Working Ourselves to Death Diane Fassel

What happens when media and politics become forms of entertainment? As our world begins to look more and more like Orwell's 1984, Neil's Postman's essential guide to the modern media is more relevant than ever.

Fluoridation of water has been used for the prevention of tooth decay for over fifty years. During this time little research has been done to ascertain whether it works. The chemicals used are classified as toxic industrial waste, yet no study has ever been conducted into their safety for human consumption. At the same time, research has uncovered serious side effects including deaths, cancer, skeletal fluorosis, osteoporosis, dementia, lowered IQ, kidney damage and even increased dental decay.

How many death metal records today are worth stealing from? Not many, I’d wager; we simply have too many of them to keep track of. Look to the language: the promo writers are bored, “brutal” only has so many synonyms, and hearing that somewhere’s latest upstarts sound like old Deicide is only titillating for so long. But what else can be said? For the average death metal fan, the overabundance of material is a boon and a bane: you’ll never run out of grisly tunes, but you’ll never really dig into a record like older ‘heads did Altars of Madness because a brand new platter o’ splatter is ready and waiting. It’s like perpetually speed-dating, but never taking any of the girls out for a proper date. “Seems good, I like it, what’s next?”