King’s Corner

I know, I promised in my previous “Books and Music My Daughter and I Like” post that it would be the first part in a series. I guess I had intended to post a follow-up entry to that one a little sooner than this, but I had strayed a bit off course. So here we are, 9 months later, and I’m finally getting around to it.

To save you from all the haste of clicking on that link and reading what this post is all about, here’s the premise: My daughter and I spend a lot of time together, and the two of us have found a great number of books and music that we like and don’t like. Already I’m finding that there’s some things that she likes that I’m not all that fond of, and she’s only two years old. So what follows is a continuation of our list of things we recommend picking up… Or leaving alone.

Leap Frog Tag Junior: The kid got this as a Christmas present, and I’ve always been a bit wary of the whole Leap Frog system. Especially coming from an education background such as my own, I am a little wary of toys and games that guarantee, implied or otherwise, to get your child to read. So, the Tag Junior is this hand-held device that one loads sound files onto so that it can read hidden markings in special books and play the appropriate file. Essentially it “reads” the book to her, should she ever sit down to do it herself. And while she likes to play with it and hear it say her name and play music, she still wants me to read the books to her. Well, the one book of hers that actually tells a story, as one is an alphabet book and the other is one on colors. So, at least with my child, it fails as a self-teaching tool, but she does like to play with it. As for reading, she prefers to pick up the old-fashioned books that I read to her and she “reads” those instead.

Trout Fishing In America: This duet out of Texas gets us dancing and leaves us in stitches. We have a copy of their “Family Music Party” album, a live recording, and during the introductory chords they ask the crowd (and the audience at home), “Are you ready to get started?” Oh, yes we are. The kid is up, dancing, and clapping as an immediate response to the question. Their songs are creative, fun, inventive, and clever, from counting in Roman numerals in “18 Wheels on a Big Rig” to the tongue-twisting chorus that they invite everyone to sing along with in “All I Want is a Proper Cup of Coffee”. And they slide in softer songs as well, a break in the jumping and dancing, albeit the pacing of this album can be a bit like a roller coaster. I’ve got an eye on their touring schedule and I’m likely to jump on three tickets if they come to town.

Step Into Reading: We only have one book in these series, Elmo Says “Achoo!”, and that was given to the kid by her grandmother because the main character is Elmo, one of her favorite subjects. But, as a teacher, I like it. We’ve found other books in this series at the library and both the kid and I have loved them. We’ve only been getting Level 1 books, and they’ve all been easy books with engaging stories. The stories move along and have catchy rhythm and rhyme patterns to them, plus clear illustrations that follow the stories really well. It’s something that holds the attention of my two-year-old and wraps up the story before her goldfish-length attention span decides she’s done with it. And when she gets around to actually starting to really read I have the feeling that these will be right up there with Dr. Suess for easy, fun stories to read.

Oliver and Danny and the Dinosaur: What can I say? The kid likes Syd Hoff. I can’t say that I have the same appreciation for him what with his stunted sentences and mind-bending changes in perspective in his illustrations, but the kid loves the guy. It may have something to do with her cousin’s name being in the title of one of his books. But she loves the stories and she follows them with interest, even flipping through the books on her own and “reading” a word or two off each page. Something about Syd Hoff’s style of storytelling has captured her interest, and who am I to argue?

The Sounds of Old El-Paso: This seemingly random selection is being tossed in here to illustrate a point. As long as something is not offensive from a parenting point of view, go ahead and try it on your child. This CD was something that I had picked up for free back when I was in high school, working at a grocery store stocking shelves. There was a stack of them as part of a promo, and besides having five stereotypical traditional Mexican tracks to play while you serve up Old El-Paso products, there’s recipes and games on the disc if you stick it in your PC. And my daughter loves the music. She dances and claps to it, grabs her toy musical instruments to play along, and just flat out has a good time with the music. The thing is, it’s not really meant to be a “children’s” album, but that’s what it has turned into. So don’t be shy about digging out those old LPs or that random CD you had to buy for some cultural presentation in high school, your kid may love it.

Everyone has at least one, right?  A guilty pleasure.  You know, that thing you do that you enjoy so much but don’t always feel comfortable admitting that you do it. Those things that you hide from your friends and family because it seems so out of character or they type of thing that they wouldn’t find a hundred percent acceptable.  So, yesterday I made a detour on my way home from our weekly playgroup to pick up the latest issue of Monocle, a British magazine aiming at worldly, affluent men.  I had originally come across the magazine via their podcasts in the iTunes directory, as they put out companion videos for the articles they publish along with a weekly sudio podcast where the editors sit around an jovially talk of current events, design, culture, and everything else they cover in print.

It’s guilty because, quite frankly, I do not have in any forseeable near future the means with which to live in the lush manner put forth in this magazine.  It’s published with an affluent audience in mind, one that has the leisure time to read about and discuss current events in a highbrow manner and jetset about the world in first class to see things firsthand.  They talk of trips to Tokyo in the same air as one would speak of driving in to downtown for a really nice restaurant.  I can honestly say that I’m not really in that league, nor do I ever think that I will be.  Hell, even their subscription price is more than the cover price, something that is rare in magazines… Most will entice you to subscribe with a discount.  Monocle doesn’t bother, but they do offer a nice tote bag and invites to their office parties.  I don’t know whether it’s more preposterous, presumptuous, or pretentious on my part to be reading this.

But it’s a pleasure because, despite lacking the vast financial resources, I can relate to it.

Monocleis a magazine that focuses on current affairs, unique businesses, design and architecture, and interesting culture, all on a global scope.  And, wouldn’t you know it, these are all topics that pique my interest. Taking stock of where my interests have been going, all of the topics covered on a monthly basis (well, almost… the magazine does take two months off) fall in line with topics that I have been spending my leisure time on.  So, having all of these topic in one place certainly is convenient, if not downright serendipitous.

Of course, the writers and editors of this magazine frequently speak of luxury.  They opine at length of this clothing store in Japan or that delicatessen in Italy or some lamp that was designed and hand-crafted in Sweden (and, incidentally, purchased by one of the editors as a gift to his mother).  While these locations and wares are from all corners of the globe, they do have a common thread in that they all portray luxury as an experience wrapped around a well-made item or service.  Luxury isn’t just paying more for something, just look at the gaudy Bling H₂0 and its Swarovski crystal-studded bottle and its $70 price tag (it’s just water!), it’s a matter of having a good experience and quality product no matter what the price is.  More often than not, this concept is best found to be in use by small, local retailers and producers that know their community and customers on a more personal level and can tailor the experience of the customer better than some national chain that subscribes to a one-size-fits-all business model.

Luxury doesn’t need to be expensive.  They did do a report on a Liberian man who serves up a “personalized” newspaper to inform his community.

Anyway, sure you can pop into Kohl’s for a dress shirt to go with your business suit and come out with something that looks decent, fits about right, and is made of a fabric that feels okay and is close enough to a color and print that you like. But for it to be a true luxury you need to stop into a locally run haberdashery where they’ll measure you up and make a shirt that fits only you out of fabric that you hand-pick yourself. Or, instead of browsing the furniture aisle at Target for a lamp you could stop by a locally owned gallery where the shopkeeper gets a feel for what the locals want and goes out to find pieces that bit the bill.  Luxury isn’t even stepping into the most expensive store at the Mall of America and paying a premium for the same shirt that thousands of others have paid a premium for.  That’s just common mass marketing wrapped up in a big price sticker.  Luxury is a personalized experience with a friendly, familiar face that you can find right around the corner and nowhere else.

It is interesting that nowadays the cheap, everyday goods are imported from far-flung places like China while the notion of purchasing something crafted from a local producer has a premium put on it.  Didn’t it used to be the other way around?  Don’t we have our priorities backward?

