Talking in the National Concert Hall

Brendan Burgess

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Have our manners as a nation gone downhill or am I just getting intolerant? I had to ask a couple sitting beside me to stop talking and giggling during a concert last night. There were probably around 5 other frequent talkers and whisperers within earshot.

This has becme a regular occurrence recently and I am finding it difficult to remember the last concert I was at where I did not have to ask someone to stop talking or fushtering in their nosebag.

Brendan
 
I was at a 5.30pm cinema showing recently in Cork. There was a middle aged couple behind us whom it basically seemed thought they were at home in their TV room. They were chatting for the full duration of the film. we were in the first 2 seats of our row next to the centre aisle, they were one row behind and about 7 seats in from us. the cinema was close to empty(5.30 on a Wed). My wife twice asked them to shut up. On both occasions I would guess the silence lasted maybe 3-5 mins. Eventually, as the cinema was empty we moved accross the aisle, one row up and went into the end of that row. So now we must have been 8 seats, the aisle and another 8 seats from them. They were so loud that we could still hear the actual content of their conversation. Pure ignorance....
 
I have actually stopped going to the cinema because I can't stand people talking through the film or rustling in their nosebag. I would hit the roof if I heard talking during an acoustic set/concert, but louder stuff I dont mind too much.
 
And what about (a) actually taking phone calls and having a conversation during a film( UGC Parnell Street) (b) using the phone for texting throughout a concert ( NCH) - how rude.

I went to see Downfall in The Screen on saturday ( very grim, fascinating but a bit overlong) and was treated to a running commentary from my neighbours along the lines of : "Ooh, does'nt he look like Hitler? " - and various comments like " I didn't know that etc.,etc.

It was unbelievable.

I think people have just become so self absorbed and self important that manners have just gone out the window. I blame the parents.

mf
 
Have our manners as a nation gone downhill
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Yes they have! People are becoming less and less considerate towards others. I'm thinking of giving up going to the cinema as people are constantly using their mobiles: if they're not texting or talking, they're playing games.

Mind you, I would have thought that people who forked out a substantial sum to attend the NCH would be less likely to be yapping.
 
Didn't one of the cinemas introduce technology to block mobile phones in the auditorium and some regulator directed them to unplug it?


Brendan
 
admin said:
Didn't one of the cinemas introduce technology to block mobile phones in the auditorium and some regulator directed them to unplug it?
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There was some device which physically blocked the mobile phone signals. One of the reasons they were banned was that they blocked people from making emergency calls. Apparently there is a new device that is actually a modified cellular base station that will allow SOS calls only. I think I read that ComReg was going to allow these to be installed.
 
It's easy to blame the parents, and it's often right, too, but it's not the whole story.
I've had cinema & other trips ruined by self-obsessed reptiles whose teenage years are well behind them.
And if they can't conduct themselves with common courtesy in public, what chance do their offspring have?
 
Jock04 said:
I've had cinema & other trips ruined by self-obsessed reptiles whose teenage years are well behind them.
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Can't go anywhere these days without bumping into the Illuminati eh?

But seriously - people chatting, texting, phoning, gaming, munching, copulating etc. away in the cinema is something that really, really annoys me too... :mad:
 
I've taken to demanding a refund from the venue. Usually doesn't work but a great way of making your point (ie. that it's their responsiblility to shut these yappers up and provide an enjoyable concert/film).

Another problem I can't see any solution to however is the newfound fondness sufferers from bronchial disorders have for classical music. I say newfound because I have estimated cpms (coughs per minute) on old recordings and it's definitely higher today. I could be more scientific and measure cpmpp (coughs per minute per person), but that would be silly
 
I say newfound because I have estimated cpms (coughs per minute) on old recordings and it's definitely higher today. I could be more scientific and measure cpmpp (coughs per minute per person), but that would be silly
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You've already taken the second derivative of the number of coughs as a function of time. (You've estimated CPM in the past, and at the present).
 
 
"You've already taken the second derivative of the number of coughs as a function of time. (You've estimated CPM in the past, and at the present)."

Indeed, an acceleration of coughage.
 
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