Sunday 15 February 2015

Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music

You don’t update your Facebook page very often, do you?” The tone was not accusatory, but the question asked by my fellow Cuban had the word “curiosity” tattooed all over it. We had bumped into each other in our little patch of London after not seeing one another for a good couple of years. Whereas I had followed the developments in his life quite closely (birth of his second child, his older one growing up healthily, happier times with his wife, disappearance of his wife from photos, new “home setting" in photos), he had not been able to do the same with my life. The reason behind it, as I came to realise after our conversation was that I treat my social media like my e-mail accounts. I go to them only when I need them and I never divulge too much information, especially of the personal kind.
Facebook: still like a "normal" e-mail to me

We live in such dynamic, interconnected times that we tend to assume everyone else is equally prompt at updating online profiles and posting photos of family gatherings. Some of us do not. But whereas you will find people who actively rebel against the “tyranny of social media”, I am just a procrastinator. That is just a very posh way of saying that I am a lazy sod and can’t be arsed to check my Facebook wall or my Twitter feed. The latter gets a look-in every time I publish a post. Facebook, on the other hand, only gets irregular visits. I guess Mark Zuckerberg will be knocking on my front door soon. Just to make you aware of my laziness when it comes to interactive social platforms, I do not even have the Facebook or Twitter app on my smartphone. So, no “pinging” for me.

This unusual behaviour – as measured by modern life standards – has spilled onto other territories. Take reading, for instance. I am an avid reader as you all know and yet I got a headache the other day after reading a column in Prospect by the writer Sam Leith. Sam has just been appointed as one of the judges of this year’s Man Booker Prize. He is supposed to read approximately 150 books. 150 books! Sam Leith, a man who makes a living out of writing book reviews is supposed to read around 150 books. Please, pass me the smelling salts, I’m about to pass out. As much as I love reading I could never do it as job. Not that I will ever be eligible anyway. First off, as I mentioned before I would have to confront my own laziness (other people would call it “pace”). I like reading in my own time and when I feel like it. Secondly, if I were one of the participating writers I would never trust someone like me to judge my book.

150 books approximately. I’m still thinking about it and I’ve got a couple of Paracetamols in my hand. And still my friend queries my Facebook status.

News that the Church of England is debating whether to have a baptism of service without mentioning the devil or not, put a smile on my face. I can just imagine our horned friend marching up to the nearest job centre, queueing up and meeting one of the much-feared advisors whose main role is “to get people off benefits and into work” (by whatever means possible, even if the means do not justify the end). I can just picture pumped-up, face-turning-puce Mephistopheles holding forth, chest out, shouting out the predictable question: Do you know who I am? And an unimpressed advisor answering: No, but that attitude will not get you very far, sir. Following this exchange, the usual protocol will ensue with questions about the devil’s current status (unemployed and unemployable, according to the church), previous work experience (“last job was with HSBC’s Swiss private bank but that one didn't go very well”) and ambitions (“to take over the world, both this one and the ‘other’ one”).

By the time Satan signs on, he will find out exactly how much he’s yet to learn from the Department for Work and Pensions and its inscrutable, tough-looking, soulless army of IDS clones. The Church of England needn’t debate about mentioning the devil in its liturgy. After his first visit to a job centre, it is very likely the devil himself will change his name and career.



© 2015

Next Post: “Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum”, to be published on Wednesday 18th February at 11:59pm (GMT)

31 comments:

  1. I would love to be able to say 'Facebook? What's that?' However, I can't do it so the only alternative is to back off. I am appalled at the amount of family/personal stuff is revealed on there. It's as though people have to report every step of their daily lives and post pictures to prove it - even to strangers. Yes, even my own (inherited) family have acquired a taste for telling the world what they're up to.

    Interesting to hear about the desire to deny the devil!!

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    1. Definitely the story about the devil within the CoE amused me no end! :-) Hav ea great week. Thanks for your comment.

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  2. our society has become too concerned with PC, especially when the church fears talking about the devil...not that i want fire and brimstone, that is why one reason i left the church when young, but....oy....i am almost 4 years facebook free...i killed it, i dont miss it...i am almost a year Twitter free....dont miss it....you want to know what is going on in my life...come talk to me...lets have coffee....if you care enough, you know...smiles.

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  3. I don't post personal stuff on Facebook or Twitter. They are both valuable ways of networking though, so I use them frequently, but not obsessively.

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  4. Nice to find you on the block again! Me, laughing at the guy who's peddling sweet apples.
    And I follow Groucho's rule......
    why would I want to be in any club that would have the likes of me as a member...??
    .and remember Two Ghosts? Soon to be....Two Secrets.

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    1. Welcome back! :-) Will be paying you a visit soon.

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  5. Ha...I deactivated my Facebook account some months ago. It was becoming a real pain...too many unwanted intrusions - from the weird, to the downright offensive...so I can fully understand your "laziness" in checking in! ;) Can't say I've missed it at all.

    Haha...I loved the bit about the devil! Certainly cheered up my Sunday no end! Thanks so much.

