In Your Face!

My daughter was playing with 6 small sea shells she had gotten from school on our coffee table. She was making them spin on the surface of the table. After a bit, she asked me if I thought she could make them all spin at once. Normally, I'd play along and let her prove me wrong but I didn't think it was worth her effort so I told her no. She tried a few times unsuccessfully. I told her that the shells didn't spin long enough for her to get them all going. She then scooped them all together, put her hand on them all, and gave them all a twist . . . spinning them all at once.

Huh. I guess I'm stupid.

Flip-flop, flip-flop, BANG!

I hate flip-flops. I hate the name flip-flops. I hate the sound they make. They aren't particularly attractive. They belong on a beach or a backyard . . . not at work! They particularly don't belong on men. They look and sound, and I'm sorry, gay. One of the top three worst fashion, if you want to call it that, mistakes of all time. The others? Crop tops. Here's a case, though, where all by itself isn't so bad. It just that only so many females look good wearing them . . . and they aren't the ones wearing them. Next, low, low cut jeans. First, refer to the above comment. Same here. Even more so. Second, I don't need to see anyone's entire butt crack. I don't find it sexy or appealing. Then, flip-flops. The last would be those stupid looking over-sized sunglasses that make you look like a bug when wearing them. The likes of which Paris Hilton, and others, wear. My wife was offered some deal on a designer pair . . . I wouldn't let her get them. Stupid looking.

Flip-flops are, at best, girls-wear for the backyard or beach.

Happy Daddy's Day To Me!

I'm a son, a brother, a cousin, a husband, a brother on law, a son in law, and an uncle. But it wasn't until Jamie came along I became a daddy. And with all due respect to my relation to the other people in my life, being a daddy is the best.

Speaking of summer vacation . . .

My daughter asks me the other day, "Daddy, when are you off for summer?" Feeling suddenly depressed I had to explain to the young one that daddy didn't get the summer off like kids in school do. She then remarked, "Will I have to do that when I grow up?" rather astounded. Feeling even more depressed, I revealed to her that yes, when she gets older and obtains a career, she'll have to work all the time. Unless she becomes a teacher. Then she could have off when the kids do. You may well guess what she responded with . . . "I wanna be a teacher, then."

I wish I had thought of that.

Summer time with the child

An interesting dual perspective goes on this time of year. The kids can't wait for school to end and summer vacation to start, and we parents are . . . well, perhaps a tad less enthusiastic about the coming months. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my daughter as does my wife. But it now becomes an everyday challenge to keep her occupied. Recalling my youth (insert tired and heard before joke here) I lived in a neighborhood with roughly 14 kids. All living next to me and in a standard neighborhood . . . no alleys. There was simply no issue for my mom, or anyone else's, in terms of finding things for us kids to do. I also had an older brother and sister. Though at a certain age, sis started doing her own thing with her own friends. Jamie is an only child, we live in a neighborhood with an alley, and her closest friend is her older cousin up the block 8 houses. The days can be challenging for Jackie, my wife. But, she handles it well. First is simply her dedication as a mom. She takes the summers off from work (nice to have that ability) to be with Jamie. Second, she's all about routine. Morning routine, afternoon routine . . . Third, Jamie's at an age where she can help out more so chores are coming in to play. Fourth, activities. Jamie is signed up for various things with the Girl Scouts, the library, the Zoo, the Gardens . . . and whatever else. Not too much. Just a day here and there to help pass the time. Five, play dates. I love play dates. Doesn't matter if they're here or there. A couple or a few kids playing together can really pass the day. It's a great way to entertain while getting your own things done.

Anyway, summer's here. Enjoy your time with your kids!

Perhaps another time . . .

There are a few sites that apparently have pictures of Nicolette Sheridon (Desperate Housewives) and Sharon Stone both topless. My reaction to both headlines (I haven't seen the pictures) was the same for both.

Gross.

Jessica and the larger picture

I like Jessica McBride. I never met her or talked to her, but with her blog, columns, and now defunct radio show she came across as a passioned, no-nonsense woman who not afraid to speak her mind and intelligent enough to do so. I didn't listen to her radio show much. I simply couldn't. I wish there would have been regular podcasts available, but there weren't. When I did tune in, I liked her show. No, she's no Belling or Diebert. There's a part of radio hosting one either has or doesn't has . . . have, and she really didn't have it. But, she was no worse than some of the hacks on NPR. Joel McNally can't for the life of himself string words together in any consistent manner to form cohesive sentances. It drives me nuts to listen to him. Now, as to why Jessica got the boot . . . who cares? It's a radio thing. It happens. To be honest, I'm looking forward to Dennis Miller as I like him a lot. But, there are those in the blog world that have taken up the cause of being Jessica's personal boil. In fact, there are several cases in which it seems the sole purpose of a blog is to be the blogthorn in another's person's side. I don't get it. What's more, while the bashing and name calling is plentiful, there lacks any real substance. No conterpoint to the point that's being trashed. I think it takes a certain amount of guts to lay yourself out there for all to comment. Certainly, with many, it an opportunity to discuss an issue, present your side, and agree to disagree. For others, it becomes an attack. An attack on intelligence and on character. Again, often with no counter point to the issue.

I don't visit those blogs very often.

MTV Movie Awards

There was a time when this show was quite an event . . . for me. I'm sure from their own perspective it still is, but it sure has lost some luster over the years. What did they actually give out . . . 5 awards? In two hours? OK, I'm kidding, but not much. First, they didn't have the usual parady open they normally do. It's been the best part of the show over the years. Not this time. My guess is that it was partially due to the lack of talent available to do the skits in Sarah Silverman, an abrasive, over hyped, and not very funny comediane. Her one plus is that she'll take shots at just about anyone. That night, she took a shot a Paris Hilton. One that got a huge applause from the gallery. It did my heart good. Especially when they cut to Paris (apparently a bit of a surprise show) and she was none too happy about the joke and response. Cry me a river. Anyway, the show was a huge bore-fest for the most part. Even in the area of "babes", there's not much to talk about. What I did find curious, though, was Amy Winehouse's performance. I guess what I like is that she's not a clone of the current crop of pop star skank . . . and she's definately not a babe. What I don't like is that while I can't say I like her music, she's sucks doing it. I'm no fan of Bjork. But when she was on Saturday Night Live a few weeks ago, I found her performance rather compelling. Not so with Amy. Thank technology for DVR's. I could fastforward my way through. Other notables from the evening: did anyone understand what Jack Nicholsen was talking about? The Bruce Willis, Justin Long skit also made no sense. Cameron Diaz thinks way too much of herself. Rhiannon and Posh both need to get the hair out of their eyes. Who thinks this looks good? No Lindsay. No Britney. Has Will Ferrell diminished himself to starring in the world's dumbest movies? Over all, apretty disappointing show.