Why Television is the Devil (and other unpopular thoughts)

I loathe television, I really, truly do. This hasn't always been the case, and recently I've been asking myself why I've come to develop such a prejudice against America's favorite pasttime.

When we were in college, my husband and I often stayed in his room at his parent's house. It had a small (maybe 9 inch) television in it, which he never turned on. His family had never had anything beyond basic cable, and he didn't seem to have any desire to turn on the television--at least not while in his room. If we wanted to watch something, we usually did that in the family living area as a group.

This was so not the case at my house. In our home, there was no television in the central living area after my parents' divorce. Instead, my mother, brother, and I each had a television in our own room with satellite, DVR, and just about every channel you can imagine. My television was the smallest of these, sitting at just 19 inches. A typical evening went like this: My brother and I got off the bus, each dropped our stuff, and went to our own rooms. Once inside, we would turn on or respective televisions and stay there. The end.

I was puzzled by Brian's family's lack of interest in television, but I was busy with college and didn't really have time for tv anyway. When I moved into the dorm, I brought my 19 inch television, but I can't remember turning it on more than once or twice in my entire two-year tenure in the dorms.

When my husband and I moved out on our own, it was his suggestion that we give up television all together. We were moving to an area where no local channels existed, and satellite was just too expensive to consider. I was ok with this, but really wanted a television in the bedroom so that we could watch DVDs. To my suprise, Brian was staunchly opposed to having any kind of television in the bedroom. We compromised and put one television in the living room. For the next two years we lived without television, only watching DVDs occasionally (usually when we were home sick from work or when we both wanted to watch a season of our former favorite shows).

The change in our lives was amazing. All of a sudden we had all of this wonderful time on our hands. I started to bake, we did arts and crafts, books were read--we were hooked! Soon we discovered audio books, and those were played in the evenings on the speaker system in lieu of DVDs. Brian would sit with the animals and listen to the latest book I had wanted him to read and I would cook or crochet and listen, too. We liked our quiet little life.

When we moved back in with Brian's parents to take jobs closer to the city, we moved into a home with a television. Still, there was only basic cable, so I figured the television would play a limited role in our daily lives. Not so.

The television in the Kendrick household is on from the moment my nephews wake up in the morning until the moment everyone leaves. Within fifteen minutes of arriving home, my father-in-law has turned the damned thing on again. Usually the programs they choose are educational, but I hate it. The house is never quiet. Conversations are held during commercial breaks. Dinner is eaten in silence around the television.

We do not have a television in our room at all. Our DVDs are in storage, and are likely to remain there. When we move out, I'm contemplating whether we will have a television at all--for DVDs or otherwise. How strange am I? Does anyone else harbor deep resentment for the talking picture box?

Turning 24, Discovering LUSH, and other Things I didn't know about myself...

I turned 24 on Saturday, July 24, 2010. So far, I've found that being 24 is not all that different from being 23. I'd be far more excited to turn 25 because of the break in car insurance, I think. I had one of the best birthdays ever. My mom and I spent the whole day together, starting with a sit down breakfast at a coffee house--no interruptions. That time was a rarity in and of itself, and one of my favorite parts of the day.

We went shopping, too. I got several cute cardigan sweaters--my new thing when it comes to clothes. Every year I have a thing. In college there was a year where I wouldn't wear anything but Mary Janes by Sketchers. There was also a year (ok, two) where I wore nothing but polar fleece and hiking boots; not my most attractive fashion choice, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Mom also got me a beautiful shell jewelry set, and several other costume jewelry pieces.

After we got all that apparel shopping out of our system, I introduced her to LUSH. I myself am a recent LUSH fanatic. After reading countless Facebook status updates by friends, particularly Billy Jones who is living across the pond in the birthplace of LUSH, I decided to see what all the hype is all about.

My favorite LUSH products are their solid shampoos.


Where have these things BEEN all my life?! For less than $10 I now have a hair product that works as a shampoo and conditioner, lasts as long as three bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and has my hair looking better than it has in my entire life.

I have medium-long hair that is very blonde and baby fine. I have used expensive shampoos and conditioners since college to manage it, often spending $20 a month on shampoo and conditioner (I don't use other products, thank goodness). These products have all had pluses and minuses, but there are no minuses with the solid LUSH bars. They make my hair shiney and help keep tangles down. They also soothe my scalp, which has been irritated since we moved to a home with city water instead of well water (what DO they add to city water anyway? Ick!).

I also travel a fair bit locally, and I just throw the bars into their handy little tins in my purse and take them with me. I never have to worry about a bottle of shampoo breaking in my bag again!



