11.07.2012

too many things


i have about three hundred things to blog about and no clear way to begin.  there are three reasons.

1. i like to type in lowercase.
2. i have too many gadgets.
3. i have watched more news in the past two weeks than i have in the past twenty years.

i'm not a bad news kind of girl.  in that i don't watch the news.  because it is All.  Bad.  years ago, ruggy and i sat curled up on a thin mattress in a brooklyn basement, in our first apartment, my mind filled with every horrible thing my parents said could happen in new york, watching the eleven o'clock news.  i do believe, in the grand scheme of news hours, this is probably the worst sixty minutes of news to watch.  STAY UP!  the eleven o'clock airing commands. YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE THE HORRORS GOING ON!  SLEEP AND YOU WILL CERTAINLY BECOME SAID NEWS!  as a video shot inside a deli played, a newscaster muttered oh by the by this is graphic as the tape rolled through the killing of a man.  all o'clock news officially done for oona.  while some might say i've got my head stuck in the sand, i say i've got it up where the air is actually breathable.

that said, i had no idea hurricane sandy was headed our way.  indeed, ruggy stays on top of things and informs me on a need-to-know basis (ruggy! what did that senator say?!), but when we left town that friday to hang with friends in vermont, miss sandy was not the monster she was to become.  as the bars on our phones began to creep back sunday afternoon, we found we had a couple hours to get back into the city before they shut 'er down.  caught the last train in, stocked the fridge with what little was left on the market shelves, and lamented the paltry amount of bottles in our liquor cabinet.

and... watched the news.  kept it on just about non stop.  we were horrified at so very many things, most of them not having anything to do with the storm: the makeup on the anchorwomen. the sportscasters stationed on docks.  the absolute flood of graphics and musical swells designed to make your eyes widen and your heart race. the incredibly stupid banter (here you see a helicopter keeping an eye on the situation!).  it was like my first sip of coca cola afters years of quitting the stuff:  EGADS! THE TOXICITY!  SURELY THIS IS KILLING ME!  KILLING ME RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE!

but we were unable to turn it off.  very serious news actually did happen, still is-- it is supremely disconcerting to be in the middle of manhattan, business as usual, while the surrounding areas are Apocalypse Now.  and then of course the news had to stay on for election day.  my alarm clock was set for 5am, but i couldn't tear myself away from the boob till we had some good news.  finally i had to get some sleep and settle for -ish, and this morning a very groggy kalkatroonaan read the news on a tiny phone while sitting on the porcelain throne.

i will always remember where i was when i found out president barack obama was re-elected.

with two crises averted, i believe our vast music collection shall resume its rightful place as ruler of the sound system.  once ruggy figures out what happened to our itunes, that is.  it crashed.  in protest, i think, against the never ending blathering coming from the talky side of TV.

if it keeps up this mutiny for very long, i fear nor'easter She-Ra will set up shop on our screen.  

50 comments:

  1. missed your posts.. i'm with you there - not a news watcher, news make me angry, i would rather be living in oblivion..but crisis call for watching news, i guess you just want them to tell you that you're going to be ok.. back in 1999, when my country was bombarded, i remember that first few days i watched news (well, that was only thing on tv actually) all fucking day long and was scared as shit.. few days later i gave up and turned to alcohol :) never watched news since, tv is for sports and movies

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    1. now THAT is some serious shit. that's partly what sends me into a red rage about the news, they blow up silly things while real life is going on.

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  2. I am glad to know that you all okay. Facebook ends up being my news channel. Someone is always posting something.

    OOOHH She-Ra. That show is in my queue.

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  3. Nor'easter She-Ra!!! I should know better than to drink and read your blog. 'Tis a dangerous thing for my screen. ;) Glad all's well in kalkatroona.

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  4. Glad you're sharing again. Life's not a composition class...so why not skip the shift key if it stifles your voice? You know how to use it if/when you need it...that's enough.

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    1. methinks i must. it makes me oddly sad to see my posts in caps. maybe i'm peter pan.

