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laura x
Librarian. Native Iowan. Wyoming expatriate.
Sometimes I miss Wyoming (and all the rugged, beautiful places I've been) so much it hurts, and I cry. Now is one of those times.
Funny, I was talking to Wyoming the other day, and she misses you, too.
- OMG 404 Joe
Aw Laura. *hugs*
- bevedog
Yup. Even though I've been back in Oklahoma for over seven years, I still have those moments of painfully missing Oregon and Idaho. And when I was there, I missed here the same way.
- Kirsten
Sadly, I pretty much never missed Iowa. :(
- laura x
I just received a confirmation form for a state library association conference at which, apparently, I agreed to talk about Older Teen and YA Programming.
Galadriel C., Katy S and Sir Shuping is just sir liked this
make sure you really committed to it or if they just "put you in"
- ♫410 I Coach 'em Up♫
a) I did not apply to present at this conference at all. b) I have not done YA programming in 7 years. I just think it's hilarious.
- laura x
EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection » Blog Archive TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE...VERY BAD...Movie » EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection - http://www.earlyword.com/2013...
The LB: #TeamMonique, Joe Silence, Hookuh Tinypants and Soup in a TARDIS liked this
"Disney’s live-action movie based on Judith Viorst’s 1972 hit children’s Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Atheneum) is making baby steps closer to the screen. Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) is directing, Steve Carrell is set to star as Alexander’s father, and The Hollywood Reporter writes that Jennifer Garner is in talks to join the cast as the mother."
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
Just, no.
- laura x
No.
- Catherine Pellegrino
I mean, there's no way they're going to have Jennifer Garner wearing a schlumpy ponytail on screen right?
- laura x
So, I've only seen Laurel Canyon, but Cholodenko is possibly an interesting choice?
- Amandadon't
But....the dad doesn't actually DO anything in the book!
- Catherine Pellegrino
Love. That. Book. LOVE IT.
- Soup in a TARDIS
I cherish the crap out of this book. I'm not sure I'm OK with a film on it. There is a children's theatre stage musical version of it that is fantastic but I think that's about as whimsical as I'm willing to get.
- Hookuh Tinypants
I guess I feel about this the same way I feel about the live-action Grinch movie from a few years back: it's an abomination, but as long as I don't have to go see it or take my kid to it, I don't much care.
- Catherine Pellegrino
Well, yes. That's about how I feel. But then I feel that way about SO MANY THINGS.
- laura x
(I quite liked the Grinch movie. But a) I never particularly cherished the book, and b) I had to watch the movie umpteen times to teach it to several ESOL classes, which is a situation where you just have to like the thing anyway out of pure self-defence.)
- Deborah Fitchett
(This said: Anyone but Jim Carrey.)
- Deborah Fitchett
or Mike Myers.
- Joe Silence
Country Noir - http://prospect.org/article...
MoTO #TeamMonique and John (bird whisperer) liked this
"He didn’t try fiction until he was nearly 30, when he saw Fight Club, the 1999 film in which Brad Pitt’s character organizes a series of brutal underground fights. Bill loved the movie so much he sought out the book, and Chuck Palahniuk’s novel converted him into a reader who relied on the Internet’s algorithmic suggestions for what to devour next. I can’t decide whether to admire Bill’s drive or to despair at a literary culture that doesn’t do more to reach people like him."
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
For lunch I had a salad and a banana. Of course, the salad had blue cheese on it and I'm planning to eat chocolate cake later. This is why I practice a Belly Acceptance Program rather than a Fat Ass Reduction Program. The acronym isn't so good, though.
VALZ/TT/TM, maʀtha, Kirsten and MoTO #TeamMonique liked this
BAP! Sounds great! BAP BAP BAP BAP!
- MoTO #TeamMonique
<3.
- Marianne
a bap is a bun is a breadroll :)
- Pete #TeamMonique
Nice baps, Moto.
- WoH: Professor MOTHRA
That's the sound my boobs make hitting my stomach when I run. BAP!
- Running Slow
Steele Lawman made me a cover for my book. (It may be tweaked a bit more.)
