editorial

A Good Laugh for People in the Over 50 Group!: Social Media, Technology and Going Green

Irene Watson

Technology is great but last week it messed up on me. You were supposed to get this editorial last Monday; I checked and double-checked to be sure the right one was going to go out. Well, it didn't. And, there wasn't anything I could do about it because I was in Montreal, Canada. We attended a beautiful wedding, did a bunch of touristy things, and attended a very successful book launch for a author/client.

I have no idea who wrote it but it certainly talks to me as I'm sure it will to anyone over 50. Besides, we all need a good laugh!

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter.

I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grandkids and 2 great grandkids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific, Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.
My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation.

I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library.  I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive.

I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be nicer.  It was like she could barely tolerate me.  She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead..well, it was not a good relationship.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me. Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?"  I just say, "Doesn't matter to me, I am bi-sacksual."  Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look.

I was recently asked if I tweet.  I answered, No, but I do toot a lot."

P.S. I know some of you are not over 50. I sent it to you to allow you to forward it.

Ohhhh! This is just too real!  Do you have any stories to add? Tell me here.

Here is something else to blow your mind!:

The McGurk Effect - Horizon Is Seeing Believing?

featured this week

Nonfiction - Religion, Christian, Inspiration

Destined To Live, Despite Me: Biblical Truths for Suicide Survivors

Yolanda Shanks

Believer’s Press Services (2010)
ISBN 9780578054681
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (4/11)

Synopsis

Destined To Live, Despite Me, by author Yolanda Shanks, speaks on the topic of suicide directly to the actual attempter in terms of spiritual direction, after they have sought counseling. It's coffee table tone also invites anyone, including individuals who may not have ever contemplated suicide, but who simply need direction in living a meaningful and purposeful life built on biblical truth. While Destined to Live, Despite Me steers clear of giving medical or psychological guidance, it doesn't apologize for its direct approach in providing spiritual guidance for the rebuilding of one's life on the fundamentals of our faith in God, and salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Read review of Destined to Live, Despite Me
Listen to interview on Inside Scoop Live
Visit author's website

featured this week

Nonfiction - Religion, Islam, Culture

Women, War & Hypocrites: Studying the Qur’an

Robert A. Campbell

Cape Breton University Press (2010)
ISBN 9781897009536
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (4/11)

Synopsis

In Women, War & Hypocrites, Dr. Campbell expands the journey through his analysis of the thematic structure of the fourth surah (The Women), a large and complex surah containing some of the most controversial verses and ideas in the Qur’an. The key issues addressed are women (on marriage, lewdness, wife beating and hijab), war (on killing, battle, jihad and terrorism) and hypocrites (on believers, the People of the Book, idolatry, intoxication and the crucifixion of Jesus). Given that Islam traces its prophetic heritage from Noah through to Abraham, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad, much of the content of the Qur’an will be familiar to those with even a passing exposure to the scriptures of the Jews and Christians.

Read review of Women, War & Hypocrites
Visit author's website

Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner

Bookhitch Award for the Most Innovative Book of Poetry

The Brubury Tales by Frank Mundo

Infinity Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9780741459756

 

Synopsis: An ambitious homage to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, The Brubury Tales, by author Frank Mundo, takes Chaucer’s story and frame to Los Angeles just after the riots, where seven security guards on the graveyard shift swap tales in a hilarious storytelling competition for Christmas vacation time.

The tales themselves are “readable” updates of classic stories by Dostoevsky, Dickens, Boccaccio, O Henry, Poe, Twain, Gilman, Crane, Saki, Anderson, Bierce, and even Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. This edition also contains a special foreword by California literary legend, Carolyn See.

Read review of The Brubury Tales
Enter Literary Awards Program

List of 2010 Literary Awards Winners
Bookhitch Award

Spotlight - reader views literary awards winner

UnBreak Your Health Award for Best Alternative Health Book

An Alphabet of Good Health in a Sick World by Martha M. Grout & Mary Budinger

New Medicine Press (2010)
ISBN 9781932842548

Synopsis: Discover that illness is really your friend, your body's cry for help. An Alphabet of Good Health in a Sick World by authors Martha M. Grout and Mary Budinger offers uncommon clarity and easily accessible information.

There is a new paradigm emerging called green medicine and consumers are demanding more of it. Green medicine has a strong respect for the body's own healing abilities. Green medicine also recognizes that what we put into our environment, we also put into ourselves. It is paramount today to acknowledge the impact of food, chemicals, and electrosmog (wireless technology, electrical fields). If your doctor has little to say about them, then he's working with obsolete information. The new paradigm of medicine sees food as medicine, chemicals as more important than germs, and electromagnetic frequencies as a double edged sword.

Read review of An Alphabet of Good Health in a Sick World
Visit author's website

Enter Literary Awards Program
List of 2010 Literary Awards Winners
UnBreak Your Health Award

This week's video

Terra Firma Angelicus

Terra Firma Angelicus

Trafford Publishing (2010)
ISBN 9781426933066

Synopsis

Though fictional, Terra Firma Angelicus is based on historical documentation, and attempts to reveal the activities of the spiritual beings in the invisible realm, who influence the affairs of mankind. The names I have chosen for these invisible characters are allegorical, derived from the Latin, Greek or Hebrew language . . . a name that best depicts their expertise. You will meet two 21st century families in their personal struggles, who are also caught up in espionage, nation takeover schemes, and media propaganda attempting to implement a New World Order that will enslave all the toadies of the world, while systematically and strategically removing any semblance of the name of Jesus Christ and His Bible from the public consciousness. These global rulers know that Jesus Christ is the only enemy that must be defeated, before they can obtain total control of the mind of every human being. Graphically portrayed, you will see the daily involvement of the angelic and demonic entities of the invisible realm in the lives of all human beings on planet earth. Hopefully, this story will not simply acquaint you, but also educate you regarding the "real" power source of our everyday earthly life. Are you really in control of your own life . . . or . . . is someone else"

Purchase Terra Firma Angencus