Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sunday Music Blogging

6 comments:

Rmj said...

I just came by to say I'm a recovering Eschatonian.

I've been commenting there for too long; it's become a habit I need to break.

For a month now, the constant topic of conversation has been the broken oil well in the Gulf. Almost no one there knows anything oil wells, so they are, of course, experts on what should be done. And I'm sick of it.

Obama should "take over." The military should "fix it." We should even nuke it.

None of these things begin to address the technical issues, problems, etc. (I've started going to "Oil Drum" just to clear my head of the blindingly stupid. I've taken to reading Wodehouse to encounter characters who are meant to be that dumb.)

I can't stand it anymore. I just can't stand it.

I need a 12 step program. Maybe just twelve giant steps backwards.

Or a little music would be nice....

Phila said...

RMJ,

For a month now, the constant topic of conversation has been the broken oil well in the Gulf. Almost no one there knows anything oil wells, so they are, of course, experts on what should be done. And I'm sick of it.

[sigh]

I hear ya. It was a different issue for me, but the basic problem is the same. There's just too much noise.

Of course, it's not just Eschaton. Cheryl has had similar complaints about other sites. "Smart mobs," indeed.

Thank heavens the Internets have made it easier for people to argue and complain, while sucking up huge amounts of electricity and making some of the world's largest corporations richer.

And yes, three of those fingers are pointing back at me. My dismay with Eschaton had as much to do with self-judgment as anything else. You, on the other hand, never contributed to the din, as far as I can recall.

Tacitus Voltaire said...

phatic
(FAT-ik)

adjective
Relating to a communication meant to generate an atmosphere of social relationship rather than to convey some information.

Etymology
Coined by anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski (1884-1942). From Greek phatos, from phanai (to speak), which also gave us prophet and aphasia (loss of ability to speak or understand language as a result of an injury)

When you bump into your neighbor on your way out and say, "How are ya?" you're engaging in phatic communion. The idea is not to inquire your neighbor's state of affairs but simply to create a feeling of shared goodwill. Later, at work, when you discuss weather with someone at the water cooler, it's the same idea.

Usage
"When I saw the transcript of that G8 conference conversation between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, my first thought was that it read not so much like a conversation between statesmen as the phatic gruntings of a pair of teenage Kevins." — Jane Shilling; Plenty of Chatter Masks a Dearth of Conversation; The Times (London, UK); Jul 21, 2006.

Tacitus Voltaire said...

quoted from:

http://www.answers.com/topic/phatic

Phila said...

TV,

Kierkegaard's concept of "chatter" comes much closer to the mark, if you ask me.

Rmj said...

Now, you bastard, you've made me think!

I have a long post to finish, thanks to you. Just when I thought I was out!, they pull me back in!