Mayday!
September 22nd, 2009
I haven’t blogged in awhile, and it’s largely because I am totally overwhelmed at work. Those of you in my immediate circle know exactly why that is: 2x the number of kids in each class will do that to you. And I’d like to curse the innovator that came up with the bright idea to have the kids keep everything in a notebook. That means that instead of lugging home 150 papers every day, I could, realistically (depending on your definition of the word) bring home 150 whole spiral notebooks each day! NOT happening; which is why I’m drowning in them now.
When it rains, it pours, eh? Not that anything else is really going that badly, but I’m unhappily single with no prospects. It’s hard when you finally decide what you want and then suddenly they are all out of that, pick something else. No thanks, I’m not hungry anymore.
Also, I don’t know if I am going to make it the whole year. This morning, I put on a completely uninspired ensemble. I have come to expect more from myself, and so have other people. What I can’t figure out, though, is that if I haven’t gotten rid of much, then where’s all the stuff I wore last fall? Theoretically, isn’t it all still there? How come I couldn’t find anything to wear this morning? It’s like a locked room mystery–
Speaking of which, I just finished Steig Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and although I don’t do genre fiction, I found this book to be mostly enjoyable. I didn’t figure the mystery out much in advance of the characters, but I did figure it out, which makes me feel all smart like. There are two more in the series, and alas, there will be no more, since Larsson died between the Swedish publication and the English one. Too bad he didn’t see it reach international acclaim. I’m guessing there will be a film version too. There was one scene in the book where I couldn’t get a scene from the “Silence of the Lambs” movie out of my head.
I enjoyed the book and liked the title character a lot. There was a point where she took command of a bad situation and enacted her own version of justice that, although I am neither a sadist nor a violent person in general, I found so satisfying that I read it three times. I used that scene as a comfort when the tension was high in the climax. I always hate using the term climax when discussing literature; it makes me feel dirty. Paging Dr. Freud…Dr. Freud.
Now I’m going to read Buy*ology byMartin Lindstrom. It’s about the psychology of why we buy things. I already read one chapter; it was about product placement in television shows and movies. It boils down to this: if the product plays a meaningful role in the action, we remember it and are influenced. If it doesn’t, we don’t and aren’t. His example was about Ford and Coke and American Idol. He called Ford’s involvement a $26 million (per year) mistake. Coke’s placement was effective. Do you know of any other examples of successful or unsuccessful product placement? Interestingly, Lindstrom posits that most commercials are completely forgettable and thus are wasted money. He says that you’ll spend six years of your life watching commercials! Those are eight hour days, not 24, and I don’t remember if he’s giving you weekends off, but day-um!
I think I’m below that average, considering I don’t have cable and don’t watch tv, but I’m interested in a similiar stat for the internet.
