Mean World Syndrome

Not much from my college years has stuck with me...but one term seems to hold tenaciously on...perhaps it is my mistrust of television, and for that matter, the media in general. Mean Word Syndrom, aka Media Induced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a very scary phenomenon. In a nutshell, it is when the ingestion of news media skews your view of reality to the extent that the world appears as much meaner, violent, abhorrent than it truly is.

The sad thing is that I know someone who has been almost paralytically damaged by news consumption. They hardly venture forth from the confines fo their home and as a result I can only venture to guess their quality of life has been severly damaged as a result.

Why do I bring this up....Well - Of course on my high and mighty soap box I spoke loud and clear that my son would not be watching any TV until he was 3 years old, and then it would be very, very limited. Problem: He's 23 months old and screams bloody murder every time we try to brush his teeth. So, in desperation found out there is an Elmo video (he LOVES Elmo, although he's never watched Sesame Street) which espouses the joys of teeth brushing. Well, we bit the bullet, got the video and since it keeps my little guy engrossed for 52 minutes and 36 seconds in one stretch (a miracle) I've been abusing the video, so that I can get things done.

I guess the consolation is that Elmo's world is strange, but not violent.

Need I Blog More?

Today, I finally realized that more than 50% of the people in this country were smoking crack on election day. We better get the DEA right on it, who knew crack usage was pandemic?

On Education:
You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.
- US President George W. Bush
Reading is the basics for all learning.
- US President George W. Bush
Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?
- US President George W. Bush

On the U.S.:
Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.
- US President George W. Bush
If you don't stand for anything, you don't stand for anything!
- US President George W. Bush
know how hard it is for you to put food on your family
- US President George W. Bush
I think the American people - I hope the American - I don't think, let me - I hope the American people trust me.
- US President George W. Bush

On Other:
More and more of our imports are coming from overseas
--George W. Bush
Not in French, nor English, nor Mexican
--George W. Bush
I was not pleased that Hamas has refused to announce its desire to destroy Israel.
--George W. Bush

Where is Karl when you need him?

A Blow to the Well Read

How sad that I learned of Kurt Vonnegut's death through a listserve email:
"so kurt vonnegut dies and gets a thirty second blurb while "the
people" are still listening to find out when anna nicole tits will
rise from the grave and ascend to sit at the right hand of god the
father almighty? sheesh."

The sad thing is that the content of my neighbors rant seems to paint such a sad portrait of our society today -- That a little/no talent sex symbol's death two months ago would overshadow that of a great author who died today -- Today!. Where is the logic in that? I give you that paternity is now conclusive, but Kurt deserves much more than that! He supplied us with pages and pages of thought provoking verse which if nothing else, gave us another way to view the world. Anna Nicole gave us....a very scary reality show, another celebrity figure named Howard Stern, images for prepubescent boys to ogle after...?? As a Mom, I have moments of surreal paranoia - That the society I'm raising my son in is a vacuous, desensitized and apathetic and that somehow I'm going to have to fight against all that to instill in him the antithesis of those and hopefully promote love of literature such as that written by Mr. Vonnegut. Yikes, I have my work cut out for me!

On other days, I'm sure I'm much more optimistic. It's just a very sad day when one of my very favorite authors passes away.
RIP Kurt Vonnegut

Is the medium really the massage?

As McLuhan said...? If it is, apparently these days we need bigger mediums and deeper tissue massages. My husband was at one of those giant warehouse marts where EVERYTHING is bigger (Note: when you're buying diapers, this is not such a terrible thing). Anyway, some guy was wheeling a 62" TV to the check out counter. And someone commented on how big it was and the guy countered back that this was not his first and that he was 'collecting' them. Who in the hell collects 62" TVs?? And who in the world needs more than one?? It's so Farenhiet 451 with those talking TV walls. Creepy!!

I say this, because it feels like it's been a year since I saw a TV show all the way through, and these shows are being viewed on a 15" TV. We have not let our 14 month old watch any TV up to this point, and we're hoping to keep it going for as long as possible, and as a result my TV diet has been severly curbed. I'm a bit surprised at how at times I'm apathetic to the medium, and at others, where I would just about give my eye tooth (you don't need this one for much, right? Since we've become civilized carnivores on the whole...) to spend an entire day enraptured by the fuzzy blue glow of my 15" set.

Oh well, life is short, and I want to give my baby as many IQ points as I can, and somehow, while a lovely distraction, I don't think TV helps in that respect. A scary aspect of this all, is that he knows who Elmo, Ernie and Cookie Monster are, although he's never once watched Sesame Street.

Yo, Ho, Ho Ye Scurvy Dawg!

It's 'Talk Like a Pirate Day'. Pretty inane, but fun day - definately better than some holidays out there. I always have so love the nomiker 'Scurvy Dawg' - Scurvy as a disease has always fascinated me as well. I don't eat much citrus myself, but have yet to contract scurvy, no matter how hard I try.

Scurvy (N.Lat. scorbutus) is a disease that results from insufficient intake of vitamin C, which is required for correct collagen synthesis in humans. The scientific name of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the latin name of scurvy, scorbutus. Scurvy leads to the formation of livid spots on the skin, spongy gums, and bleeding from almost all mucous membranes. The spots are most abundant on the thighs and legs, and a person with the ailment looks pale, feels depressed, and is partially immobilized.

Thank goodness for modern medicine- just give that wench some orange juice!

Fact Stranger Than Fiction

I was just listening to the Ann Richards speech for the National Public Radio conference in 2004 and she was speaking of the fear that was a result of 9/11 which is causing us to allow our liberties to be taken away piece meal without any fuss or questioning or outrage.

Recently, I re-read Margaret Atwood's the The Handmaid's Tale and it was eerily reminiscent of our current political state. I didn't really remember the beginning of the book. But it was interesting in that it was small civil liberties taken away one at a time that led to the state that the Handmaid ended up in. It was such a subtle take over, that by the time people realized what was happening, it was too late - The noose was already around the neck of their freedom. It scares me how closely this seems to parallel our current situation.

I have to say - I'm scared! We are way too willing or apathetic to care that our government is hacking away at our freedom in the name of fear. No amount of fear should make us give up our freedom - it's simply inane to think they go hand in hand. I for one am willing to give up some of the government's so called security to retain the freedom that up until recently we all had. We've already given up so much - and with little or no outcry from the masses. I just had a baby and I'm very afraid of what he will experience as he grows up. I just do not understand how all this can be happening around me and I feel so helpless. There are days that I feel that I am at war with my own government, and I'm flabbergasted that somehow more than 50% of the voting public disagrees with me.

http://kut.org/items/show/5727

What a Beautiful Lady!