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Black Lamb |
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ABOUTBlack Lamb was created to offer the discerning reader a stimulating selection of excellent original writing. Published monthly. (more) FREE SAMPLE COPYClick here to receive a free sample issue via U.S. mail. There is absolutely no obligation. SUBSCRIBESupport this independently published journal of fine essays. Annual subscriptions are $15 in the USA, $25 in Canada, $30 in the UK, or $35 elsewhere (all prices in US $). Click here to subscribe online via paypal or send a check to Black Lamb, 1759 View Drive, San Leandro CA 94577. QUESTIONSIf you have questions or comments regarding Black Lamb, please email us. |
Yourself to blameMarch 1st, 2006 BY MILLICENT MARSHALL Dear Millie, Our two kids are starting to raise hell because my husband and I restrict their television viewing to shows we can all watch together on our one TV set in the living room. This deprives them, they say, of a lot of the most popular programs. And why can’t they have Generation Gap Dear Gap, I have to admit I have trouble imagining what the four of you, whatever ages your kids are, can watch together, without either the older or younger generation nodding off or stomping out of the room in disgust. But if you are able to find programs that satisfy all of you, I say keep up the good work. Anyway, the kids have plenty of opportunities to watch their favorite junk when they visit their friends’ houses. One TV in your house? Well done. Millie Dear Millicent Marshall, Am I imagining things, or has the vast increase in the number of television channels only led to a vast increase in the amount of crap on the tube? What happened to the variety all those channels was supposed to provide? Bummed in Boston Dear Bummed, TV ain’t perfect, even with all those hundreds of channels. But it’s a damned sight more interesting than ever before, especially if you get a satellite dish, as I have here in the Rocky Mountains. Thirty years ago, on American TV, where were the wonderful British dramatic series? Where were the history shows? (Don’t despair, they’ll get off World War II one of these days.) Where was Turner Classic Movies? HBO? Not to mention Olympic coverage from other countries, incomparably better than our own chauvinistic version? And news broadcasts from abroad, necessary for political perspective? Nowhere, that’s where. Sorry, but I’m not one of those “television is the death knell of culture” zealots. If millions of cretins choose to sit glued to idiotic sitcoms and police dramas, so what? No skin off my nose. No one forces you to turn the damned thing on. Read a book if you like, talk with your family and friends, experiment in the kitchen with new recipes, go to the opera or theater, and don’t blame TV if you don’t. If you do get around to watching, stop asking the box to make your life better. It’s only entertainment, but as such, it’s never been better. Pick and choose. Use your noodle. Stop whining. Millie Send your query to Millicent Marshall care of Black Lamb. Letters may be edited for length. Replies not guaranteed confidential. •
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