And I thought cell phones were bad

[MerryRaven]

Now a lot of people are wearing these things in their ears all the time; listening to something or talking on the phone or getting messages from Venus.

If you want to ask me a question and get a response, take the things out of your ears so you can hear me.

I am tired of the following

Me: "How can I help you?"

Young Man standing at the counter staring off in the distance with thingy in ears ... says nothing

So I move on to the next customer.

Young Man: "Hey I have been waiting here." (More like "H' avbinwatiner" and yes he is a native English speaker).

Me: "And how can I help you?"

YM: (staring off into space) uh...

Me: (Louder) May I help you?"

YM: Mumbling (It sounded like "dyagtcriskinashes")

Me: Is that a title?

YM: Yeh, criskinashes.

At this point I say "take the ear phones out if you want me to help you." 

Which he did and yes I could understand him the book was Crispin by Avi.

I would like to say this is the only time this has ever happened to me but it is increasingly happening all the time. 

I get so I want to scream at people "TAKE THE EARPIECES OUT!"  But they would probably just respond with "Wha?" as they do anyway.

[MadMadge43]

I am laughing so hard. I always wanted to live in Star Trek, and looks like we are almost there.

In LA (especially Hollywood) my BF and I make bets to who has an ear piece and who is crazy. You'd be surprised how many times we're wrong!

I have noticed the younger generation is a little more clued in to this and make a simple handgesture (pinky and thumb out) to indicate they're on the phone. Us older people just keep talking away...

[Venus193]

A couple of episodes ago on Nip/Tuck they projected a future in which people have them implanted.

Science fiction often becomes science, so watch out!

[fklwmn]

A couple of episodes ago on Nip/Tuck they projected a future in which people have them implanted.

Science fiction often becomes science, so watch out!

Ha! that will never happen! If we have them implanted we won't have the ability to upgrade them to the newest features and technology every 3 months like the cell companies want us to!

[emeraldsage85]

A couple of episodes ago on Nip/Tuck they projected a future in which people have them implanted.

Science fiction often becomes science, so watch out!

That reminds me of an episode of Doctor Who where people had ear implants that downloaded news, music, sports, etc. right into their brains. Then the man who invented them used them to take over the world.

Technology is scary sometimes. 

[Venus193]

True.  This is scary, indeed.

[HogwartsAlum]

That sounds like the wife in Fahrenheit 451 where she had that little ear radio, and never took it out and never talked to her husband.  All she did was listen to the little shell in her ear.

[Venus193]

BTW, I think that Fahrenheit 451 is one of the scariest movies of all time.

[HogwartsAlum]

BTW, I think that Fahrenheit 451 is one of the scariest movies of all time.

We read the book in high school, and it scared the wee out of me because I would have DIED if anyone had taken my books away.

[Venus193]

Indeed.  I so identified with the woman who stayed to be burned with her library.

[LadyJaneinMD]

Indeed.  I so identified with the woman who stayed to be burned with her library.

Yeah me too.  My books were MY LIFE.   

[Venus193]

Books never stop being cool.

[Clara Bow]

I have always wondered if their ears would fall out if those little buds were pulled out....I think they are hooked into their brains. It's a conspiracy!! Haven't you seen Invasion of the Body Snatchers!!!???
It's begun, I can hear them now..."Not one of us, not one of us.."
*whimpering, looking for a place to hide and some canned goods and bottled water to see me through.....*

[MerryRaven]

Indeed.  I so identified with the woman who stayed to be burned with her library. 

I was 14 when I read that book the first time.  I even like the movie it is based on with the strange Osker Werner.  It might have been better if the director François Truffaut and his co-writer Jean-Louis Richard had understood English better.  Or if they had collaborated with an English Speaking Writer. 

I don't know if having Julie Christie play both the wife and Clarrissa was such a good idea. 
This was Truffauts first color film and he didn't like working with it.  I think someone is working on a new version of this.

I go on and on because that is the ultimate horror story to me.

It is scary about the ear-bud people.  Add that to the idea of Reality TV and computer connections and all the future is now. 

But I do think it as rude to try and have a conversation with you attention wandering to your Mp3 player or phone or whatever instead of what is in front of you.

[Venus193]

Truffaut sounds almost like a luddite, or as though he were a throwback to those guys from the silent era who didn't want sound in movies.

I agree with you about Julie Christie playing both women; there was nothing in the book that asked for it.  It made me wonder whether the intention was to demonstrate that neither Linda nor Clarissa were complete:  The former completely lacked any intellectual tendencies and the latter had no vanity, as demonstrated by the gamin haircut (which was somewhat fashionable in France at the time).

Having said that, I loved Oskar Werner as Montag.  He was such an intellectual type that I found it difficult to imagine anyone else as this character.  As a rule I don't find Germanic men to be sexy, but I thought he was.