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  5. This is why we got rid of cable... I"m with you, girl. Derek updates me on the very important things. It's possible to get traumatized by news itself and I do. I even avoided Facebook for three days because it was almost as bad (a lot of capslock going on). New York is exactly the place I'd want to be in a hurricane. I like how people come together. Glad you got home safely!

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  6. Right? I do not believe in watching the news. Reading it, sure. Watching it, nuh-uh. Nor did I know a hurricane was a-comin'.

    Glad you're safe!

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    1. reading it is even a problem for me. although i did like the nytimes coverage of sandy. it seemed mostly level headed and important.

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  7. I try to avoid the news, it makes me too anxious, but I was glued to it yesterday and am now hoarse from screaming at the top of my lungs. Screaming with joy is such a delicious way to lose one's voice, don't you think?

    Avoid She-Ra and stay safe, my darlings!

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    1. thinking of you screaming with joy at election coverage makes me smile like it's christmas.

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  8. Many years ago (I am old), I read Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom, and Dr. Christiane Northrup states (and I am paraphrasing, like I said, I am old, memory ain't so good), "{we are not emotionally equipped to deal with the problems of the entire planet". Since then I stopped watching the news and reading the paper. I do listen to the news on the radio, on good ole Canadian CBC (kinda like NPR only Canadian), and I don't listen to that every day either. However, my remote couldn't change the channel away from CNN for a few days. Then I began to shut down emotionally. Couldn't take it anymore.

    I am very glad you posted, you were the last one on my list of east coasters. Very glad you are okay.

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    1. your paraphrase seems about dead on to me. it just doesn't seem possible. although i do know peeps who seem to have a limitless energy to stay on top of the world's problems and try to change them. at times i think they're superheros, and at times i think they're ants with rubber tree plants.

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  9. I'm with you! Not a news watcher (is a bit hard without a tv anyways :) But I have also been uncharacteristically drawn to it in the last week or so! Glad all is ok on your end!!

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    1. oh, if we could live without a TV! i guess that's a silly thing for me to wish for, seeing as it is my line of work...

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  10. Hey I'm in Vermont! Glad to hear you're doing okay back in New York! Scary stuff :(

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    1. i know, i realized after we got back! i don't know how i didn't put it together before. we try to go once a year for the big summer cheese festival, but got delayed this year.

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  11. Sounds like you guys squeaked in in the nick of time! I'd figured you were okay, we've got some family in Manhattan Dad checked were safe, and he said what about your blogging buddy, and I was like she'll be ok that's where she lives too!

    I'm with seamripped, I can read, but not watch the news. I find that generally with the visual, there's such a dumbing-down of or elimination of context. I feel generally most news shows go right to your rat-brain and frighten, and I need context, something for my frontal lobe. I can't go wide with ALLTHEPROBLEMS, the overwhelm is total. I have to go deep and nerd out over specific topics.

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    1. you are blowing my mind right now. you have family in manhattan?! DON'T YOU NEED TO VISIT THEM?!!!

      and how much do i love that your dad asked about me!

      that's exactly it, the dumbing down and complete LEAVING OUT of facts. maybe i should get into the NY times. they had free online access during the whole shebang, and it was quite civilized.

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  12. And the new storm is a royal pain in the ass! They are now predicting up to 6" of snow in NYC and surrounding areas but 61 degrees by Saturday. No one and I mean NO ONE can tell me that climate change doesn't exist because I've lived the dayum thing these last two weeks!

    ...and this is probably not good to admit on the interwebs but I crip walked when my man brought it on home! Yes, to four more years!

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    1. i hope you're still crip walking. after all, it's like 70 degrees out, might as well swagger.

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  13. I am also not a news watcher - though if I'm in the car I do slip in a little NPR to get that good ol' dose of self-righteous, liberal nonsense (ha!) I've always felt a bit like a crap citizen because I get all my news from my far better informed other-half! I mean... there's so many other things I could doing! Like sewing! And reading about sewing on blogs!

