I'm the sort of person who thinks culture should be very practical, should really move people forward or give them something that they didn't have before; I think that culture is how we increase ourselves or the world around us.
Planking is the act of lying face down with arms to the sides of the body, in unusual public spaces and photographing it.
Planking:
And more planking:
I can't explain exactly why it brings me so much joy to see this dedication to silliness. I mean, it's easy to just be silly a little bit, but it's damn hard to be this incredibly silly. Someone has died over this. People go out of their way to do it in sillier and crazier ways. There's no stopping it. It's a worldwide force for uselessness.
I can't pretend I know why we have this deep vein of silliness. I like to think it's the real antidote to Bin Laden or Ratko Mladic. Silliness like a cruise missile.
