Big Boxes, Stylites, Moon Deniers
Theodore Dalrymple inveighs against supermarkets. He's lives in England. I think the proper American translation throughout the article is "big box stores" in lieu of "supermarkets." From Terrible Ted:
I dislike supermarkets for their horrible compulsory music, pumped into them like poison gas; one feels as if one were an experimental laboratory rat trapped in a cage, manipulated by psychologists who are trying to determine precisely what kind of music makes people buy more of what they don't need.
Me? I kinda like the big box stores. They allow me to log steps on my pedometer, and I never cease to be amazed at the sheer quantity of goods available for purchase. I recently returned from a shopping trip and told Marie, after laying out everything I got: "Look. They were practically giving it away. I just had to give them $212, and they let me take all this stuff."
That being said, I sympathize with Dalrymple's observation about the music, though my irritation with piped in music pales compared to my dislike for the ubiquitous television set you now find in every waiting room (everyone can entertain themselves with a smart phone or a magazine from your rack; can't you turn off the contraption that, by sheer odds, is going to annoy at least half of the people in the room?).
I would also point out that I go to a big box store very rarely, maybe six times a year. If I had to go there frequently, or had to go there when I'm in a hurry, I suspect my dislike for the stores would increase greatly as my amazement with the sheer quantity of goods dulled greatly.
Feast Day of Daniel the Stylite. When I was a junior at the University of Michigan, I took a history course on Byzantine theology. One of our assigned readings before the first day of class was Three Byzantine Saints, which I started reading with no context. Partway into my reading about Daniel, I was shaking my head, like, "Man, I gotta focus more. It's almost like they're saying this dude lived on a pillar in the desert."
Another NBA player denies the moon landing? Stephen Curry said the moon landing was faked. This is at least the third time that I've heard of a basketball star disputing the moon landing. Kyrie Irving was another, and I can't remember the third. The article, however, indicates Vince Carter is in that group. Is this an African-American thing?
