Results tagged “entertainment”
Addicted to Entertainment (II) (06/04/09 - 13 Comments)
Yesterday I looked briefly at entertainment addiction and attempted to propose a definition of entertainment. I said that entertainment is an escape or distraction from normal life. Perhaps I should have added that it is an "enjoyable" escape or distraction. While this is an imperfect definition, I think it is useful, at the least. We seek entertainment to take our minds off the stresses and strains and reality of life. Today I want to offer...
Addicted to Entertainment (06/03/09 - 25 Comments)
A few days ago John Piper answered a question about addiction to entertainment. He expressed his concern with our need today to be entertained and to be entertained near-constantly. He then offered a few pointers on escape this addiction. This little article got me thinking and I wanted to offer just a couple of thoughts on the topic. First, I want to try to define entertainment. The best I can do, at least for now,...
Light Fare: Which Pixar Film is Best? (01/17/09 - 46 Comments)
Here is some good, light fare for a Saturday afternoon. A few weeks ago we found, on sale, the complete Pixar collection (not including Wall-E). We have had fun going back in time and watching each of these movies. I still remember going to see Toy Story when it was in the theaters and marveling at the brilliant animation--that kind of computer animation was completely new at the time. And then came A Bug's Life...
Things I Miss About Cable T.V. (11/09/08 - 66 Comments)
It must have been a couple of months ago now that Aileen and I got rid of cable TV. We didn't get rid of the television altogether--we kept it so we could watch DVDs and enjoy the Wii. But we got rid of cable and now have access to precisely 0 channels. Today I paused to reflect on all of the things I miss about having cable television. Here they are in no particular order:...
The Cost of Entertainment (08/05/08 - 8 Comments)
Why we watch so much television today is a question that will have many and multi-faceted answers. But in his book Media Unlimited, Todd Giltin offers solid statistical evidence for at least one of the answers. Here is a small table outlining the cost for a general laborer to enjoy the entertainment of that day, given as a proportion of his daily wage. 18th century (theater)More than a full day’s wage Early 19th century (theater)1/3...
Virtual Cheating in a Virtual World (08/13/07 - 14 Comments)
Second Life and cheating in a virtual world. Friday's edition of the Wall Street Journal featured an article about Second Life, a popular online digital world. It is inhabited by people like you and me, but people who take on a new identity--a second life. It is, by all accounts, an engaging experience. This is borne out by the millions of people who have signed up for an account (almost 9 million according to the...