Althouse: A vlog.

४ ऑगस्ट, २००६

A vlog.

Back in Madison, in my office, I'm talking about feeling awfully fried after my long drive and showing you some books: "Why Mommy Is a Democrat" and "Meet My Grandmother, She's a Supreme Court Justice."

१५ टिप्पण्या:

JohnF म्हणाले...: It's not often we get an entomological intro to a couple of book reviews. Thanks, Ann.

Perhaps you can extend this approach, explaining, say, Souter's vote in Kelo by the swarms of man-eating black flies he had to deal with back in New Hampshire that distracted him.; ४/८/०६, ४:११ PM
al म्हणाले...: How about a review of Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed! ?

I guess the author of Why Mommy is a Democrat hasn't spent much time with the progressive branch of the party - otherwise he might not think they were so nice and caring.; ४/८/०६, ४:१६ PM
knox म्हणाले...: I'll never forget once in 6th grade I had to choose between two books for a book report. They were Johnathan Livingston Seagull and Bridge to Terabithia. Both, in their own ways, were quintessentially 1970s fare. (Anyone who's read them knows exactly what I mean when I say that.) At the time I didn't know why exactly, but I hated both of them, and kept putting one down to try the other, and couldn't decide which one to suffer through... now I know it was the sort of didactic crap that permeated both of them throughout, coupled with mind-numbing boringness.

Anyway, Mommy's a democrat gave me that same creepy-crawly feeling. The illustrations right down to the touchy-feelie. oh yeah, and the boringness.; ४/८/०६, ४:४५ PM
Simon म्हणाले...: Ann -
You didn't know that you get given a little poodle when you join the GOP? It's a free gift. Like when you join a book club, although we send you a dog to ward off cats from biting you. We also send you a pamphlet offering various strategies on how to look down on poor people and how to look snooty. Stuff like that. Male members get sent a monocle, too, and naturally, there's complimentary Halliburton stock for all new members. All-in-all, it's an attractive membership package.

BTW, what's the CivProc book you have there? Couldn't quite make it out.; ४/८/०६, ४:४८ PM
Meade म्हणाले...: Central serous retinopathy, begins for reasons that are not well understood. In this condition, fluid accumulates in the membrane behind your retina, called the choroid. This fluid seeps in between tissue layers in the retina and causes them to separate, resulting in blurred vision or poor night vision. This condition usually affects males between the ages of 20 and 50, but women also can get this condition. A person who develops this retinopathy is more likely than average to have been exposed to certain treatments or to have had certain medical problems, so these treatments and conditions are suspected to be possible triggers. Suspected triggers includ steroid medicines, pregnancy, antihistamines, antibiotics, alcohol abuse, nasal allergies, asthma, autoimmune problems and untreated high blood pressure. It is not clear whether emotional stress also may trigger this form of retinopathy, although some experts suspect a link.

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EM/9339/9686.html; ४/८/०६, ७:५६ PM
Beth म्हणाले...: knoxgirl, I haven't read Bride to Terawhasis but I know it's still in the junior high curriculum. I never read Why Mommy is a Democrat either, but the day I heard the score to Jonathan Livingston Seagull is the day Neil Diamond was dismissed from my list of people worth listening to. Early Neil? Still good. Post-Seagull: Neil Who?; ४/८/०६, ९:०४ PM
अनामित म्हणाले...: I can't even find the book on Amazon. Is that part of the Rovian conspiracy, or are people just not buying it?; ४/८/०६, ९:११ PM
tjl म्हणाले...: Love the lyrics, Palladian. How perfectly they capture both strands of that special icky ethos of "Why Mommy is a Democrat": whiny sentimentality and nannyism from hell.; ५/८/०६, ८:०० AM
Palladian म्हणाले...: Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb?
Mother do you think they'll like this song?
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls?
Mother should I build the wall?
Mother should I run for president?
Mother should I trust the government?
Mother will they put me in the firing line?
Ooh, Ma... it just a waste of time?

