Flying objects

After all the bad news of the last couple of days, I was happy to wake up early this morning and find new Colbert Report and Daily Show episodes on the TiVO.

I was particularly amused by a piece Colbert did on Amazon. I wanted to insert the video here but for reasons I cannot understand I was unable to download it, so here is the link:

New use of drones?

This really hit home for me. I have probably mentioned this here before, but although I do fundamentally agree with the point Colbert is making, and I really do miss going to regular stores and actually seeing and touching things (the recent trip to the outlet mall was a notable exception), I cannot even begin to imagine how I would have functioned during this past year and a half without on-line shopping. Granted I would have saved a lot of money, probably enough to feed many starving children around the world. But I would also be sitting here with baggy old clothes, and I would have to send Barry out for every little thing I need. Instead, our house is now well stocked with random items like Chapstick, toothpaste, deodorant, and various cleaning items to last through a very long confinement to quarters for at least our entire family of ten. Add to this American Girl paraphernalia, Legos kits, Quadrilla, and Hex Bugs sitting in various Sharon homes, all thanks to Amazon Prime and other on-line shopping, and we could stock a few elementary schools.

My joy at the wonders of the world wide web is somewhat tempered by the fact that early reports are beginning to suggest that the New York Metro North rail conductor was using his mobile device while driving that train early Sunday morning. I have for some time now been grousing about the need for developing basic courtesy standards for use of electronic devices. Talking on cell phones on airplanes, as appears to be under consideration, would seem a very bad idea because people will inevitably be yelling into those phones in the close and noisy quarters of the cabin. But this goes far beyond making lives more pleasant, it gets to the potential for putting our lives at risk. We all want to believe that we are good at multi-tasking, but study after study, as well as simple common sense, shows that we are not. The real question is, if it should eventually be established that the conductor was in fact texting just prior to that horrific accident, will anyone listen or care or change their behavior?

My memory works in strange ways, sort of fits and starts of tidbits going in and out. For the past week or so I have been incessantly humming the second movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major. This piece was used in the climactic scene in the Oscar-winning movie from 2010, The King’s Speech, but I am not sure why I started thinking about it again.

I mention this here because what I forgot to write about entirely was that we saw a movie the other day. Barry, Dina, Aaron, and I took all four children to see Frozen. Although animated and having a PG rating, it is visually impressive even in 2-D (for various reasons we did not choose to see it in 3-D), and a real twist on the usual fairy tale. Rather than being a typical damsel in distress the girl at the heart of the story is spunky and strong-willed, and does not wait for some prince to fulfill her dreams. I don’t want to spoil the movie for those who have not yet seen it, but this leads to a rather surprising outcome in the choices she makes. As Stephen Holden wrote in the New York Times review:

They are significant departures from tradition in a film that shakes up the hyper-romantic “princess” formula that has stood Disney in good stead for decades and that has grown stale. Treacly, kissy-kissy endings are not enough anymore. Nowadays, a princess has to show her mettle and earn her happily-ever-after stripes.

With or without children, I recommend this movie.

Have a good day.

Love,

Rebecca