Oh, please. "iPod people?"
Idea for a sci-fi horror flick: New York is invaded by zombielike robots. They ghost along the sidewalks, oblivious of pedestrians, and have frequent near misses with taxis and cyclists, causing chaos. They carry a secret weapon � no bigger than a deck of cards � that can render humans invisible. The only sign they are not quite human themselves: two white wires that run from their ears into their clothes, just below the neckline, as distinctive as the bolts in the Frankenstein monster's neck.. . . .
Much of America � the part that lives behind the wheel of a car and views life through the glare of the windshield � has long since adapted to life in a bubble. But city dwellers are supposed to be different; their constant interaction with other human beings, urbanites like to think, makes them more socially advanced creatures than the detached inhabitants of car culture. But could the iPod and similar high-capacity players be turning the vibrant sidewalks of New York into the pedestrian equivalent of the soulless freeway?
Piffle. Like we haven't had Walkmans for the last 20 years, letting people tune out when they want to. And didn't Joanie have one of those transistor radio things on Happy Days? Besides, New York is loud, and New Yorkers are even louder. The iPod's headphones are adequate for delivering music to your eardrums, but hardly powerful enough to drown out the Big Apple. Sounds to me like this reporter's just miffed because his sweetie didn't get him an iPod for Valentine's Day.
Posted by Jason at February 17, 2004 08:33 AM