Buttons, Levers, and Dials

Buttons: I love pushing 'em. We all do. Humans are fascinated with pushing buttons. I'm pushing on buttons as I type these words right now. We push buttons on our phones, in our cars, and even on the piano. That's all the piano really is: a long arrangement of buttons to push. Life is full of buttons. Even people have buttons. I'm sure you've heard somebody say, "I'm going to cut your fucking head off if you keep pushing my buttons." Of course you have. Buttons mean a lot to us. They mean so much to us that developers like Apple create devices like the stupid iPad and equip them with the capability of having an unlimited amount of buttons! See, buttons are everywhere.

Levers and switches are another hot commodity in our daily routine. The parking break, the light switch in your nook, and slot machines in Lost Wages are just a few that come to mind. I feel empowered whenever I can bring light into and out of a room. Sometimes I point or snap my fingers at the bulb as I flick the light switch. It gives you a sense of entitlement. Let's see your cat do that while snapping its paws.

Knobs and dials are another significant motif of society. If you have a car that hasn't had it's radio stolen twice before in front of your house then you probably work with a dial everyday. We have the power to control the volume on our car stereos. It's magical. Knobs and dials also tend to control mood lights, tape decks, and the settings on your favorite vibrator. The dial can be a very useful apparatus. Have you ever been listening to "urban" music in a rundown neighborhood and suddenly your car was surrounded by amiable locals? You then suddenly realized that the music you were playing was in fact the same music of the regional sea of faces around you and not music of your own heritage. Volume knob control comes in handy at a time like this. Instead of muting the music or turning off your engine you could simply fade the music down with a twist of your volume knob. It makes it sound smoother to the keen ear. This diffuses the situation of getting into any unwanted cultural exchanges. And then you tell yourself after, "that's the last time I'm going through that locality without doors on my car."

~Anthans