Re: Games for 1-2 year old child. Recommendations wanted.
On Mon, 6 Oct 2003, Pigeon wrote:
> When I were a lad my parents would only let me watch Play School or
> the test card, then later let me watch the other children's programmes
> that came between Play School and the news. It was quite an
> achievement to get them to let me watch Doctor Who. These programmes
> were all on BBC1, so no adverts. I wasn't allowed to watch the
> commercial ITV channel, and only glimpsed the occasional advert at a
> friend's house. The only thing I regret about this is the amount of
> Doctor Who I missed.
>
I grew up in England too and as I child I was so jealous of my American
cousins. In the early '80s in a certain town near Pittsburgh you could
watch Scooby-Doo three times a day if you planned your TV schedule
appropriately. And what did we have? Ok Dangermouse was good. But those
weird Czechoslavakian abstract expressionist cartoons? I still cringe when
I hear the words "Film Board of Canada." Rolf Harris's Cartoon Time was a
weekly oasis but during the weekdays we patiently endured Jackanory and
John Cravens' fricking Newsround for a brief sweet glimpse of Space
Sentinels or Hong Kong Phooey. My contemporaries and I hated it. My
parents didn't mind Dr. Who but at that age I wanted cartoons dammit and I
would have accepted any amount of corporate brainwashing to get them.
Of course I am a better man for it now. And in writing this I have gotten
deeply nostalgic for the Magic Roundabout (which would melt the brains of
Pokemon-addled American children.) but I would want a regime a little less
severe than the BBC for my Shailaja. A few ads here and there are ok, its
the relentless barrage I take exception too.
> The television regulating authorities ought to legislate that the PDC
> code information should contain a flag to indicate whether the current
> material being transmitted is programme content, advertising or
> trailers. This could then be decoded by the receiving apparatus to
> mute the sound and blank the screen during adverts. Broadcasters would
> be fined $100,000 per frame with a wrong flag. The advertisers would
> hate it, but fsck 'em. The viewers hate the adverts, and we're in the
> majority, by a long long way.
>
That would never fly over here where even the ostensibly "public"
broadcasting service is slipping in ads. Luckily thanks to technology it
may not matter. God bless Tivo and Netflix.
--
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar@debian.org>
La Salle Debain - http://www.braincells.com/debian/
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