<p>It keep me on payroll to send my kid to college.
It smooth conversation at gathering
It works.
I like TV, since I can’t watch it all the time, commercials are even entertaining. I go out or plan playdate so I can watch Olympics or Yankee game.
just that being aware of such rules helps us immigrants. again, if one wants to conformed with.</p>
<p>NJSue, you’ve clearly absorbed forensics 101: if the law’s against you, argue facts; if the facts are against you, argue the law; if you can’t argue either, set up a straw man and demolish that.</p>
<p>NJSue - my money is on you, or you could just ignore him.</p>
<p>I’ve been watching Ken Burns series on prohibition. I suppose I could be reading James Joyce but the Burns series didn’t seem like that big a waste. I did order the Jobs biography so that’ll hopefully counter some of the television induced mental erosion from watching the Stanford USC game.</p>
<p>I’m a huge reader. I might be one of the only five people in America who still buys and reads poetry.</p>
<p>But, I have to say, TV has gotten much better than it used to be (or used to seem to be to me). I think there are some really good shows on now. I didn’t used to have much time for it, when the kids were smaller and around all the time, but now I can watch, and I like some of the shows a lot. They are well-written and well-acted. There are a lot of more mature female characters, as opposed to the ingenue roles in the movies, I’m not against the ingenues or anything, but I like that the women can act and are strong characters.</p>
<p>My .02c.</p>
<p>Philip Levine, Galway Kinnell, Sylvia Plath, e.e. Cummings
all were gifts. they don’t discriminate</p>
<p>It seems pretty myopic to think/profess that the only reason to have a television is to watch reality tv shows. Are you just being confrontational? Do you stream or pull up on your computer anything that is originally meant for television (local/national news, PBS documentaries, etc), Annasdad?</p>
<p>"But I don’t buy them cars when they turn 16, I don’t give them spending money unless they do something to earn it, our family vacations are tent-based camping jaunts, my D shops for her clothes at Goodwill (and is very good at finding really nice stuff there); and when it comes to college, they know that their choices are constrained by what DW and I can afford to pay - which means a state school or a generous private one. "</p>
<p>Goody for you. Our kids didn’t get cars at 16, but our last family vacation was 3 weeks in Europe (“last hurrah” before they went off to college), we stayed in nice hotels, did biking tours of the Alps and made lasting memories, which were worth every penny. My kids were exceedingly grateful to be full pay and understand fully how fortunate they are. I treated my daughter to some nice clothes before she left for school, because I can afford to and because certain kinds of clothing are investments, and bought my son a suit and sport coat to keep on hand for formals. They get an allowance. These are values neutral things, Annasdad. They are neither morally inferior to or superior to camping and shopping at Goodwill.</p>
<p>And frankly the middle class affectation for shopping at Goodwill mystifies me. Why would I buy something at Goodwill and take it out of the hands of someone who has no choice but to buy at Goodwill?</p>
<p>Oh - and every night, my son and husband would gather in front of the TV and watch an episode of MASH before bed. It’s a little family ritual that for the two of them is a cherished memory. Does MASH get a pass since it’s on DVD and it’s an old show? Just curious what the rules are.</p>
<p>I dont watch a lot of TV not because I’m holier than thou – I just happen to spend my down time on the computer, but same darn thing really. And since I don’t subscribe to HBO, I missed out on the George Harrison documentary that just came out (Living in the Material World) so now I am trying to find it online for free or wait til it comes out in the DVD. Is that any morally superior to having had an HBO subscription?</p>
<p>ancient tragedy and comedy, miracle plays, Shakespeare, etc were for the masses but now studied in school as something high-falutin’</p>
<p>I think somewhere on tv probably exists the modern day Shakespeare, but I am guessing it isn’t Survivor :)</p>
<h1>126 - yes</h1>
<p>While I agree small children may be better off without tv, I used it extensively as a “babysitter” and my kids don’t seem to have been irreparably damaged. They watched a whole lot of National Geographic nature specials as toddlers.</p>
<p>edit to add: Although I haven’t had time to follow them consistently for years, it is quite distressing to me all the daytime soaps are disappearing. I bet there will be studies of them in future years. I think some of the themes they explored had a real positive impact on society - or at least on tv watching society 
Since I don’t have network tv available where I now live, I haven’t seen Glee, but have read enough about it to think it is having a positive impact. Amelia on Huffpost wrote an essay that includes a Glee reference.</p>
<p>my favorite show of all time: Buffy</p>
<p>I’m with Sue. When much of my city tragically flooded in May 2010, the way I kept up with things was by TV. I also love sports on TV. My kids watched some TV growing up but not a lot. The shows weren’t quite as awful a decade or 15 years ago, either. H and I really enjoy our shows- and none of them are “reality” shows. We dearly miss some of our favorites that are no longer on like Friday Night Lights and Without a Trace. I read a lot, too. H does not. I admit to being very horrified by daytime TV the few times I have caught it at the gym while I was on the treadmill. Not much redeeming value there. But after a hard workday and a good run, I like to kick back on the couch and watch Law & Order or some other “rot”. I feel my brain power diminishing…</p>
<p>I do think it’s amusing when people get snobbish about TV and how much more cultured they are since they DON’T watch it. Makes me want to check their browsing history and see what sites they might be visiting other than CC… We all have our flaws.</p>
<p>We loved Buffy. We used to watch it together when kids were younger. I was never a fan, but in college a lot of my friends used to run back to their room to watch General Hospital (pre DVR). I used to watch As the World Turns.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How is this possible? Can you tell from clicking on this post what other sites I currently have up on my computer? I don’t understand anything about how all this works but do know I have some kind of computer “address” ? Can we see each others’ “addresses”?</p>
<p>On your web browser, there is a tab “History,” click on it and someone could see all the sites you have been to on your computer. To keep privacy and keep your computer well, you should clean it up sometimes (there is a tab you could click on to clear history).</p>
<p>PG
other things I can’t and gave up but about Goodwill, I can demystify a bit.
