105 Ways to Give a Book

Vegas, DVR, and Obama

This week both our vacation plans and our DVR imploded. I’ve spent a lot of time online trying to reconcile the fact that airline fares are going down to lure in travelers in a tanking economy with the reality that I can’t find a reasonable flight from DC to Las Vegas. It’s maddening. At the same time our satellite digital recorder died, taking with it hours of unwatched movies and TV shows, along with the ability to tape new shows. I can look at this as a mixed blessing. While it is annoying to have lost all those things we were going to watch, now we have less on our list of things to do.

I was worried about missing President Obama with Jay Leno last night, but fortunately the whole thing is available on the Tonight Show website. It’s a great interview, where Obama covers the AIG and banking issues, but also talks about how cool it is to ride on Air Force One. It’s no secret that I am a big Obama fan, but I loved watching him talk in this setting. He’s so genuine.

I’m too distracted to come up with a poem for Poetry Friday, but will direct you to the host, Wild Rose Reader. Besides, I have to save my energy to host Nonfiction Monday in three days. I’m looking at a woman in history book for my review... you know, for Women’s History Month. How about you?

9 comments:

Christine said...

I just read and blogged about an interesting new non fiction book, "Almost Astronauts," about the women who fought to be part of the early NASA program. Good luck with Vegas and the DVR!

Lynn said...

the Dvr can become an obligation. I had to stop magazine subscriptions in college for the same reason! We actually sold our tv before we moved last year, and haven't repurchased one, and it is very freeing in a way. So many shows I like are available online (not that I have a chance to watch anyway), and we save with no cable bill :). We just got a box of books in the mail, plus some library ones, so I need to catch up on reviews.

Sherrie Petersen said...

Good luck with the vacation plans...and the DVR. My kids would be so sad if our DVR died. They keep shows on there that they like to watch and love being able to skip the commercials :^)

Anonymous said...

And today, Adam Selzer pointed me to the news item wherein Michelle Obama just turned over ground on the South Lawn for a vegetable garden. LOVE the Obamas and their example!

Unknown said...

Not sure what type of women in history you were looking for... I just read to my kids (7 and 3) What to do with Alice? My daughter is an Alice and they loved it. My son (7) loved it more for the interesting pics. He was amazed that she could not wear pants. It is a kids bio about Alice Roosevelt. Best of luck on the DVR and Vegas.

MotherReader said...

Quinn, you've named my Book To Review for Monday. You win... um, my admiration for your insight? Yeah? Bloggers can write about any nonfiction book for Nonfiction Monday and one person rounds up the reviews with links to all. It's a little late to force the whole women's history nonfiction book day, but if anyone has one, it's a great time to share it.

Anonymous said...

Did you think his dig at Special Olympics children was genuine? I was appalled.

MotherReader said...

Leona, I cringed at his Special Olympic comment, but I know that the evidence I've seen for his commitment to under-served populations outweighs the verbal gaffe. We've grown up with certain punchlines - Special Olympics, off her meds, so gay - that creep into our speech without meaning the disrespect. I know I've done it, and I'm glad that my mistakes are not broadcast round the world.

Taking this more broadly, something that worries me about politics today is our scrutiny of everything the politician says and does. While some of that is needed to know who is representing us and what they believe, the intensity of that spotlight must be scaring away some of the best and the brightest from entering the arena. With the TV age, Instead of just picking a President, it seems like we're looking for a world leader, a saint, a drinking buddy, and a Real World cast member all at once. It's a strategy that is bound to fail.

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