Thursday, June 11, 2015

Ellen Degeneres: Seriously...I'm Kidding



We have seen her funny wits on TV - but can she write a book? Will it merely be good entertainment for a few hours with some good laughs? Or will she surprise you with something you start thinking about after having read it?

You are entertained with some good laughs – loud ones that will make the other train passengers wonder what it is that you are currently reading. A lot of people dislike Ellen Degeneres as being “to much”, I read out loud one passage from the book for one of my friends:


When I was growing up, you couldn’t take your phone anywhere because it was tethered to the wall in the kitchen. If you were on the phone, you were only on the phone because there was nothing else you could do except maybe flip through an old cookbook or riffle through a junk drawer full of pennies. You couldn’t even bend down to tie you shoe or you’d get choked by six inch of phone cord.


My friend was surprised and then she started laughing. She has browsed through the book and like the pages where Ellen are being SERIOUS. 

For a couple of years I have been a bit fed up with mobile phones – yes I actually have two: my work one and my private one – but since they become smart phones they really changed our way to interact with others. Bought my first mobile 18 years ago, and it was top modern as it was one of the first models you could text another mobile phone.

People share way too much information when talking on the mobile. For about a year, a lady was on the same bus as me on the way to my job, and I know EVERYTHING about her dysfunctional family. Brother having spent time in jail, sister always begging for money as money is spend on alcohol and not on rent. Seriously 20 minutes every day you were a fly on the wall in her life.

Now I miss the time where you were not available 24/7 or could check latest news on the phone – you need time to relax and just be you – and if you are having a coffee with a friend: try putting your phone away for just 5 minutes: it won’t kill you.

Ellen is using her funny personality to make us relax while reading and in between, she touches briefly what seems to be old virtues from a decade ago and is actually common behavior as it ought to be. Be on time if you are meeting/visiting friends. Do not just re-gift presents, but consider whom you are about to give a present (let it reflect their personality or wishes). Think about the environment – consider those small initiatives you can implement in your daily life.

A light read that will trigger your laughing muscles but also make to think a little about how we ought to behave towards ourselves, others and the environment.

1 comment:

Karen Oliver said...

Great post Anne and very very true about mobile phones. Facebook is another where people overshare. I have read Ellen Degeneres before and really enjoyed her wit. She writes a great book and I will be sure to look this one up.