Television Can Be Educational

Experts say that television rots your brain. 

I disagree.

I think television can make you think. 

It depends on if you are watching to zone out, or if you are watching to learn something. 

I do both. 

Some shows I watch just for enjoyment. 

Other shows I watch for pleasure and to learn.

Occasionally a program that I'm not expecting to teach me anything actually does!

This happened last night, with the Ryan Murphy show "911 Lone Star."

The fictional show about first responders is set in Austin. 

I've often giggled over the depiction of the majority of Austinites walking around in cowboy hats and spending their nights line dancing in clubs. 

And then there was the episode where twin EF5 tornadoes tore up downtown. 

When I was watching last night, (spoilers!), a volcano wreaked havoc in the city, spewing lava and injuring people. I burst out laughing. C'mon Ryan. A volcano? 

Turns out I needed a history lesson. 

Austin DOES have a volcano! An inactive one...but still, we have a volcano!

Pilot Knob: Pilot Knob: Largest Extinct Volcano Remaining in Central Texas (texashillcountry.com)

I have officially been educated. 

By the way, next week (spoiler #2)  is about a wildfire. 

That actually happened - not in San Angelo, but in Smithville, near Austin, and the surrounding area, several years ago. It was quite devastating. 

librarianintx

Bee Gees documentary

 I watched the HBO documentary about the Bee Gees yesterday. 

I was a pre-teen in the 70's, and a teenager in the 80's, and I remember the disco era and "Saturday Night Fever" very well. 

What struck me the most about their story, besides the great music, was how much the band persevered, and their ability to be adaptable and resilient in the music industry. 

They were brothers with a dream to make it in the music industry, and they made it happen. They got their start making Beatles-type music in the 60's, and they were successful. But they became mega-stars when they moved to America and adopted a completely different sound - an intoxicating mix of the R&B music that they always loved, combined with the dance music popular in the gay and black club scenes. Disco was born, and it catapulted the Bee Gees to super stardom. 

But when disco became unpopular (to put it mildly), they were able to keep their careers going by writing hit songs for big stars - Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rodgers, and Celine Dion in particular. 

They went through hard times as a band of brothers. There were creative differences, and personality clashes. Barry and Robin often fought over singing lead. Maurice had to deal with being in the middle. They broke up as a band. They got back together. But the bond was always there. 

I learned in the documentary that Robin and Maurice are twins. I never knew that. Barry and Andy look more like twins, even though they are the oldest and youngest. 

The Bee Gees boys had what it takes to succeed in life and in your chosen career - talent, creativity, dedication, and resiliency. 

librarianintx

Winter Wonderland

I refer to last Sunday as "The Snow Day of My Dreams."

I was born in Florida and grew up in several cities in Texas. From the time I was ten until I moved away to attend graduate school, I lived in Houston. I've seen snow a few times during my life, but usually we didn't get much more than a few flakes. Sometimes if you blinked, you missed the snow. Forecasters, especially in Central and Southeast Texas, tend to hype the possibility of snow, leaving many residents disappointed when the white stuff does not appear.

We were not disappointed in Central Texas on Sunday. 

We got snow. 

And I mean S-N-O-W!

Hours of it.

Quite a bit of it. A few inches at least. 

I've learned not to get my hopes up. But when I saw it coming down, I was so excited. I didn't know how long it would last, so I threw on clothes and ran outside, not bothering to even brush my hair or wash my face (and you can tell in the pictures.) 

I didn't care. 

I was finally getting my snow day. 

It snowed from about 9 am until 4 pm. Some of it was quite heavy. I was out several times, taking pictures and video, documenting as the outside turned white. 

It was absolutely beautiful.

I was mesmerized. 

I didn't make a snowman, or any snowballs. I didn't walk in it much. I was still afraid of falling, even though it wasn't icy. But that was okay. I didn't dream of making snowmen or snowballs. I simply dreamed of watching beautiful, white flakes falling from the sky. And that is what I had the opportunity to witness. 

This South-Central Texas girl was very, very happy. 

librarianintx