Posted on December 14, 2009 by katym
Miss Lise,
Yesterday, between bouts of my annual laundry sorting fest (path to back door excavated!), I stumbled across a facebook post by a friend which turned deeply personal and really got me thinking. In it, a few people shared personal tragedies that had befallen them — and they were, indeed, heartbreaking events — and one spoke of how, once you have experienced personal tragedy of your own, you will never see it as “entertainment” again. This person referenced all the popular crime shows on TV ( I added in all the crime fiction books in my head) and, rather rightly, sounded a bit angry or, perhaps, disgusted by the fascination America has with crime-based popular culture.
I can understand completely why someone would feel this way. The thing is — it never occurred to me that this is why people read crime fiction books or watch crime shows. It’s odd. I always just assumed that people watch for the same reason I do — because all that news coming at me about real-life tragedy and crime is pretty scary and I need to watch crimes unfolding that are actually going to be solved, and justice applied, and reasons provided for why it happened. These books and shows are an antidote to the randomness of real life for me. But I am curious to know what you, and others, think about why crime shows are so popular these days, and crime fiction as well.
Free copy of “Bad Moon on the Rise” bestowed on the person who offers the most perceptice reference to “In Cold Blood” during this discussion!
-Katy
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Posted on December 4, 2009 by lisemcclendon
Katy — It’s *that* time of year, the time of frenzy, chaos, cold, and debt. Stress, stress, and more stress! But it’s also time for that old ritual: trimming the Christmas tree.
Of course not everyone celebrates Christmas. But for those who do there is nothing like dragging a frozen evergreen across your lawn, making a mess in the living room, untangling lights, and gussying up the old Tannenbaum. What is it about putting a huge live tree in a corner to make you feel a bit better? Is the ritual? Is the lights? Is it the tradition, the music, the nog? In my case I just love putting it all together. Some years, I admit, it’s been a chore. Some years I had to nag the kids to help. I was late, some years I just picked out a pathetic specimen, all tilted or stunted or dry. But with a little love, it changed from Charlie Brown’s tree into mine.
Redneck Christmas Tree - So jolly!
Over the years I have stopped waiting for the rest of the family to get into the spirit of tree-trimming. Everyone has their own holiday needs. If no one wants to help, I do it myself. I love unwrapping the old ornaments, remembering who gave them, the wonderful kids holidays over the years. This year all my ornaments and lights are packed away in another house. So I used the excuse to buy some new LED lights and a few new glittery balls. Not a lot but enough to have a shiny tree to light the winter’s night, and my holiday heart.
Christmas is also about food! What are you baking? Tomorrow I’m making cookies.
xoxo — Lise
PS: Start drinking now so you too can have a Redneck Christmas tree next year!!
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