Invasion by sound.

The pleasure of reading, I find, is in the fact that you can travel to places and times using just the visual sense. The fact that the sense of hearing and touch are not involved in the experience is something I am beginning to enjoy more. I don't know if there can be utilitarian value to this disposition. This reason, why I like to read is something I never articulated (like a gazillion other things I never articulate or am not capable of articulating).
At this point I am a bit averse to my inside being invaded by sound. The thought of sound is bringing on a sense of violation.

Is this a sense of aging and growing ? or is it just a temporal glitch in the state of mind ?
I think this has a longer life than a glitch. I can relate to the impulse of the young mind to be constantly accompanied by some background sounds. Has that been placated by a sense of self assurance or rather resignation to "Other Influential Variables" ? It could also be the same mechanism that ignores the "cry of wolf", that works to make the crutch of "reassuring sounds" superfluous to the mind.

Segue question : Is it more likely that immigrant communities have a  higher tendency to have "reassuring sounds" play constantly in the background ? This being a over-riding need than the appreciation of the musicality of the sound.

Right now, I am trying to read Norman Mailer's "Prisoner of Sex". Maybe because I don't have a good grip on the English language. But I think all his fancy prose is taking up so much real estate that it is taking away from any point that he is trying to make. Is literature evaluated on the trickery of words and metaphors or on its ability to evoke the ideas, concepts, thoughts and actions in as many people as possible ? I for now am able to use only the latter metric.

Beyond the Male "Pill" | Popular Science

This is sooo weird. Imagine some guy doing this. Idea of using a key-fob as a contraceptive sounds contraceptive by itself :)
Hahaha imagine designing circuits for this application. How the hell are wireless companies going to test it in their labs.

http://www.popsci.com/scitech/gallery/2008-05/beyond-male-pill --- How it works A doctor inserts a thin piece of silicon embedded with circuits into the vas deferens. The circuits convert radio signals from the fob to acoustic waves, which cause the material to expand and block sperm. Advantages A second click of the fob contracts the material to unblock the sperm. Removing the device would require just a quick visit to the doctor's office. Status Australian scientists have recently completed the design of the circuits. Tests in animals could begin in two years. Uh-oh factor Could listening to the radio wreck your fertility? Not quite. Using ultrahigh radio frequencies and signal coding eliminates the chance of accidental activation.

Incredible pictures of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes firing bows and arrows | Mail Online

Wow I didnt know there even existed uncontacted tribes.

[via reddit]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1022822/Incredible-pictures-Earths-uncontacted-tribes-firing-bows-arrows.html --- Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away. Behind the two men stands another figure, possibly a woman, her stance also seemingly defiant. Her skin painted dark, nearly black. The apparent aggression shown by these people is quite understandable. For they are members of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes, who live in the Envira region in the thick rainforest along the Brazilian-Peruvian frontier.

   

Making Cell Phone Games a Public Spectacle

I am really thrilled by this idea. Its like modern kite flying :)

wired --- Next time you're in Times Square, put on your game face. You may be able to challenge the weirdos around you to a videogame on MTV's big-screen billboard. The controller? Your cell phone.

China’s Class Divide - New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/opinion/21bell.html --- I've been teaching political theory at Tsinghua University here since 2004 and I've found that almost all of my students are driven to do good for society. So I wasn't surprised when, as word of the disaster came out, hundreds of Tsinghua students lined up overnight at a Red Cross station to donate blood and supplies. Others went to the earthquake zone, more than 1,000 miles away, to distribute aid. Now I'm hoping events can dispel another false impression: that young Chinese are xenophobic nationalists who cheer for their country, good or bad.