As a sequel to my “Love in the Time of Terrorism” post I wanted to offer up this new one based upon a Wall Street Journal article published today titled, “‘Til Tech Do Us Part.” Although it does not specifically cite any South Asian peeps in the article, I am sure you can all agree that it is quite relevant to a great many of us (and probably tech-savvy SM readers more so than most). Here is the oh-so-juicy synopsis of the article:
Joint bank account? Check. Merging the MP3 collection? Hold on a minute. Couples are struggling with just how much to combine the digital aspects of their lives. Why spouses are bickering over shared email accounts and his-and-hers blogs. [Link]
It’s true, it’s sooo true. This is why our parents generation just cannot understand why we sometimes (well some of us) wait so long to get married. It is no longer a question of simply making sure that your prospective wife comes from a good family and that at least one of her siblings is a doctor if she failed to become one herself. No. There is the MP3 collection-compatibility-issue that is a constant cloud which hangs over many of our serial dating lives. God forbid she leaves behind an Ipod in my car and I accidentally play Akon or Fergie when there are people around who might judge me. “I listen to Kings of Leon. I swear.” What if she bookmarks the NYPost whereas I bookmark the NYTimes? Does she pay attention to RottenTomatoes.com like I do or does she just go to the movies and blindly hope for the best like some crazy free spirit? Getting to know someone and fall in love just takes a lot more research these days.
To stay on pace during his five-mile jogging workouts, Olav Junttila keeps his iPod stocked with fast, thumping electronic music. But an unwelcome sound has been intruding on his daily runs: Britney Spears singing her bubble-gum hit “Oops, I Did It Again.”
The culprit is Mr. Junttila’s wife, Katie. Her musical taste differs, but instead of setting up a separate music library in iTunes, she mixes her Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake purchases in with his picks. “I’m going, ‘Where’d this song come from? I don’t even like this song,’ ” says Mr. Junttila, a 34-year-old New York investment banker. [Link]
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Then, of course, the article moves on to an issue even more troubling than music and one that I lie awake at nights stressing about. Yep. Blogs.
The growth of blogging is responsible for many marital flare-ups. James Griffioen and his wife, Sara Woodward, decided to start a blog together after they had their first child. They were inspired by other couples who were blogging about their newborns.
They agreed to give each other veto power over posts, which he exercised when she wanted to shout out into the blogosphere about his failure to do the dishes. “That’s a real sensitive issue,” says Mr. Griffioen, 30, who cares for the couple’s 2-year-old daughter at their home in Detroit. Readers of the site, sweetjuniper.blogspot.com, would have blown it out of proportion, he says: “They’re going to turn it into this whole thing of how I don’t keep up my end of the relationship…” [Link]
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Sweet Jezzus. Abhi’s first rule of Blog Club is: NEVER mix blogging with pleasure (unless you have a weak will and it just happens). You would be freaking nuts to blog with your husband/wife.
“Honey, what did you think of my post on our blog? It was the bomb, right?”
“Ummmm.”
I wonder, just how common is this sort of digital angst among our readers? Here are some anecdotes. I know that SM contributing writer Cicatrix and Mr. Cicatrix have left comments on the same thread using different computers in different rooms at the same time. I also know that on a couple of occasions a commenter has emailed us because we banned their significant other/roomate who they share a computer with and they wanted us to lift the ban so as not to punish the innocent one (who still wanted to comment) too.
The bottom line is that I think it is okay to take your time and really understand if your blogs and your mp3 collections (we didn’t even talk about TiVO) are compatible before committing. Forever.
Note: For those interested there is a podcast of this story at WSJ.
very jealous. i’ve been trying to view for some time now, with no luck – i am pinning all hopes on my new laptop!
how do we know, rahul? i’m beginning to distrust this virtual personality of yours…
BIG – i LOVE FW! for the third series, i did away with the netflix queue and bought it on dvd. i have recently discovered mile high – not as good, but in a similar genre. have you seen it?
camille, i wasn’t talking about objective taste, just subjective preference (which obviously does not overlap, as evidenced by my FW obsession)
I’m a bit late with this but…
abhi wrote:
My favorite line of the day. =)
Pravin, I live in ATL, am Hindu, and can guarantee I’m probably not related to you. =)
You don’t. Not unless you install a Trojan horse on my computer.
I guess when you’re choosing between NPR and confocal laser microscopy, NPR is the clear winner…right? 🙂
ak @ 101
Alas, I was only able to see one season of FW during a weekend marathon on BBC America when I was laying on the couch all day hungover. BTW, it is a GREAT show for just that. I loved the over-the-top dramatics and campiness. Unfortunatley I no longer have BBCA with my current cable package, but I do plan on adding it to the queue!
I have never seen Mile High, but I do plan on checking it out online. I can only imagine what it’s about, maybe naught flight attendants or is it air hostesses? I never know what they want to be called these days…
I dropped Netflix three years ago after I discovered I could get the same DVDs from the public library for free. 🙂 It’s great if you are not the impatient type and not hankering to watch the new releases the very first week. They even have BW movies!!
ak @ 101, I suppose that would be ok 🙂 I haven’t seen FW, but my friends in the UK are raving about it. Is it worse than Flavor of Love?
Amit, as an ardent lover of libraries (wish I could find the comment link — Rahul?), it helps if you live near a really awesome one to peruse their DVD collection. However, if you are an idiot like me and move to a smaller area, you have to resign yourself to Netflix 🙂
Camille, yes, I forgot to add that proximity to a good library/library network is essential (which may not be the case for all).
Oh Camille, you can’t even compare the two! It’s not a reality show but a I guess a soap opera and it’s awesomely cheesy, crass and over the top! I highly recommend adding it to the queue. One of the players is even married to this crazy Bollywood actress, so there’s your brown spin on it.
camille, i agree with BIG – good trashy vs very bad trashy. the first two series were great, i thought, since they had different characters in them. after that, it was still pretty good, and the bollywood actress (laila rouass) is entertaining. it’s a very different side of british culture that is not so apparent from the usual british stuff we ar exposed to.
BIG – mile high is not as good as FW, but if you’re pretty bored, take a look at it. it is about flight attendant (i think that’s the final PC word)
As Camille said this works if you live near a great public library.
But the point of Netflix is that you can be a fat, lazy bastard and not have to leave your house to pick up a movie. This is especially great if your local Blockbuster’s smells like BO, which mine does. And you have access to so many great films from all over the world. I’m pretty impressed with the number of classic Hindi films they have available.
Also, with Netflix, you can rent Footballers’ Wives and no one will know your dirty little secret of watching trashy British shows or not if you allow your friends to see your queue.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The thing I hate most about Blockbuster is the lack of selection. How is it that at a sizeable Blockbuster (with no local competition) they don’t even carry Citizen Kane? A big wtf to that. I really do like using Netflix for the anonymity + gross laziness aspects, as well. I feel less embarrassed about someone judging my dubious trash-movie-taste (or confusing it for real-taste) when I never have to meet them, versus when I have to be face-to-face to them.
ak, I’m excited. I like “good trashy” 🙂
Re: 105
Personally, I prefer to have both going simultaneously.
Re: 114
Camille, Blockbuster also used to have a policy about not carrying movies which they deemed to be not good for you. And I’m not talking about porn, merely certain NC-17 or R-rated movies that they had issues with. I don’t know if this policy has changed, but that was one reason why they didn’t get my business.
I believe this is due to the fact that it was founded by a Mormon family.
BIG, my comment # 109.
I’m not down on Netflix – it’s convenient and cheap, and I have used it before. But I’m lucky that I live near a library and as such, a trip to the library for free DVDs is totally worth it, with the bonus of flirting with the cute librarians there. 😉
I think it’s also because their policy is not to stock things that are old. They are interested in “Blockbusters,” after all. I find porn on their shelves all the time, though, so perhaps their porn requirement has been relaxed? (or maybe they are encouraging self-love as an alternative to premarital sex?)
Reminds me of Dominoes 🙁
this, to me, is the key. that’s why i love the internet! also, yes, they have a great collection of very hard-to-find films, incl. murder mysteries, classics of all languages, and my beloved british TV. plus, the user reviews have saved me from making some suspect choices;)
Maybe the post should be renamed: SELF-Love in the Time of Technology?
Re: 118
Camille, are you referring to Tom Monaghan’s support of pro-life religious and political organizations? What with the pizza delivery boy being such a staple of classic porn…
The same could be said for the founder of Curves. You will NEVER see me join one of those. That guy is a nut, he believes 9/11 happened because we allow women to have abortions in America. He supports radical, violent pro-life groups.
Yes. I no longer participate in the 5-5-5 deal because of where he diverts his earnings/profits.
Re: 123
On the bright side, the Thomas More Law Center, the conservative Christian, not-for-profit law center funded by Monaghan, had their butts handed to them in the Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District case (the one in which the school district was pushing Intelligent Design, essentially Creationism in a new bottle, to be taught as science).
Thats something! Mixing technologies with emotions.
good good.