I don't like using public transport very much. I prefer to ride my bike. An unfortunate side effect my rides is that I am exposed to some of the most horrible behavior from, one need not be surprised, motorists. The combustion engine has a devastating effect on people's brains. The constant honking is puzzling: I'm usually faster than they are. I can't possibly be in their way. They're in -my- way. Since these motorized retards make up the majority of people I'm exposed to, I don't tend to think very highly of my fellow citizens.
But sometimes the bus- or subway rides are nothing short of a revelation: I'm wrong! The city is full of smart, intelligent folks.
You usually can't tell from their looks, but look at what they're reading. OK, most of them still read junk, but sometimes I see a shimmer of hope: I found a school kid reading Kafka, on the Bloor subway. I was waiting for the bus with one of those unremarkable guys from my quiet (read boring) neighbourhood, where the lights go out at 9 PM, who pulled a copy of a Chomsky book from his plastic bag. And an Asian man who looked like one of those Indian programmer types was reading Horkheimer and Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment.
I'm reading my books on a Palm handheld. How inconsiderate of me not to share whith others what I'm reading. (The crying of lot 49, BTW). But I can see it happening in the not-too-distant future. Sharing books has become -very- possible today. Cory Doctorow is releasing his books under a Creative Commons licence, and Lessigs book Free Culture is available as a pdf file. I can see myself having this conversation any time soon:
- Hey, what are your reading there?
- Cory Doctorows latest. Would you you like a copy?
- Sure, beam it over. Anything I can get you? Something from the Gutenberg project perhaps?
But we'll have to figure out a way to let others know what we're reading, and I'll be back on my bike next week. I somehow doubt that the motorists will be interested. All they say is honk. Honk. Honk. Honk. And I go triiing! triiing! dingelingeling!
Posted by mduvekot at April 7, 2004 11:19 PMhey! that "unremarkable" guy (whose name happens to be Guy) is my husband! yes, he's reading Chomsky right now. and you should see the other things he reads! yesterday i bought him a fairly new biography of Ralph Nader. he's very excited about that. just goes to show that even in this neighbourhood, you can't judge a person by their apparent unremarkability.
Posted by: patricia at April 8, 2004 07:22 AMMy command of the english language still leaves a lot to be desired. I knew there was something not quite right when used the word unremarkable to describe the people at the bust stop. I'm afraid I lack subtlety in my writing. I was looking for the equivalent of the dutch "onopvallend", which is rather neutral. Maybe I should have used "inconspicuous" instead?
Posted by: Michiel at April 8, 2004 08:04 AMOoit zat ik in de trein, lezend natuurlijk met ook nog een boek in mijn tas. Mijn buurman vroeg het te leen en hij was er uit van weg te slaan. Toen ik uitstapte vroeg ik het weer, hij gaf het node terug. Ik lees nu 3 boeken te gelijk, Umberto Eco beneden, John Irving als ik in bed lig en Harriet Rubin aan mijn bureau. Kun je iets uitvinden zodat de boeken op mijn netvlies komen als ik mijn ogen dichtdoe of moet dat gewoon met fantasie?
Posted by: je moeder at April 8, 2004 10:17 AM