Story: 22/9/08-28/9/08
Saturday, 18 October, 2008
Monday 22/9/08
I woke up at 6:15 and ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed. I was in at work by 7:30. It was Briefing thinking day so I generated reports and printed articles for Tony for the November issue. Unfortunately Tony never made it in that day. Elsie had to cancel our standing appointment, so I watched the first episode of Black Books with everyone in the boardroom. It's much funnier watching it with other people.
In the afternoon, since Tony wasn't around, I kept on with what I was doing. I was home by 4:30 and met Ben coming up the path (he had locked himself out and had gotten the keys from the office). I played Wii Fit for a while (and got a Wii Fit Age of 26 for the first time!), then had a shower. I did computer things while Ben made dinner (we're trying this new thing where he cooks during the week and I cook on weekends). We watched the last episode of David Attenborough's The Life of Mammals, two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent and then The Simpsons. It was nice to just sit and let my brain turn to mush for a couple of hours. We went to bed around midnight.
Tuesday 23/9/08
Day off! I tried not to sleep in too much, and got up at around 8:15/8:30. I ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed, then blocked the Branching Out scarf. I did laundry, dealt with my email and Bookface, and caught up on blog reading. Bec was online so we caught up on IM. Ben went out for a meeting in the city and I had leftovers for lunch. I tried to solve the database login problem with the old MM site but didn't get very far; there seemed to be hurdles and hurdles to jump over. Fortunately Duncan M was online in the late afternoon and he was able to help us fix it. By the evening, it was working fine and the problem we had had was straightened out once and for all.
(Bother. I did end up working on my day off. Stupid! Stupid!)
In the afternoon I played with Wii Fit, then had a shower and did some computer things (blogging!). We then went to pick up Ben M, and had dinner at Andrew and Paulina's place. We got to meet their little girl who was only a few weeks old. We also got to meet Sylvia who was a friend (I think) of theirs from South America. Sylvia cooked us a really yummy meal. Paulina was in and out because it was baby feeding time. Over dinner, Ben was greatly amused by Sylvia and Paulina translating the names of TV cartoon characters into Spanish. Afterwards, we dropped Sylvia off at where she was staying on the other side of the bridge. Then we went home, I finished blogging and we went to bed.
Wednesday 24/9/08
I woke up at 6:45 and was in at work by 7:30. I ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed there. I got stuck doing web things. I met with Tony, talked about November Briefing things and the ongoing saga that was the website. Emma and I also met to talk through stuff. Then I met with Ian about the website.
I pushed on and managed to fix most of the problems. Then I went out and picked up some nibblies as I was out of morning tea snacks. After lunch, I pushed on with work and did a bunch of stuff for the September Briefing (yes, I was really behind!) except for one piece for The Longing. Then I started doing things for the November Briefing.
At 6 pm, I stopped work and started doing my homework for Bible study before going off to Tom and Jenny's place. We were a smaller group: there was no Bec and no George. We also finished earlier than usual so I was home by 9:30. The four-page comic script I had been half working on in my head suddenly came together while I was in shower, so I scribbled it down and then went to bed.
Thursday 25/9/08
We both didn't sleep well. I kept waking up, and Ben had a dream in which I was mad a him, so he got up and went and lay on the couch for a while. So he was awake when I got up.
I was in at work at 7:30, trying to get to November Briefing stuff but not quite being up for it. I ended up marking up Stuart Crawshaw's article on youth ministry and that took most of the day before it was so long. Once I finished that, there were other web things to attend to as well.
For lunch, Bec, Guan, Duncan and I met at the noodle and dumpling house, and had lunch together. We talked about what we were listening to at the moment. I was telling them about Broken Social Scene and how I was really behind Ben when it came to music, and Guan said that everyone would feel behind Ben.
In the afternoon, we had prayer meeting and then a Briefing I was almost totally unprepared for (I forgot that I had already drafted the agenda a couple of weeks earlier). After the meeting, I went home and played with Wii Fit for 30-40 minutes and had a shower. Ben made grilled salmon for dinner. We watched a bit of TV and then I got stuck into reading applications for The Faithful Writer masterclass. I went to bed at midnight and I still hadn't finished.
Friday 26/9/08
I wanted to get up earlier but I didn't. I finished reading the applications, then did some stuff online. Breakfast was at the computer. Bec was online and trying to fix her blog problems. I had a bit of time so I tried to help her with little success. Then I realised I'd told Ben the wrong thing: I needed to be at work by 9:30, not leave the house by 9:30. So we rushed to get there.
In the end, we were in by 9:45. I tried to get to the November Briefing editing but got sidetracked by other things (mostly web things). Ben went and bought us Japanese for lunch from Pinocchio's (yum!). Then I met with Elsie to read the Bible and pray.
At 3, we had a Faithful Writer committee meeting. Bec was sick so sent her apologies, and Trevor was running late. We debriefed about the conference, looked at the finances, talked about the masterclass applications and raised some ideas about what we could do next year.
Afterwards, I got stuck into November Briefing things, and I made a To Do list organised under various headings of all the tasks I needed to do. One of our authors finally sent through his Bible brief, but it was in Word 2007 docx format which I couldn't open because my operating system is too old (grrr!) Emma had to open and convert it for me.
I left at 6 after everyone else had left: Ben picked me up and drove me home, and very kindly gave me time to heat my dinner and eat it (while I read my Bible) before we headed out again. He dropped me off at Cameron and Lara's for PEC women's fellowship. (I'm still welcome there even though I no longer attend PEC.) I was quite early so I helped set up, and then chatted to the girls as they arrived. Rosey did an excellent talk on music and singing in church, and we hung around afterwards, eating nibblies and talking. I ended up helping to wash and clean up, and then Naomi gave me a lift home.
At home, I worked on a rewrite of one of the feature articles for November and sent it off. Then I went to bed.
Saturday 27/9/08
Ben was up at 8 am (even though he didn't get in until midnight or 1), and he went off to help with set up for How Sweet the Sound. I had a more leisurely morning, sleeping in a bit, then having a shower and going for a walk to Enmore. It was lovely sunny day which was good as I was feeling rather down. I wanted to get some change from the post office but the guy wouldn't give me as much as I wanted. I was then going to walk to Newtown to see if I could find a black tablecloth, but then spotted a discount variety store across the street. I found most of what I needed in there: an A4-size mirror, a wooden picture frame, a white tablecloth (made of very cheap polyester), hooks and an extension cord.
I walked home, then wrote out labels for all my knitted items on squares of manila folder that were leftovers from when I used to learn Greek vocab. (I punched star-shaped holes in them and then used safety pins to attach them to the knitting.) My mum was on Google Talk so I chatted to her for a bit. I ate noodles for lunch and watched half of the So You Think You Can Dance? (US) finale (three weeks late!) Then Ben came home feeling rather exhaused.
Lizz arrived as I was making business cards. I finished off my prep, packed everything up, loaded the car and then we drove to North Ryde, finding a parking spot just outside the gates. It was 3:45 and most of the other stall holders were already there, setting up. I was sharing half a booth with another girl who was selling jewellery, but I also had the bit in between stalls to put the cot quilts and table runners that Cathy had sent with Lizz. Lizz helped me set up, and we strung fairy lights across the top of the booth frame.
(And I brought St. Katherine so she could wear the enormous pink pomp pom hat.)
Here's me in the stall:
People started arriving, browsing through all the stalls (there were about seven of them), but as I said before, I didn't end up selling very much. And I've already written my thoughts on a couple of things I could have done.
Here are the pipe cleaner animals that Marinka was selling for $1 to raise money for FEVA:
I heard a bit of the music in the forecourt through the door(the jazz music that Con and Richard Maegraith and the others were playing was lovely, and I found Joe Hardy's stuff very interesting). During the second half of the night, most of the bands were in the main auditorium and I didn't go listen to them. I spent most of the night behind my stall, but I did get up at one point, and I went for a wander around to the other stalls, and socialised a little. And for some reason, people kept turning off the lights (which meant my stall was the most brightly lit because of all the fairy lights).
At 10 pm I decided to pack up because I was tired. Lizz helped me take down all the fairy lights, put everything back in their ziplock bags and take it all out to the car. The bands hadn't quite finished and Ben wanted to stay 'til the end, so we wandered around for a bit, and also got a bit of food. I bought this beautiful Chinese silk jacket from a vintage clothing stall for $20, and because there was another one for the same price, I bought that for Lizz as a thank you for helping out. We left at 11 pm just as Gethsemane were wrapping up.
We drove home, brought everything up and unpacked. I sorted a few things out for the following day, and then went to bed.
Sunday 28/9/08
I was up at 9, I ate breakfast, read my Bible and played with Wii Fit for 30-40 minutes. I washed up, then had a shower, and then made sure Lizz had enough breakfast. I took in the laundry and put on Stranger than Fiction for Lizz because she wanted to see it. Then I got on the computer, checked my email and Bookface, installed Expression Engine for Bec and set up the database. I also did a bit of practising on the piano while waiting for the downloads/installations. And then I left for Wild Street's “So You Think You Can Carol?” auditions for their Christmas service.
Janet, who I sort of knew through FEVA, was running them, and the process was a bit like Australian Idol (but not as nasty). They even had a video camera and were filming people which sort of freaked me out. But I stood in front of the screen and sang the first verse of “O Holy Night” unaccompanied (but down a tone because I can't hit that high B flat), and then I did it on the piano (less well), and then I also did the “On a Starlit Night/Silent Night” piece for them. They told me I was good and, even though I botched the accompaniment, I was in; they just weren't sure how to work it out logistically in terms of accompaniment and stuff.
Afterwards I drove to Pacific Square, parked in a sidestreet and got myself a nice lunch: a chicken and sweet chili sauce wrap lightly toasted from Billy's Espresso. It was nice to just sit and eat, and watch the people go by. And not long after I sat down, a jazz guitarist and singer (with large floppy hat and sunglasses) got up and performed a few numbers.
I sat there and scribbled for a while, then drove to Bec's who had just made some macaroons:
She offered me some, and we sat at the dining table, munching on them until her mum came home. Then I was going to help her set up her blog properly on the subdomain, but the site was down again (grr). So instead we watched an episode and a half of Wonderfalls (which made me nostalgic for Canada, even though it's set on the American side of Niagara Falls), and I sat and knitted.
Then we went to band practice. Flick was sick and George wasn't up for singing, so I offered to fill in. It was fun and nice to sing with Bec and Titus. It was a good service with a good sermon from Rod (who had skipped a chapter and was doing the end of 1 John while Kurt was still on holidays). Afterwards, George told us all about her weekend and how she and her friend got stuck in the state forest at midnight (go read it; it's great). It had us in stitches (George tells stories very well).
I didn't stay for dinner because I was tired. Instead, I drove home and watched the rest of the So You Think You Can Dance? (US) finale (finally!) and one episode of The Simpsons. And then I went to bed.
Current:
seen: Moon 15/10/2009
read: The Incredibles 11/10/2009
seen: She's the Man 05/10/2009
read: I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura) 04/10/2009
read: Astro City The Dark Ages Book 1: Brothers and Other Strangers (Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross) 04/10/2009
seen: Children of Men 02/10/2009
seen: Metric (The Metro) 30/09/2009
seen: 500 Days of Summer 25/09/2009
seen: The September Issue 18/09/2009
seen: Gilmore Girls: Season 1 17/09/2009
read: Flight (Volume 1) (edited by Kazu Kibuishi) 16/09/2009
seen: Ponyo 11/09/2009
read: Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert) 05/09/2009
heard: Aimee Mann (Enmore Theatre) 04/09/2009
heard: Ben Folds Solo (Opera House) 31/08/2009
read: Phonogram: Rue Britannia (Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie) 26/08/2009
seen: Northanger Abbey 20/08/2009
read: The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) 18/08/2009
seen: The Phantom of the Opera 17/08/2009
seen: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 10/08/2009
seen: District 9 10/08/2009
read: Shortcomings (Adrian Tomine) 02/08/2009
read: AIR Volume 1: Letters from Lost Countries (Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker) 28/07/2009
seen: Persepolis 25/07/2009
seen: Ghost Town 25/07/2009
heard: Gutter Twins (Seymour Centre) 23/07/2009
seen: Coco Avant Chanel 20/07/2009
seen: Gutenberg! The Musical (Seymour Centre) 16/07/2009
seen: So You Think You Can Dance? Australia Live Tour (Sydney Entertainment Centre) 11/07/2009
seen: Every Little Step 07/07/2009
seen: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen 03/07/2009
seen: Synecdoche, New York 30/06/2009
seen: Charlie's Angels 27/06/2009
seen: Penelope 26/06/2009
seen: Coraline 10/06/2009
seen: The Sky Crawlers 08/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Ultimatum 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Supremacy 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Identity 06/06/2009
seen: Stick it 05/06/2009
Comment:
Hi Karen,
Congratulations on Astrid’s birth.
A quick tip that we learned when we became parents and my wife was breastfeeding (don’t you love tips from strangers 
):
Instead of writing down which side to feed on next, stick a hairclip, or peg on your bra strap on the side they will next feed from. Then swap it over when you feed.
Then you never have to remember, and you don’t need to worry about writing it down.
That is indeed an epic post! Brings back a lot of memories of Puff’s first weeks.
As far as how long until Astrid hits 16kgs, you can read it off the graphs in her blue book. I would guess somewhere between 2 and 3 years old.
Hi Karen - yes! But we’re finished at Moore now and living back in Tassie so it’s unlikely. I enjoy still enjoy reading though, hope you don’t mind!
@Miriam - I had a very fast labour too (lets just say it was quite a bit quicker than 4 hours) and I almost felt embarrassed telling people! I’d never imagined I’d be one of ‘those’ women. Still, friends who’ve had longer labours followed by shorter labours assured me it’s the same amount of pain, just squeezed into a shorter time span so I try not to feel too bad 
Congratulations Karen & Ben. What a beautiful daughter. Thanks for sharing your birth story - sounds almost identical to mine, except my labour was only 4 hours! My midwife also told me not to share it at mothers group as people would be jealous hehe
Enjoy this wonderful time getting to know Astrid.
Miriam
Thanks everyone!
Wow, Bron, I still can’t believe I haven’t met you yet! Thanks for continuing to read this blog!
Little Rachel, now I’m intrigued!!!
It’s so funny reading your labour experience. It’s so funny she came out when you were standing up and the midwife had to catch her. Wow! I will remember to go through your blog more carefully when my time comes around. It’s very informative.
Congratulations to you all and many blessings. Astrid is a little sweetie.
Congratulations Karen and Ben. A gorgeous girl with a gorgeous name. Praise God!
Thanks for sharing your story.
Congrats, Karen! She looks wonderful, so alert and adorable! Glad that everything went so smoothly (comparatively).
Well, one of your details clears up a conversation Jess and Anna and Liza and I had! I’ll tell you later.
I think you and Ben did amazingly well, and that the staff were right: you were pretty tough! I will have to give all those exercises a go when that time comes.
Yay for Astrid! Such a beautiful name for a precious daughter.
Hello! Thanks for sharing. It sounded tough and bewildering! Can I come and visit sometime? Tonight or tomorrow night? I’m away for the next 4 days after that. Love George
Congratulations! Astrid Winter is a gorgeous name. So beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story. It’s interesting to hear from other women. Now I’m expecting my second I’m starting to think about all that again. Eeeeek!
RPA is very busy, apparently they’re at 3 times capacity for the area. When we were there last year the night my daughter was born there were something like 8 births in 45 minutes. As soon as I’d had a shower we had to be out of there! I remember being rather surprised at having to walk up to the post-natal ward. “you want me to what?!”
I don’t think it’s exclusively the change of temperature: young babies like to be cuddled up (or wrapped in a blanket or similar) as they adjust to being on the outside after so long being wrapped up on the inside.
Oh yeah, it makes perfect sense that babies would cry if you put them in a cold bed! I totally never thought of that!
I love your posts, they are so fascinating! :D
Oh Jess! There are so many good things about Sydney
Looks like really nice adventures! I don’t really think of Sydney as a place to explore.. hmm.. you have opened my mind up to The Staycation.
I get depressed at the adrenaline crash also because then I have time to think about how shitty everything is lol.
Hmm...food for thought indeed. V. interesting, thank you for posting
lol! Karen, you’re so frank and I love it. “the non-constipating kind” of iron pills. hahaha.
i know how hard it is to not tell people the sex of your baby. I am tempted to tell strangers or acquaintances what you’re having because, as Ben reasoned with the waiter, I’ll either never see them again or it’s not like their going to tell anyone of consequence.
Thanks Kathleen! Glad you’re finding them interesting!
These posts are fascinating, Karen, and I’m happy/sad for you.
Hey Little! One of the things that astounds me is that people all over the world give birth everyday in different circumstances, and they seem to get through it. Maybe all the bells and whistles of the western world are simply that—bells and whistles, and things we do to make ourselves feel better about such a painful and momentous occurrence. I’m sure Mongolia has its own ways of looking after their expectant mums!
Great post, Karen.
As I said to you last Friday: the Toturo thing is gorgeous!
Thanks for posting about the changing relationships between friends. I’ve been struggling to come to terms with my best friend’s relationship with her boyfriend and the loss I feel. It’s been 18mths now, but I guess it’s taking longer for me to deal with because he’s not something we talk about and I don’t often see them together. However, it’s still known. It’s good to know I’m not alone or going crazy or whatever.
Also, thanks for the updates on Peanut. Can’t wait to meet him/her!
I think that your child will one day be thankful that they can read about what their mother was thinking. They won’t have to wonder if you’ve forgotten anything or just telling the good things! I think the positives are more believable when accompanied by the negatives, that’s just more realistic.
The PGP sounds really hard! Also not something that people talk about, so is it hard to get understanding from people when you need to go a little slower? Though perhaps they just expect that of pregnant women… gah, there are so many steps at MM! :(
I worry about the money stuff too… though I guess in Mongolia maybe they won’t do all those medical things so I won’t have to pay for them! 
Keep blogging! You know I’m fascinated. ;p
Thanks Miriam! That’s good to know!
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the long update. It sounds like you are experiencing very common emotions (high and low) of first-time expectant mothers.
In answer to your question about breastfeeding in 5mins - that’s pretty common. In the first few weeks as both you and baby are learning how to feed (it takes a while to get the hang of it)feeding takes a little while (about an hour for me and Alex). This was actually a blessing for me as it meant I could sit and rest for that period of time, 5 or 6 times a day! Lovely, especially as it was such a tiring time of my life, with all the adjusting that comes with the birth of a child.
The milk flow can be quite fast to begin with(often too fast for baby!) and it means they take in too much and then need to be burped, which all takes time. After awhile though your breasts will adjust and regulate themselves as they work out how much milk is needed. THey are amazing the way they work. They actually feel quite soft and empty after a few weeks and lots of new mums worry that they don’t hvae enough milk, but it is very normal, and just means your body has regulated the amount of milk it makes.
Check out the Australian Breastfeeding Association webpage - it is full of excellent information. I would recommend joining the association - you receive a magazine every 2 months, which is filled with wonderful articles. I found it very helpful (and still do after 3 years of feeding). A great bit of reading to have in your hands while sitting down to feed. You also receive an excellent book “Breastfeeding....naturally” which answers just about any question you may have about breastfeeding. I read it many many times!
Mim
Congratulations again - and it is very interesting to hear what happens!
@Sarah: Thanks for the tip RE Australian Breastfeeding Association! I never would have thought to look there. Ditto KMart: I was wondering if they did since Target don’t.
@Rae: Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.
@Little Rachel: Oh, I’ll definitely be up for visitors! I may not be very good company (brain-dead, etc.) but I’ll certainly appreciate visits!
@Rachel C: CONGRATS!!! So excited for you Yours sounds like a good philosophy. One day I shall have to blog about Outliers!
@CafeDave: Thanks for the tip!
@Elissa: Thanks for your kind words! It makes me happy that you and Dave were excited we were getting married! Thanks also for the prayers!
@Elsie: There are lots of other lovely things I could have said about you, but let’s not overload my readers, shall we? ;P
Aww...thanks for the lovely things you said about me! I enjoyed reading this post (as I do with all yours). xo
Congratulations to you both. I know you will be such wonderful parents. You sound WAY too sensible! 
(Sorry to read that there were some unusual comments made about your marriage! We thought it was exciting. We still have a lovely photo of you & Ben in our lovely box of special memories. (I was only 22 when married & I was 30 when we had Bonnie...)
Everyone is different! I nodded through your post. SO many people feel the curious need to share their “horror stories” which is just dreadful. I remember complaining to David who said - go find people who are positive & listen to them. Great advice, which I did. Those people still have a big place in my heart because their advice was honest & gentle.
Bless you & Ben & the little Peanut. We pray all goes smoothly over the coming weeks/months ahead. We sometimes forget what a precious little miracle life really is…
Another book from the dad’s perspective I found helpful was From here to paternity - it’s an Australian book, and was followed up with a blog.
Hi!
I’m so excited for you reading your blog about being pregnant I am 13 weeks pregnant with #2.
You’re so right about all the pessimism “advice” that you get. I got so mad about it but never found a good response. I’ve had such joy right from day one with E that I just don’t want to buy into the negativity (I’m sure kids pick up on it too!).
My philosophy was/is to be a relaxed mum and from that figure out what was best for my baby/child. Get advice when you’re not sure on things or want to know how other people approached things, read books (loved Outliers!) that aren’t all about parenting… but just enjoy.
In a sample size of one to date, I’ve had such a happy, chilled out son right from day one. People say all the craziest advice… glad you don’t do guilt
With love,
R
Thanks so much for writing more! I love hearing how you’re going and all your thoughts.
After watching my sister I agree with you that it seems the first six months are perhaps the hardest. She got quite lonely at home all day; weekends were all right because then her husband was around but it’s just as you say… one feed ends then the next begins! If you are accepting visitors during this period then I hope to use some RDOs to come have grown-up conversations!
The book review of The Second Nine Months makes me want to read it now!
Names: We have one girl name that we both like and no boy names that we agree on. But they are also top-secret… so if anyone else uses them we can’t accuse them of theft!
Yay Peanut, keep on growing, can’t wait to meet you!
Hello! Thanks for sharing
I loved reading your pregnancy update! I am glad to hear that things are all going pretty well, and I hope the rest of your 2nd trimester is as good.
I just wanted to add, that some other blokes decided that there was not much for the fathers-t0-be, and made a couple of DVD’s just for expectant dads. They are called ‘Being Dad’and i think they are available at big W. I have both though, if you would like me to send them!
Just wanted to wish you all the best!
Love
Rae
re: gluten: no idea!! I didn’t have to go on that diet - it was probably related to the test I didn’t do.
At the risk of adding to your list of advice:
Re: maternity bras - because I’m big I had to look hard for something nice in my size and discovered the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They have a massive range online and most are (dare I say it) sexy.
Re: maternity clothes - Kmart have a nice range of basic stuff.. I only found out towards the end of pregnancy and I would have liked to know earlier!
Re: Parenting classes - if you’re at RPA you can just ring the midwives section (they’ll put you through) and ask directly.
Congratulations again
Don’t laminate your ultrasound picture That is my advice.
Congratulations! This is so fantastic!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this… people swap engagement stories but rarely pregnancy stories! And it’s kind of similar don’t you think, all this excitement leading up to a big day!
So happy for you guys! Actually never been more excited for anyone except my sister! I think it’s because I think that you will both be amazing parents and love the idea that someone could grow up in your family.
Looking forward to many more posts on the topic.
Blinks:
"For a long time, I was waiting for my life to go back to normal," he said. "And then I realized, this is my life. So this is my normal."
How to make wontons.
Short-sleeved cardigan with lace edging.
Interesting answer.
"We pick out people who have the same kind of unhappiness we do. And we gravitate toward them and try to help them.
"Many of us are like this. Every time we try to help someone else and fail, it feels weird. It feels bad. We do not know exactly what is going on but it is upsetting.
"Until one day we realize that what we are doing is avoiding our own pain. We have learned to act as though it is not our pain that is at issue, but other people's."
Cleaning tips for all sorts of things. White vinegar is apparently wonderful!
The case for print.
"Laura Miller has argued eloquently in Salon about reading on the iPad as a serene experience, a sanctuary from the link-surfing that dominates so much of what we read online. And yet, I know what having an iPod has done to my attention span and ability to sit through an entire album, in order, by one artist ... and I'll be damned if I let the same thing happen to the way I read. Out of every argument I've heard in favor of e-readers ... my least favorite might be the central point of the thing: the fact that it allows you to choose from thousands of books at any given time. I simply don't want that kind of potential for distraction ...
"For me, to deny books their physical structure simply ignores far too much of what makes them enjoyable. The commitment they require, the way they force you into a state of simultaneous calm and focus—these are things I have yet to duplicate by any other means."
Something to do with leftover wool. Makes good toys!
The reasons behind the creation of the 4 am news slot. Interesting how lifestyle fuels these sorts of cultural changes.
Via Elsie. Consumer addiction used to distract or cover for emotional emptiness/loss/grief, etc.
A parenting philosophy to introduce media to children late and slowly.
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