new illness invented

昨天看到獨立報這則新聞。幫很多名人治療癮疾的精神科診所 Priory 開始為各種行為以上癮症狀命名以增加客源,如「簡訊上癮」「性愛上癮」甚至「愛上癮」。

診所方面說:

“Every patient is treated as an individual. What we want to do is to raise the issue of addiction. We have seen a rise in behavioural addictions. Gambling is a well-recognised behavioural addiction. Sex addiction is an issue. If we notice a trend, it’s a genuine trend.

學者批評 Priory 已經麥當勞化。

“They’re always in the business of inventing new illnesses, by framing experiences most of us have under an illness label,” said Prof Furedi. “They’ve moved away from focusing on the very rich to a mass market. The more we hear that addiction is a penalty for life, the more it creates a massive public health problem.”

我沒機會看英國電視,不知道精神科診所是否也有電視廣告。這種廣告好像蠻好拍的,我腦袋已經飄過一堆畫面。我要拍的話大概會拍「檢查信箱上癮」「查看blogs上癮」。

繼續聊天氣

Art, it seems, is turning increasingly into this kind of spiritual mass event. Something really is happening here.

Guardian 找了一些人到 Tate Modern The Weather Project 排成 G2 的形狀,有了這篇報導。在空間極大的 Turbine Hall 掛著像是太陽又像月亮的圓形巨大發光物,天花板是鏡子,乾冰繚繞,地板屬於所有人。這個展覽發出的聲音的確與平常的 Museum Noises 不太一樣,大家躺在地上在姿勢交替間傳遞語言。

The meaning of Eliasson’s The Weather Project is not determined by the artist at all. You can enjoy it without knowing who he is. And, as he is a Scandinavian artist with nothing blatantly personal in his work, even when you are told who he is, you still don’t know who he is.

感謝 goya 的留言,還有這篇文章

rules

I’m buying you back, he says. Thirty-seven pages for your life, Claire. It’s the best bargaiin I’ve ever made.

But you can’t do that. It’s not allowed.
Maybe not. But I’m doing it, aren’t I? I’ve changed the rules.

The Book of Illusions / Paul Auster

馬丁和克萊兒,他燒手稿的行為超現實的換回了她的性命。虛構小說裡的虛構電影的主角,討論規則問題。

雨天女士貓掉

到倫敦第二天就下雨了。
早上出門時陰天,間或有陽光,走起路來還挺熱。穿背心套著羊毛薄外套得一路穿穿脫脫,一會兒一身汗,一會兒冷的發毛。到了下午,披哩啪啦下了大雨,五分鐘又停了,趁著雨小走回住處,到門前雨又嘩啦嘩啦,還是一隻落湯雞。

不好的區

第一天到倫敦,做接送生意的台灣學生直說 Mile End 是「不好的區」。
「要分辨倫敦好區壞區很簡單,看看地上髒不髒就知道了。」開著 Toyota 休旅車,手持 Burberry 小包,戴 Hugo Boss 墨鏡的老倫敦說。我們到了他所謂「亂的恐怖」的市集,地上髒髒的,有垃圾,店都還沒有開。「現在店還沒開所以看不出來,等到中午就很亂了。」他說。我倒覺得這裡比德里輕鬆許多。

這是一個中東人,黑人,黃種人新移民生活的地方,BBC 有史以來最長的連續劇 East Ender 就是以此區為背景。