I don’t think it apply to everywhere (I did see quite few Goodwill out of NYC and stuff in it/ the environment is different) but donors are also its shoppers. More donate than consume. they keep stuff on the shelves.
Where urban large cities with recycling sustaining minded people making lots of money, people would donate goods there all the time.
If you’d go to the one near me, bags of stuff that being dropped off could be coming from the same exact family, whose teenage kids would refuse to go to shopping with parents or let alone put clothes looking like “dead poet society” for any occasions. horrors!!
kids’d come by after school or weekend with friends, check it out, get good laugh on really garish items, they’d pick few articles they like, or they don’t.
the same kids would spend ridiculous amount to buy someone’s old clothes at so-called “vintage” stores. To them, it doesn’t matter. either way get our economy going, and keep people recycling.</p>
<p>^This is what I am trying to understand. things are different where you live, how you live.
You really don’t know until you know, you know?</p>
<p>We used to all watch Buffy together, too! I miss that.</p>
<p>Joss Whedon just filmed a version of “Much Ado About Nothing.” He filmed it in 12 days, and I really can’t wait til it comes out.</p>
<p>oldfort: can you see “history” on my computer’s web browser? Is there some way that you, on a computer someplace faraway, can tell what I am looking at?</p>
<p>Thank you for this information. </p>
<p>I have history “turned off” on this computer I am sitting at right now. One of my kids did it for me. I’m sitting here trying to decide which child it will be least embarrassing to call and ask this question.</p>
<p>edit: Joss Whedon studied at a very fine LAC :)</p>
<p>edit: right - bears and dogs- goodwill is recycling, vintage, seen as creative in some circles. Shopping goodwill can be a pretension all of its own. :)There is more than enough goodwill clothing to clothe those who can’t afford new and everyone else on the planet - imho. There is probably enough used clothing in this country to last a million years or so… :)</p>
<p>The late lamented “Firefly” is one of the series we watched on Netflix in the past year. It’s actually wonderful to be able to watch good series in a short burst of time. It’s sort of like reading Dickens from cover to cover instead of serial installations as originally published.</p>
<p>Back to the original topic, “happiness vs. money.” It’s a false dichotomy because it’s really hard to be happy when your material condition is wretched. And of course, as we all know from watching the long-running soap opera that is the British Royal Family, money does not buy happiness.</p>
<p>Most people make constant lifelong tradeoffs re money, time, occupation and lifestyle to achieve a tolerable balance for themselves and their families. Simplicity is good and self-sufficiency is a virtue. If we’re going to start using theological language, though, it needs to be said that spiritual pride is a sin. Looking down on others because of the way they do or don’t spend money is a form of spiritual pride. Dante put the misers and the spendthrifts in the same part of the Inferno and gave them the same punishment.</p>
<p>For the OP: If she is thinking of pursuing this path indefinitely, an oldie but goodie book for inspiration is Duane Elgin’s “Voluntary Simplicity.” I would also recommend “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin for some practical instruction.</p>
<p>I live in an area with many practitioners of voluntary simplicity, some who have given up high-paid careers in big cities because they found it unsatisfying. It’s important to distinguish between voluntary simplicity and involuntary poverty; being in a rural area of one of the most economically depressed states, we also have plenty of the latter. Voluntary simplicity is not for everyone, but those who choose it generally report great satisfaction. The key is that they have chosen to do it; aren’t most of us happier when we get to live the way we want? </p>
<p>Maybe some are lucky to never have to choose between money and happiness. I remember years ago seeing an interview of Tom Selleck when he was starring in “Magnum P.I.” about how he couldn’t believe he got paid (quite well!) to live in Hawaii and act, which he would’ve done for free. I hope he saved and wisely invested most of his salary from that show.</p>
<p>Anyway, what may be viewed as a deprivation by the larger world is considered an asset by a person practicing voluntary simplicity. Transportation, for example. In the U.S., not having a car is generally seen as major deprivation. And for a involuntary poor person, it usually is a negative effect on quality of life. If the local diner that had been employing you just closed and the next closest place to work is 10 miles away and you hate the job and you are dependent on your drunk brother-in-law for a ride and he doesn’t show up so you have to hop on your kid’s old rusty bike and ride in the snow, well that just sucks. But if you like your work have voluntarily given up your car because you’re concerned about the environment, or road kills, or corporate profits, or whatever, that bike ride is freeing and invigorating! </p>
<p>Know that it’s possible to have a meaningful and happy life on very little income, even less income that your daughter is likely making. She’ll need good budgeting skills and a process to determine what goods and services really matter to her, what expenditures are “worth it.” But frankly, even some people with high incomes could use a refresher course on budgeting. I know two families who lost their homes to foreclosure while paying K-12 private tuition, although in one of those cases a parent had lost a higher-paying job and could only find a lower-paying one, but family didn’t reduce expenses to match.</p>
<p>Another book worth reading, particularly if children are planned, is “Radical Homemakers” by Shannon Hayes, who has a Ph.D. from Cornell and lives with her family on a farm in upstate New York on about $40k annual income. And she manages to occasionally take the kids to Europe! She chronicles dozens of families and individuals across the U.S. who are following a similar path. The NYT wrote about it a year or so ago as if it’s all Berkeley moms raising chickens in the backyard. Hayes is a feminist and explores some very interesting questions about salaries and freedom.</p>