Matthew Daly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
matthewdaly) wrote2009-06-09 05:50 pm
matthewdaly) wrote2009-06-09 05:50 pm
The greatest generation
My cousin is graduating from high school pretty soon now. We couldn't be prouder, as you might expect. She's a popular, clever student-athlete, exactly the sort of person that I'll feel good about handing the reins of power to in thirty years. She's headed off to Niagara University in the fall, which is renowned for special education training and is far enough away without being too far.
I have a notion about a graduation gift for her, which is largely formed by the fact that the only gifts that had any sort of penetration into my memory were reference works. My favorite aunt gave me a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, my favorite uncle gave me The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary, and someone I don't recall (perhaps our family lawyer? Why were none of these books inscribed?) gave me The Concord Desk Encyclopedia. That was over twenty years and three major moves ago, but these books are still on my shelf. Brewer's is a complete treat, especially as I would never have heard of it had it not been given to me.
So, I'd like to pass that along to the next generation, except that it's a little hard to figure which reference works maintain their relevance in the Internet Age. As much fun as encyclopedias are, I suspect that they are still anachronistic. Brewer's is a good candidate, of course, but it's a bit esoteric. I'm leaning towards The Chicago Manual of Style as being something that is important but still nice to have in hardcopy. Or maybe a historical atlas. What do you think?
Another thing that has been flitting through my mind is a mix tape of college dance party music as seen from the long view. When I was in college, we danced to a combination of modern music and the "classics" like Shout and Time Warp and Keep Your Hands to Yourself. I don't want to advance the argument that our music is better than their music, but there is always room for the best music of every era and a properly equipped student should reject classic rock from a position of aesthetics rather than ignorance. Again, what did you dance to in college that you wouldn't be ashamed to recommend to a modern teenager?
I have a notion about a graduation gift for her, which is largely formed by the fact that the only gifts that had any sort of penetration into my memory were reference works. My favorite aunt gave me a copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, my favorite uncle gave me The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary, and someone I don't recall (perhaps our family lawyer? Why were none of these books inscribed?) gave me The Concord Desk Encyclopedia. That was over twenty years and three major moves ago, but these books are still on my shelf. Brewer's is a complete treat, especially as I would never have heard of it had it not been given to me.
So, I'd like to pass that along to the next generation, except that it's a little hard to figure which reference works maintain their relevance in the Internet Age. As much fun as encyclopedias are, I suspect that they are still anachronistic. Brewer's is a good candidate, of course, but it's a bit esoteric. I'm leaning towards The Chicago Manual of Style as being something that is important but still nice to have in hardcopy. Or maybe a historical atlas. What do you think?
Another thing that has been flitting through my mind is a mix tape of college dance party music as seen from the long view. When I was in college, we danced to a combination of modern music and the "classics" like Shout and Time Warp and Keep Your Hands to Yourself. I don't want to advance the argument that our music is better than their music, but there is always room for the best music of every era and a properly equipped student should reject classic rock from a position of aesthetics rather than ignorance. Again, what did you dance to in college that you wouldn't be ashamed to recommend to a modern teenager?