Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
-Albert Einstein
Being on a tightrope is living; everything else is waiting.
Karl Wallenda (1904-1978):
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
-Helen Keller
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.
--Eugene Ionesco
"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." - Seneca
It is not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with them.
--Isabel Colegate
The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. Dante Alghieri
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
TV Screws Up The Kids
Well, we all *know* that TV screws up the kids, but it doesn't seem to stop us from planting them in front of it for multiple hours a day. There are shows marketed at two year olds and parents can't buy the associated crap fast enough to reinforce having their kids be quiet for that time they're watching the screen.
Of course, common sense would tell us this is idiotic. A horrible idea. A stupid way to raise a child - or, more accurately, a way to avoid having to raise a child.
Common sense would tell us that those first four years of life - when the brain is developing - DEVELOPING - would be a good time to be exposing it to wonderful things. But, putting a video in is so much easier. Amazing how that frantic pace on the screens keeps their brain occupied - not necessarily developing, just occupied - while we talk on the phone or make a work appointment or write an email.
Think back... into the long ago times... when people raised children without videos and DVDs. It wasn't that long ago. Think back even further into the very long, long, long ago times when people raised their children without TV. Those would be the generations that brought us the light bulb, cars, phones, computers, the space program, and other such things. They also brought us TV. I'm sure they didn't imagine we'd think they'd given us 'round the clock child care.
There's new research now from The University of Washington and Children's Hospital in Seattle that finds - not surprisingly - that the more TV your children watch when they're young, the more difficulty they have paying attention later.
For each hour of television a child watched daily before age four, their risk of having attention problems at age 7 increase by 9%.
So, if the kids are watching the average of 8-10 hours a day of television, it's pretty much a given - 72-90% likely - that they'll be unable to focus when they start school.
Well, gosh, that seems like a good trade off. You get to avoid dealing with your children. They get a rocky start on the education that will have tremendous impact on whether or not they're successful in life.
OK... so... stop reading this blog... go pull your kids out from the front of the TV and take them to the park.
Of course, common sense would tell us this is idiotic. A horrible idea. A stupid way to raise a child - or, more accurately, a way to avoid having to raise a child.
Common sense would tell us that those first four years of life - when the brain is developing - DEVELOPING - would be a good time to be exposing it to wonderful things. But, putting a video in is so much easier. Amazing how that frantic pace on the screens keeps their brain occupied - not necessarily developing, just occupied - while we talk on the phone or make a work appointment or write an email.
Think back... into the long ago times... when people raised children without videos and DVDs. It wasn't that long ago. Think back even further into the very long, long, long ago times when people raised their children without TV. Those would be the generations that brought us the light bulb, cars, phones, computers, the space program, and other such things. They also brought us TV. I'm sure they didn't imagine we'd think they'd given us 'round the clock child care.
There's new research now from The University of Washington and Children's Hospital in Seattle that finds - not surprisingly - that the more TV your children watch when they're young, the more difficulty they have paying attention later.
For each hour of television a child watched daily before age four, their risk of having attention problems at age 7 increase by 9%.
So, if the kids are watching the average of 8-10 hours a day of television, it's pretty much a given - 72-90% likely - that they'll be unable to focus when they start school.
Well, gosh, that seems like a good trade off. You get to avoid dealing with your children. They get a rocky start on the education that will have tremendous impact on whether or not they're successful in life.
OK... so... stop reading this blog... go pull your kids out from the front of the TV and take them to the park.
Monday, May 30, 2005
A Holiday Monday
Well, I've been working in my soon to be library room today. I sponged over some of the funky green color in there and I'm not sure if I like it or not. I think I'll wait for a day or so and see how it strikes me in the daylight. I like the look of the metallics sponged on top of it, but I'm just not sure about the green. It's kind of a funky olive color. I bought it spur of the moment, which is never how I buy paint. Maybe there's a reason. lol
So, I'll see how I like it in the morning. If it doesn't sing, I'll go get more of the base color and paint over it. Better to lose the $20 on paint than all the work of having to redo it. We'll see how I like it in the morning. I'm 50/50 on it right now.
So, that's my big news of the day.
I haven't been out of the house except to hang out and get clothes. I had some left overs from my Wichita trip for brunch and some popcorn for whatever comes between lunch and dinner. I think I do need to fix myself some actual food for dinner. Even though it's almost 10, I haven't had any yet.
I also need to take a bath and get some of the paint off me. I always paint myself in addition to whatever else I'm working on.
One of my other color thoughts is blue and gold in there - an Egyptian theme - I may mix up some colors and try that out and see how I like it too. I think I'm definitely getting another gallon of the Porter paint that is the base color. I was really borderline of having enough and if I put blue on and don't want it I doubt I'll have enough to cover that up and finish up in there. We'll see.
Maybe in the morning I'll think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. lol
I do like the woodwork I've gotten to being that bright white. I'd prefer it be natural but I just don't have the energy to attempt that so bright white it is. What was in there was so nasty that this is a dramatic improvement. Now, if I can just decide about the green color. We'll see...
For the rest of the time before I go to bed I have to do some MHA things. I'm behind!