My favorite is the Godiva Bar. I'd describe it, but the LUSH website does a far better job than I ever could. How's this for a product description:

Sexy, jasmine-scented, two-in-one Shampoo (and conditioner) Bar -
Give your hair the moisturizing boost it needs with softening, conditioning butters. Your hair will be left so beautiful no one would notice you were riding the streets naked. It's a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner that's now completely vegan. It creates a richer feel to the lather when you wash your hair. Smoothing, shine inducing camellia oil makes hair manageable. Godiva is named after the woman who famously rode through the streets of Coventry with only her long flowing locks to cover her modesty. She was protesting against the taxes which her husband was planning to introduce.

Mom uses Godiva now, too. Brian is using Seanic which makes his hair smell AMAZING. I alternate between Godiva and Soak and Float (pictured above). Soak and Float is an amazing product, but it isn't their prettiest scented product. I tend to save it for TKD nights when I've done some heavy sweating. It has done wonders for my scalp, which as I said has been problematic since the move.

I also highly recommend LUSH Bath Bombs, Melts, and Bubble Bars. So far I have used Amandopondo, Geo Phyzz, and Ceridwen's Cauldron. Ceridwen's Cauldron is my favorite because it comes in this lovely little piece of muslin, and as it melts it leaves behind oatmeal which you can use as a scrub. I have an Avo Bath at home with my name on it for this weekend. I have never been a bath person, but these products have changed my mind. Yay for LUSH!

The Last Airbender

I admit that I am a huge fan of Nickelodean's Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It has all the appropriate elements (no pun intended) to hold my interests--a likeable hero, a heroine who is a bit too connected to her emotions, decent martial arts action, and magic. The DVDs got me through finals week my last semester of college, and it is one of the few shows that Brian and I can agree to watch (and in fact we often were put out that the other had skipped ahead in the series).



Needless to say, I was a little more than excited when I found out that they were taking it to the big screen. Brian was even more excited than I was, I think, and so it seemed the obvious choice for our impromptu movie date on Saturday.

SPOILER ALERT - If you still plan to see this movie, don't read any further...

Brian and I were a few minutes late coming into the movie (three minutes maybe?) and in that span of time Sokka and Katara had found Aang, broken him out of the ice, and watched him get captured by Zuko. As we found our seats, Sokka and Katara had a heart to heart with their grandmother who encouraged them to accompany the Avatar to aid him in his destiny because it is their own destiny.

The first thing that struck us both was the very, very poorly written script. Even if the actors' delivery had been brilliant (and none of them delivered brilliantly, with one outstanding exception) the movie didn't stand a waterbender's chance in the Fire Nation because of the choppy, dumbed down script with its painful dialogue and narration.

The most painful part of the movie was (for me, at least) watching Jackson Rathbone of the Twilight franchise try to throw enough emotion at the script to make it work.

He really is adorable without all the vampire makeup and stupid Hollywood hairstyles, but you'd never know it from watching this movie (or the Twilight films, for that matter). I would dearly love to see him cast in a role where he could shine.

See? Isn't he cute? He was even on Stephenie Meyer's short list for actors to play Edward prior to the actual casting for the Twilight film. He can sing too, if tween girl fans are any indication of talent.

The only actor who seems immune to the horrible script is Shaun Toub who plays Uncle Iroh. I'm not sure how he did it, but when I walked out of the theater all I could think was "how on earth did they build such a terrible film around such a talented actor?"--kudos to him for managing to magically make the script work.

On a happier note, I was rather pleased that Appa wasn't left out of the storyline; however, I was rather amused to see that--rather than create a new creature using all that fancy CGI that was supposed to be the movie's big draw--the creature from The NeverEnding Story got dusted off and repurposed. Bravo.

Brian and I had a lovely time poking fun at the movie and discussing Paramount's possibly racist casting tendencies (see the following article for an interesting take on that: http://splinterend.tumblr.com/post/749364670/facepainting), but unless you're into that sort of cinematic experience I'd watch something else--anything else.

Sondance

It has been an exciting summer for my mother. She has moved from her house in the 'burbs to a horse farm in the mountains. The move has been positive for her. She gets to be with the man she loves, surrounded by nature and her beloved animals, and she doesn't have to work so often or so hard. It has been a blessing to know she can enjoy a quiet life.

One of the contributing factors to her new happiness is Sondance, Misty's first foal, born July 7th. Misty is my mother's trail horse--a dainty little mare with a wonderful pleasure gait. She's a terrific mother, too. Dancer's father, Dandy, is mom's stallion.

Today was Sondance's first day out of the stall. He handled it like a champion. Mom haltered Misty and led her from the stall while my stepfather shooed him toward the door. After a few tenative moments (that doorway leads to a big, bright place!), Dancer walked down the barn aisle and out into the big pasture. He was such a brave boy!

Of course, the rest of the herd had to come check him out.

Pretty soon they were all running together and it was as though he had been there all along.


The herd settled down near the creekbed for some grazing and sunbathing. It was a truly memorable day for everyone, especially little Dancer. It's a big world outside of the barn!