Pixie, Galadriel C., The LB: #TeamMonique and 47 other people liked this
Fabu author photo!!
- Katie
I love this so much. When Steve first showed me I was all THE COUCH!! IT IS THE COUCH!!!
- Marianne
I can't wait to read this! Well done, laura!
- Lisa | #TeamMonique
Professional cover designs are one thing that traditional publishing has over self-publishing. Except when you can get a design that professional (that *is* a compliment) in a self-published book. Congratulations!
- Walt Crawford
LOVE
- jambina
Just fantastic.
- Catherine Pellegrino
Everything looks wonderful!
- Katy S
OMG! Where can I buy it!
- Headless Gnad Kicker
oh wow, wow, wow.
- Marie
I keep seeing this and loving it again.
- lris
... Imma add this cover to the miscellanea I'm collecting in case I ever get to teach a basic design course.
- RepoRat
I love the couch!
- maʀtha
For those curious about the couch: http://newrambler.net/ramblin...
- laura x
Walt, I am touched by your compliment, after I have been a jerk to you too often. Thank you. That said, Laura supplied the photo of the couch, I chose a classic typeface and sampled colors from the photograph. So I'm happy with how it turned out, but it's more a matter of listening to what the author wanted.
- bevedog
OMG You mean Steele Lawman is actually Steve Lawson! I take it all.... Nah. A good book cover, especially a good uncluttered one, is great and not always easy to do. This one's good in a number of subtle ways. I try to respect those who have talents I lack, and really good cover design is one of those.
- Walt Crawford
Good thing I can read. No one tells me anything! Here I was admiring the cover, never knowing the source of it! Wow.
- Mama Lawson
Heh
- maʀtha
My bike is at the shop (where, amazingly, I bought it 13 years ago this month). I looked at the tune up and fixing estimate and said, "Sure, go for it!" It now occurs to me that I have put more money into this bike than I paid for it in the first place. But it's still going.
http://www.oactivista.com and Amir liked this
mechanical things are like that. *sigh* if it makes you feel any better, the same is true of Pleione, though it's a leetle unfair 'cos I got her at end-of-season sale.
- RepoRat
Oh yeah. It's just funny, because while I've put a lot of money into car repairs over the years, I doubt I've ever exceeded the amount I paid for the car. I paid $350 for this bike (it's a Trek 720), but what with tune ups, replacing the seat a few times, replacing the tires once, and so on, I've probably doubled that in repairs. Which, if you average it out over 13 years, is not much. Just funny.
- laura x
That is the wrong way to think about it. Is tuning it up and fixing it right now cheaper than replacing it right now? Also, I love taking the bike to the shop, because even if the mechanics discover something horrible (last year I had to replace the chain and rear gears), it's still less than the cost of regular maintenance on my car.
- DJF
If it's a well-made bike, it's worth it. I *wish* I still had my Bridgestone bikes from the Grant Peterson era. They only made those for a decade or so and they're fantastic bikes. Unlike many modern cars, a good bike can be sustained in top shape for ages. The frame is the critical bit. As long as your frame & fork were well-designed, you can swap out any number of parts over the years...
more...
- Spidra Webster
Actually, properly-maintained modern cars with Honda or Toyota engines that are driven on roads that don't get salted all the time can last pretty close to forever. (The engines are good for 300,000 miles, easily. That, and general high reliability, is why I specify Honda and Toyota.) I still think of our Honda as a new car, and it's 8 years old.
- Walt Crawford
Not that I disagree with the general point. If you have a well-made bike that you actually like, doubling its price over the years to keep it in good running shape seems entirely reasonable.
- Walt Crawford
I think some Japanese cars definitely have that ability, Walt. Still, most modern cars I'm familiar with, esp US cars, ride significantly worse after 15 or so years, even with regular maintenance.
- Spidra Webster
Oh yeah, I totally think it's worth it. Just funny. Walt, my 1998 Honda Civic made it to almost 200,000 miles, at which point it acquired transmission problems common to that era of Civics, and I decided it wasn't worth the angst. Prior to that, though, the only repair I had to do was to the exhaust system.
- laura x
Pleione taught me that above-bargain-basement drivetrain components pay for themselves in less repair. *glares at Shimano*
- RepoRat
yup. Jacaranda has an Alfine internal hub, and it's glorious. but the Tourney derailleur is crap, and so is their low-price twist-shifter.
- RepoRat
I agree with Spidra on the frame & fork part. Although in the last 10 years technology, design and materials have made huge leaps, in that department.
- Guy
Psst…Hey Buddy! Wanna See A Live Duck Cam? — Cute Overload - http://cuteoverload.com/2013...
Galadriel C., Kelli H., Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ and 17 other people liked this
Our duckcam made Cute Overload.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
whoa. the big leagues. :)
- Marianne
Spelling is so critical in certain posts...
- Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ
Nice!
- Yvonne
DuckCam Woo-ooo (now I have Ducktails eaworm)
- Hedgehog
Perhaps I've straying too much on Tumblr lately. My mind went where it shouldn'ta. (Also, I don't know if that's the proper idiomatic spelling of "shouldn'ta" as a contracted version of "shouldn't of" which is a incorrect idiomatic usage for "shouldn't have"... but I digress.)
- Jkram|ɯɐɹʞſ
I go down the stairs all by myself.
http://www.oactivista.com, Kelli H., Catherine Pellegrino and 12 other people liked this
Saturdaybrarian:
Marianne, Lisa | #TeamMonique and The LB: #TeamMonique liked this
QL How did you know where the logout button was on the new hotmail? A: Well, I've been using the web for a long, long time....
- laura x
heh heh heh.
- Marianne
This one is looking to be quiet broken up by the MADNESS that is having 3 programs in one day.
- Andy
Q: So I need a different username and password for every job I apply to? A: ... sadly, probably, yes. Q: So how many do I need? A: About 500?
- laura x
The worst part of Saturdaybrarian is that I'm at the ref desk and my mom and Peter are at storytime one wing over. Sniff.
- laura x
But they did come visit me. Peter immediately took off my nametag and put it in his mouth.
- laura x
^^^ like.
- barbara fister
Asking actually not for a friend, but for myself: have any of you had experiences with Al-Anon or ACOA or similar? Feel free to email me (newrambler at the gmails) if you'd prefer to remain a bit more anonymous than this open thread.
Marie, Meg V. Meg, SteVe C and maʀtha liked this
Only with Alateen. It wasn't for me, but it was clearly helping some other attendees. If I had to come up with one reason it didn't work for me, I'd have to say privilege -- mine -- creating a sociocultural barrier that I found hard to communicate across. Their issues weren't my issues and vice versa.
- RepoRat
Today's family portrait includes the other cat.
http://www.oactivista.com, Pete #TeamMonique, Heleninstitches and 25 other people liked this
the elusive Percival
- maʀtha
For a second I thought this was my Kindle!
- Janet:#TeamMonique
they seek him here, they seek him there...
- RepoRat
indeed!
- maʀtha
X Family snuggle (minus one cat)
http://www.oactivista.com, SteVe C, Royce's favorite Anna and 23 other people liked this
#toddlerx's first haircut
MoTO #TeamMonique, Steven Perez, Kelli H. and 21 other people liked this
Dd needs her hair trimmed in the front but scared to do it. Barrettes seem like choking hazards?
- Christina Pikas
from iPhone
My sister cuts her little guy's hair while he's asleep. Much less amusing.
- lris
Oh, that's brilliant, though, like when you clip the cat's nails when it's asleep #clearlydoesnothavechildren
- Meg V. Meg
The DAWN Report: Emergency Department Visits for Adverse Reactions Involving the Insomnia Medication Zolpidem - http://www.samhsa.gov/data...
My mom just emailed this to me with the note "You were dead right about Ambien." Actually, I claim no special powers; I just thought it was a weird drug.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
I took it a few times and never had any adverse reactions. It just seemed odd to me. #benzosforever
- laura x
Ambien had one of my friends seeing 6 ft tall carnivorous bunnies
- maʀtha
Harvey? Harvey, what's wrong? You look very peculiar today, Harvey.
