Daily Prompt: Life After Blogs

The folks over at WordPress have a Daily Prompt, and this one really caught my interest. What would life be like without computers? While I'm not old enough to remember life before computers were invented (the first machine that could be considered a computer was invented in 1822), I am old enough to remember life before computers became common place in every home. and restaurant and shopping mall and...

First, a little of my history with computers:

When I started college, the university had only what would now be thought of as very, very old Apple computers on campus, so I'm very comfortable with Apple and Macs.

My parents bought their the first computer when I was in high school. I think it was a Texas Instruments machine, and I taught myself some very basic coding in Basic on it.

The first computer I purchased myself was a Hewlett Packard desktop with a screen that was heavier than the tower housing the guts. At the time, my brother was working for HP, so it made a lot of sense to support a company that was making it possible for him support his family. Since then, I've purchased many computers and laptops, the latest is an iMac with a bigger screen than the T.V. I grew up watching. How crazy is that?

I think we would all adapt quickly to a life without computers. Humans are interesting creatures. We are one of the few species on this planet that bend our environment to fit what we think we need instead of adapting to our environment, though not all of us. Looking at native communities in third-world countries, we see that life without computers is completely possible (and was for most of the history of this little, blue ball winging through the cosmos). The U.S. Post Office would probably cheer the loudest as people would need their services for more than junk mail again. I don't know that life would become simpler or slower. We would find other ways of doing the things that computers do for us. Handwriting would suddenly re-emerge as a vital skill taught in schools again. Learning to compute (ha!) complex equations in our heads and on paper would catch on again. And you would probably long for your old analog T.V. and phonograph again. Information and news would come more from your neighbors, friends, and family than from your phone. You might actually get to know your neighbors. A strange concept these days.

I don't think it would be the end of the world. In fact, it might be kind of nice...

Why, Thank You!

What’s the best (or rather, worst) backhanded compliment you’ve ever received? If you can’t think of any — when’s the last time someone paid you a compliment you didn’t actually deserve?

This is the Daily Post's Daily Prompt for today, and it really caught my fancy. I can’t think of any backhanded compliments I have personally received, though I know I’ve had my share. I’ve also given out my share, so maybe that’s why I’m not sensitive to them. But this topic made me think about what constitutes a backhanded compliment. In order for it to be backhanded, the person saying it has to have an ulterior motive to hurt the person it’s aimed at. Maybe that’s another reason I don’t notice them so much. I think everyone loves me (just kidding). As the Young Women’s president in our LDS ward (congregation), I deal with teenage girls all the time. I’m not sure what it is about the ages of 12-18 that make kids (espcially girls) turn into mean, vicious, emotionally-destructive-to-others, insensitive twerps, but it does. Don’t get me wrong, they can also be the most loyal, loving, giving individuals you will meet. As long as you don’t come across them in a pack. I think I’ve heard the kindest and meanest things to ever penetrate my eardrums since I stated this calling.

A friend told me that when her oldest turned 13, she sat him down and had the following conversation:

“Son, you know I love you, right?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And I want you to know that I will always love you. Do you believe that?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Tomorrow, you’re going to turn 13, and there’s a really big chance that after tomorrow I might not always like you most of the time. But I will still always love you, because I’m your mom. Do you believe that?”

"Eh...sure, I guess.”

“Good. And we can be friends again as soon as you turn 21.”

“Okay, Mom.”

So, in honor of backhanded compliment day, here are some that I can think of (probably because I’ve heard them coming my way or out of my mouth at various and sundry times):

“Not everyone can carry off that color, but it looks fine on you.”

“You almost made that look graceful.”

“You look like someone who knows how to enjoy a good meal.”

Anything sentence ending with“...bless your heart.”

Daily Prompt: Papa Loves Mambo

What sort of music was played in your house when you were growing up? What effect, (if any) did it have on your musical tastes?

Oh my, where to start. I come from a very musical family. My paternal grandmother was a piano teacher who taught herself how to play from listening intently at her three sons' piano lessons and then helping them while they practiced and working through their assignments on her own. My maternal grandmother was also a self-taught pianist who made sure all four of her children learned at least one instrument (I think my mom plays three, maybe four). My mom studied music education at the U of U, and my dad and his two brothers played in dance bands around Salt Lake City from the 1950s through the early 1970s. I remember my dad going out on gigs as a very small child.

The music that was played in our house ran the gamete. Classical, jazz, big band (yes, it's different from jazz), old standards, new pop, and some rock. The only music not allow was anything with questionable lyrics or if the beat gave my mom a headache. We'd still sneak of the last kind in occasionally. Hey, we were kids. My brother loved (and probably still does) the Beatles. My dad wowed us all with his lightning quick fingers as he'd riff through jazz numbers. All of my parents' five children play the piano and learned at least one other instrument (most of us play the violin because we had one).

I have a degree in Musical Education from the U. I play the piano, the violin, and the voice (singing). I tried the flute and the viola for half a year in junior high. I have performed with choirs from junior high school through college and at church (I've sung at the LDS Conference Center [including in a choir for a session of General Conference], and on Temple Square at the Assembly Hall and Tabernacle). I played in the Granite Youth Symphony from eighth through eleventh grade (when I unfortunately gave up the violin). I've been hired by local community theater companies to be the music director for several shows. That's how I met Mr. Perfect. I've performed on stage in several musical productions here in Salt Lake. I have been teaching piano for almost 30 years.

I guess you could say that music permeates my life. My college vocal teacher told me that I needed to marry a man who understood music, because if he didn't, he would never understand me. I agree. If Mr. Perfect didn't know music (he played the french horn and sang in choir in high school), he would never completely understand me. I know a lot of women like to keep an edge on their men, but I would rather have a partner than a slave to my whims.

Music fills our house. We have a beautiful Baldwin studio upright in the living room. When it's played, there is no where in the house you can't hear it. We have a violin and a plethora (I love using that word) of percussion instruments. And Mr. Perfect loves a good stereo. He's pieced a couple together for us so that we have an amazing (and completely worthless monetarily) surround sound system for the family room T.V.

To close, I'd have to agree with Mr. Shakespeare that music is the food of love, so "play on."