basketball and football as America’s NEWEST pastimes.
Also, as far as timing goes, part of timing is spontaneity. The beauty of Twitter is that someone is always listening. Speak your mind. The times when you get overwhelming feedback are those that make life worth living.
Is that because the Chinese will take over in 20 years? Or is that irrelevant in your prediction?
Also, if I could favorite that comment about Twitter somehow, I would.
Not sure if you will see this here, but Ashley — I emailed you.
Millie,
It’s actually not just America, but the West in general. Historians chalk it up to modernity – living on the clock and not based on daylight inspires us to cram more work in a day, split the world up into time zones, and the pace of industry from the 1780s onward has made time and life in industrialized nations seem to go faster, faster, ever faster.