Good humor, by Robert Lanham, on my always favorite McSweeney's Internet Tendency.
From the piece...
SECTION 1:
LECTURE AND DISCUSSION
The Writing Is on the Wall:
Why Print/Reading Will Go the Way
of the Pictograph
Four weeks will be devoted to discussing the publishing industry and why―with the exception of wordless celebrity glossies―the print medium is, um, boring and, furthermore, totally dull.
Week 1:
Reading is stoopid
This fundamental truth may seem obvious to today's youth, but this wasn't always the case. Students will examine why former generations carried around heavy clumps of bound paper and why they chose to read instead of watching TV or playing Guitar Hero.
Week 2:
Printing words isn't good
for the environment
Students will evaluate why, as BuzzMachine founder Jeff Jarvis articulates, "Paper is where words go to die." Paper is also where rainforests go to die, which, needless to say, isn't good for the Hyla rhodopepla tree frog. Thus, while older generations wax nostalgic about curling up by the fireplace with a good book or the Sunday paper, students will be encouraged to remember The Lorax (the animated anti-logging-industry television special, not the book).
Week 3:
Curling up with
a good book/newspaper
is dangerous
Students will explore the dangers of curling up by fires with books and newspapers. That paper could catch fire should an ember unexpectedly pop out. And all that curling is not good for people's backs. Especially since most readers of books, magazines, and newspapers are elderly and are thus already more likely to suffer from back ailments.
No comments:
Post a Comment