O_o What a strange... case. I don't quite understand her popularity, though I do get a vague sense. Creepy, though you missed Halloween by 5 days.

I suppose this goes under 20% non-GOOGLE?

Phillip,

I read your blog here every day and I've stay out of the way. I've found that, for me at least, learning is much more likely to occur when listening. This subject, seems to me, however, to be something very different, I find it as troubling as I do disturbing, and on so many levels. I don't have a clue as to what can be said here. There simply isn't any contextual basis that I can think of, that would ethically, morally or socially justify the book store's reasoning. There clearly is a disconnect between me and them (bookstore, those who bought the hoodies, etc.) and I have no doubt they would see the problem as being on my end. My guess is that they would say that " He simply doesn't get it," and they would be right. I don't get it.

Greg: You said it much better than I ever could.

Mysterius,

As with many things today I fear that we've gone too fast, too far, with too little foresight. It appears to me that we are now being lead by the tail. Take medicine for example. The rate at which each branch is growing has nearly brought about such divergent path that there is little now that can be done to reconcile them. Why is that, well I'll leave that for someone at a higher pay grade than mine, but I can make at least one observation. There are few who can slow down enough to catch a breath and get their bearings, especially when so many others are more than eager to take their place and whiz right on by at their expense. That is very scary. Any ways, I 'm not licensed as a philosopher, so I probably should quit, before they can get me in their sites.

Even still, thanks for the comment.

Greg, yes there are those who "get it" and those "don't get it".. and that is the phenomenon of social networks and communities....for whatever reasons technogies is shaping how soceity is morphing

Greg, it sounds like you are talking about the Singularity. Due to the exponential nature of progress, some believe that there will arrive a point when humans are unable to keep up with the rate of change and it becomes in possible to predict what will come next (it has been a while since I've read about this, so I hope I'm saying it correctly). Currently professions have to specialize because fields of study have gained so much knowledge that it is impossible for one person to be a master of everything in that field.

/pd and Andrew Hitchcock,

I am well acquainted with points, and though I wish I could argue that they aren't so and it's all a misunderstanding, but I can't. I am by no means the oldest person on this planet, I have, however, been around long enough to have learned that if you continue to stand in front of a charging bull you will get hurt. The momentum of change in our world is already beyond the possibility of control by any short term or near term standard of time. I know this there might just come a time when we might just an invitation to the Borg that we want to become part of the collective.

Thanks for taking your time to comment.

RThats weird certainly but theres also a case in Japan of this guy who murdered, dismembered and ate a young woman. After servig his sentence he returned home and wrote best selling books, became a regular chat show host and cult icon. I even think he was given his own TV show at one point.

Murderer-worship is old hat in the states. We are all fascinated by criminals' disregard for societal norms.

Japanese society is one of the most restrictive, so it's natural that this type of cultural backlash happens from time to time.

.. and yes, it's disturbing. That's why its sooo compelling

Yea....remember OJ? They still can't keep his face off the TV.