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This week, 6 years ago, you asked me to “court” you…
What can I say? It’s our fate, I’m yours!

Jason Mraz Lyrics
I’m yours Lyrics

Men who think that THIS is humorous and harmless, and worthy of a days worth of their pay. Women who think it will not harm their family to have their husbands playing these “harmless” video games where, in their alternate reality, they can pick up prostitutes and pay for three levels of service- handjob, fellatio, or cowgirl sex position.
Wise up, people. While some are out there thinking about how to make this crazy world a better place, it is sick and sad that so much time and money is being devoted to trash like this. I just have no respect for it. Zero. And I could give a crap about whether or not the entire game’s focus is this, or whether or not the players HAVE to partake in this to play this “amazing” game. It’s one thing to be legalistic, and a different thing all together to have absolutely no personal values beyond what other “buddies” are doing.
I will add that I’m not trying to sound as mean as this is coming off. I guess I just don’t get the value, if there is any, of something like this. And every once in a while this little mama has to get a wee bit for realz. But when I use the word “people” it is the generic, universal, rhetorical “people”, not a specific person. So don’t get your panties in a wedge thinking this is personal.
[/rant]

April 21st-27th is National Turn It Off Week, which includes screen time in any form (tv, computer, games, etc.)

Will we be able to do that? I’m not going to kid myself.

As a telecommuter, the computer is my job, so I would have to have a week of vacation saved up just to pull that off! To boot, Hubby and I love movies, we’re Netflix junkies, and we value our movie bonding time. When it comes to Lil’ E, I do the best that I can. As a work-at-home mother with an only child, “Miss Lorie’s Preschool” is a lifesaver sometimes, and an educational one, at that. I swear my kid will be reading by age 3 because of that Super Why show!

I’m not even sure exactly why any one would feel like they have to defend that choice, either. There are lots of studies ready to showcase the latest negative correlation between kids and tv, but I haven’t personally seen any that include active children of stay-at-home parents, who spend more time during their day in a combination of toy play/outdoor play, reading tons of books and listening to children’s music or NPR throughout the day as well. I also think that learning to play educational computer games will only help in preparing children to enter a modern world of technology and media. Maybe that’s a fairly typical approach from a Millennial generation parent (many of whom move far away from family, are prone to micromanage, etc- which is another post for another day!)

That said, I understand and struggle with the opposite arguments. I sometimes think, what if our economy crashes and our obese American children must ration food and learn to grow their own vegetables, etc? Will the average family be able to adapt and survive if a crisis like that happened? But as far as my own family is concerned, I’m not as worried about all that. I mean, we do teach our little guy to compost and garden, to enjoy nature and the outdoors, and, by example, how to live without new furniture; without a vehicle, using our own bodies as modes of transportation (walking, biking); doing what you feel comfortable with in helping build a more sustainable world.

When I lived in Florida, your house pretty much wasn’t one until it had a tv. Playgroup moms knew what you were talking about if you referenced Backyardigans, Dora, Lazy Town, etc etc. There were no sideways glances of judgment. It’s just the culture. Maybe cause it was too damn hot outside most of the time

Not so in the Pac NW, particularly on the east side of metro Portland. I have come across plenty more tv-less families than the latter. (All that Waldorf influence?) Who knows. And like I said, I get it.

I could go into some of the things I learned in college regarding media studies and mass communication theory, but who wants to read about all that? Suffice to say, learning the history of humanity and its relation to and fear of influences (from technology, globalization and new media) forever shifted the way I saw the latest trend either for or against it. I believe innovative minds will continue to evolve and inquisitive learners will continue to search, and those of us who wish to embrace the shifts and work with them as inevitable facets of modern (postmodern?) human life will do so, while those who do not are neither right nor wrong. Whatever floats your boat, right?

On a somewhat related note, I think the importance of reading is imperative, and our family recently signed up for the Every Family Reads program with the county library. Part of the program is pledging that you will read each day, visit the library as a family at least once per week, and also hold a family reading night once each week. Another facet to the program is bi-lingual literacy, which I’m very interested in as a family of mixed ethnicities. It’s purty kewl.

Well I better end this before I go following too many rabbit trails. I’d love to hear some thoughts from you parents, (or non-parents!), how you approach screen time and the health of your kiddo(s). Maybe some of you are doing certain things differently in honor of National Turn-It-Off Week and could share your ideas?

When a MacBook air commercial comes on, I could be in the worst stinkin mood and I will start boppin my head to Yael Naim’s “New Soul” because its just so gosh darn sweet and catchy!

