Lately I've been finding out that more and more of my friends have blogs; in consequence, I'm also finding out that my life seems to be less and less blog-worthy every day. However, I, like my friend Tammy, am determined to blog more frequently, so...here goes.
Tonight Brent and I are going to go and see the live This American Life broadcast in our local theatre. This is a strategy that's being used more and more, but was made really popular most recently by the (in?)famous Miley Cyrus when her people figured out that they could make even MORE money on her concerts if they were broadcast to movie theatres for those poor young people whose parents refuse to pay $3,000,000 for concert tickets (I think that Hanna Montana might STILL be playing at the Provo Towncenter Mall...and is probably still making money...).
At any rate, this is NOT a blog about Hanna Montana, it's about This American Life, which is a radio show that I love deeply and that I joyfully recommend to anyone who I think will be interested in it.
In an episode of The O.C. (which I don't watch), a character references TAL and another character dismissively asks, "Is that that show by those hipster know-it-alls who talk about how fascinating ordinary people are? [Gosh!]" Her question gets pretty much to the point of what the show is about--showing how fascinating ordinary people are. This is one of the things that we talk about in our Hands on a Camera project, and I find it to be a deeply charitable notion: ordinary people are worth listening to.
What you find as you listen to the episodes (which you can find by going here) however, is that when you get to know "ordinary" people, you start to find that there is no standard definition for ordinary. Every person is fascinating, every person has a story.
I clean my house while listening to TAL, because it's a way to fill my house with meaningful voices. It helps me feel less lonely, but also helps me think more about the world. I certainly don't always agree with the people that are sharing their stories and perspectives, but I learn more about people and I find myself articulating viewpoints about important issues that I wouldn't have really taken the time to think about before.
If I'm ever feeling like nothing is happening in my life, sometimes I like to think, "If I were in a TAL episode, what would it be about? What would I say about these experiences? What would someone learn about me just by watching or listening to my routine?" Thinking like this has made me more willing to shovel snow in the winter, more willing to do the laundry, more willing to talk about my religion openly, because I feel like I'm revealing a character. Sometimes it motivates me to do things I really don't want to do because the character that I want to be is not the one who plays video games all the time, but the one whose life is engaged in meaningful service. So, while it's true that this motivation has a bit of a Narcissistic edge to it--I'm pretending my life is actually cool enough to be documented by TAL--it also gets me to do good things. Which is good.
So, I'll tell you about the show after we've gone. Maybe Brent should do it--he likes the show, but isn't quite as obsessed with it as I am.
Tonight Brent and I are going to go and see the live This American Life broadcast in our local theatre. This is a strategy that's being used more and more, but was made really popular most recently by the (in?)famous Miley Cyrus when her people figured out that they could make even MORE money on her concerts if they were broadcast to movie theatres for those poor young people whose parents refuse to pay $3,000,000 for concert tickets (I think that Hanna Montana might STILL be playing at the Provo Towncenter Mall...and is probably still making money...).
At any rate, this is NOT a blog about Hanna Montana, it's about This American Life, which is a radio show that I love deeply and that I joyfully recommend to anyone who I think will be interested in it.
In an episode of The O.C. (which I don't watch), a character references TAL and another character dismissively asks, "Is that that show by those hipster know-it-alls who talk about how fascinating ordinary people are? [Gosh!]" Her question gets pretty much to the point of what the show is about--showing how fascinating ordinary people are. This is one of the things that we talk about in our Hands on a Camera project, and I find it to be a deeply charitable notion: ordinary people are worth listening to.
What you find as you listen to the episodes (which you can find by going here) however, is that when you get to know "ordinary" people, you start to find that there is no standard definition for ordinary. Every person is fascinating, every person has a story.
I clean my house while listening to TAL, because it's a way to fill my house with meaningful voices. It helps me feel less lonely, but also helps me think more about the world. I certainly don't always agree with the people that are sharing their stories and perspectives, but I learn more about people and I find myself articulating viewpoints about important issues that I wouldn't have really taken the time to think about before.
If I'm ever feeling like nothing is happening in my life, sometimes I like to think, "If I were in a TAL episode, what would it be about? What would I say about these experiences? What would someone learn about me just by watching or listening to my routine?" Thinking like this has made me more willing to shovel snow in the winter, more willing to do the laundry, more willing to talk about my religion openly, because I feel like I'm revealing a character. Sometimes it motivates me to do things I really don't want to do because the character that I want to be is not the one who plays video games all the time, but the one whose life is engaged in meaningful service. So, while it's true that this motivation has a bit of a Narcissistic edge to it--I'm pretending my life is actually cool enough to be documented by TAL--it also gets me to do good things. Which is good.
So, I'll tell you about the show after we've gone. Maybe Brent should do it--he likes the show, but isn't quite as obsessed with it as I am.
Comments
Speaking of radio shows, Prairie Home Companion had a show at city hall recently... the tickets were $115. I did not go. I would pay $50 a ticket, but I think it would have to be live for me to really enjoy it. But, I didn't let Justin take me to U2 3D at the theater because I didn't want to feel like I was in a rock concert that day we went to see Juno instead (which was based in Minnesota.)
1. They animated a story from the radio show; I guess they do this animation thing fairly often. That's pretty cook.
2. They did a TV story that was a follow up of a radio story (about an Iraqi teenager who was a young ambassador for Saddam who is now living in American). It was the most powerful story there.
The TV show kind of seems like the radio show with cool pictures. Pretty cool.
I was always a fan of the portrait documentary, because I really believe that every single person is interesting once you spend a little time with them and listen to how they think and what they do, and just 'who they are'. It's also why I enjoy reading other people's blogs - they're like little windows into 'other lives'.
And when it's your friends and family reading your blogs, they'll always be intersted because they love you :)
xo Tammy
PS. I love nights out with 'the rest of the community' :) It's what I like about small towns!