A little something from Jude for the New Year...
Why make resolutions when you can make Judaloutions? I plan to adhere to this set of holiday guidelines.
This is the time of year to look back and reflect on how the previous year
went ... and to look forward to the New Year. Well, we all know 2008 was not a banner year for most ... declining economy, lay-offs, soaring deficits and a lot of broken resolutions. This year is going to be different ... and I am resolute on that!
I will not promise to lose weight ... stop smoking ... be kind to small animals or let old(er) people in line in front of me! I will not,under any circumstances smile at a stranger and give directions,nor will I help old(er) ladies across a busy street ... I am NOT a Girl Scout! This year I am going to do whatever I want within legal parameters. So if that means eating ice-cream for breakfast, drinking my dinner or dancing to the music in my head (and there is a lot going on in there), so be it.
I urge all of you to do the same,well maybe not to always drink your dinner, but you get the idea. Do what makes you feel good,and be resolute about it. The more we are good to ourselves,the better we will be. If you haven't lost the 15 lbs you wanted to get rid of last year, you're not going to drop it this year ... forget it ... If you're still smoking, well, chances are you will still be this next year, though cutting back is good. We only go 'round once ... try to be happy on the journey, it doesn't last long enough. And be resolute this year in your resolution.
To ice cream for breakfast in '09!
Thank you, Jude, for reminding us what it is to be cool. We love you.--SWC
Showing posts with label Juderonomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juderonomy. Show all posts
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Juderonomy Is Back
If you've missed Juderonomy as much as Mitchell and I have, rest easy. She's back with all of her experience, wit and wisdom and her penchant for critical thinking. Enjoy and join in the fray.
So much as been said lately about the state of the world. Is it really worse than it was twenty, thirty or even forty years ago? I don't know for sure, but I do know that immediate access to any bit of news is almost instantaneous. We have 150 or more channels and the Internet to assault us. In the "old" days, there were maybe four or five networks to pick from. They broadcast the news for a half hour, twice nightly. Now there is a constant barrage of what is called news.
We've become inured to what is happening around us. Kids are shooting into classrooms, disgruntled crazies are blowing up Federal buildings full of workers trying to make a living and their kids in the building's day care, and thugs are "popping caps", blowing away five year olds sitting on the front steps of their own homes. So, yes, I do think it is worse today than it was ever before.
We're so used to hearing and seeing, in vivid color, the death and destruction that is happening in the world, even in our neighborhoods, as we eat our dinner. The images and the reality of what's happening doesn't have the effect that it should. We're so inoculated to the images of violence, thanks to media coverage, that it doesn't really penetrate our souls any longer.
There was crime when I was growing up, but our parents weren't afraid to let us play outside without an armed guard to watch us. Then again, a lot of the parents were sitting outside watching us play. TV wasn't the pap of the masses that it is now. Someone one said that the Medium is the Message, and this box in our lives is changing our perception of what is acceptable.
To use the media as a babysitter instead of a learning tool is not acceptable to me. Don't get me wrong--there are wonderful programs that we can use to better educate ourselves and our children. Media should be used to better understand the big world around us, but to rely upon and and be hooked into it is absurd. The networks are scrambling to fill up hours of time to satisfy the advertisers; if the gorgeous Florida school teacher-cum-pederast or teen girls gone wild can sell their product, all the better for them. We are consumers. What happens when we consume hours of these images and ideas? We become immune to the impact.
So, is the state of society worse than it was X amount of years ago? Reported crime statistics do seem to sell the story that we're safer than ever. The population has increased; could that have an impact on crime statistics? And beyond the quantity of crime, what about the quality of the crimes committed? We've become accustomed to violence. The fact that the harsh realities of the world we actually do live in don't disrupt our plans to sit down for a nice evening of reality television tells a story of its own. Think about that the next time you sit in front of your "idiot box"...
So much as been said lately about the state of the world. Is it really worse than it was twenty, thirty or even forty years ago? I don't know for sure, but I do know that immediate access to any bit of news is almost instantaneous. We have 150 or more channels and the Internet to assault us. In the "old" days, there were maybe four or five networks to pick from. They broadcast the news for a half hour, twice nightly. Now there is a constant barrage of what is called news.
We've become inured to what is happening around us. Kids are shooting into classrooms, disgruntled crazies are blowing up Federal buildings full of workers trying to make a living and their kids in the building's day care, and thugs are "popping caps", blowing away five year olds sitting on the front steps of their own homes. So, yes, I do think it is worse today than it was ever before.
We're so used to hearing and seeing, in vivid color, the death and destruction that is happening in the world, even in our neighborhoods, as we eat our dinner. The images and the reality of what's happening doesn't have the effect that it should. We're so inoculated to the images of violence, thanks to media coverage, that it doesn't really penetrate our souls any longer.
There was crime when I was growing up, but our parents weren't afraid to let us play outside without an armed guard to watch us. Then again, a lot of the parents were sitting outside watching us play. TV wasn't the pap of the masses that it is now. Someone one said that the Medium is the Message, and this box in our lives is changing our perception of what is acceptable.
To use the media as a babysitter instead of a learning tool is not acceptable to me. Don't get me wrong--there are wonderful programs that we can use to better educate ourselves and our children. Media should be used to better understand the big world around us, but to rely upon and and be hooked into it is absurd. The networks are scrambling to fill up hours of time to satisfy the advertisers; if the gorgeous Florida school teacher-cum-pederast or teen girls gone wild can sell their product, all the better for them. We are consumers. What happens when we consume hours of these images and ideas? We become immune to the impact.
So, is the state of society worse than it was X amount of years ago? Reported crime statistics do seem to sell the story that we're safer than ever. The population has increased; could that have an impact on crime statistics? And beyond the quantity of crime, what about the quality of the crimes committed? We've become accustomed to violence. The fact that the harsh realities of the world we actually do live in don't disrupt our plans to sit down for a nice evening of reality television tells a story of its own. Think about that the next time you sit in front of your "idiot box"...
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