My most embarrassing moment as a preteen came via my father -- we were waiting at a stoplight in the family's paneled station wagon when a low-rider car pulled up next to us, bass thumping. My dad turned up the symphony we were listening to as loud as the radio would go, and tried to rock to the beat. I wanted to die. Now, though, I think that was pretty cool.
I'm with Levi. This is the first season that I'm watching 24 on TV, and not on DVD. Same with Veronica Mars. It's awful to have to wait a whole week for the next episode of my favorite shows, and to sit through commercials. And wait through weeks of repeats. I, like probably everybody else, much prefer the DVD-binge experience. It's much more continuous, and it's easier to pick up on subtleties.
Charlotte's Web was the first chapter book I ever read. I had to get special permission to stay up late to read by the light in my parents' room, because I wanted to get to a stopping point before going to bed. It was a great book then, and more than 20 years later, it still holds up. Thanks for bringing back the fond memories, Liz.
Check out Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. It was written in the '80s, but a lot of the arguments he makes about TV and movies would also apply to video games. And what about the new Everything Bad is Good for You? Apparently a lot of video games, tv shows, etc. are actually making people more complex thinkers.
Mostly, though, I'm with Joel. Moderation is key. Too much of anything probably isn't good. Then again, nobody's yelling at classical musicians who practice their instruments 12 hours a day.
My turn. In the last week or two I read "Eleven Minutes," "symptomatic," "Sideways," and "Zermatt," all from the new fiction shelf at our very own Lawrence Public Library. They were pretty good. I especially liked "Zermatt" and "symptomatic." As for favorites, "Ender's Game," "Pride and Prejudice," "Quest for a Maid," anything by Robin McKinley, Louis Sachar, Sarah Dessen or Bruce Brooks (I end up reading a lot young adult fiction, too). I'm excited for the book club. Great idea, Leslie.
That's the rub, isn't it? Kids consume your lives, take over your consciousness and demand so much. My parents made a lot of sacrifices to have a large family. Sacrifices I'm not sure I'd be willing to make. Yet I can't imagine any of my siblings not existing. Of course they're worth it. But by following that logic, I should already be having my own children, and lots of them. Yet I know I'm not ready. Tough issue to resolve.
Tigers and bears - not pets. As a man much wiser than me once said, Nature is red in tooth and claw. These people who hang out with animals two and three times their weight, that have millions of years of evolution honing their instinct to kill - well, let's just say, my money's on the tigers and bears. Until the guns come.
My dad ain't Fonzie
My most embarrassing moment as a preteen came via my father -- we were waiting at a stoplight in the family's paneled station wagon when a low-rider car pulled up next to us, bass thumping. My dad turned up the symphony we were listening to as loud as the radio would go, and tried to rock to the beat. I wanted to die. Now, though, I think that was pretty cool.
April 18, 2006 at 2:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Binge viewing
I'm with Levi. This is the first season that I'm watching 24 on TV, and not on DVD. Same with Veronica Mars. It's awful to have to wait a whole week for the next episode of my favorite shows, and to sit through commercials. And wait through weeks of repeats. I, like probably everybody else, much prefer the DVD-binge experience. It's much more continuous, and it's easier to pick up on subtleties.
January 22, 2006 at 10:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
I Heart E.B. White
Charlotte's Web was the first chapter book I ever read. I had to get special permission to stay up late to read by the light in my parents' room, because I wanted to get to a stopping point before going to bed. It was a great book then, and more than 20 years later, it still holds up. Thanks for bringing back the fond memories, Liz.
December 9, 2005 at 11:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Video killed the reality star
Check out Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. It was written in the '80s, but a lot of the arguments he makes about TV and movies would also apply to video games. And what about the new Everything Bad is Good for You? Apparently a lot of video games, tv shows, etc. are actually making people more complex thinkers.
Mostly, though, I'm with Joel. Moderation is key. Too much of anything probably isn't good. Then again, nobody's yelling at classical musicians who practice their instruments 12 hours a day.
July 18, 2005 at 11:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
You might be from Lawrence if...
If you waited in a line stretching down the block and around the corner to see Fahrenheit 9-11 the day it came to town...you might live in Lawrence.
If you think paying $135,000 for an 800-square-foot house is outrageous... you might live in Lawrence.
If you regularly see your mayor riding his recumbent-style bike downtown... you might live in Lawrence.
If you complain about heavy traffic when it takes 15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other ... you might live in Lawrence.
If you ever camped out in a dead tree stump to protest its removal ... you might live in Lawrence.
July 14, 2005 at 4:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reading Variant 0001
My turn. In the last week or two I read "Eleven Minutes," "symptomatic," "Sideways," and "Zermatt," all from the new fiction shelf at our very own Lawrence Public Library. They were pretty good. I especially liked "Zermatt" and "symptomatic."
As for favorites, "Ender's Game," "Pride and Prejudice," "Quest for a Maid," anything by Robin McKinley, Louis Sachar, Sarah Dessen or Bruce Brooks (I end up reading a lot young adult fiction, too).
I'm excited for the book club. Great idea, Leslie.
July 21, 2004 at 1:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
The Numbers Game
That's the rub, isn't it? Kids consume your lives, take over your consciousness and demand so much. My parents made a lot of sacrifices to have a large family. Sacrifices I'm not sure I'd be willing to make. Yet I can't imagine any of my siblings not existing. Of course they're worth it. But by following that logic, I should already be having my own children, and lots of them. Yet I know I'm not ready. Tough issue to resolve.
June 11, 2004 at 9:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
The End of Everything
Ding-dong, the witch is dead.
April 7, 2004 at 12:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
This rinky-dink blog
I prefer the clean-shaven look. Keep it up.
December 1, 2003 at 10:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Cup O'Laura
Tigers and bears - not pets. As a man much wiser than me once said, Nature is red in tooth and claw. These people who hang out with animals two and three times their weight, that have millions of years of evolution honing their instinct to kill - well, let's just say, my money's on the tigers and bears. Until the guns come.
October 8, 2003 at 6:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )