A Lammastide Resolution

[poliphilo]

As you may have gathered I've been away for a week. It's been good. And one of the good things about it has been not keeping up with the news. There were newspapers in the Costa Coffee shop where we had breakfast this morning- and I took a quick shufti at them to confirm my hunch that nothing very much would have happened in the interim. And it hadn't. Mr Brown still appears to be prime minister and there's still a war going on in Afghanistan. In other words, everything that happened in the days I missed wasn't really news at all. If an event of real significance had happened- anything that shifted the paradigms- I believe I'd have heard about it fast enough by word of mouth- and quite possibly from the soldiers manning the road blocks.

I waste too much time with the newspapers- and especially with their entrail-examining political columnists- so, here's my good resolution for Lammas: I'm not going to read them any more. 

Comments

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

In the last three or four years of the Vietnam War - and the concurrent Nixon Administration, with its own version of the economic collapse of 2009, I did the same thing. It is truly amazing how much stress is relieved when one does not read - or watch - or listen to -the so-called news.
Welcome back.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

I don't read them either. Waste of time and money, and dead trees. I get my news from Radio 4's "Today" programme (which I switch off when it gets too irritating), the BBC News website, and The Economist, which despite its unpromising title is full of real news, the reasons why things are as they are, and thankfully empty of bland lifestyle and opinion pieces.

Other people buy the Sunday papers and bring them into my house. What a pile of crap, telling us what to wear, what to eat, what to buy, what to think. baaaaa!

Hope you had a good week away. Missed you!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

Most so-called news consists of politicians drawing attention to themselves and/or trying to bolster their positions by scaring us.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks. We had a great time. The centrepiece of the week was a family wedding in Devon.

This week has proved to me that I can get along perfectly well without knowing what Mr Brown and Mr Mandelson and Mr Cameron are doing on a day-to-day basis.

wedding

[(Anonymous)]

....it was really lovely to see you both. I've sent some photos to view via email with some good ones of you two.
You are right - it's a slow news week, which probably has to be a good thing.
We've been unwinding today after a busy few days and reflecting on the events and the socialising.
Jenny x

Re: wedding

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It was great to see you too.

I took quite a few photos, but none I'm particularly pleased with. I'm going across to my mail box now to look at yours. :)

[tf-1.livejournal.com]

I tried this recently, sticking your head in the sand. I find it makes a significant difference to stress levels. After a while though it is tempting to start creeping back, either for fear of missing out, or for entertainment. I do steer clear of mainstream (so-called) news outlets though.

Perhaps you could try this site: http://www.dailyquail.org/ - a satirical take on the trash spewed forth from the daily mail.

Great to see you this week :)

[sovay]

As you may have gathered I've been away for a week. It's been good.

Good! It's still nice to have you back.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It was great to see you- and Michelle and Matthew, too.

I may buckle eventually, but my present policy is to let the news find me rather than go in search of it. I was wasting an awful lot of time reading the runes.

That's a fun site. I'm all for smacking the Mail with a very big stick.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

It's good to be back.