M&D truthtelling, history & I.F. Stone(WAS Publisher's Weekly (fwd)

[Sojourner]

At 08:47 AM 8/15/97 -0400, Peter Giordano wrote:

>Sojouner says:
>>No.  The question is misleading.  TV is comprised of noise, and reading
>>induces serenity, even during provocative literature.  Reading brings
>>the mind and body into a state of peace, the body resting while the mind
>>feeds on its purest foodstuff.  TV agitates the senses, stimulating you
>>artificially, deadening your mind.

>I say:
>I don't watch a heck of a lot of tv beyond THE SIMPSONS and vintage movies
>but I find the above to be misleading - There is plenty of literature (as
>in reading) which "...agitates the senses, stimulating you
>artificially, deadening your mind."  And there is televisin which allows
>the mind to feed "... on its purest foodstuff" - Like the version of HAMLET
>with Kevin Kline a few years back

I'm far too biased to agree with you.  Provocative literature is like
a spicy meal, it gets your system jumping but its still nutrition.  All
TV to me is about as filling and salubrious as the electrons it uses to 
stimulate the phosphorous to make its images.

Movies are far worse of course, as they encapsulate you within their
plastic womb for 2+ hours without break or cessation.