Now that you're retired, do you read newspapers/watch the new more? Or Less? (dump, blog)
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My habits have changed quite a bit. It's great to have the time to read news headlines from around the world since the news from American sources seems to be so biased.
I tune into the local channels every now and then but nothing ever changes, they cover murders first, then car accidents followed by houses/businesses that burned down and tell you every 5 minutes what's coming up in the next 5 minutes...
I used to get the paper every day, but sadly, my eyesight is not what it used to be. By nighttime, when I'd normally sit down and read the paper, my wonky eyelid is hanging down and somewhat obscuring my vision, and my eyes are tired and blurry. Since I'm on the computer a good bit of the day plus always have the TV on for background noise, I know if something important is happening. I don't feel compelled to subscribe to the on-line version of the paper, or go the Kindle route, but I do want to stay well-informed. One of my pet peeves is people my age who pay so little attention to TV or the news, they are clueless about just random general knowledge. A woman at my over-55 community astonished everyone in the pool when someone mentioned Al Roker and she said, "Who's that?". She also thought Bon Jovi was one person, not a group. I have another friend who seems to live in her own little bubble of major unawareness, despite the fact she worked in a hospital, where you'd think she'd at least hear water-cooler chatter about current events. Another friend and her 40'ish daughter had never heard of a hookah (and maybe I am expecting too much with that one) -- despite the fact hookah bars have been popping up all over the U.S. for the last several years. We are not talking about world politics here, just keeping up with what's going on in the world around us.
I'm not proud that I know who Al Roker and Bon Jovi are, and how to use a hookah. I'm more likely to admire than be peeved by folks whose minds are less cluttered than mine with irrelevant pop culture trivia.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon08
One of my pet peeves is people my age who pay so little attention to TV or the news, they are clueless about just random general knowledge. A woman at my over-55 community astonished everyone in the pool when someone mentioned Al Roker and she said, "Who's that?". She also thought Bon Jovi was one person, not a group. I have another friend who seems to live in her own little bubble of major unawareness, despite the fact she worked in a hospital, where you'd think she'd at least hear water-cooler chatter about current events. Another friend and her 40'ish daughter had never heard of a hookah (and maybe I am expecting too much with that one) -- despite the fact hookah bars have been popping up all over the U.S. for the last several years. We are not talking about world politics here, just keeping up with what's going on in the world around us.
I'm not proud that I know who Al Roker and Bon Jovi are, and how to use a hookah. I'm more likely to admire than be peeved by folks whose minds are less cluttered than mine with irrelevant pop culture trivia.
Ha ha ha! Yeah, I might admire these folks too, if the lack of pop culture knowledge was due to a vast array of knowledge about something meaningful, but that's not it. If you can't have a casual conversation with someone without explaining who Al Roker is, that's sad. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, but having a general knowledge about the world around you helps keep you connected with the world -- especially important as we grow older. I'll never forget my 87-y.o. Mom (RIP) telling me a few years ago that she noticed that "dresses are really in these days". And she was right! Sundresses and sheaths were becoming all the rage. I thought that was so cool that my elderly mother still noticed what was in fashion. She read the newspaper faithfully every day, did the crossword puzzle, and there was very little in the current-events area that she wasn't aware of. And she was the only one of her siblings who didn't have dementia when she died at 89.
Your response is gracious and I would love to have known your mom.
That said, one of my many proud moments was when my 7-year-old son, in 1988, asked me "What is a Mercedes Benz?" One of his young, aware friends had casually dropped an MB reference into a conversation.
In your paradigm, my son was clueless and uninformed. In my paradigm, he was - and remains - unconcerned with pop culture status symbols and news trivia. Today, he's an award-winning, critically-acclaimed artist in his chosen field. I'm pretty sure he's never heard of Al Roker.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon08
If you can't have a casual conversation with someone without explaining who Al Roker is, that's sad. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, but having a general knowledge about the world around you helps keep you connected with the world -- especially important as we grow older. I'll never forget my 87-y.o. Mom (RIP) telling me a few years ago that she noticed that "dresses are really in these days". And she was right! Sundresses and sheaths were becoming all the rage. I thought that was so cool that my elderly mother still noticed what was in fashion. She read the newspaper faithfully every day, did the crossword puzzle, and there was very little in the current-events area that she wasn't aware of. And she was the only one of her siblings who didn't have dementia when she died at 89.
Ha ha ha! Yeah, I might admire these folks too, if the lack of pop culture knowledge was due to a vast array of knowledge about something meaningful, but that's not it. If you can't have a casual conversation with someone without explaining who Al Roker is, that's sad.
I'd be one of those people who don't know who Al Roker is (googled for the purposes of replying), but I assure you we can have a completely meaningful conversation and never mention him, not once. I don't know who very many of the people on the magazine covers at the grocery checkout are, either - and I don't care.
... One of my pet peeves is people my age who pay so little attention to TV or the news, they are clueless about just random general knowledge. A woman at my over-55 community astonished everyone in the pool when someone mentioned Al Roker and she said, "Who's that?". She also thought Bon Jovi was one person, not a group. I have another friend who seems to live in her own little bubble of major unawareness, despite the fact she worked in a hospital, where you'd think she'd at least hear water-cooler chatter about current events. Another friend and her 40'ish daughter had never heard of a hookah (and maybe I am expecting too much with that one) -- despite the fact hookah bars have been popping up all over the U.S. for the last several years. We are not talking about world politics here, just keeping up with what's going on in the world around us.
I cannot believe that you get annoyed because people do not know or care to know about all these personalities and issues that mean nothing and bother to post this nonsense, as it makes you look foolish. I have really just a little idea what a hookah bar is and I am not about to look it up to pretend that I know or care. I do put these TV personalities on a pedestal and waste my time with ludicrous news. I can't even place Bon Jovi, either as group or a single, that clearly in my mind, even if he parades his ego all over the media.
Your response is gracious and I would love to have known your mom.
That said, one of my many proud moments was when my 7-year-old son, in 1988, asked me "What is a Mercedes Benz?" One of his young, aware friends had casually dropped an MB reference into a conversation. In your paradigm, my son was clueless and uninformed. In my paradigm, he was - and remains - unconcerned with pop culture status symbols and news trivia. Today, he's an award-winning, critically-acclaimed artist in his chosen field. I'm pretty sure he's never heard of Al Roker.
Oh please, your son was 7 years old. We were talking about staying informed in our retirement years.
The point is not LITERALLY "Al Roker" (although I did just ask my mainly-clueless 30-something son if he knew who he was -- he did.) The point is (I repeat), keeping up with the world around you. My mother's siblings (the ones who eventually got dementia) lived in a world-gone-by -- old music, old movies, nothing of "today's" culture or current events. I see a direct correlation between their living in the past to their slide into dementia.
I cannot believe that you get annoyed because people do not know or care to know about all these personalities and issues that mean nothing and bother to post this nonsense, as it makes you look foolish. I have really just a little idea what a hookah bar is and I am not about to look it up to pretend that I know or care. I do put these TV personalities on a pedestal and waste my time with ludicrous news. I can't even place Bon Jovi, either as group or a single, that clearly in my mind, even if he parades his ego all over the media.
Do I annoy you? Good, that makes my day.
Livecontent
No, but apparently I annoy you. Dear Lord, how old are you, that you never heard of Bon Jovi? I thought I was old....
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