- Betsy #TeamMonique
Yes. They weren't very nice
- maʀtha
And now I'm channelling Tim the Enchanter.
- DJF
Sounds more Donnie Darko than Harvey
- bevedog
Finding rights holders for music: Anyone have an idea of how one would go about this? Specifically, I'm trying to find out who holds the rights to Harry Oster's recordings (he was an American folklorist).
This website has some links and recommendations for how to identify copyright holders: http://www.copylaw.com/new_art....
- Freeda B.
Duck chooses to nest outside Coralville Public Library | TheGazette - http://thegazette.com/2013...
Heather Piwowar, RepoRat, Soup in a TARDIS and 5 other people liked this
Our duck in one of the local papers.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
Photo by sketchlibrarian • Instagram - http://instagram.com/p...
RepoRat, Kirsten, Marianne and 2 other people liked this
Our duck is getting library famous.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
I sent the URL to maybe a hundred peeps on the rmsla list yesterday.
- OMG 404 Joe
Pricing question: Some of you may recall that long ago I was working on a book. Life has been a wee bit hectic these last months, but I'm actually approaching publication. It will be a 106-page trade paperback, of which I think 92 pages actually contain text. I'm planning to sell the book book for $10 and the ebook for $2,
Kol Tregaskes, Kelli H., ᏓᏰ #team Monique and 19 other people liked this
though if you buy a book book and you hang out here, I'll send you the ebook for free. Half the (small) proceeds go to Our Bodies, Ourselves. Sound good?
- laura x
Also, is Lulu.com and Amazon enough buying options? 'Cause I really don't want to spend money getting it for sale in more ebook type places.
- laura x
Blurb, to pique your interest and/or help you decide if you care: "Laura Crossett was thirty-five years old, one month into a relationship, and six months into a new job when she sat in a staff bathroom and looked at a stick that told her something she already suspected. Almost half the pregnancies that occur in the United States each year are unplanned. Some of them happen to married...
more...
- laura x
That is enough buying options for me. However, if you want another free ebook place, I think smashwords.com is pretty good from what I've heard. Of course, time is also expensive...
- Marianne
I'd go 4.99 on teh e-book leave you some room to play "discount" free games and that mprice point gets you above the 99 cent slush pile... Good Luck with your effort
- WarLord
I should note that my scheme is designed to get me a little over $1 profit on each sale. I was going to go for $2, but that pushed the print price above $12, which I think is too much.
- laura x
I also am not doing this as a money-making scheme and seriously do not expect anyone but people I already know to buy a copy, which is why I'm asking you all. :)
- laura x
the ebook needs to be DRM-free, you know.
- DJF
$12 is absurdly cheap.
- maʀtha
Bump up the ebook price at the very least. But in terms of buying locations i just use Amazon though of course i'd buy directly from you if more proceeds go to you.
- SteVe C
Your plan totally works for me. I'm an easy sell. :)
- Catherine Pellegrino
*reads blurb.... gathers shekels .... waits*
- MoTO #TeamMonique
If youre shooting for friends first, I'd bump the ebook - I'm sure we'd all be willing to toss $4+ in the kitty each to read the e-version (you can discount it if you want to sell more widely to bargain hunters). Paperbacks from teeny presses like mine have ranged from 9.99 to 17.99, so you have wiggle room on the print version.
- ωαřмaiden ❤Marrit Woman❤
Laura: If you have Amazon *and* Lulu, you should be in good shape (are you using Kindle Direct?). Good luck with this.
- Walt Crawford
I agree, I'd bump up the ebook price to start. $2 is very low. I can't wait to read it! Seriously great topic.
- Heather Piwowar
from iPhone
I dunno if you read Brain, Child but seems just the sort of book they review. Drop them a teaser? I dunno how that works, but guessing theyd like to know about it.
- Heather Piwowar
from iPhone
Ditto the mag 'Mothering' to a lesser extent.
- Heather Piwowar
from iPhone
I'd buy the ebook for $4.99 plus shipping even.
- OMG 404 Joe
seriously, charge more, at least for the ebook. one can't even get a greeting card for $2
- maʀtha
I'm going to be stubborn and say to charge whatever the hell you want. but i would happily pay whatever that is.
- Marianne
Depending on the book, we might want to put it in the collection here. Just saying.
- kaijsa
What this seems to indicate is that allowing people to make larger contributions (with the same split of the proceeds between you and Our Bodies, Ourselves) would be something your target audience would welcome.
- bevedog
Yep, I would be in favor of "pay what you will, above this totally reasonable amount" kind of pricing system.
- Meg V. Meg
Unfortunately, there's just no way to do that with Lulu or Amazon.
- Walt Crawford
Direct people to PayPal for over-payments.
- bevedog
Someday, we will all have a gotdamned "appreciate" button on our whatever-comes-next-after-websites-and-social-media-profiles, and micropayments will flow like milk and honey.
- Marianne
In terms of selling venues, how bout a site of your own? WooCommerce - the shopping-cart WP plugin - is free, as is WP. Hosting could be free if you don't have your own. (cough cough)
- Mary B: #TeamMonique
I just remembered: On Lulu, you can have a thank-you note that's automatically delivered to anybody who buys your book--it's your message, and it could suggest PayPal for additional donations. So, actually, Steve's idea *is* workable--for Lulu at least.
- Walt Crawford
I'd pay $4.99 for the ebook without hesitation, maybe even a bit more. But I have to admit I tend to get a bit lazy and forget when asked to "go chip in a bit more over there if you really want."
- John Dupuis
Sounds interesting!
- Paulette
Thanks, all! Food for thought. Now we just gotta get Lawson to finish the cover design.
- laura x
STEELE! I GOT MONEY TO SPEND!
- MoTO #TeamMonique
Whoa! OK! Monday all right for a deadline, Laura?
- bevedog
Nothin' like pressure from MoTO. :D Yeah, that's fine.
- laura x
Library Duck Cam! on USTREAM: We have a duck nesting outside the library! Watch along with us! (And please watch her on the webcam--we are trying not to di... - http://www.ustream.tv/channel...
Megan loves summer, Laura Norvig, The LB: #TeamMonique and 17 other people liked this
YOU GUYS WE HAVE A DUCKCAM!
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
You're not ducking kidding!
- awd (canoeist in th wild)
Duck that noise. ;)
- Catherine Pellegrino
Do you have an elevator to the penthouse for them?
- awd (canoeist in th wild)
The paper called wanting to do a story about an hour after Duck Cam went live.
- laura x
NO DUCKS FOR ME! (offline)
- MoTO #TeamMonique
This makes me so very happy.
- Stephen le Francoeur
Thank you, Iowa Public Radio. #freefieldsFTW
Marianne, Deborah Fitchett, Sir Shuping is just sir and 4 other people liked this
Incidentally, this is part of a pretty cool thing where I signed up to be part of the Public Insight Network so maybe American Public Media shows will ask me about libraries and stuff! https://www.publicinsightnetwork.org/
- laura x
"Encounters with dead white men and other excursions" by Laura Elizabeth Crossett - http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4551/
ᏓᏰ #team Monique, RudĩϐЯaЯïan, Brent Schaus and 21 other people liked this
First thesis at the University of Iowa with a Creative Commons license. Mine.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
I cannot begin to tell you how THRILLED I was at the first doc student who came to me WANTING to deposit his diss and put a CC license on it. I suspect you made a UIowa librarian very happy. :)
- RepoRat
She is either very overworked or not big on chitchat, because I actually attempted to correspond with her a bit but didn't get a further reply.
- laura x
But! But! Now people can PLAGIARIZE it!
- bevedog
As someone who has actually already read this book (woot, ILL), I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT.
- Marianne
Hmph. Well, I WILL BE THRILLED THEN.
- RepoRat
It is not really that good. I just wanted to be in an IR with a CC license like all the cool kids.
- laura x
I'll plagiarize it, MFA for me! ;)
- maʀtha
I should warn you that it was two pages too short when I got my MFA, but they let me pass anyway. I think now it would be 22 pages too short.
