THE PAPERLESS SOCIETY & CULTURE

Today, JANUARY 3, 2013, has already seen the destruction of the OLD ORDER and the imposition of THE NEW ORDER, that has cast its shadows long over the last decade, and of which, the DECEMBER, 21ST 2012 'MAYAN' PREDICTION of an APOCALYPSE focused and which many thought about, wrote about, and worried about, not realizing that it was 'TRUE' in that life as they once knew it has changed beyond of what they are aware and when it is too late, they will ask the inevitable 'WHY?' & 'HOW'.          
Already the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT has stopped printing and mailing various forms, booklets, etc. to those who are required to receive these now ELECTRONICALLY via computers,etc. at their own expense, a cost cutting, but also a control in place, measure. The government assumes everyone has or can have access to the computers needed for such things and also that they will know how to use such and so on. Eventually, the nation will become 'CASHLESS': no coins, no paper bills but only electronic funds,perhaps on government- issued 'GIFT-CARDS' or 'entitlement-pension-benefits-etc.' cards enabling electronic transfers of all kinds.                                                                                                                                   Few understand the implications of this and those who are 'techno-nerds' swallow this policy like the beer they guzzle down  and the weeds they inhale on their mindless quests for pleasure and satisfaction at the expense of  'higher' things.                                                                                                                                                                                    Already, the publishing/printing fields have narrowed and are drying up as this is being written, so that eventually a single publisher/printer of books, magazines, etc. will perhaps monopolize these things, though it may also mean that individuals may have to do their own writing and publishing and printing if anyone of them is capable of such a 'task' or 'enterprise',that is, without additional government supervision,control, incentive, or restrictions, etc.  More on this topic another time.  

THE BEST CENSORSHIP IF ALWAYS 'SELF-CENSORSHIP'

BOOKS WITHOUT BORDERS

I plan this title to be one for my next TV project for public access TV, if that institution should last long enough with all the cuts going on plus the cable companies desire and moves to 'rid itself of this burden' and 'expense'etc. More and more books are being moved off the shelves of stores and libraries, except for those which are for 'popular taste' and specific genre: romances, historical fiction, science fiction, horror/zombie/ampire/werewolf,etc. themes, action/war/spy thrillers and certain other types known as 'best-sellers' none of which are 'classics' in the usual sense...though some classics are revised, purged, edited down, and repackaged,especially after TV and movie productions right into DVDs...which may prompt a rare few to actually read the real book.... Electronic books may be accused for the demise of books and book stores but now will authors have to write and publish via electronic media(I guess most do already) and no longer view their books as 'works of art' or 'expressions of soul'? Is there any soul to found in electronic presentations of literature and information,etc.??? Colorless script may well be replaced with special graphics to titillate the senses....but the feel of paper will certainly suffer and those addicted to such will have to get their fix from fondling old editions from somewhere, secreted in attics or in closets so others will not see their dependence and addiction to printed word on paper.... The closing of major book chains may mean the rise of used and second-hand book stores and mail order enterprises.....but it seems to me that the choice of reading will be limited by the gadgets in the sense where will you browse for titles and books you want and how will you be attracted to such....? Where will the stimulus be to reach out and lift a book from the shelves of electronic storage just to thumb through the pages to see what you might like? I suspect that all our reading for the future will be controlled...that is, you will only be able to read and buy and look at what they transmit and nothing else, unless there is a huge archive somewhere in 'book heaven' the place where all great literature ends up(another dump or landfill in the sky) waiting for the Day.....The cheapness of electronic publishing that should manifest will be a sort of monopoly...no need for book companies to compete....but I like the freedom to dtermine what I shall read and not read and not some corporation focusing on profits per se based on opinion polls and surveys and profit margins, etc. Let me stay in my 'ivory' tower and read my books until the day I die and forget about electronic intrusions into my library which, incidentally, has more than some town libraries I've visited recently...

WHAT GOOD IS ART?

WHAT GOOD IS ART? In an age when QUANTITY surpasses QUALITY-special arts and crafts, like printing, carving, book binding, rug making and numeous manual skills become superfilous adn works of art are cheaply made and cheaply reproduced(so the masses can ostensibly enjoy them better).... Where once books,in disregard of their content or subject, were (& still are) WORKS OF ART,especially those of ages past...these are no longer preserved except for the wealthy(collectors)..... Libraries have become warehouses where books are housed, recycled, shredded, etc. and reduced to mere cmmodities, usually of too little monetary value to keep on the shelves-DISPOSABLES like toilet paper.... LIBRARIES ARE NO LONGER REPOSITORIES OF KNOWLEDGE and hardly WISDOM but MERELY places of reduced information, mass produced for ELECTRONIC STORAGE which will not outlast the stone slabs or carvings of the Ancients......

BROWSING THE STACKS-THE ROLE & DESTINY OF LIBRARIES & THE END OF BOOKS AS WE KNOW THEM