And I was doing so well, too. Sorry...somehow the week passed me by.
I was galvanized into blogging by a link from Fuse #8 to The Baby Website, which reports that parents aren't reading traditional fairytales to their kids because they're too scary. (See this post to appreciate the full glory of this news.) I was particularly amused to read that "Snow White seems to have fallen by the wayside because the Wicked Witch was deemed too frightening - but a handful won't read it because they feel the dwarf reference is not PC."
When I was small, I had a version of "Snow White" that referred to the Wicked Witch as "a toothless old hag." One day at the grocery store, I saw this little old lady, all bent over with a nose that nearly met her chin, and--honest--a huge chin mole with a hair sprouting out of it. She was a nice old lady, and smiled at me and my mother. "Oh look, Mommy," I chirped. "It's the toothless old hag."
I don't remember being the slightest bit scared.
What I did this week: Recorded the pronunciation of my name for TeachingBooks.net. (My recording isn't up there yet--but it's a hoot listening to the others so definitely go there.) Read the new P.D. James mystery, The Private Patient, agog with the fact that the author is now 88 years old and as sharp as ever. Faced up to lagging donations for the Brooklin Youth Corps, which means we'll have to scramble to fund next summer's activities. Faced up to the fact that Maine public television is going digital Sunday (ahead of everyone else, if anyone else ends up doing it at all) and we have the converter box but don't get a good enough signal and have no plans to go out in the snow and put up a monster antenna. Except for the evening news and our Survivor addiction, this essentially means no more television for us. Possibly a good thing, except for the Lehrer News Hour which is our life blood.
Oh, and I scheduled total knee replacement surgery. February 23. Yup, I've given up. Time to go bionic.
Welcome!
- Ellen Booraem
- I live in coastal Maine and write fantasies geared to the middle-school-age reader, although adults read them, too. Having a blog defies generations of self-effacement, and yet I hang in there.
My books!
TEXTING THE UNDERWORLD, a fantasy for ages 10+. "Affecting, funny, and provocative," says Publishers Weekly. (Click photo to buy.)
SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS, a fantasy for ages 10 and up, is out in paperback. "A fairy story that's wistful, humorous, and clever," Publishers Weekly says in a starred review. (Click photo to buy.)
THE UNNAMEABLES (also fantasy for ages 10+) is out in paperback. Kirkus Reviews called it "an ever-surprising, genre-defying page-turner."
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2 comments:
No TV? We will be without a signal too, once the switch is made. We were slow to get the converter coupon, and are now on the indefinite wait list. I'm not too fussed though. We rarely watch the thing anymore, I have internet for news and YouTube, the TV will still work with the DVD player, and all my friends have cable if there's any real "must see" programs.
Good luck with the knee! We'll keep you in our prayers.
We got one converter coupon. We tried it out and we don't get any signal from anywhere. (We've always had a mediocre picture, and often can't get ABC at all...going digital, the choices are great picture or nothing.) We probably will try to go up to the attic and twiddle with the existing, too-small antenna, but we're not optimistic.
I'm approaching this as a good thing. We can get News Hour audio on line, and even video for some segments. So, we'll cope. And as you say, we can watch movies on dvd.
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