- laura x
Me: I really felt the NPR commentator was a little mean to that basketball player who just came out. I mean, he said, "Let's face it, he's not a great player--oh, he's not even GOOD." I mean, he has a professional job? How can he be bad?
Kelli H., Victor Ganata, MoTO #TeamMonique and 6 other people liked this
Him: Well, there are bad people in any profession. And he doesn't really have a job.
- laura x
Me: They said he was a free agent.
- laura x
Him: Yeah, that means he only has a job when someone hires him, a year at a time.
- laura x
Me: Oh! So he's like a visiting assistant professor!
- laura x
Him: Yes. We should just call visiting assistant professors free agents. It would make much more sense.
- laura x
I wonder if Michael Jordan ever watches old Harold Bloom highlight reels on YouTube.
- bevedog
More often than Harold Bloom watches old Michael Jordan reels, I can tell you that.
- laura x
Think so? I don't know anything about Bloom, but I know that watching Michael Jordan is a true joy that should be shared by the whole human race. Or is like Bloom dead?
- bevedog
Still alive, still teaching at Yale at age 82. http://english.yale.edu/faculty.... Not known for being a fan of popular culture (I seem to recall he hated the Harry Potter books, for instance.)
- laura x
Yes. Reprint of original WSJ review: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs...
- laura x
Some googling shows that Bloom and Jordan are seldom seen together; perhaps they are the same person? More than one sportswriter has, however, referred back to "The Anxiety of Influence" when discussing the difficulties of all those top players who have tried to fill Mike's Air Jordans since his retirment.
- bevedog
While there are good reasons to hate HP as literature, that doesn't mean he does not enjoy professional sports.
- DJF
He just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who spends time on YouTube. I could, of course, be wrong.
- laura x
I mean, even *I* have watched Michael Jordan.
- laura x
back to the first threadjack, I LOVE the idea of adjuncts / visiting ass't professors as free agents. (tho' I guess there are differences between adjuncts & VAPs; but still - 'free agents" ftw)
- $tephanie•Gardening
#toddlerx walked around the WHOLE BLOCK pushing his stroller. (Some steering help from his parents required.)
VALZ/TT/TM, Yvonne, Chelle Chelle Ro Ro and 19 other people liked this
That boy is going places.
- MoTO #TeamMonique
Prom spending highest among poor northeastern families | MetaFilter - http://www.metafilter.com/127491...
Mary Carmen liked this
Once in awhile I am really, really glad I grew up in Iowa. I did not go to prom, but I'm pretty sure the tickets were like $10-$12 each. I am always amazed by the figures that people from other parts of the country cite.
- laura x
from Bookmarklet
"The inversion of the relation between family income and spending is striking." - Ain't it though. Dovetails with the poor people's tax commonly known as the lottery.
- MoTO #TeamMonique
Not sure what parallel you are drawing with the lottery, Barry. For my part, I remember asking my dad if he'd be willing to take photos of my old karate class, but with the understanding that many of the kids seemed to be from families of pretty limited means. He said many years ago when he had a job taking kids' portraits in department and discount stores, the families in the poorer parts of town would reliably order the most prints.
- bevedog
Steve - The lottery has often been called "an informal tax on the poor" because poor people routinely by the larger share of the tickets. Naturally, as with prom spending, it's a self inflicted wound.
- MoTO #TeamMonique
OK, so you see prom spending as a "self-inflicted wound" where I see it more as a "joyful family occasion." Where the lottery is an addictive behavior that inevitably makes the participant a loser, I am assuming that the families know quite well what they are getting into with the prom spending and years later thinking back to the prom would consider it money well spent.
- bevedog
One also hears the lottery referred to as a "tax on stupidity," which isn't a particularly helpful formulation either, unless of course you want to feel smug. (I should note that I often want to feel smug.)
- laura x
I guess I'm guilty. I see no real point to prom any longer, especially with the excessive spending and lavish displays. But beyond that, what I was commenting on was the inverse relationship between means and spending. According to Metafilter, families with income greater than $75k spent an average of $842 last year. Families with an income below $20k spent an average of $1200.
- MoTO #TeamMonique
It's a reasonable question to ask, whether those families with lower incomes are spending more because they are being exploited, or because they are placing higher social/familial value on a lavish prom experience.
