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12:20:2002 Entry: "Ann : Love is for the Birds"

Love is for the Birds

Those sparrows are at it again on my neighbor's roof. Really, our houses are so close together it's the only thing I can see out these windows. Maybe I'm just easily amused. I think they're sweet little birds. I've always wanted birds. My mom had a total of three canaries, individually, when she was young. I couldn't get birds when I was a kid because we moved too much. Then when I was a teen we got cats. And when I moved in with Stan our main mission was to get cats, so birds are pretty much ruled out of our lives. I knew someone who thought they could raise (not just have, but RAISE) birds with four cats. I don't need to tell you the natural disaster that ensued. I only know of one incident where the people have a cat and birds. The cat was raised with birds. It was taught from a very early age to respect birds. The cat also uses the toilet as opposed to litter pans. Exceptional cat. Caligula is very fascinated by the finches when I have the window/door open. He gets a squirt from my plant mister when he tries to jump up toward them. He can't get to them; there's a screen on the window. I just don't like him frightening them. I guess the finches and the sparrows are my surrogate pet birds that I never had.

Last night Stan and I took a drive in the country to hear the frogs croaking near the prairie where he works. On the way we hit a bird with the car...it just flew into our windshield. We felt very bad.

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Last week was TV turn-off week. Personally, I think turning off your tv because some activist says you should is just as moronic as sitting in front of the boob tube all day. Both involve mind control, rather than you deciding what is good and bad and proceeding with the remote accordingly. I don't watch network tv except rarely, but I do watch cable. I love the channels like TLC, Discovery, History Channel, HGTV, Animal Planet, Travel Channel. I watched a very intersting show on the latter about the king and country of Jordan last night. What an amazing country from a geographical standpoint! I fail to see what is so wrong with watching the informative and educational programming on channels such as those. While listening to NPR, I am hearing plugs for this show on PBS that puts a family in a 19th century farmhouse to watch them survive like the pioneers used to. Um...isn't this a case of The Emperor's New Clothes? Just because it's on PBS and put in a historical (therefore, read "valid") setting doesn't mean it isn't just another variation on "Survivor" or "MTV's Real World." Puhlease. I'll pass on that one, thankyouverymuch.

I do have to wonder what all the praise for MisterRogers is. I never liked that show...especially when I was a kid. I wonder if it was taken out of the PBS context and put on commercial tv (as if that show could get advertisers), wouldn't parents be complaining about how mind numbing it is and how Freddie's niceynice somnambulent manner isn't just a little spooky?

6 Comments

Thanks for the birds entry... I enjoy watching birds. Once, Cass informed me that two birds were getting it on outside our bedroom window, on a branch. It lasted all of 3 seconds, but I was sure it was a sweet and memorable moment for the little humpers.

Posted by Jane @ 04:30:2002:09:11 PM CST

Actually 1900 House and Frontier House are really interesting, because you learn about the hidden challenges people faced before modern conveniences developed, whereas "Survivor" is mostly about goofy sports/gameshow battles and interpersonal strife. I'd rather watch nice upstanding people coping with genuine problems that my great-grandparents probably faced, and learn something in the process.

Posted by Jacob @ 05:01:2002:12:18 PM CST

I was watching Oprah about a week ago, and they were talking about Fronter House. Man,those moms acted just like Surivor (I can never spell that word right) contenstants.

The thing that's kinda sad about that is, these people spend like five months out there, and it just wraps up in three or four eps.

Posted by Anita @ 05:01:2002:01:45 PM CST

you know, i must confess, watching Mr. Rogers is alot funnier when one is stoned...
and yes, i know this from personal experiance

Posted by Lori @ 05:02:2002:11:18 AM CST

Jane, you know, after having watched my sparrows, it's amazing anything can be conceived in that manner.

That's a good point, Jacob, and granted, I'd much rather watch that than the "(sur)reality-based commercial network shows". It still seems a little too contrived for my liking. I'd rather watch a documentary on the Amish, however, because they're REAL people living without most modern conveniences, rather than watch those who've been exposed to modernity suddenly be placed in environment without them. It seems too much like a contest that way.

Anita...that's a funny image you conjure up of the women on Oprah. :-D

Lori...did you visit the Magic Kingdom? :-D

Posted by Ann @ 05:02:2002:06:44 PM CST

However, I must say that of all the things I ever considered giving up, attempted to give up, or actually gave up --- TV was the easiest.

Posted by Pat Hartman @ 05:04:2002:11:25 PM CST

By Ann @ 20:22 PM CST:12:20:02 ..::Link::..