MEDIA & ITS FIRST REPUTED COMMENTATOR - MARSHALL McLUAN

Rambaud quotes
Marshall McLuhan.
For a rather short version

in French choose this LINK

Rambaud qualifies (the famous) Marshall McLuhan, the first observer of the medias, professor of literature at the Univ. of Toronto, Canada in the middle of last century (ie in his and my lifetime, so not so long ago; as an “rude malin” a tough, shrewd individual and quotes him as saying “The Television will dissolve the fibre of all social life in a very short lapse of time. If you manage to understand it’s dynamics you will realise that you have no other choice but to eliminate it as quickly as possible. Television will totally disrupt the psychic and sensorial life. ” How visionary he was in this according to Rambaud with whom I agree to a large extent, perhaps not blaming so much the technology itself and the bulldozer mechanics but of our own ineptitude.

McLuhan, the first to predict the idea of “The Global Village” that through technological spread, rapid transport and communications (phone & internet) the great wide world would appear to be a village where every body knows every body. Rambaud highlight the down side of this where loss of privacy over balances friendliness. The debate remains open, and is likely to be for some time to come. Let me refer you to my post on the OCDE 2006 Forum on such concerns.



NB. from Wikipedia :
Note again McLuhan stresses the importance of awareness of a medium's cognitive effects. He argues that, if we are not vigilant to the effects of media's influence, the global village has the potential to become a place where totalitarianism and terror rule.

Key to McLuhan's argument is the idea that technology has no per se moral bent -- it is a tool that profoundly shapes an individual's and, by extension, a society's self-conception and realization:
More sayings from Marshall McLuhan [LINK-html] from the Marshall McLuhan Foundation[LINK-html]

NEWS on THE MEDIA TODAY ? - P. Rambaud brings our attention to present predicament due to media over-kill,-Humanity Lost?

Continuing from the two previous posts: P. Ramaud quotes Cicero: Roman Politician, Philosopher and Orator, 22 centuries before our present century.

“If we were forced, at each hour, to watch and listen to horrible events, a constant flow of dreadful impressions, would deprive, even the most sensitive among us, of all respect for humanity”!

Could we, as with fossil fuels be reaching a peek in our own human resources – culminating in such policies as…. “ Terrorism and it’s corollary “The war on terrorism?”

Interactivity – the most interactive media perhaps the only one is the novel! - Debate

Interactivity – the most interactive media perhaps the only one is the novel argues french author Patrick Rambaud! - Debate Open. A strong kick off to this debate is given by P. Ram-Baud from whom I have translated some exerts from the last chapter of his book, "La grammaire en s’amusant.- Learn french grammar in an amusing way" A most entertaining pocket size book written in a simple easy to follow narrative style as a dialogue between a father and his ten-year-old son, by Patrick Rambaud, in french of course.


Patrick Rambaud desserts on the novel:
Translation below by J. Alexander.

A novel is a rectangular block
Of white pages, covered with
Black signs, in computing language,
Code. (or chord)

“I heard there was a secret chord”

You can carry everywhere.
It does not weigh much. Often,
It fits your pocket,
It is not expensive to buy.

“And David played it pleased the Lord.”

You do not need a battery, or an electric socket,
Nor an aerial, nor a subscription to a web network.
It never breaks down. However,

“But you don’t really care for music do yuh?”

It contains adventures and thoughts, images and sounds,

“Well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth.”

Crowd movements, spectacular events,
Knowledge, hope and despair, fear and laughter.

“The minor fall, the major lift.”

The author shows the road to follow,
Like the signposts on a pilgrim pathway.
And he seeks to lead you onwards.

“The baffled king composing Hallelujah”

But it is left to the reader to meet him half way
For it is the reader’s imagination alone
Which will bring the novel to life.

“Hallelujah…"

On the upside I have sneaked in the lyrics of Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah as a Tribute to this talented, unwise, artist who very sadly left us too soon.
This Tribute was only made possible due to advanced technology and more especially generous, open, sharing humankind, the lyrics for Hallelujah are from Lyrics007 which contains Links to more Jeff Buckley lyrics and and to others. The Video is due to durdherd and YouTube.