Decivilization and its discontents

If anyone has any lingering doubts that Western civilization is slowly but surely winding down, here is the final proof. It comes in the form of an article from Der Spiegel: "Berlin Enlists Foreign Help to Tackle Dog Dirt." According to it, "more than 300,000 piles of excrement - around 55 tons - are deposited in the city by dogs each day... Yet not many owners are prepared to stop and pick up the mess."

The Matrix for real

The other day a friend was telling me about the son of a co-worker, a 17-year old boy. Outside of school, his world apparently consists of his laptop, the dinner table, the fridge, the bathroom, and his bed. He wouldn't go out with anyone on his own, and his parents had trouble dragging him with them to dine out or even for a walk in the park. Meanwhile, the boy seems to inhabit a dreamworld. In it, he sees himself one day as a drug baron, incredibly rich, riding in superluxurious cars with bodyguards, bending under the wight of massive gold jewellery, and surrounded by pretty women. Yah, right - he is the One.