Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

From a very strange and interesting article about people who like watching other people through their apartment windows on the New York Times website:

To satisfy his curiosity, Mr. Morris said he keeps a set of binoculars handy, and isn’t bothered if the neighbors watch him in return. “It’s kind of comforting,” he said. “Everyone is alone together in their own separate units, but everybody knows how together they are. I don’t think it’s creepy. It’s kind of nice. That’s why you live in a big city.”

Now, I’m not suggesting that I’ve never snuck out to the lounge room to spy through the front window on fighting neighbours, or, if given the opportunity (i.e. lived in a big city apartment) I wouldn’t engage in a bit of Rear Window style people watching. But the first thought in my, and probably everyone else’s, head mid-spy would surely be: wow, this is incredibly creepy.