What Are You Reading/Watching/Playing?

2013-01-18 02:42 pm (UTC)

I just finished watching the first season of American Horror Story for the second time (and am super bummed I can't find any good streams of the second season online--I don't have cable so I couldn't watch it when it aired).

I'm also playing Silent Hill 2 for the eighth or so time cos I got the HD Collection for Xmas and Dishonored. I'd recommend all of the above whole heartedly.

mythrai

2013-01-18 04:06 pm (UTC)

just finished marathoning community over the past couple weeks. now i understand approximately 5% more references on the internet. probably going to watch mad men, next.

kind of in-between books at the moment, i'd welcome suggestions!

2013-01-18 05:42 pm (UTC)

I did that (community marathon) a few weeks ago to get caught up for the mini season that will be season 4 next month!

2013-01-18 04:36 pm (UTC)

I just finished re-reading Captain Vorpatril's Alliance last night because Wednesday I wanted to read something silly and cute and it sure fits the bill. I just love it and wish I had somebody to explode into fangirl glee with after reading it. I'm also working on The Hobbit and The Silmarillion for the nth time because I'm writing a Tolkien-esque Pathfinder campaign. :D

dejadrew

2013-01-18 05:26 pm (UTC)

I discovered one of the fringe benefits of owning a games tablet last night. After a theatre workshop, a bunch of us went to a local eatery to chat and feed, and I noticed that during the chatting, the two youngest members of the group were staring around the room with an expression I had worn a few too many times myself.

"Grown ups talking too much about stuff you don't care about?" I said sympathetically. The boy sighed resignedly, making the classic "yack yack yack" handsign as his sister nodded.

I went into my purse and handed them my Android tablet. "Here. I highly recommend Choice of the Dragon, Cut the Rope, or the sketchbook app."

They were happily glued to the screen for the rest of the yackety yacking, and got further on Cut The Rope in fifteen minutes than I have in two weeks, damn their fuzzy little black hearts.

Still, it occurs to me I may wish to stock up on a couple more kid-friendly casual gaming apps for just such an emergency. Does anyone have any good free or cheap recommendations for me to look into at the google play store?

2013-01-18 05:44 pm (UTC)

I've never gotten the whole entertain the kids while the grownups are talking trend. Being bored by other people's conversations is a fact of life.

brawnhilda

2013-01-18 07:41 pm (UTC)

And I've never understood what good it does to make kids stare into space when they could be doing something constructive or at least fun, and video games have been shown to be very beneficial to the brain. I suppose you think being bored builds character, whereas I think it just teaches children that some people's time is worth more than others and some people should be allowed to waste your time as they please without any benefit to you, hardly a positive lesson in my opinion.

2013-01-18 07:48 pm (UTC)

I think that it teaches them that the world doesn't revolve around them and prepares them for boring lectures and work meetings/presentations. People do waste your time without any benefit to you because you're not the center of the universe. You're not entitled to be constantly entertained. That's part of growing up. I'd love to never have to deal with any kind of boring conversation or listen to someone blather on and on about stuff that doesn't interest me, but that doesn't change having to do it.

Besides, it also encourages them to use their imaginations and daydream.

I agree that video games are beneficial to the brain, but I also think there's a time and place for them (and I say this as someone who has been playing video games since I was 5).

General "you" for all of the above.

Edited at 2013-01-18 07:49 pm (UTC)

brawnhilda

2013-01-18 07:59 pm (UTC)

The difference between a lecture/work meeting/presentation and children listening to adults is that there is a benefit to you at the former; you are either receiving credits or pay of some kind for attending. Furthermore, you're likely older and have a longer attention span than a child does, and there's no proof I'm aware of that forcing children to zone out for hours during adult gatherings is what causes our attention spans to grow.

And I would argue it does not teach children the world doesn't revolve around them, but that it teaches them that some people have power over them and a right to their time, as I said before. Much as silencing a child's opinion or spanking them to teach them not to hit others just teaches them there is a time and a place for violence and bullying behavior.

Edited at 2013-01-18 08:01 pm (UTC)

2013-01-18 08:34 pm (UTC)

Fine, then it prepares them to listen to some stranger blather on at the bus stop, or a friend/SO talking about their intrests that you find absolutely brain dead boring. Either way the adult world is full of boring moments and people wasting your time. To raise kids to think this never happens and they are entitled to being constantly be entertained is giving them a wrong impression of the world. I'd find it surprising if you've never had to deal with anyone wasting your time. I don't necissarially want to sit and listen to various family conversations at the dinner table, either, but it's polite to do so.

And adults do have power over kids (rightfully so--a parent and a young child are not peers) and a right to their time (a child can't just say "I don't have time for that" when their parent asks them to do something). How is teaching them the truth a bad thing? No one's time is a magical thing that only they decide how to use it no matter how old you are.

