Reading, rainbows and status anxiety

By Michael Gakuran | | Journal | 10 Comments |

So today I ventured back up to Reading University with my dad. I made him listen to the Franz Ferdinand album on the way there, which he says sounded quite good. Having quite an effect, this band… Let us hope it isn’t a short-lived hype-high. Anyway, Reading University looked just as beautiful a second time around, and I feel even more resentful that they do not offer my course combination anymore. I really hope Leeds University has something grand to make me forget Reading… The journeys to and from Reading were relatively easy, despite getting lost in the city centre initially. We also saw a bright full-length rainbow on the way home, from the pattering of a light rain fading into an orange-black bleached sky as the sun set.

I came across a small article in the philosophy section of ‘The Culture’ (a TV and radio guide supplemented with ‘The Times’ newspaper) this morning reviewing a book by ‘Alain de Botton’ on ‘Status Anxiety’. From what I gather, it discusses a person’s place in society and how one may try to seek the approval of others to fit in or not be categorised as a loser. Well, the main thing that caught my eye was the mention of Socrates in the book, but it seems as though Status Anxiety could account for a lot of the problems we encounter. Granted, I haven’t read the book yet, but already the title has identified a whole new concept to think about. I may look into this area more if I can.

Anyway, I’ve just been downloading lots of ‘Battle Angel Alita’ images, since Yukito Kishiro’s artwork is fantastic; (lookie, new avatar! ^_^). I would like to talk more about this anime/manga, but it’s already tomorrow and I should have been in bed yesterday.

10 comments on “Reading, rainbows and status anxiety
  1. tremor16 says:

    Damn… Shame I missed that program… Thanks for the link though.

  2. tremor16 says:

    Damn… Shame I missed that program… Thanks for the link though.

  3. docdaneeka says:

    Documentary. It was reviewed in the Telegraph today…”de Botton erected a superbly enjoyable and thought-provoking television essay. His main point was that expectations are dangerous. Once we believe – as we are constantly encouraged to – that we could do anything, we’re faced with inevitable frustration when we trundle along much as we always have…As Botton convincingly suggested, these days we badly underestimate the role of sheer luck in people’s lives… Status Anxiety was bulging with so many stimulating ideas…”Everything” he pointed out reassuringly, “will turn out for the worst””

    Having read that, I have discovered that it was a one-off…sorry for that.

  4. docdaneeka says:

    Documentary. It was reviewed in the Telegraph today…”de Botton erected a superbly enjoyable and thought-provoking television essay. His main point was that expectations are dangerous. Once we believe – as we are constantly encouraged to – that we could do anything, we’re faced with inevitable frustration when we trundle along much as we always have…As Botton convincingly suggested, these days we badly underestimate the role of sheer luck in people’s lives… Status Anxiety was bulging with so many stimulating ideas…”Everything” he pointed out reassuringly, “will turn out for the worst””

    Having read that, I have discovered that it was a one-off…sorry for that.

  5. tremor16 says:

    A series? As in, documentary or sitcom type?

  6. tremor16 says:

    A series? As in, documentary or sitcom type?

  7. docdaneeka says:

    Status Anxiety is also a series on Channel 4 on Saturday evenings at 7 pm… Alain de Botton has written some other books too that i have seen around that look quite interesting.

  8. docdaneeka says:

    Status Anxiety is also a series on Channel 4 on Saturday evenings at 7 pm… Alain de Botton has written some other books too that i have seen around that look quite interesting.

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