Overfed

One of the reasons why I’d choose to commute by MTR over the bus any day is because most buses are now equipped with three or four LCD screens via which passengers are force-fed some people’s idea of “information”, which is usually a combination of advertisements, informercials, music videos of wannabe-singers nobody has any interest in, and low-budget programs featuring interviews about much of nothing at all with pseudo-celebrities who have trouble landing real jobs. Whatever happened to enjoying the sight of people and buildings flying by in the opposite direction?

Not hopping onto a bus isn't nearly enough to keep myself oblivious. For the KCR and even some green minibuses boast their own versions of similar broadcasting channels. And besides the ample supply of the good old Metro in every MTR station in the city, two other free daily newspapers are within easy reach depending on one's proximity to certain residential estates and major traffic hubs.

I personally don't like the inky mass media. And, anyway, peak-hour MTR rides leave little room to fully open one's lungs, let alone a newspaper spread. And wasn't most of the news on a paper already broadcasted on TV and radio the previous night? And isn't a free electronic version of those same news readily available at a few mouse clicks?

And then there are those odd Samsung flat screens on the platforms of selected MTR stations where a billboard should be. But those I actually don’t mind so much because they show ads and ads only, which I can always choose not to watch. And because most people are really moths and can’t stand the temptation of the light emitted by TV screens, the rest of the platform is left more spacious for those of us higher beings.

Once inside the train, passengers can read news headlines (and ads, naturally) off the overhead LED displays, which I have immunity to simply because I can't read 20 Chinese characters fast enough before the next headline scrolls over. I get by by reading headlines off other people's papers instead.