Daily Connotations

Daily Connotations

Entropy Happens.
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You don't have to push the boundaries when you set the standards.

Connotation. 1. a. The configuration of suggestive or associative implications consitiuting the general sense of an abstract espression beyond its literal, explicit sense. b. A secondary meaning suggested by a word in addition to its literal meaning. 3. Logic The total of the attributes constituting the meaning of a term.

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Disclaimer: Any opinions contained on this page are those of, well, we don't really know who. Any offense taken to anything present should be directed to Sven, who will file and ignore your comments. Praise or compliments can be directed to either Dr. N, Dr. What, or Dr. Olga. All plagarized material has been tested and deemed satisfactory according to the esteemed code of Lehrer, version 2.3.
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Things We Like

Sven Bjorn Borg: Sven has been with d-con since its humble beginnings, and is responsible for punctuating, finances, guarding the office from rabid dogs and loud noises, and acting as mediator amongst the other members. Dr. Borge is well-known as the world's foremost (and perhaps only) underwater-basket-weaving expert. Sven has recently published no less than 3 books, Klingon Grammar and Vocabulary for humans, Life among the Grapes, and Escher, Bach, Gödel: A gigantic elastic bungalow. In it's copious spare time, the Sven enjoys playing the harpsichord and diagramming sentences. Sven is Chief of Staff and Director of Intelligence in the UPICN,LLC.
Dr. Bob William "The Orange" Lavoisier a.k.a. Dr. Henry Parsons: Dr. N, as we like to call him, is officially the initiator of the Daily Connotations Company, and also holds important Offices in the VVIIPP society of America and The Department of Redundancy Department, which is a place where he holds an important office in the department of redundancy. Henry also spent a good deal of his life studying the behavior of Walruses (Walri?) in the wild, inspired by a long-running correspondence with Mr. J. Lennon, who, in fact, convinced "The Orange" that he was, in fact, a walrus. Dr. Parsons' curriculum vitae is rounded out by his extensive family history (including a brother, Alan), and double Ph.D. honors in Botany and the Study of Scandinavian Languages. Recently, Dr. Henry Parsons was elected president of the UPICN,LLC
The Doctor a.k.a. Dr. What??: Dr. What joins us now as a member of d-Con in very good standing. It is important that the doctor not be confused with his slightly-more-popular brother, Doctor Who, who has carved a niche for himself in the field of time travel. Dr. What never developed the talent for time travel, and has the ability to visit only two distinct temporal locations: The beheading of John the Baptist and that one time when Stanley met Livingstone (or was it Livingstone met Stanley?) Consequently, he spends much of his time knitting (the scarves, natch) on the planet Gallifrey whilst (and at the same time) contemplating Nietzschean philosophies and memorizing much of Immanuel Kant's work, both in the original German.
Dr. Phelealabean: Dr. Phelealabean also uses the alias Dr. Olga Olathe Parsons-Uhlmer. Dr. Parsons-Uhlmer is a sister to Henry and Alan. She has a dual honorary doctorate in Arabian Literature and Language. She also has teaching experience at the University of Rekjavik which was held in a small grass-covered hut. She iswidowed after an incident involving her husband and abandonment which she is not allowed to discuss pending criminal charges. Now that she is alone, she enjoys spending summers with her brother, Henry, in his summer home, The Parsonon.

6.08.2004

On a slightly more academic note

There is still a certain type of english teacher who would have us believe that television and cinema are the harbingers of the impending doom of the literate society. The dumbing-down of America has occurred not because of this glaringly obvious cange of medium through which information is distributed, however, but rather in the quality of information which is being transmitted.

That is it is not inherent in the medium of transmitting infomation on screen that the quality of information gathered by the end user is decreased. Used effectively, both the cinemay and television can be wonderful sources of information. Conversely, a poorly written book, or a book about mediocre subjects, will be neither effective or informational.

Why, then, the seemingly lower quality of information available on TV? There are many possible reasons. One is the increased ease in which a television show can be created. In the extreme simplest case, a thirty-minute video can be produced by any indiot with an extra half-hour and a cheap camcorder, in stark contrasts with the time and effort required to write and publish a book. There are letters to the editor that have been given more thought than some current tv shows. While some books have been written that shouldn't have been, most people who are dedicated enough to finish a book have something worth reading. (Unlike people who write blogs, of course, who just have too much time on their hands).

Another reason for the dumbing-down of TV is the increased acceptance of second-rate material. Let's face it - if nobody watched Survivor, we wouldn't be having Survivor II, or for that matter Fear Factor, The Apprentice, American Idol. . . the list goes on (and I haven't even scraped the bottom of the barrel yet!) When reading,one is expected to assume an active role - to think about what is being presented. We have learned to use television to give us the exact opposite opportunity: a chance to sit and be immersed in the screamingly meaningless of somewhere else. We don't have to do anything. We aren't supposed to do anything. Television shows are not known for their subtlety. It is this aspect of the screen that irks the english professors. Learning how to comprehend an episode of Friends requires about as much mental effort as, oh, maybe ordering a happy meal (would you like fries with that?) - and the mental decay that accompanies it certainly is a problem that needs addressed, but the blame can not be put solely on the shoulders of the television industry.

In order to change the current trends, however, the industry must change. If producers, directors, writers, actors, and most importantly the viewing audience decide to make watching the telly a worthwhile experience, it could be done. It would mean making a lot of changes, taking a lot of risks, putting forth a lot of effort, and probably upsetting someone.

--Posted by s. on Tuesday, June 08, 2004.