Hush now baby, baby, dont you cry.
Mamma's gonna make all your nightmares come true.
Mamma's gonna put all her fears into you.
Mamma's gonna keep you right here under her wing.
She wont let you fly, but she might let you sing.
Mama's gonna keep baby cozy and warm.
Ooh babe... Ooh babe... Ooh babe...
Of course Mama's gonna help build the wall.

Mother do you think she's good enough... for me?
Mother do you think she's dangerous... to me?
Mother will she tear your little boy apart?
Ooh, Ma... Mother will she break my heart?

Hush now baby, baby dont you cry.
Mama's gonna check out all your girlfriends for you.
Mama won't let anyone dirty get through.
Mama's gonna wait up until you get in.
Mama will always find out where you've been.
Mama's gonna keep baby healthy and clean.
Ooh babe... Ooh babe... Ooh babe...
You'll always be baby to me.

Mother, did it need to be so high?; ५/८/०६, ९:११ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: Jaynie: I think you should expose your child to the idea that he has many options and that he will be successful professionally. Don't give him a complex and make him worry about failing or too keen on pleasing you (or rebelling against you). It's a subtle process, and who really knows how to do it well? Some of what you can do is to keep the child informed about what professions there are and how much people who have them enjoy their work and deserve admiration. Respond to the child's own interests -- buying books on subjects or having conversations -- and reinforce the child's belief that he really could go into that work and help him understand what he will have to do to achieve it -- like study and earn good grades. Watch how the child responds to what you're doing so you don't cause him to go in the opposite direction or to become morbidly absorbed in studying. Why do your friends tease you? Try to find out. Maybe it's just meaningless fun, or maybe they are expressing their own anxiety that they aren't doing enough for their kids. But maybe they think you're putting too much pressure on your child or that your child isn't getting enough of a chance to enjoy the pleasures of childhood.; ५/८/०६, १०:१२ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: Thanks for coming by, Lisa.; ५/८/०६, २:३९ PM
XWL म्हणाले...: So far your vlogging is very different from your podcasting.

Maybe it was the inclusion of the kiddie books, but your rhythm and intonations got very Mr. Rogers-ish for a good portion of this vlog.

(Hello children, I have this nice button, wouldn't you like to see this nice button? Here's this nice button. Isn't that a nice button?)

This isn't a negative criticism, it's an interesting difference, I appreciate the access to all these varied personae.

The blogging Ann differs from the podcasting Ann differs from the vlogging Ann (and presumably the Professorial Ann of the classroom and the Ann about town in Madison are yet more Althousian personae).

Everyone wears their personae like masks for a performance, which is appropriate (etymologically speaking anyway).

But, I still want to know, what's outside that window you keep glancing towards?; ६/८/०६, ५:२२ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: XWL: The podcasting is based on my reading my blog posts (and digressing). The vlogging is completely ad lib... although in this one I was reading children's books. I was also "fried" as I kept saying....

Out the window is Bascom Mall. Go to my flickr page and search for that tag...; ६/८/०६, ७:४९ AM
Ann Althouse म्हणाले...: But you're right that I have different "personae." I have recordings of presentations where I hear a different quality in my voice that really annoys me, that I'm trying to get rid of. I hear it in other women too. It's a strange "man" quality that slips in -- unwittingly -- when your trying to be serious. I really hate it and think it's ridiculous. The best example of the problem -- in its most exaggerated form -- is the way Dee Dee Myers used to talk when she was Clinton's press secretary. Mary Matalin does it too. News-reading women on CNN and Fox, on the other hand, never do it.; ६/८/०६, ७:५४ AM
Bilby म्हणाले...: It's interesting that nobody noticed there is no Daddy Democrat in that story. Perhaps that explains why Mommy is a Democrat, or maybe the fact Mommy is a Democrat explains why there's no Daddy around. :); ७/८/०६, १२:५६ AM