Everything gets turned into an entertainment, a media presentation, a show; even the sacred, even the dead.
Funerals used to be religious events in which one would pray for the repose of the deceased and the good of the bereaved; then it became fashionable to turn them into "memorial services" of a celebratory quality in which family and friends tell stories and jokes, and sing or listen to inspirational songs. That is, to turn them into shows presented for a human audience, rather than acts of worship offered to the divine, who deigns to grant us an audience. Is the TV tombstone part of this trend?
I'm wondering what will happen when the tech hobbyists start figuring out how to "hack" these devices and replace Aunt Becky's Kinkadian five-minute video with a clip from MTV. Already I know what video should appear on Bill Gates' screen.
That's just perfectly awful.
Except for the blue screen - that would be entirely fitting for Mr. Gates.
Well, that post conjured a pet peeve of mine. What's up with this trend for spray painting "In Loving Memory for ___________" on the back windshields of cars? It seems undignified to me to drive about wearing, so to speak, your mourning. It's further exacerbated when the driver of the car is blasting vulgar music, giving the finger to other people, and the sentiment is flanked by a peeing Calvin.