Life Without a Cellphone

This is an ongoing series of articles and cartoons about my life without a cellphone:

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Reintroduction

Part 3-A: Maslow Into Madness

Part 3-B: Maslow Into Madness (Rabbit Holes)

Part 3-C: Maslow Into Madness (Unbound)

Part 4-A: Um, Okay?

Part 4-B: Um, Okay? (Psychosomatic Confusion)

Part 4-C: Um, Okay? (Patchwork Oscillation)

No Body at the Wheel (Synthetic Poetry in Demotion)

Part 4-D: Um, Okay? (Inconclusive Conclusion)

Folly Is Joy

This entry was posted in Technology. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Life Without a Cellphone

  1. Neal Peterson says:

    Dear Omer Rosen,

    Forgive this comment not about cell phones. Rather, I read your post in Huffington Post about the use and misuse of the term “so-called.” Great piece! Now how can we get the attention of NPR who insists on saying at every turn “so-called Islamic State”? It is driving me up the wall and the NPR ombudsman responded to my complaint as a weak apologist. Totally unconvincing.

    There are arguments to be made on both sides, I know. They NPR claim that the term chosen by ISIS of Islamic State is purely propagandistic and hence they refuse its use. But then that turns what NPR does, as the opposite tack, into something equally political and propagandistic. I feel the Fifth Estate is being co-opted from its true function as independent journalism.

    When Cassius Clay changed his name to Mohammed Ali, did we say “the so-called Mohammed Ali?” When the years were 1777-83 did we say “the so-called United States of America?” Did Britain say the so-called United States. I do not think it is necessary for us to approve of a person or country to accept the name they choose. No appeal has to be made an officiating body to approve of new names.

    Since there are political risks involved in the name Islamic State, as it can hold a powerful attraction for Muslims who remember the history of a unified caliphate — the Golden Age for them — I do not deny that the cruelty and violence of ISIS calls for some forms of resistance. But I object to twisting language, and think what NPR is doing (and others) is very Orwellian, worse than ISIS’s choice of name.

    Who was it who said language is the first casualty of war? Your piece is so good, I just had to write you; I have no clout; my isolated voice amounts to nothing in this day and age.

    Signed,
    the person who calls himself Neal Peterson

    • Omer Rosen says:

      Hello Neal, sorry for the late reply, I sometimes forget this website exists! I also complained about ‘so-called Islamic State’ to a guest on WNYC after calling in to complain about ‘so-called’ a few months ago. If you are looking for someone who shares your pain re ‘so-called Islamic State’ then look no further. And I am glad you wrote me because my friends and girlfriend are tired of me getting upset about ‘so-called Islamic State’ being everywhere. But I don’t think our cries have been in vain as I have noticed a shift by NPR to ‘self-styled’ or ‘self-proclaimed’ Islamic State which has made me very happy. So happy that I wrote an article about how happy it made me but I never put it up because I got busy writing my silly cellphone articles. Maybe I’ll finish it up soon.

      Signed,
      so-called Omer Rosen

    • Omer Rosen says:

      Also, see the below:

      https://twitter.com/omerrosen/status/534770783579799552

      Together we are strong! Or at least together we are two!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>