Last night's LOST was very interesting. The kids enjoyed the conversation we had about the bizarre paradoxes that would crop up if one could travel back into time. Charles said it made his brain hurt a little. This Wikipedia article discusses a great deal more than we covered last night, I think it'll be fun for us to delve into over the coming days.
I keep thinking about Cole turning on the television every morning to watch the weather on the local news. He gets so irritated with the other stories we have to endure in the meantime. For example: the Governor wanting to spend millions of dollars to tear down Cole Hall on the NIU campus and put up a new building to replace it, Iowa saying they will continue to allow folks who smoke to light up while they are out on their tractors, the fairly recent mutterings of passing a law against spanking.
I usually leave the news on, a sort of background noise to our morning routine. But more and more often I find the stories so ridiculous or inappropriate for the kids to hear, that I switch it off. Seriously, is the morning news the best place to discuss why Victoria's Secret's ads are too sexy? Or the possible "positive side" of affairs? Or "Is my girlfriend gay?" Or "look what Brit did today & isn't it terrible that the paparazzi won't leave her alone? Here we'll show you the footage!"
This is simply trash. It's verbal and visual spackle, used to fill the cracks between the perpetual replay of video from the latest bombing, shooting or 20 car pile-up. It's broadcast Vicodin, leaving viewers numb and bleary. It doesn't teach anything. It's only worth is in the immense appreciation I've gained for PBS, the History Channel & the Discovery Channel.
awww crap. i think i just broke my soapbox.
In other news (and I promise by news I am not referring to the latest edible facial scrub), I came across the blog for Bill Moyers Journal. A brief selection from his interview with Susan Jacoby caught my attention & I found the other reader's comments very interesting.
I've gotten a bit into the complete transcript, but the children are almost done with breakfast so the rest will have to wait. I think I'll be reading her book, The Age of American Unreason, when I get the chance.
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