    Hope you're having a great weekend :)

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  6. I killed my facebook account years ago, so much garbage on there. And all the PC crap, well you know what the cat thinks of that. 150 books though? Yeah, I'd sure be "lazy" too, that is why too much for my plate, unless the pay was awesome. Then I'd suck it up.

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  7. I do post on Facebook but 90% of what I post is for the purpose of encouraging others and I share photos that I find to do this. However, I have to say that I love my blog much more than Facebook. :)

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  8. I joined Facebook to keep in touch with children and friends. I admit, I am hooked on it.

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  9. Just as there are alcoholics and workaholics, there are "readaholics." I probably could write a dissertation about readers and reading. There have been periods in my life when I considered fifty books a year "adequate," one hundred books "good" and one-hundred fifty as "having arrived." But, I have met people whose sheer numbers buried my numbers.

    I used to say I do not golf, I do not bowl, I do not play softball, I do not hang out in bars, I do not watch much television (other than films) .... that offers me a great deal of time to read. Strangely, perhaps, the peak years came during which time I also read countless magazines and newspapers, and my work involved editing (reading) the writing of other journalists.

    As for social media, having a blog and visiting a few other blogs is enough for me. I participate in no other forms, never have and cannot think of circumstances where I might in the future. I have nothing really good or bad to say about outfits such as Facebook or Twitter. We each choose how we spend our money and, more importantly, our time. And, we all choose how public or how private we wish to be regarding our lives. Social media are only tools; we make the decisions if and how to use them.

    In terms of the "dilemma" regarding the Church of England and Beelzebub, I think it will be the church rather than the devil which will be having an identity problem and occupational crisis in the months ahead.

    Neat post, CiL. I will check out the music after brunch ....

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    1. Quite right about the church. I would say, as a non-believer, that these are interesting times for the church in terms of aims and long-term goals. Still, they do have a base they have to keep and that base is rather conservatice, small "c". Thanks for your comment.

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  10. Great post. Interesting and food for thought. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. I have a Facebook page but have completely lost interest!
    I have been blogging since 2006 and enjoy it much more than FB.

    Great music!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  12. Oh the drain that is Facebook. I'm in Malaysia at the moment - and on Valentine's Day I sat in a restaurant watching the young couple around me. Surely they would be seduced by the candles and roses? No, they were staring at their phones. Most of them barely looked at each other, let alone have a conversation. I only hope they turned Facebook off when they got home ...

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    1. That's a bugbear of mine. Last Saturday my wife went out for Valentin'es to the cinema with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. We went to see Selma which is a beautiful, painful movie to watch. And what did I see almost throughout the entire movie? A couple sat two rows down on their mobiles. Almost the whole time. Unbelievable.

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  13. Reminds me of a heart beating. Very evocative.

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  14. So many different traps in life--Sometimes I like Facebook a lot--my friends post interesting news bits and it can be kind of a conversation, and other times--agh--it can eat up time so that one cannot read real books--much less 150 of them. I think reading books as a job would be kind of wonderful on one level, and just so sedentary on another--and while reading is so important to someone who writes, I find it very hard at times to combine the two--when I read I get so wrapped in that world I have a hard time stepping away to do my own work--but of course, I have, in fact--a whole other job! Thanks, Cubano, for thoughtful post. There is an element of laziness I suppose in it all, but also one cannot be "on" or purposeful at all moments. k. (Manicddaily)

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  15. Over here in Sweden there is no mention of the Devil. In fact, a christening is a way of welcoming families and kids to the church and also just to society - even if you're not a church-goer. I like this inclusion.

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    1. I think that sometimes we look for the devil in the usual places and disregard the ones that are more conspicuous. :-)

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  16. Interesting debate, but the devil to fear isn't the one who goes by that name, but the undercover one... a snake or a bureaucrat

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  17. smiles... now imagine if the devil had a fb account... would he update regularly?
    smiles

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    1. Hahaha! :-) I'm still in stitches!

      Greetings from London.

      Delete
  18. It is great that we can keep up with each other on social media, but I completely respect someone who prefers to live his/her life in the real world rather than online.

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  19. You are a connoisseur, not a robot. I like that about you!


    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    <3

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  20. I've deactivated my FB but decided togo back when I discovered that a poser is active. To avoid confusion, I decided to go back. Then again, having a Facebook does not mean I'm obliged to log in and update it all the time, right? :D

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  21. You know I'm laughing at your very typical Scorpio behavior. Surely your friend realizes that you will never divulge too much of your personal life to the world as you analyze and size up their unconscious personal details at every turn? He must not know you very well.

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  22. I think it is admirable that you limit your time and content on social media. It takes self discipline but true readers and writers need time offline. I am like you in that respect. Wednesdays and weekends are my social media days but otherwise I'm offline to write and to read. I'd rather talk to a friend in real time.

    I'm also quite careful about what I share online, mainly to respect the privacy of other family members. I was delighted that my daughter gave me permission to share a funny photo of her, but I only do so now that she is nearly an adult. You can't be too careful.

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    1. Totally agree with you. :-)

      Greetings from London.

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  23. 150 books?? Would give me headache.

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