There is the idea that kids being a part of adult conversations helps them to be exposed adult concepts and language (links are blogs because google kept giving me "adult conversation" as conversation with other adults, but still explore the concepts):

http://www.blog.montessoriforeveryone.com/how-children-benefit-from-adult-conversations.html

http://www.feelgoodaboutdinner.com/2012/01/grown-up-conversation-at-dinner-table.html

http://www.momlogic.com/2010/12/kids_need_adult_conversation.php

Plus, like I said, even if they daze off because of a short attention span, this encourages them to learn to entertain themselves with their imagination, creativity, and day dreams.

(Deleted comment)

2013-01-18 09:22 pm (UTC)

My having power over kids I mean they can tell them what to do and discipline them.. The idea that no parent should ever tell a kid what to do or discipline them is pretty harmful, imo.

I agree that peer conversation is important, but peers are not availble in every situation.

I may get bored easily with 8 year olds coversations, but I still listen because it is polite to do so and teaches them that their opinions and ideas are worth listening to.

Not giving allowing a kid a gameboy or book at the table is hardly bullying. It doesn't shame them, it doesn't cause them to have low self esteem, it doesn't hurt them in any way. I really wonder how boredom, of all things, is some awful punishment against humanity.

2013-01-18 10:14 pm (UTC)

What exactly is the problem with giving a kid something stimulating to learn from while adults are talking, especially considering how rapidly their brains are developing at a young age? You have a legit expert up there telling you boredom has no benefit. Enforced boredom because 'you said so' may not be 'bullying' but it's certainly not very nice when you know it's not doing anything for them. Kids should be learning, when they're bored, how to be productive and active and keep themselves occupied.

2013-01-18 10:37 pm (UTC)

Kids should be learning, when they're bored, how to be productive and active and keep themselves occupied.

But that's been what I've been saying. Kids should learn to entertain themselves in those situations. What are they going to do when the gameboy isn't there or able to be used?

And just because something isn't beneficial (and I really don' get how using one's imagination isn't beneficial),doesn't make it detrimental.

Edited at 2013-01-18 10:38 pm (UTC)

2013-01-18 10:56 pm (UTC)

You *do* realize not everyone is going to work the same as you do/did and not everyone (especially kids) can daydream for hours on end, right?

2013-01-18 10:58 pm (UTC)

I do realize that, but that doesn't mean that kids shouldn't learn to entertain themselves. Again, what happens when there isn't a gameboy to placate them?

2013-01-19 01:11 pm (UTC)

I don't know, you're the parent, you tell me what you're doing to teach them how to do that?

2013-01-19 01:19 pm (UTC)

"Imagine what would happen if..."
"Tell yourself a story"
"Practice your [math/language skill appropriate for that age]"
"Think about what you want to do this weekend"
Give them a few riddles to try and figure out.

etc.

2013-01-19 02:48 pm (UTC)

That is kind of different from 'let them be bored because it's not the worst thing in the world and they should learn how'. Most of that would need at least a pencil and paper or don't take very long depending on how old you are. I don't see why a kid can't just have a book to read if they are going to be telling themselves a story, or why adults can't just engage them in the conversation with those questions rather than making them just think them quietly to themselves.

Basically I still don't see much benefit in what you're suggesting without SOME kind of outlet for the kid.

2013-01-19 03:00 pm (UTC)

Because it teaches them how to use their imagination and be creative. This entire time I've been saying that kids need to learn how to entertain themselves if they're bored and there are ways to do that that doesn't require handing them a gameboy at the dinner table.

Like I said above, I waited tables for about 15 years. Within the past few years it's become very, very, very rare for me to see a kid at a table without a DS, iPad,or dvd player in front of them, no matter what the age. Instead of engaging their kids in conversation or encouraging them to be creative, it seems the trend is to distract them with electronics. Doesn't make any sense to me.

2013-01-19 03:30 pm (UTC)

While I don't disagree that just giving your kids electronics to shut them of is not really a great trend, there are also a lot of very educational games out there that have benefits. I still don't buy that just sitting there is good for a kid's imagination, and still think they need an outlet for it (drawing, writing, reading, conversations) to be really useful to them. It's a far cry from what you were saying before, not a lot of kids can just sit there and drift off into their own brains for that long.

While daydreaming is a good thing, it's not something you can just make them do, not every kid works that way and every kid is going to need different tools to learn how to be creative and how to entertain themselves. A kid who learns in a textile, hands-on kind of way would be really lost and bored if you told them to daydream or try to make things up in their heads on whim.

2013-01-19 03:37 pm (UTC)

I agree there are educational games. I also think that video games,period, are beneficial to kids (as long as they're age appropriate). I never said anywhere that they're not.

What I want to know is what happens when the kid's in a situation where they can't be stimulated in an outside way? Why is it some horrible thing that is somehow equal to bullying to hand them a toolbox of tricks to use to entertain themselves and train them how to use them so that they're prepared for when those situations occur throughout the entirety of their lives?

2013-01-19 04:34 pm (UTC)

Because that's not what you said initially? You basically were taking about enforced boredom, not giving kids the tools to entertain themselves.

2013-01-19 05:09 pm (UTC)

Except that is what I've been saying this whole time--allowing the kid to experience boredom is helping them learn to deal with it.

