24th April 2007

Critique - Part 1

posted in For World, For Kids, For Robin, For Zeta |

The book: 14,000 things to be happy about

The author and year: Barbara Ann Kipfer, 1990

The problem: I am confused/repulsed by a significant portion of the 14,000 things

Items 1-5

1. A stream-of-consciousness list

Wow, talk about self promotion here.  She sat down and wrote a stream of consciousness list, and lo and behold that is the first of the 14,000 things.  I’m pissed off right at the beginning.

2. pajamas at breakfast

Nice?  Yes.  But not worth noting, most of the time.  Plus, there are plenty of people that wouldn’t want to wear their pajamas at breakfast.  Take Zeta, for example.  Let’s say her diaper leaks, and her pajamas have pee on them.  Yuck!  As if she now wants to lounge around at breakfast, eating while sitting in a pool of her own pee.

3. reed-fringed lagoons

This one depends on your point of view.  Are you viewing the reeds and lagoon from the comfort of a large pontoon boat with a cooler full of Natural Ice?  Or are you in the reeds?  Because let me tell you, algae and stagnant water yield big smells.  And the bugs!  My God, the bugs!  (Oh, and in Florida, that is a prime location for alligators.)

4. seeing the moon rise

Well, how much of the rise do you need to see?  It would be nice for a couple of minutes, but after that, BORING.

5. the feel of a rug under bare feet

So long as the rug is clean, on a cold day.  Glass is broken in my house quite a bit, and rugs hide glass shards rather better than hardwood floors.  Nothing like the feel of glass cutting into your tender feet skin while the rug soaks up the blood.

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 24th, 2007 at 11:19 am and is filed under For World, For Kids, For Robin, For Zeta. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 6 responses to “Critique - Part 1”

Why not let us know what you think by adding your own comment! Your opinion is as valid as anyone elses, so come on... let us know what you think.

  1. 1 On April 24th, 2007, Robin said:

    You misspelled “yield” you negative-nancy.

  2. 2 On April 24th, 2007, peter.hanowell said:

    I don’t even know what you are talking about. Clearly ‘yield’ is spelled correctly.

    On another note, some may find this post ‘negative.’ There is nothing negative about it - I found a book with which I disagree, and, in positive form, I am pointing out ways to improve the list. ‘Improvement’ is positive, isn’t it?

  3. 3 On April 25th, 2007, eliz. said:

    maybe you should make a list of 14,000 things that make you happy?

  4. 4 On April 25th, 2007, peter.hanowell said:

    Yes, I fully expected a comment from you since Robin has since told me that you gave her the book. Oh, and because of your thing for lists.

    However, I maintain my belief that pointing out room for improvement is itself fundamentally a positive venture.

  5. 5 On April 25th, 2007, Robin said:

    #1 on my list of things that make me happy……People who DON’T borrow books
    #2 girls named Zeta

  6. 6 On April 26th, 2007, eliz. said:

    yeah but i gave it to her in 1994 - does that still count?

    ok, how about a list of just 20 things - come on, please?

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