It's a Saturday, and I didn't wake up until 10:30am. This made me feel young. And slightly irresponsible, as I am supposedly an independent adult. As such, I should be getting up on Saturday mornings at a decent hour, doing productive things.
Upon removing myself from my bed, however, I got a cup of coffee (point for the "old" side) and read a book on the analysis of pop culture (another "old" point, as I apparently have moved from mindless consumer of pop culture to...well as least an aware consumer, if not a removed analyst, depending on the specific area).
I then watched a tv show on Netflix (points for both sides, as watching tv on a Saturday morning clearly belongs to the "young" side, but the fact that it was the show "Arrested Development" and that I watched it on Netflix, which I pay for myself with a salary I earn from my technically full time job means that I award another point to the "old"side), while removing coupons and recipes from old Real Simple magazines ("old" point).
Later, when on the phone with a friend, I had an entire conversation about asparagus, and how annoying it is that you can't buy it in smaller quantities. I always seem to end up throwing some out, which feels incredibly wasteful and tempts me not to buy it in the first place ("old" point for even having that conversation). Yet I really like asparagus, so I do end up buying it every so often (another "old" point for the mere fact that I admit to liking asparagus). The fact that I cannot finish a unit of asparagus, however, adds a point to the "young" side, because it reminds me that if I were married, let alone had kids, I would be in a situation where an entire unit of asparagus would be eaten before it went bad. And being reminded that I am not married, nor do I have children, makes me feel young.
Currently, the tally is at Young: 3 Old: 7 ...apparently I feel about 30% young, if you can feel youth in percentages. I think you can.
Also, as I was reading the book on culture (Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs...hilarious book that I highly recommend to everyone who has a remote interest in anything), I came across more commentary on objectivity. Klosterman was particularly referring to media, and I found it relative to my previous thoughts on the matter, so I've included an excerpt here:
...almost every sound bite you hear in the broadcast media is partially false. And there's nothing anyone can do about it. It's not that the truth is being ignored; it's just that the truth is inevitably combined with a bunch of crap that's supposed to make news stories unbiased and credible, but really just makes them longer and less clear. The motivation for doing this is to foster objectivity, but it actually does the complete opposite. It makes finding an objective reality impossible, because you're always getting facts plus requisite grains of "equalizing" fiction.
First, I think it is interesting that Klosterman seems to inadvertently (or perhaps intentionally) acknowledge the intellectual community's belief that objectivity is most desirable by pairing together the terms "unbiased" and "credible." Second, I really think it is interesting that he points out the fact that this attempt at objectivity often destroys the credibility of the information provided. Which brings me back to the point of my other post, that sometimes bias is indeed preferable to objectivity. Depending on where that bias is taking you.
And another thought: Is attempting objectivity itself a bias of sorts? Isn't the thought that "information free from partiality is superior to all other information" just as much an opinion as all other opinions that are thought to negatively sway information?
And this is where I stop. There's no sense in proverbially continuing to peel an onion when you've already peeled so many layers that you've got tears streaming down your face and blurring your vision. Everybody needs a break now and then; the onion's not going anywhere.
...
**Note: Two couples that I know decently well are getting married today. Hence the title.
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