The Fish and the Lure

Neon Lure | Mark Lindsay

My grandfather had a collection of fishing lures in his basement. I remember the wall upon which he displayed it. I can see it in my mind as clearly as this computer monitor upon which I write. Shiny objects with big, nasty hooks, the lures seemed beautiful and barbaric all at the same time. I hated seeing fish with hooks sticking out of their gills. I hated even more the detachment that many fishermen had to the pain that the fish seemed to experience. "They're cold-blooded," a childhood friend once said. "They don't feel any pain." Delusional thinking.

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Forgotten and Used-Up

Neon Sign | Mark Lindsay

Consumers. In a recession it's all about consumers. The consumers aren't confident. The consumers are upset. The consumers aren't buying. The consumers aren't consuming. We hear the word consumer so often that we forget its meaning. Consume means to use up, to destroy, or to absorb all the attention or energy of something or someone. How exactly did we turn into a consumer society? When did consumption become such a desirable word?

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