One of their usual focuses is the media, and not just the quality of information that is disseminated but the quality of design as well.  They regularly have some design consultantcome on to the podcast and talk about how this newspaper got a design update or that magazine is behind the times and the whole point of it all is to, again, craft a news source with a worthwhile experience as well as reliable information.  In short, who wants to read a poorly written, ugly newspaper?  Also, in this digital day and age, how can you translate the branding of a newspaper onto the website, eReaders, and news aggregators?  When big, global news happens, who gives us real, human stories and who gives us the bland, corporate line and tells us to move along and keep on buying stuff?  (The easy, watered-down answer is, of course, locally or publicly owned news for the former and big news conglomerates for the latter.)  It’s all very nerdy and stylish and thoughtful at the same time, and I like it.

Amazingly enough, I actually like their fashion section.  I have reviewed a number of magazines geared toward men, and I have never liked the fashion sections.  Take a look at the likes of Maxim and Esquire and you’ll see skinny, young men in edgy clothing that no sensible man would wear (or, that’s what I saw way back when I picked up copies of these magazines and subsequently gave up on them).  At least in Monocle I can find clothing that looks comfortable.  Clothing I would actually wear, like smart-looking sweaters and jeans.  Just look at this scarf on the left.  Sure, it’ll run me over a hundred bucks just to buy it and ship it from the UK, but I would definitely wear something like that.  Perhaps I should show this photo to Jen, since she promised to knit a scarf for me.

I must confess, though, that I do feel a bit hypocritical when I purchase this magazine.  I bend the rules a bit on the lifestyle they lay out.  One thing that they tend to portray is that if something is well made and worth buying, then it’s worth paying full price for, which is all good and fair when you’re talking about keeping your money local.  Another is that, whenever possible, the best source for periodicals is either directly from the source (in other words, a subscription) or from a local bookseller/newsstand where you can interact with a knowledgeable purveyor of information on paper (check out their Bookseller of Beirut).  I do neither, as I use my member discount at Barnes & Noble, essentially picking it up at an impersonal national chain store and paying a dollar less than the cover price besides.  Honestly, I should make it in to the nearest independent bookstore one of these days, Majors and Quinn in Uptown, but I would pass right by a Barnes & Noble on my way there.  As an aside to my aside, the only local, independent bookstore I’ve actually been into is Uncommon Good Books, and the Old Scout eschews the magazine rack and focuses his sales on just books.

And there is my confession. Underneath my common man exterior beats the heart of an affluent elitist intellectual (alongside the other hearts that beat away in my chest for all my other passions), and what keeps that part of me chained up is that my pocketbook favors what’s best for my daughter and what our family needs over my lofty ideals and expensive tastes. Unless we somehow strike it rich, perhaps when Jen’s office mates all go in on the PowerBall when the jackpot gets large, I’ll have to take my luxury in small doses and learn to hand-craft some of those personal creature comforts myself (for example, the gradual rennovation of my house). Until that day comes, I’ll just sit down and take pleasure in reading Monocle.  Even with the guilt.

Let’s talk about the fourth branch of the government. Wait, I can see you counting on those fingers… Executive, Legislative, Judicial… Isn’t that it? Well, officially, yes. But there is one other “branch” that was put in place as a means to inform the populous through the “freedom of the press” clause in the First Amendment. It was deemed necessary that newspapers operate without the hindrance of the government because it was felt that they were responsible for keeping an impartial (or at least unencumbered) eye on the government. With that in mind, every Sunday I get the Star Tribune on my doorstep, and I consider that to be my most important source of news.

A friend of mine once poked a little fun at me for this quaint attachment to the newspaper. After all, this is the digital age. Why have a static sheet of paper dropped on your doorstep with this dynamic content with instant access to breaking news is constantly at your fingertips? The newspaper is as dead as the trees it’s printed on, was the gist of his message, and now is the time to fire up the web browser and have your news aggregator mine the Internet for all the news that’s important to you and bring it to you from wherever in the world it is. And it’s all for free!

And that’s what the problem is. This whole new age of information via the Internet grew out of colleges and basements where everyone gave things away for free simply for the sake of intellectual growth. That was great when that was the only purpose, but there’s still this culture of free on the Internet. There’s this misconception that having the free flow of information means that it should be free in a financial sense as well. I’m guilty of it, too, as I will often go searching for a free solution to my computing needs before actually shelling out cash for something. But it’s wrong for the news and it’s only hurting us.

Let’s go back to that concept of the news being the “fourth branch” of government. Ultimately, everyone involved in the three official branches are put there by the citizens of this country, whether directly by election or indirectly by the electoral votes or by appointment by the people we elect. And while things are in place to keep things in check so that no branch is more powerful than the other, it’s a robust news media that keeps the government from becoming more powerful than the people. We need the news to tell us what those elected officials are doing, every one of them from Washington D. C. on down to your city hall, lest they do something they shouldn’t.

As an aside, of course there are plenty of other things in the newspaper that I enjoy. Stories of local interest, coverage of business, travel, arts, entertainment, it’s all there and it’s all written for a local audience. There’s the Sunday magazine, which newspapers used to do well when they had the budgets to. The Star Tribune distributes the wholly disappointing “Parade”, a thin, quick read of fluff stories and ads and is not really a step up from the equally dismal “USA Weekend” that it had replaced. I believe that the New York Times still does their own Sunday magazine, a meatier affair than the aforementioned magazines, and it’s full of thoughtful stories and is actually worth carrying in your briefcase for the week for leisure reading. I’ve looked through the archives of the Star Tribune, and they used to have their own real magazine as well. Oh, the things that we readers used to have at our fingertips.

Back to my point, though, what this all takes a lot of resources. Feet need to be on the ground, working the beats. Gathering, analyzing, and reporting the news takes a lot of people, and people need to be fed. All of those news stories that people are nabbing off Associate Press feeds for nothing? Somebody wrote that, and that somebody got a paycheck. How about the somebody that goes to the city hall meetings and follows up on the decisions they make to make sure your tax money isn’t going to waste? That person needs a paycheck, too. And while you may think that the content that you’re getting gratis is covered by advertising, keep in mind that Internet ads collect as little as a cent for every advertising dollar that would be collected for the print version. It’s no secret that newspapers are losing money on this Internet distribution deal, and the upshot is that they top brass makes staff cuts to make up for it, leaving the people left behind to stretch themselves thin and focus more on the quantity of stories that they need to put out rather than the quality. This means that, soon enough, there aren’t going to be enough journalists to adequately cover those that govern us, and the news that is put out will be rife with inaccuracy.

Big, fat, hairy deal, right? It’s the newspapers’ fault for continuing with a failing model, so there’s no skin off my teeth, right? Besides, there’s local television news, right? Wrong, wrong, and wrong. It is a big deal that our government entities could operate unchecked. You’re going to lose out on some pertinent information without these newspapers to cover things. And television news is nowhere near in-depth, what with their news staff being a mere fraction of the size of the typical newspaper newsroom, and they’re guilty of boiling down complex issues into mere sound-bites. You can help fix this, though.

Go out and buy a subscription already! Stop expecting your free AP or Reuters feeds to cover everything, get off Drudge and Fark, and pick up a newspaper. Or, if you’re intent upon being a member of the new age of digital media, pick up a virtual subscription. Newspapers nowadays provide their entire content in electronic form as well, and you can subscribe from that computer screen or eReader that you’re already getting your news off of and not have to worry about any dead trees being dropped off your doorstep. And your money will only be multiplied, as a boost in subscriptions means a boost in advertising sales as well. This leads to your local newspaper surviving to keep your local governments scrutinized, thus keeping them honest. Freedom of speech only works if people can make a living doing that speaking.

If you expect to get something for nothing, you’ll eventually just get nothing.