Tuesday December 21, 2004 | ${log.root}/lowem.log Inflation, Investing and Everything |
|
An article on alternet.org by Daniel Alarcon on the Mall of America: 57 types of hammers ... after an hour or two of wandering, it is with some amazement that I stand to gather my breath in front of the display of hammers at Sears. Shoes, hats, clothes, perfumes, gadgets, jewelry are available in hedonistic excess at the Mall – but hammers? They seem out of place, a wrinkle in the climate-controlled fantasy, a blip in the Mall's matrix of eternal leisure: hammers imply work, imply effort and sweat and all those things that do not exist at the Mall, at least not for the shopper. And yet, there they are: fifty-seven different types of hammers. I count. Fifty-seven varieties of this Stone Age tool, with ergonomic handles and rubber grips, in every size and weight and color scheme. So much commercial esoterica, and perhaps what is most out of place here is a tool ... The whole world wants in ... the Mall banishes all worldly problems, man-made or natural. It is no wonder that so many people come, not only to the Mall, but to the United States: to be near so much power, so much money is to believe in the possibility of earthly tranquility. Is it too simple to say that the whole world wants in? - Well, if the whole world wants in, all we'll need is maybe another 4 or 5 more Planet Earth's for that ... See also : 1. Ecological Footprint Quiz (1.8 planets! what about you?) (2004-12-21 17:48:34 SGT)
[Musings]
Permalink
Comments:
Post a Comment: Comments are closed for this entry. Most popular blog postings on lowem.log : 1. Singapore MRT rail network length to double by 2020 Featured articles on lowem.log : 1. Book review : Shut Down by William Flynn |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||