Olympics in Transition

Do we want our news real-time or prime-time?

We’ve been a transitional society for a while now, but it seems as though the Olympics coverage is putting our unease with technology out there for all to see. The American I-want-it-now instant gratification-need-to-know and our desire to experience the thrills of the Olympic games “as they happen” are at war with each other.

There seems to be an assumption on the part of NBC that everyone already knows the event results and so it’s okay to intermingle current news with primetime replays of the events. “Everyone” must be getting the results on their computers and smart phones.

The change in the number of smart phones with instant access to Mr. Internet since the last Olympics in 2008 must be astronomical.

Four years ago, I had clumsy access to the internet on my phone and never used it. Music Man didn’t have any internet access. Now we both have smart phones that link us to everything in seconds. I love the instant access and I hope I never have to go back to the old school ways of getting my news.

But our access comes with a dilemma. I ran across this article from the New Yorker and I think it presents the issue well (in a sarcastic way that tickles my fancy, of course).

P.S. Don’t click into this link if you don’t want to know what happened in the Women’s All-Around on Thursday.

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Saturday Linky Love

I’m pretty excited that my niece, known out there in the blogging world as Vanderbilt Wife, is the new moderator of a Saturday link-up. I’m proud of her and of the success she has had as a writer, so I’ll be supporting her efforts on Saturdays.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, my goal is to connect you with some bloggers and writers that you might have missed, and will share stories that I think are worth reading.

  1. For the word-lovers and haters among you, this post from The New Yorker discusses words that should be eliminated from the English language. Of course it’s witty and beautifully written; it’s The New Yorker! There’s also a warm tribute to Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys here that is quite touching.
  2. I ran into Tracy at iOS Affairs this week when she visited my blog. I was entranced by her concept, All Apple, All Apps, All the Time. There’s a lot to be learned from Tracy (and a lot of time you might waste playing with her recommendations!).
  3. Although I’ve been teaching English for fifteen years, I used to be a music teacher. I really enjoyed this look at student motivation and what we can learn from it in our classrooms.
  4. If you’re not up on your Australasia news, you might not know that there is a Marmite crisis going on. Apparently a factory that makes Marmite was damaged in an earthquake and it’s big news that for the moment, stores are on their last jars of Marmite. The blogger made it REAL with her photograph.
  5. I was really excited when I found that my friend Tricia has launched mini-meal planning at Once a Month Mom. With just two of us in our empty nest, the once a month bulk cooking isn’t really necessary, but I can make a recipe and freeze it in smaller units that we revisit twice in a month. Another thing I can try when I retire!
  6. Finally, whenever I have a chance, I encourage people to visit my friend Michelle. Her gentle way of looking at the world of reading  at The Great Read never ceases to inspire me.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Who do you think we should have read this week?

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