DEAR ALIZARIN: The demise of bedtime stories

I enjoyed our conversation today about the decline in night time television dramas, our adult bedtime stories, and the rise in reality TV. Dedicated to getting rest this weekend, I started reading an article that has been sitting on my desktop for ages: "The Age of Egocasting" by Christine Rosen. In it she writes, "By giving us the illusion of perfect control, these technologies {new, personalized technologies like TiVo and iPod}risk making us incapable of ever being surprised. They encourage not the cultivation of taste, but the numbing repetition of fetish. And they contribute to what might be called 'egocasting,' the thoroughly personalized and extremely narrow pursuit of one’s personal taste." I like to think of my addiction to certain television dramas as a willingness to be surprised by new storylines versus a fetish with human pettiness that marks most reality shows. I know, being a reality TV snob like me, that you agree. However, I definitely think that your husband would be grateful for a TiVo to capture all the surprising new episodes of your favorite TV shows while you are lounging, I mean working, in Costa Rica. We'll put this theory to the test reading in our hammocks on the beaches of Costa Rica in a few weeks!

Meanwhile, I realize that my sudden spurt of energy at Trader Joe's on my way home last night was not due to my realization that I could go home and sleep off this cold, but from the little shot of coffee I had at their samples counter -- I have not had coffee in almost two weeks! Rediscovering a true rush from coffee will be fun!

Off for more napping (maybe some egocasting depending what is on TV).

Love,

Lychee