Redartz: Hello, everyone! We here at BitBA have been busy prepping for this week's edition of Super Blog Team-Up, and so for today we'll mostly let you all carry the ball. Here for your consideration are two questions, sort of flip sides of the same issue. Ready? Have at them...
1. If you had an entire evening, alone, with no duties or pressing issues, how would you spend it?
2. Realistically, most of us keep pretty busy. Often, too busy. So busy, in fact, that no time for yourself remains after all your tasks and responsibilities. But everyone needs a little 'me time'; so: if you only have 1/2 hour for yourself, what is the one form of personal relaxation that you would fill that time with?
And to get things started, here are my answers:
1. A whole uninterrupted evening? It would be difficult to limit myself, too many interests would tug at me. Nonetheless, I'd probably divide it into thirds: first some time upstairs at the drawing board. Second, a bit of mind-wasting video; perhaps some Warner Brothers cartoons. Finally, a small stack of comics to read myself to sleep with. That would do...
2. If time is truly of the essence, and some mental relaxation is needed: I'd listen to some music with the earphones on, filling that precious half hour with good sound.
And there you have it. The 'pins are set up', all you need do is 'roll the ball'. Have at it, crew!
8 comments:
Well, I have plenty of time in the evenings and I usually spend that time listening to BBC Radio 4 which is a speech station featuring documentaries, news, comedy, drama etc. Radio 4 has a sister station called Radio 4-Extra which is a digital station (my radio is a digital radio) featuring shows from the BBC archives going right back to the 1950s. Today is World Dracula Day (you didn't know??) and BBC Radio 4-Extra is broadcasting an adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, originally from 2012 and a drama about Vlad The Impaler (upon whom Dracula was based) originally broadcast in 1974.
I've also just downloaded an e-book called "A Shout From The Ruins" by Kevin Powers, a new novel about the American Civil War and slavery so I'll be reading that in my free time. I own Kevin Powers' previous novel "The Yellow Birds" so I bought this new novel on the strength of his first one.
This weekend is a holiday weekend for us Brits so there'll be plenty of free time but you don't need to spend every waking moment doing something - I often enjoy just doing nothing and thinking :)
Like Colin said, just some peace once in a while is nice.
A night on my own, I’d order out for some Thai food, watch an old movie, read some old comics, and work on my writing. Overall life is good!
I'd probably dip into my "must read" pile of books (or comics), which just seems to get bigger all the time.
Depending on how much time I have, I dive into my movie and TV dvd collection and dig out some vintage favorite. I recently had a Kolchak festival, looking at the two TV movies and the brief series. I'm right now in the beginnings of what will prove to be a summer-long revisit to giant monster movies. I showed some of my students Godzilla (the original) and it triggered a yearning to see the Showa movies.
Rip Off
1. Read, books or comics. Or maybe watch a good movie.
2. Try to do something edifying, like read something intelligent and informative online, but then end up watching SNL clips on YouTube.
So, on an evening with no prior responsibilities or "homework" or something similar pressing, AND if my wife is other-wise occupied, I will almost certainly throw myself into a chunk of TV binge-watching, as there are SO FLIPPIN' MANY shows and series out there that I find I'd enjoy (or at least have a very sharp interest in trying), but there's just not enough reasonable time on earth to get to all of them--!
That little half-hour slot? These days, that turns quickly into surfing the net/FB/Youtube. It might be a nap---- except I always fear I'll over-doze and miss the next thing I'm supposed to be doing. . .
HB
Colin J and Marti- can't argue with your sentiments about a little quiet time. Sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered...
Edo- do you find it's quite easy to lose a big chunk of time watching YouTube clips? Often I'll get started watching a particular clip, only to follow up a link and end up killing an hour or more watching the doggone things!
HB- yes, both YouTube and naps are ominously enticing, and both prone to extend themselves beyond all initial intent...
Finding myself with downtime this rainy Sunday afternoon, I will, after posting this and jotting down some ideas for future writing, be resuming a little re-read of Frank Miller's Ronin.
Typically, afternoon reading is best, whereas free time late at night feels better with the lazy consumption of some TV, maybe a film.
In the olden days, playing hours and hours of Sid Meyer's Civilization was utter bliss, but I don't have an updated version of it, and even if I did, I fear the hours it might consume.
-david p.
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