KEY POINTS:
It was nearly as entertaining as the show itself. Coming out of Chris Rock's show last Wednesday, traffic came to a standstill as two girls began a heated verbal argument.
It seemed one girl had been asked to quieten down during the show and had taken grave exception to the request.
"I didn't come here to be shushed by a little priss like you," she declared.
The other shot back: "Well, I didn't pay $125 to listen to you talk to your friend all night."
And so it went on, the girls' boyfriends looking thoroughly bemused as bystanders pretended not to stare.
I'm not surprised there was a bust-up following the show. It was an horrendously impolite audience.
Rock may have been greeted like a rock star when he first came on stage but people soon began to treat the show - which was a seated affair at the Civic Theatre - as if it were an actual concert. They thought nothing of getting up repeatedly during the 90-minute set, to refresh their drinks, go to the bathroom, or just generally pop out for a breather.
At one point, three girls, sitting directly in front of the stage, all decided to head out together, causing half their row to move as they clambered over them. It was distracting, to say the least. Never mind incredibly rude. Rock may be a crass-talking comic, but he is still a performer. Surely these people wouldn't jump up and down during a play or dance production?
Watching the Olympic opening ceremony last Friday, I was struck by a similar sense of bemusement.
As the athletes marched into the Bird's Nest, more than half seemed to have cameras glued to their faces, recording the crowd and the incredible scene around them.
On the one hand, you can see why they would want to capture the moment. For most, it will undoubtedly be a highlight of their sporting careers (others might try desperately to forget the whole affair ... )
But didn't they realise it was the Olympics? Otherwise known as the most televised event on Earth. There were already cameras everywhere - on the floor, in the stands, suspended from the rafters - recording every angle imaginable.
Surely, they could have got their mum/cousin/neighbour to tape the ceremony for them, leaving them free to actually experience and appreciate the moment.
More confounding were the two Australian athletes (and possibly others, I stopped watching after a while) who had their cellphones plastered to their ears. Anyone who's ever received a drunken call from a mate at 2am can imagine how that conversation went.
[Roaring background noise] "Mate, I can't hear you ..."
[Roaring background noise] "I said, I can't hear you."
[Roaring background noise]. Well, you can imagine the rest.
As I discussed the scenario with a colleague on Monday morning, he decried it as yet more bad manners.
But I suspect it may be more serious than that. Both the Rock incident and the Olympics seem to reflect a developing trend in our society. And a rather sad one at that.
We seem to be losing the ability to live in the moment and appreciate things for what they are. The simple memory of an event is no longer enough - we're desperate to record and discuss everything as and when it happens.
And in the process, we're missing what's right in front of us.