- bevedog
I have no idea, Steve. I can guess that they have access to the same malls as everyone else. There was a quote from an article here (last week, I think) that suggested that *all* people, no matter their socio-economic status, often make really dumb decisions. It's just the poor can ill afford it.
- MoTO #TeamMonique
It would be interesting to compare the prom income/spending numbers with the wedding income/spending numbers, I suspect.
- laura x
Oh god, weddings. From the time she was a toddler, I've occasionally crept into Waif's room in the middle of the night and whispered in her ear, "elope."
- MoTO #TeamMonique
Not to threadjack, but "addictive behavior that inevitably makes the participant a loser"? Damn. First time anybody's accused me of addictive behavior; not the first time anybody's called me a loser (or stupid). I find the $2/week, 35% of which goes to schools, an amusing form of chance.
- Walt Crawford
Oh for pete's sake Walt the goddamn internet is not all about you.
- bevedog
[And, come to think of it, we saved enough on our wedding to pay for a lifetime of Super Lotto tickets.]
- Walt Crawford
I didn't go to my prom, but for kids who did go from my northeastern high school, I think it cost around $100 for tickets, plus more for tuxes, etc. So I could see it easily costing several hundred dollars. That was almost 20 years ago, so I'm sure it's a lot more now.
- John (bird whisperer)
Come to think of it, I'd like to see a breakdown of the spending. Kids living in a higher income bracket will likely have access to a lot of already purchased accessories (shoes, purses, transportation, even dresses) than poorer kids. Still the difference is striking. I'm not suggesting that because you're poor, you shouldn't enjoy yourself. I'm saying that the whole shared aspirational...
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- MoTO #TeamMonique
I agree, Barry, a spending breakdown would be informative. I wonder if those who make more spend less also because there are more folks pooling money together for after prom activities or are using freely available resources (ie a parent's lake house or something of that ilk, for post-prom entertainment). I went to my prom and I am pretty sure we easily spent $1200-1500. It was fun at...
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- Mary Carmen
Steve, you took the opportunity to slander a whole group of people. Am I personally offended? Of course not, but it's still a stupid (ah, another helpful word) generalization. (I think Barry's comment--the first part of it, at least--is likely to be on the money. I never went to prom, but sure wouldn't deny today's kids the pleasure.)
- Walt Crawford
The regional differences are crazy too. I saw the midwest averages $700-something, which still seems crazy high. Tickets here are $65, which includes dinner. Tux rental or dress (which is probably more than tux). Plus flowers. And the rest is smaller change for whatever follow-on outings they may do over the weekend. I suspect an element of exploitation, if not in the actual expenses,...
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- Tinfoil 2.0
Another possibility: I've heard people talk about prom (and weddings, for that matter) as a one-time chance to experience luxury. I wonder if those who don't have much see prom (much like some see weddings) as a one-shot opportunity to live a fantasy for a night. The fantasy costs money.
- Katy S
People who play the lottery are inevitably made losers because in the long run, all gamblers lose. That's what I meant. Not "losers" in the eyes of god. Gambling is obviously an addictive behavior just like drinking. Does that mean that Walt Crawford cant play a little Lotto while he enjoys his Californian wines without suffering a downward spiral into drunkenness and destitution? Of...
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- bevedog
Good point, Katy. But in high school? *shrug*
- MoTO #TeamMonique
MoTO - the shrug is how I feel about it, too. However, I've noticed the attitude most among those that don't have post-high school plans beyond getting a job. Prom and graduation - those are what they imagine as the big events in their lives. After that, it's all work and drudgery. It's some last-minute fantasy before life outside of school hits them.
- Katy S
Guantanamo prison library books for detainees - http://gitmobooks.tumblr.com/
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OMG 404 Joe, Jennifer Dittrich and John (bird whisperer) liked this
Today would have been my father's 90th birthday. It's weird to think he might actually be dead now, had he lived to see this day. It's been 32 years and I still miss him every day.
Pete #TeamMonique, MoTO #TeamMonique, lris and 8 other people liked this
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