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Les Haines

Faustus on holiday

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Edited by Les Haines, Monday, 15 Jan 2018, 21:18

Still on holiday in Adelaide with my family and certainly enjoying the fine weather as its the height of summer here. 

It seems I have been saying a lot that I am struggling with Faustus, and although I find it fascinating and quite brilliant, I have decided the stop / start / study approach is what is making it difficult. So have decided to listen to it all of the way through in one go, and also try and find a you tube version of the play. Now I have some sort of semblance of understanding I think it would be the right time....

One thing about being so far away from the UK is the lack of news from home, quite deliberate. Am I a worse person because of it? Doesn't feel that way, and the world keeps on turning, so makes me wonder why I take such an avid interest in the news and politics. Quite refreshing for it not to be all around me, and for the constant subliminal messages that the media surrounds us all with.

Great to be with my kids though, who I literally see once a year, since they have emigrated..but Oz seems an expensive place to me..

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Me in a rare cheerful mood

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Of the last 100 stories you have read in the news, for how many were you able to influence the outcome before it was published?  For how many were you able to change the outcome after reading about it?  How many have made you change the way you live your life?

If the answer is zero times three, stop wasting your time reading it.  It is only here to sell the advertising that is alongside it.

Les Haines

News

 I do agree (mostly), and there is a lot to be said for "zero news" in your life. But the other side is about wanting to know whats going on....you cant live in a bubble. Thats why media is so frustrating, when you now most of it is spun.....

Me in a rare cheerful mood

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But we do live in a bubble, each of us in a bubble made by press releases disguised as news, media organisations' messages, adverts disguised as news, preconceived interpretations of what our searches show us, carefully selected stories to reinforce our pre-existing prejudices, filtered and doctored stories designed to entertain, enthral and entrap us as click-bait … does reading all this stuff mean we know which big corporation is considering stealing the staff pension fund, or where a lack of investment will result in another tragic fire or neglect result in scores of children or old people being abused?  All we hear are the consequences, not useful information upon which we can act.  So it causes distraction and increases stress and irrational fears, resulting in more demand for information or successfully convincing us we do need to buy Solution X and Product Y to save us from the perceived world's ills.

Choose your bubble or accept the ones they offer.  It is tricky - but they are the ones saying we need their bubble… and they are the ones selling advertising space.