So, I'll see how I like it in the morning. If it doesn't sing, I'll go get more of the base color and paint over it. Better to lose the $20 on paint than all the work of having to redo it. We'll see how I like it in the morning. I'm 50/50 on it right now.
So, that's my big news of the day.
I haven't been out of the house except to hang out and get clothes. I had some left overs from my Wichita trip for brunch and some popcorn for whatever comes between lunch and dinner. I think I do need to fix myself some actual food for dinner. Even though it's almost 10, I haven't had any yet.
I also need to take a bath and get some of the paint off me. I always paint myself in addition to whatever else I'm working on.
One of my other color thoughts is blue and gold in there - an Egyptian theme - I may mix up some colors and try that out and see how I like it too. I think I'm definitely getting another gallon of the Porter paint that is the base color. I was really borderline of having enough and if I put blue on and don't want it I doubt I'll have enough to cover that up and finish up in there. We'll see.
Maybe in the morning I'll think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. lol
I do like the woodwork I've gotten to being that bright white. I'd prefer it be natural but I just don't have the energy to attempt that so bright white it is. What was in there was so nasty that this is a dramatic improvement. Now, if I can just decide about the green color. We'll see...
For the rest of the time before I go to bed I have to do some MHA things. I'm behind!
4:30 and I'm Still Up
It's 4:30 a.m. and I'm still up. And I've accomplished very little tonight, other than computer work, and none of that was critical stuff. I am going to have to break this cycle. I dread going to bed at times like this.
Turquoise? Who Knew?
You are the color turquoise. A fairly tempermental
person, you're either upset or tranquil most of
the time. You can be as calm as your color.
You're a mysterious person, yet somehow
outgoing. You're balanced, simply put. You're
somewhat bold. You're generous and
sophisticated--but never ever snobby. You're
lively and rich in personality and attitude.
You're a beautiful person, aside from the fact
that you're a perfectionist and painfully
honest. But life is good to you!
What color are you? (Amazingly detailed & accurate--with pics!)
brought to you by Quizilla
Sunday, May 29, 2005
House Repairs
I'm thinking about getting some things done to my house this summer.
Last night when I couldn't sleep I was thinking about different rooms and realized that the room I'm working in now is the last room I have that I haven't done anything to. I still have the stairwell and upper hallway, and plenty of finishing things to do in other rooms, but this is my last room that hasn't been touched.
One of the first rooms I worked on was the kitchen - for the obvious reasons. People either love my bright blue and yellow or they look at it and go, "Oh, you haven't worked in here, yet."
Well, yes, I have. See the grease stains running down the side of the cabinet where the stove sat previously. I scrubbed all those off - took, literally, weeks of scrubbing and letting it soak every night with some different harmful chemical on it.
I painted my kitchen blue and yellow because I love Monet's kitchen at Giverny. When I was there I fell in love with the color scheme. Thank goodness I went years ago when you could actually SEE the house without your view being blocked by the hundreds of other tourists inside while you were. Obviously, my blue and yellow are a bit more brilliant, but I love the combo.
Every Dec. 19 I take pix of my house to chart my progress. That's the day I closed on it so that's the day I chose to do pix. Of course, I'm always decorated for Christmas then so it's all the better for me to do it then.
Last night when I couldn't sleep I was thinking about different rooms and realized that the room I'm working in now is the last room I have that I haven't done anything to. I still have the stairwell and upper hallway, and plenty of finishing things to do in other rooms, but this is my last room that hasn't been touched.
One of the first rooms I worked on was the kitchen - for the obvious reasons. People either love my bright blue and yellow or they look at it and go, "Oh, you haven't worked in here, yet."Well, yes, I have. See the grease stains running down the side of the cabinet where the stove sat previously. I scrubbed all those off - took, literally, weeks of scrubbing and letting it soak every night with some different harmful chemical on it.
I painted my kitchen blue and yellow because I love Monet's kitchen at Giverny. When I was there I fell in love with the color scheme. Thank goodness I went years ago when you could actually SEE the house without your view being blocked by the hundreds of other tourists inside while you were. Obviously, my blue and yellow are a bit more brilliant, but I love the combo.Every Dec. 19 I take pix of my house to chart my progress. That's the day I closed on it so that's the day I chose to do pix. Of course, I'm always decorated for Christmas then so it's all the better for me to do it then.
Photographs
I'm thinking tonight about photographs and how they capture different moments in our lives and how those moments tell a story of who we are. I'm thinking about what photographs would tell the story of my life up to now if I could only chose a few. If they were all scanned in, I'd show them here but they're not all in the computer, so I'll just share a couple.
Of course, something from childhood. This isn't especially meaningful - I don't even remember it - I'm guessing I was turning 4. But you have to have something from childhood, of course.
Going to Egypt by myself in 1999 was a turning point in my life in many ways. It was, truly, life changing - in every sense of the word. It made me think of myself, travel and experiences in a different way. I won't go into the details here, as I've never shared them with anyone and am not about to start by putting it on the world wide web, but that trip changed who I am and how I move in the world. It was when I really became "me" again after a relationship had ended over a year before. There are some, of course, who think "me" is a dangerous thing to be (hi, Leah!). But, we have to be ourselves.
There are other photos I can think of that illustrate moments for me, but I don't have them handy. It's an interesting concept... maybe something I should devote some time to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)