Shhhhh....

The last time I complained here about how few public spaces are quiet anymore, I felt a bit strange. What if I'm the only one who thinks that's the case? Can other people hear themselves think when they're in public? Maybe I'm a cranky old man with sensitive ears... Maybe I'm just being irrational...

Happily, the British just had a No Music Day for precisely these reasons. Kevin Berger thinks the Americans need it too. ''What it's really about is not escaping the incessant and unwanted drone of music in public. It's about learning how to listen again.'' And to think.

Good news all around.

And here's a great line from the Salon letters section- ''Actual atmosphere has been replaced by a simulacra of atmosphere.'' Yes, I think so too.