Comments on: The best tip of your life concerns black convertibles and Karel Appel

By: Tinatin

Tinatin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:31:30 +0000

Didn’t realize your personal blog was so great, EJ – am subscribing right now – absolutely love this, very objectively speaking! And so proud of you, my UN colleague :-)

By: Peter Evers

Peter Evers — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:20:39 +0000

Wow, great article. Best I’ve ever read of your hand. The airplane story is a familiar one. But speaking to everyone who sits next to you can be kinda tiring. I once spend several hours on my way to New York (to your place, actually) talking to a war veteran which was kind of interesting, but it happens more then often that you just want someone to shut up.

By: Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Ernst-Jan Pfauth — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:55:53 +0000

@Christian, that’s a really interesting question you ask in the last paragraph. I think Twitter and other social media outlets are ways to fulfill our need to get in touch with interesting people. The Internet does the same as booze, it takes our social boundaries away.

By: Christian DE NEEF

Christian DE NEEF — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:33:49 +0000

How social are we? Do we reach out or ere we just hiding behind our social (techie) gadgets? This post is so true and so recognizable! I’ve been on that plane of yours, in that very same seat, spending hours with someone that I would not talk to, mostly annoyed or maybe a bit afraid. And certainly I’ve been sitting there beside people which had the very same feelings towards me…

Luckily, I’ve also been driving on that bridge. I met incredible (and incredibly open) people on my travels (300 000 miles on my frequent flyer account), some of my very best friends were never introduced to me, we never shared the same university or job or whatever, but we were strangers that met in concert halls, on planes or trains, or online (yes!).

The conclusion is that ‘others’ are like ‘us’, and that we are too often ‘alone together’. As Sjors says, those other people are also just waiting for a conversation. And why? A fear for strangers that’s been induced by the media, an education that warns us not to trust anybody, certainly not to ‘offer a ride to a stranger’, …

It’s a pity our society has evolved that way, we hardly see anyone hitchhiking these days, but I remember 30 years ago that’s how I would travel!

So are the social media our new public square or marketplace? Do we connect on twitter or elsewhere with strangers, trust them, only because it doesn’t seem dangerous (there’s the protection of (fire) walls, so it’s not for real, is it?) or really because there’s a feeling that we want to share something, that we want to involve the other in a conversation?

By: Jerry

Jerry — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:51:07 +0000

Always nice to read contemplations of the young & restless… thanks for the tip EJ!

By: Sander

Sander — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:53:10 +0000

Klinkt goed. Vooral het verhaal van de ‘convertible’. Het verhaal acher de man met de ‘Karel Appel’ blijft natuurlijk een mysterie. Maar dat heeft misschien juist zijn charme. Als je die vent beter had leren kennen was je er misschien wel achter gekomen dat het een onwijs saaie lul was geweest. Nu blijft het mysterieus en een mooi verhaal.

By: Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Ernst-Jan Pfauth — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:59:24 +0000

@Sjors thanks! and yes, I think you’re right. People dig conversations, but somehow we never admit that.

By: Sjors

Sjors — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:27:12 +0000

Great story again :)

I think we can’t remind ourself enough on how important the ‘other’ people are. And probably how 90% of the other people are also just waiting for a conversation :)

By: Edial

Edial — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:04:55 +0000

Loving the stories from the street!

By: Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Ernst-Jan Pfauth — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 21:26:48 +0000

@robertjan thanks! Appreciate it!