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chanter1944I feel like I've been doing nothing but posting links lately, and for the most part I'm right. This one's as well-deserved of a read as the others have been, though, at least in my very biased opinion. NPR and PBS very literally made me who I am; I grew up glued to kids' television programming in a million shades, caught my first infinitely intriguing glimpse of Doctor Who, tuned properly in to national news at thirteen.
Before I knew who Geordi was, I knew who Levar the Reading Rainbow man was. That warmth of personality Geordi has? Is all real, my friends, but you don't have to take my word for it. I didn't know Dragnet properly until I discovered reruns two or three years later, but I knew Mathnet, and Mathman, and the Mathematic Of Love song - 'IX. I was afraid of that! That's what this song gives me, the icks!' I can imagine the look on my first grade teacher's face when I confidently substituted a variable for a number in a simple addition problem (6+40 became A+6=46, I remember these things) and assured the class that 'you'll learn about it when you're older'. Thank you, Square One. I saw the final episode of Storylords utterly unexpectedly on a sleepy Wisconsin morning, well after my class had stopped watching the series. I was thrilled! Before I'd ever heard of the 'seven dirty words' routine, I'd heard of, and been charmed by, Mr. Conductor. Six-year-old me, dark-haired and crazy about the color red, wanted to be *just* like a certain lady who made them sing the blues from the Red Sea to Greenland, though I eventually realized the far superior role model was right in front of me and yes, tiny me was right, she *could* sing. I salute you, too. A couple of Sesame Street's sketches still make me all warm and fuzzy - the hummingbird 'zoom zoom' song, for one. A couple of them still scare the crap out of me - the 'help!' sketch, the 'go to the exit!' bit, and one I don't dare look up that I'd swear had something to do with the sound 'ut', as in 'hut, tut.' Brrrrr! I avidly followed election coverage in high school, college and beyond, knew newsreaders by voice and name, recorded news bulletins about Kosovo and Columbine and Bill Clinton's trial onto tapes that I still have; they're in a case not three feet away from me now. I was up until the wee hours of the morning as September 11 turned into September 12, listening to a caller on an Air Force base in Germany describing the standstill the world had come to. NPR was a constant, in Wisconsin, in Oregon, in Colorado. I look for it on the airwaves in whatever state I'm passing through. I became a journalist because of the news coverage I grew up on, and NPR and the BBC were essentially it. NPR is in my blood, as much as PBS is, and PBS fostered the sprouting seed of tiny Charlie's intelligent geekdom until it was old enough to withstand the outside world without entirely wilting. I think it's fair to say that the two organizations played a large role both in making me who I am, and in making me unafraid to be her.
As for the supposed liberal bias the objectors are continually banging on about? What are you talking about? The only bias we have - and yes, I do say we - is toward the truth. If that makes me a liberal, I'll wear my blue badge with even more pride than usual. The 'if they want it, pay for it' argument holds even less water with me; again, it's the truth we stand for, and that can't be bought. Shouldn't be bought. Won't be bought.
My first reaction to this story's description of what certain parties want to do to PBS and NPR and why, other than the utterly unsurprising "What the hell?"
"I want to testify."
I said it out loud, to my ceiling, at seven in the morning on a Wednesday. And I meant it.
I'm not sure if any of the personal detail I went into there will strike a chord with anyone who isn't me, but I doubt much of it is surprising. As for the link? Boost it far and wide if you're so inclined. The entry too, if you think it'll help.
Before I knew who Geordi was, I knew who Levar the Reading Rainbow man was. That warmth of personality Geordi has? Is all real, my friends, but you don't have to take my word for it. I didn't know Dragnet properly until I discovered reruns two or three years later, but I knew Mathnet, and Mathman, and the Mathematic Of Love song - 'IX. I was afraid of that! That's what this song gives me, the icks!' I can imagine the look on my first grade teacher's face when I confidently substituted a variable for a number in a simple addition problem (6+40 became A+6=46, I remember these things) and assured the class that 'you'll learn about it when you're older'. Thank you, Square One. I saw the final episode of Storylords utterly unexpectedly on a sleepy Wisconsin morning, well after my class had stopped watching the series. I was thrilled! Before I'd ever heard of the 'seven dirty words' routine, I'd heard of, and been charmed by, Mr. Conductor. Six-year-old me, dark-haired and crazy about the color red, wanted to be *just* like a certain lady who made them sing the blues from the Red Sea to Greenland, though I eventually realized the far superior role model was right in front of me and yes, tiny me was right, she *could* sing. I salute you, too. A couple of Sesame Street's sketches still make me all warm and fuzzy - the hummingbird 'zoom zoom' song, for one. A couple of them still scare the crap out of me - the 'help!' sketch, the 'go to the exit!' bit, and one I don't dare look up that I'd swear had something to do with the sound 'ut', as in 'hut, tut.' Brrrrr! I avidly followed election coverage in high school, college and beyond, knew newsreaders by voice and name, recorded news bulletins about Kosovo and Columbine and Bill Clinton's trial onto tapes that I still have; they're in a case not three feet away from me now. I was up until the wee hours of the morning as September 11 turned into September 12, listening to a caller on an Air Force base in Germany describing the standstill the world had come to. NPR was a constant, in Wisconsin, in Oregon, in Colorado. I look for it on the airwaves in whatever state I'm passing through. I became a journalist because of the news coverage I grew up on, and NPR and the BBC were essentially it. NPR is in my blood, as much as PBS is, and PBS fostered the sprouting seed of tiny Charlie's intelligent geekdom until it was old enough to withstand the outside world without entirely wilting. I think it's fair to say that the two organizations played a large role both in making me who I am, and in making me unafraid to be her.
As for the supposed liberal bias the objectors are continually banging on about? What are you talking about? The only bias we have - and yes, I do say we - is toward the truth. If that makes me a liberal, I'll wear my blue badge with even more pride than usual. The 'if they want it, pay for it' argument holds even less water with me; again, it's the truth we stand for, and that can't be bought. Shouldn't be bought. Won't be bought.
My first reaction to this story's description of what certain parties want to do to PBS and NPR and why, other than the utterly unsurprising "What the hell?"
"I want to testify."
I said it out loud, to my ceiling, at seven in the morning on a Wednesday. And I meant it.
I'm not sure if any of the personal detail I went into there will strike a chord with anyone who isn't me, but I doubt much of it is surprising. As for the link? Boost it far and wide if you're so inclined. The entry too, if you think it'll help.
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no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 04:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-16 02:04 am (UTC)In rewatching them all recently, I did realize something that nine-year-old me didn't, though. The acting is ruddy awful. XD I snark because I love, honestly I do.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 08:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-17 04:36 pm (UTC)