Of sexy tech--no Louis Vuitton for me, please
Oct 26, 2009 14:23All right, this is probably not as dramatic as the title might sound, but surely there's a time where a wakeup call is needed, especially when one's circumstances change.
Remember when you were young and fairy tales could captivate your attention and literally "blow away" your mind for hours to come? I recall fondly how I loved to immerse myself with the likes of Enid Blyton and the Faraway Tree series which got me imagining endless possibilities and miracle-like situations that could take away the humdrum of life itself. Or how the fascination with Mickey Mouse and Disney's animation which first burst onto our the silver screen would overwhelm my child's heart and mind completely.
Back then, I definitely did not question their authenticity and genuinely believed that Mickey was exactly as he was represented: A large talking mouse with a squeaky voice, rather than entertain the possibility of visualizing a sweaty little man stuck in a heavy armor-weighted suit. That would be too much for a child with a tender imagination like mine was. That would be almost as cruel as to say that Santa never did exist and Christmas was all about making merry and eating puddings.
Flash-forward 20 years, and I am a little more disillusioned as the pixie dust has slowly fallen from my eyes. Think about this: When Star Trek came around during a period of universal exploration that went beyond merely walking on the moon, besides the magic of television and special effects, would it have been even conceivable to imagine the notion of traveling through space at a fraction of a second via teleportation? Or time traveling as seen in the movie that was adapted from the novel by Michael Crichton's Timeline?
From the evolution of the printed word to its migration onto e-books that are compactly stored onto digital gadgetries, as seen in the Kindle phenomenon and even the iPhone stanza, the point ends with the debate on why one should lug around a 200-page book when an e-book reader could reduce the active amount of space available in one's bag and easily store up to 1,500 or more electronic versions of them within a wafer-thin book-like device? Of course, staying up to date with technology can be part of being in the "in crowd", at least among the higher echelon of society, namely being the fact that you can own such an expensive gadget.
Other girls I know around my age would opt for a Louis Vuitton handbag. But being me, I satisfied my lust for luxuries of the electronic sort, even while being fully aware of their obvious valuelessness that is fully exemplified within Moore's law.
Yet, what would life be without technology? After all, technology has seen a transition so great and wide that it is almost impossible to have predicted or patterned its growth since its rapid "gold rush" period of the 20th century. Who would have thought that from a piffling 14Kbps dial-up speed to our present lighting-fast ADSL 2+ modems, data could have been transmitted via phone cables?
I do still miss the good ol' days of mere musings and daydreaming, where catching tadpoles from one's backyard seemed a lot more fun as a communicable social activity than spending ages staring aimlessly at our goggle box. Then again, without technology, typing this opinion piece down and subsequently getting it digitally uploaded for a final print on this hard-covered page may have been impossible.
Oh, the deliciousness of irony, caustic in texture and yet sugary in flavor.
- Talkback
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You Take Me To Past Years Marielwong ! I Remembered When We Changed Our Older Tape Player In 1988 , For Some Years We Raelly Was Excited Of High Quality Of Audio Cd , Until DVD Coming In 1997 .
But Now , I Dont Wonder If Sleep In Night & When Wake Up Tommorow See A Mobile Phone With 200 GB Memory In My Hand !
No Way ! Apparently Technology Is Faster Than Us .
Oct 27, 2009 03:35
Me too, I remember fondly those Enid Blyton Faraway Tree stories. My re-awakened fondness for Enid Blyton has led me to publish a book by the title of The Famous Five:A Personal Anecdotage ( www.bbotw.com)
Stephen isabirye
Oct 27, 2009 04:12
@sepanta: haha glad that you thought it useful. but yea, I thought that for us, our childhood seems a little lost, especially on the little ones growing up in this techno-driven society. Feed your kids with books please. they would grow up at least, to fondly remember of a time that was not driven by all this gadgetry... that is a good childhood experience if you asked me.
@sbisabirye: ah I see. you like Enid Blyton's Faraway tree as well? It was one of my most treasured memory as far as I can remember...
Oct 29, 2009 20:40
Yea Of Corse Reading Is Very Important And I Dont Think Any Other Of Our Actions ( Example Tv Watching , Movies Or ....) Can Be Most Important For Us Than Reading .
Myself , All Of Science That Use Now , Is Whatever Reading From When I Was A Child Untill Now .
Oct 30, 2009 01:15
About marielwong
Mariel Wong is a budding photo enthusiast who used to be the editor for the Singaporean version of T3 Magazine. That was before she embarked on a life-long journey of passion to seek out Kangaroos in the land Down-Under and attain certain life-goals, namely her Masters in Media and Communications, and fulfilling her dream to backpack around Oz. She is also an avid Facebook voyeur who enjoys maintaining long-distance relationships and meeting new friends, on a global-scale. She also compulsively updates mini-news of her every move via twitter, as well as blast out self-created melodies recorded through her now rather dowdy iPod Belkin recorder, located on her website.
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