9/14/2021 blog

Media analysis and a joke/poem

On noise from The Wall Street Journal:

“When the pandemic struck in March of 2020, the human world went quiet. During what some are now calling the anthropause, highways and byways emptied of cars while shops and services locked their doors for weeks and months. Using sensitive sound level analyzers, scientists from every continent confirmed a reduction in human-created sound levels, in some cities by as much as seven decibels, which translates to about one-fifth as loud as before.

We have all experienced not noticing a sound until it goes away. Often it is an air conditioner that cycles off or an idling truck whose ignition is cut. Suddenly we “hear” the silence and sigh in relief. We revel in the peace until the drone starts up again or is replaced by the next aural annoyance. This kind of noise doesn’t damage our ears, and we can mostly tune it out. And yet research tells us that it should concern us for the sake of our brains. Our ability to distinguish signal from noise is crucial to nearly everything we do, and the more noise surrounds us, the less we are able to call our brains to attention when attention is warranted.

Few people realize that there are two types of dangerous noise. Everyone knows about the danger of loud sounds. If you spend too much time in a noisy place, using power tools, or listening to loud music, your ears may be damaged. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health standards make very clear that sustained noises at a level of 85 decibels and up are damaging to the ears. There is no mistaking an ear-damaging noise when you hear it: It is LOUD.

The sounds of human activity generally don’t reach that accepted threshold of “unsafe.” Most people would consider the day-to-day sounds of urban life or a bustling workplace “background noise.” We think we shrug it off and tune it out. But we are not really tuning it out so much as we are adapting our lives to a constant state of alarm.”

I like music and movies and a bit of talk-show news, but sometimes my brain wants silence. Larry Hagman, who most famously played the character J.R. Ewing on the TV show Dallas, said he sometimes just wanted silence in his life.

While this virus lockdown has disrupted much, it may have been in a part good in a sense because it has made some more silent. I said before on this blog one of my most favorite novels is Silence about a Western priest who is forced to refuse his faith formally by Japanese authorities. There was a recent film adaptation of it.

“Gout”

by Nears to Beers (Disclaimer I liked the the real band; this is only a joke).

Gout
Gout

Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Uric acid
I’m talking to you
Come on

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
Uric acid I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

In violent times
You shouldn’t have to sell your mole
In black and white
They really really ought to flow

Those one track minds
That took you for a working boy
Kiss them goodbye
You shouldn’t have to jump for joy (but can’t anyway because of gout)
You shouldn’t have to jump for joy (but can’t anyway because of gout)

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

They gave you strife
And in return you gave them smell (not just perfume)
As cold as ice
I hope we live to tell the tale
I hope we live to tell the whale

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do with bloat
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
Uric acid I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

Gout
Gout
Let it all out (let it all out)
These are the things I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

And when you’ve taken down your guard
If I could change your mind
I’d really love to break your smart
I’d really love to break your smart

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
Uric acid I can do without
Come on
I’m talking to you
Come on

Gout
Gout
Let it all out
Uric acid I can do without…

(with lyrical adjustments by John-Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt)