Story: 3/11/08-9/11/08
Sunday, 07 December, 2008
Monday 3/11/08
The hospital said that they would most like discharge Ben, however I had already booked and paid for a ticket to the Varuna, the Writers' House Pathways to Publication forum, and I had planned to drive up to the Blue Mountains with Guan and Bec. Fortunately Hans and Cathy, being retired, said they were free to pick Ben up and take him home, and help him up the stairs.
I woke really early and had a shower. Bec and Guan came for me, and we listened to the Bare Naked Ladies' children's album as we drove west. I fell asleep in the back seat so wasn't much of a conversationalist, and woke just before we arrived. We parked out the back of the Carrington Hotel, not quite sure whether we were in the right spot.
We were a little early, which meant we had a bit of time to collect our showbag of goodies (there were around $130 worth of books and journals in there, plus other bits and pieces of paper, and a lovely Varuna bag—here's an obligatory photo of the pile I ended up with:
And of course I haven't started reading any of them and have no idea when I will. But it was certainly well worth the registration fee for the forum!), get a cup of tea and find a good spot to sit. There were a lot of people there—mostly women, interestingly enough. Juliana was also there (I realised I'd forgotten to tell her that I was coming, nor had I bothered to find out if she was. Well, I had a lot going on ...) I invited her to come sit with us, which was a bit of a relief to her, I think, as she didn't know anyone else there (and neither did we, really!)
It was quite a long day, with back-to-back panels on everything from submitting manuscripts to publishers to working with agents to why you should send stuff to literary journals, and how to sustain the writing life in the face of rejection.
The jam-packed programme was broken up by meals (of course)—morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch (which we decided to have outside because it was such a lovely day).
Guan, Bec and I also went for a bit of a wander at the end of lunch to Angus's coffee kiosk, but unfortunately Angus wasn't there so we couldn't say hi to him (not that the other two know who he is, but anyway ...) It was good to stretch our legs and be out in the sunshine for a bit before heading back.
I also checked in with Ben to see how he was doing, and he said he had made it home and that he still had the temporary cast on and would need to go back to get a proper cast a week later.
But back to the forum. Like the others, my head was exploding with ideas and thoughts afterwards, and all I wanted to do was go away and write things. I really appreciated all the panellists—the agents, the writers, the editors, and so on—and their positive but realistic view of the publishing industry and why people do it. It was plain to see how much they love books and how they wanted to encourage people to keep writing and submitting, even though, as everyone says, there is very little money in publishing. Varuna does a great service to writers in this fashion; usually at things like this, everyone is so negative.
(Here's Bec's take on the day.)
Afterwards, we went to Terrafirma pizza in Leura and got dinner.
We talked writing and creativity (all our heads were exploding with possibilities, I think). And then we hopped in the car and drove back to Sydney, Bec and I singing through Into the Woods (London cast) in its entirety all the way home, much to Guan's amusement.
When dropping me off, Bec and Guan came upstairs to say hi to Ben who was home from hospital. Then I helped Ben take a shower (because his cast was plaster, you had to wrap it in a towel and then a plastic bag), and then we went to bed.
Tuesday 4/11/08
Briefing To Layout day. I was worried about how Ben would feed himself, given that getting around on crutches is not very convenient, and you certainly can't carry things. So I was in at work by 7 am, I sent of the December Briefing to layout, then left at 9. Ben told me that the lever for the fuel tank was broken again, so I spent a bit of time trying to work out how to open it (you go through the interior light in the boot and fiddle with something, and then you can open it), and then I drove home and was there by 10.
I found Ben up, and he'd managed to get his own breakfast. He was wheeling himself around from room to room on an office chair. This made him heaps more mobile than I thought he would be, which was great! I turned on the computer and tried to work for a bit more, doing various bits and pieces (obligatory Sola Panel editing, adding new web ads, etc.), but then I hit a wall and felt so tired, I went and had a sleep for about an hour. Ben got his own lunch. When I woke up, I did too, and then I worked on Briefing Library things. Unfortunately early Briefing articles just exist as PDF images, which means you can't copy and paste the text. So I was trying all sorts of things to get it to scan through OCR (optical character recognition) and it took a lot longer than it normally does.
Tony called in the afternoon so I could update him on the situation and what my work pattern would be for the next little while. Thank God I work for such an understanding organization! I stayed on the computer doing work things, then made dinner (stir fried mince) and went to bed late.
Wednesday 5/11/08
I decided I needed a really good rest so I slept for eight hours and made it in the office by 9:45 after filling up with petrol and buying milk for work. I chased commissions and did lots of Briefing admin—updating the database, looking at the January issue, compiling material, etc. I had a half hour lunch because I was determined to leave at 4.
It ended up being 4:15. At home, I did the laundry, wrapped Karen and Jon's wedding present, paid some bills and tried to do four-page comic things. I also started doing my Christmas shopping (mostly over the internet) and then got distracted by the Sydney Festival (St Vincent! Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova! Indie band heaven!!!)
We had leftovers for dinner and then I washed up, tried to finish the Christmas shopping and went to bed late.
Thursday 6/11/08
I was in at work by 7:30 (I think I ate breakfast there and cleaned the entire kitchenette because it was a mess.) I commissioned some Bible briefs, worked on the minutes from the last Briefing meeting, read letters to the editor, re-jigged the layout for the December issue because the last article to go to layout was longer than originally thought, then thought about starting work on The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 18).
I was bored and tired, and Guan wasn't in to complain to. During staff meeting, I was on phones, but fortunately hardly anyone called. In the afternoon, I pressed on with The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 18), and then left at around 4 pm for home.
Rosey was there visiting Ben. I said hi to her briefly before heading out to get a bit of exercise: I thought I'd walk to Leichhardt to get Elsie Katie Noonan's Blackbird for her birthday. I also rang Ben and told him to give her one of the hats I didn't sell at the How Sweet the Sound markets because it had been her birthday several weeks ago and I knew she liked hats. She called me to thank me, but then my mobile battery died. When I got home, she had already left.
I made dinner, we watched some TV, I did the dishes, I tried to do more Christmas shopping online, and then we went to bed.
Friday 7/11/08
I was in at work by 7:30 and I had breakfast there. Tony sent through the final article for the December Briefing. I edited it and sent it off, and then re-did the table of contents and edited the “In this issue”. In between, I kept trying to work on The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 18) but Briefing demands kept interrupting me (grr). I also did a bunch of web things too, which was a further distraction from what I felt I should have been doing. (Fortunately Luke was on Twitter because Ben was still asleep and I needed the help of an Expression Engine expert.)
Elsie came in at 12 and we met for half an hour before Friday Thai Day (Bec's last). I was tired and a bit over people. I kept plugging away at The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 18) in the afternoon, plus various Briefing things. However, by the end of the day, I had only reached Reading 10 of 60, which was rather depressing.
I left at around 4. At home, Ben was watching The Man with the Golden Gun (very old James Bond movie with Christopher Lee as the villain). When he had finished, we watched The Simpsons and Life and The Sopranos, and ate grilled dory for dinner. I was so tired that I went to bed relatively early (11 pm).
Saturday 8/11/08
I was up at around 8. I had a shower, I ate breakfast, read the Bible and prayed, then went to check on Ben. He wasn't feeling too well so decided to bail on Karen and Jon's wedding. I turned on my computer to print directions, check the weather and write up my prayer. And then I got ready and drove out to Parramatta by myself.
The signage in the park was terrible—so unclear—and I ended up driving around the entire park going at 30 km/hr (that was the speed limit). I finally arrived just in time. Karen's mother greeted me and sorted things out, given that Ben wasn't going to be there to read the Bible (I had been prepared to read the Bible passage, but Julie, Karen's godmother read it instead). The wedding was lovely: Karen wore a white cotton dress she had made herself and a white shawl. It was nice to meet Jon for the first time too. My prayer offended nearly everyone there (well, all the non-Christians, anyway, because I prayed along the lines of Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 3), but at least the bride was happy with it.
Afterwards, we went to congratulate the happy couple, and then it started to rain, so we moved to the marquee for shelter. (I had brought both a parasol and an umbrella so I was pretty sorted.)
I got to catch up with Matt and Larissa, and other people who were Karen's friends whom I hadn't met before (or perhaps I had but forgot). I also met friends of Karen's parents (Henry and Ursula) and Karen's godparents (Julie and Graham). I was on a table with Julie, Graham, Richard and Jen, Sim (?) and Brianna. We ate a very yummy lunch:
At one point, I went over to talk to Matt and Larissa who told me I looked really tired. (I felt really tired!) There were speeches from various family members and members of the bridal party. I checked in with Ben and he seemed to be doing okay with Ben.
At around 3:30, people started leaving. It was a bit unclear whether we ought to be sticking around until the couple left. I had to go at 3:45, though, otherwise I would be late. So I said my goodbyes and drove home through good traffic.
At home, I helped Ben take a shower, then fed him dinner. We watched a bit of X-Men 3: The Last Stand, and then went to Lizz's graduating recital in Balmain (leaving extra time for Ben to get down the stairs as it was the first time he had to do it). Fortunately I got a parking spot right outside the door of the church so Ben didn't have to go very far.
We set Ben up right up the back so he could put up his leg. Various people came by to say hi and ask the obligatory question, “What happened to you?”
Lizz was awesome. She sang Mozart, Handel and a bunch of other coloratura stuff, plus “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” (from Sweeney Todd), “Glitter and Be Gay” (from Candide) and the hilarious “I Want to Be a Prima Donna!”. She interspersed all her songs with patter with her accompanist, and complained about there being “Too many notes!” (a reference to Mozart; go watch Amadeus if you don't get it).
There was supper in the hall afterwards, but that would have been a bit too hard logistically. So we said our goodbyes, headed home and finished watching X-Men 3. Then I watched The Da Vinci Code (so bad!) and did what I wanted to do all week: sit on the couch with Ben (while he did work), watch TV and knit. We went to bed at 1.
Sunday 9/11/08
I slept in and woke at around 10:30, then went back to sleep again. I woke at 11:45, ate breakfast, read my Bible and prayed. I got on the computer and dealt with email, Facebook, Twitter, LibraryThing, Bookmooch, my blog, I made a CD of “Going home” for Dean, ate lunch (corn thins with pesto, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms), then I fiddled with the captchas on Bec's blog (and failed to get them to work). I left at around 3:30 and went to Lincraft in Alexandria where I spent my $10 voucher on curved needles (they're called mattress needles) for bookbinding, embroidery cotton (also for bookbinding), mercurized cotton (not sure what I'm going to do with this) and some cards. I thought about getting some yarn, but most Lincraft yarn is made out of artificial fibers—nylon, polyester, acrylic and the like. I think I'm becoming a yarn snob: after knitting so long with cheap yarns, I've decided I want to make things out of nicer stuff—wool, mohair, cotton, even silk (though silk is way expensive!)
Then I went to OfficeWorks, bought more packing tape (in preparation for packing), a guillotine (for bookbinding. I've always wanted a guillotine!) and a box cutter. I went to church after that, and sat with Bec. Kurt preached on Esther and it was great.
I hung around for a bit after and then went home and made risoni for dinner. After dinner, I got on the computer and read newsletters, responded to email, sorted out things for the Sydney Festival, IM-ed with Bec and Ben, tried to finish my Christmas shopping (and failed) and 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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Comments
Whenever I think about curved needles I see that illustration in The Magician’s Nephew of Diggory’s aunt mending a mattress.
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