It's like if every time it was cold you never let your kid out of the house so they'll never know the unpleasant experience of being cold instead of teaching them how to deal with it (bundle up) and that, even tho at not pleasant, you can still have fun with it (playing in the snow). If a child never ever experiences anything negative like bordom, as is being demanded here with equating allowing a kid to be bored to bullying them, how will they learn to deal with it or change it into something fun?

2013-01-18 09:29 pm (UTC)

Like I said when I linked, most google matches were about conversations with fellow adults, or long pdfs of studies, some of which had to be purchased to read. Anything I found in my school's research database were also long studies that no one would read.

And what does saying "boredom isn't a bad thing" or "kids learn from listening to adults" have anything to do with families at risk?

2013-01-18 08:46 pm (UTC)

And we should never try and challenge those facts of life, right? I mean, it's not like dying of the plague was once a fact of life or anything.

2013-01-18 08:48 pm (UTC)

So one should never be bored by conversation or other people? People should be entertained 100% of the time? How realistic is that?

And really? Comparing being bored to something that killed millions of people?

2013-01-18 09:00 pm (UTC)

There's a difference in being actually involved in a conversation, no matter how boring, and having people talking over your head, which IME generally happens when you are several decades younger than every single other person at your event. And since this still happens to me at family events (it is not unusual for the person closest in age to me to be my father who is 38 years older than I am) and I'm a grown woman, I'm quite familiar with the feeling.

Ok. Not the best comparison but since I was going for the ~facts of life~ bit, not the bored bit, you're a little off the mark. How about: "periods are a ~fact of life~ but that hasn't stopped me from attempting to avoid one for the past 7 years" then?

2013-01-18 09:16 pm (UTC)

IME it's not that hard to just daydream for a while (which is a good exercise in using one's imagination and creativity which is prettycritical for children), or even listen in to see if you learn anything.

2013-01-18 09:29 pm (UTC)

And what do mean exactly by a while? 15 minutes? An hour? 3 hours? Because there's a big difference between entertaining yourself quietly while your parents catch up with a friend at the grocery store or while they have a long conversation over dinner with some friends.

And gj on ignoring every single point I made.

2013-01-18 09:35 pm (UTC)

What points did you make? That people like to avoid things that bother them? Okay, that's true, but it isn't always possible and that doesn't always make it some horrible traumatic thing. Everyone will be bored at one time or another. It will happen.

I agree that there is a difference between being involved in a coversation and have people talking around you. Again, that doesn't change the fact that it will happen at some time in a person's life and one should be prepared for it/taught how to deal with it without throwing a tantrum.

I can daydream for hours and did when I was a kid all the time. Besides, the average dining experience is about an hour at the most and a good 20 mins of that is spent eating (served for 15 years).

mythrai

2013-01-18 11:52 pm (UTC)

what's hilarious is you're replying to ONE specific incident where there was not even a hint of a tantrum, though.

and negl, i consider myself an imaginative person but my daydreaming for hours usually happens when something else is going on (working, washing dishes, whatever). Not staring off into space doing absolutely nothing.

Edited at 2013-01-18 11:53 pm (UTC)

2013-01-19 01:10 pm (UTC)

My very first comment indicated that I've been talking this whole time about the trend of placating kids with electronics at mealtimes instead of including them in conversations or letting them figure out how to entertain themselves without that crutch, not this specific situation (in the specific situation, I wonder why the kids weren't encouraged to talk to each other). As i is, I've seen the tantrums (lots and lots in the amount of time I was a waitress) and heard apologize from parents saying "we forgot [our 8/10/12 year old's] DS/ipad/tablet/laptop/dvd player, etc".

ladybrienne

2013-01-19 11:51 am (UTC)

I keep a few gaming apps on my Samsung phone for my younger brothers (aged 7 and 9) that they seem to like. They're all free too:
- Word Search.
- FIT
- Jewels Star
- Bad Piggies (this one is definitely their favourite).

thalestral

2013-01-19 12:19 pm (UTC)

Any of the bubble bursting games are far too addictive, and the Broken Sword games are great fun and very absorbing (and not too expensive considering the great storytelling).

As for the other replies... well that was unexpected o_____O

bitchintoyland

2013-01-18 09:02 pm (UTC)

I've started playing Rule of Rose again yesterday.

maynardsong

2013-01-18 11:22 pm (UTC)

I'm watching Psych! I love it!
My only criticism is how they fucking beat us over the head with "Look at Detective O'Hara and how hot she is!" It gets old.

maynardsong

2013-01-18 11:28 pm (UTC)

Only on season 4 though, so don't spoil me.

nonnycat

2013-01-19 10:05 am (UTC)

I'm starting to read the Wheel of Time series now that the last book is out. My partner loves these books, although I think a large part of it is teen nostalgia (and the fact that he spent a significant amount of time playing on a WOT MUD back in the day and met several important people in his life there)... but I am not quite feeling it so far. Anybody have opinions?