    I'm so glad you and yours are safe and sound. Bitches like Sandy always turn me all crazy eyed and I'm convinced I see the end of days coming (the real reason I don't watch the news...)!! A nice reminder of normality, like awesome Oona posts, is just what I needed!

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    1. :)))

      ah yes, NPR! even that gets me sometimes. oddly enough, i adore apocalyptic movies, just sit there with my jaw dropped.

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  14. Grrrrrllll, don't you know I did the happy dance at work when I realized it was a landslide! And, despite having a cold, I literally jumped out of my chair and screamed YES YES YES!!! When Elizabeth Warren won. HELL YEAH!

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  15. Hmm... news in NY, probably a little crazier than here in Calgary! I like watching the world news to see whats going on but at the same time there are days when I just have to say no to all the crazy depressing crap our fellow man has done!

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    1. yeah, nothing like watching an hour of news to make you hate your fellow man.

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  16. Glad you're okay and I hope the liquor cabinet held out! I'm SUPER glad the small font is back - it makes your blog sound more like you again. I'm with you - I'm not big on the news... partly I think because I often see sadness and stuff at work I don't want to flood myself with it. I still try to keep vaguely up to date but I don't have an obsessive need to absorb the news every single day. And I say keep your head up where the air is breathable and the alcohol is drinkable - it's a much better place to be.

    Oh, and may your iTunes recover and return to its rightful place!

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    1. we literally SQUEAKED by, in fact i did run out to get a bottle of old overholt in the midst of the winds. you, my friend, are a superhero and have no business watching the news. you get enough news!

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  17. What a crazy week we have had here in NYC. And now all this snow? All the trees on my street that snapped in Sandy just broke off in more pieces last night. I don't feel too bad (they do give me killer allergies after all), but it's ruining my view.

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  18. I share your same sentiments. I only watch the news at the gym to get a quick update on the world around me but mostly to take my mind off of the hour or so I have left on the elliptical.

    The news regarding Sandy was horrid. On Monday night and as the storm was hitting, I was glued to weather.com. Do you know what the headline read? "Devastation Imminent." How that for Apocalypse Now?

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    1. eep. i purposefully go to the gym when i know repeats of "friends" is on!

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  19. I well understand the need for self-protection, but learning to filter the news is an important life skill. One can't always count on having a helpful relative or friend to inform us.

    Glad you got through Sandy OK.

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    1. i have tried in the past, quite admirably if i do say so meself... i'm leaving room for other filters.

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  20. I don't watch the news for the same reasons you mentioned... although I will say that during the big Nashville flood in 2010, my roommate and I literally sat on the couch for an entire day and watched the news. Like from 9am until almost midnight. It was surreal and depressing but I couldn't tear myself away from the tv any longer than it took to go to the bathroom!

    I'm so glad you guys are safe!

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    1. and it's such a helpless feeling too. we did that with 9/11. i got up and tried to go donate blood but they were turning people away--there were too many volunteers, and not enough need.

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  21. I am guilty of not watching the news and getting all of my info from the Daily Show. It is just more cheerful. I am so glad you were safe during all of the devastation! And yay, major presidential crisis averted!

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    1. we do that! but every once in a while we realize we're laughing (ie, a certain 50 grand a plate dinner) but the shit is REAL. like, people are really doing that insanely stupid action we're laughing at. BLERGH.

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  22. Glad you made it through the storm safely. I'm all for news holidays, if you can avoid it altogether please tell me how!! :)

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    1. like nike says, just do it. or an online subscription to a news source you like. they can't play dramatic music and insane videos if your computer is set to silence!

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  23. "SLEEP AND YOU WILL CERTAINLY BECOME SAID NEWS!" I snorted out loud when I read this. Glad you are safe and sound!

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  24. Happy to hear that kalkatroona continues. same as it's always been.

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  25. i feel like i should thank you with my country's motto, "long drink kalkatroona", or something like that...

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!