Hubby spent a little of his birthday money on her CD, and I just fell in love with a few songs, the following one in particular.

Reflect and enjoy!

Far Far

(lost and found- this is the macbook air commercial- when the song from the above artist comes on, I start to smile and dance )

Well well well.

There certainly is a knitting craze (that has probably been all the rage for some time, but leave it to me to be the last to find out!). And I’m not the only one who thinks Portland in particular has a knitting fetish. First it was just watching these women knitting up a storm on the bus. Then it was passing all these incredibly posh knitting stores like this one and this one and this one and this one. The bug was starting to itch and now I see Fluffy Flowers creations with a sewing machine and recycled materials and I’m about to jump on the flow of the tide!

I’ve got a sneaky feeling that this little hobby would be a tad time consuming  (relative to the time available for a full-time working stay-at-home mom of a toddler?) and a tad expensive (relative to a full-time working stay-at-home mom of a toddler with about $50 to her name?)… so perhaps embarking on this little venture will have to wait. Seriously, though, check out those links and LOOK me in the eye and TELL me you don’t want a seat on that bandwagon? YEAH, that’s what I thought…

How cool is this!

Anything that has J.R. Tolkien, live music, food, all-ages welcome and canned goods entry fee is FINE BY ME!

I luuuuuuv Portland.

Just had to post the trailer for a movie Misty introduced me to last night-

This movie is just incredible, a modern musical of sorts based in Dublin, very moving.

Enjoy…

Ok, so yesterday our pastor Rick told us about this movie that just came out from the same guy who did “Supersize Me”. It’s called What Would Jesus Buy? (seriously, watch the trailer) and its a spoof with a tele-evangelist character named Reverend Billy and his church, The Church of Stop Shopping. He and his Stop Shopping Choir are out to warn the world of the coming Shopocolipse, by doing things like exorcizing a WalMart sign, singing special Christmas carols in malls with lyrics replaced by Stop Shopping messages, and praying that the boy who plays video games come to see the difference between the virtual world and reality.

This is not a “christian” movie or anything, and yet this guy can see that there is some obvious idiocy with buying butt loads of presents for a holiday that is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, who was perhaps even anti-materialistic, a Man who gave gifts of sacrifice and service and used his resources to help the least of these. This year we’ve decided we are not buying more than one or two gifts for each other and are sending family and friends cards, letters, and a cd of family photos to be “near them” during Christmas. It’s more than “Jesus is the Reason” and corny conservative church cliche’s- its about spending less money on material things, giving to the needy, and spending more time in worship and contemplation.

Again, I don’t want to sound cheesy here, but perhaps if you get a chance to check out this movie (I know its only in select theaters) or just spend some time this year considering why the hell we spend so much on gifts at Christmastime, we can start to make a difference in the way Americans celebrate this time of year.

Ok, I’ll leave you with song lyrics from the movie, which are just too funny:

Beatitudes of Buylessness

Blessed are the Consumers, for you shall be free from Living By Products…..

Blessed are you who stumble out of branded Main Streets, for you shall find lovers not downloaded and oceans not rising.

Blessed is the ordinary citizen who holds onto a patch of public commons, for you are the New World.

Blessed is the artist who is not corporate sponsored for you shall give birth to warm fronts of emotion and breakthroughs of Peace.

Blessed are you who confuse “Consumerism” with “Freedom,” for you shall be delighted to discover the difference.

Blessed are the advertisers and commercial celebrities, for you are waiting for the remarkable restfulness of honesty.

Blessed are city neighborhoods that people have flown from in fear, for your children shall return to illuminate the dark economy.

Blessed are the workers in the supermalls, for the town your employers’ killed shall come back to life!

Blessed is the breadwinner with out-sourced dreams who sits in the SUV stuck in a Christmas from Hell, this year a gift will set you free

Blessed are the young women in sweatshops, for the things you make will fly you like magic evening gowns to the City of Light

Blessed are you who disturb the customers, for you might be loving your neighbor.

____/”"”"”"”"”\____ <– hump. as in wednesday.

ok, enough of that.

Concert last night was vaaandervuuuul! I had only really heard some of the upbeat songs from Feist, but last night she plays a looong set (none of the 3,000 fans complained about that!) and some really incredibly smooth, soulful stuff filled the room. Hubby and I really enjoyed her artistic, random, quirky performances- I’m hoping to get some of her cd’s in my stocking this year!

On another note,

The Imago Book Group is doing Atonement this month. I’m finding the diversion from The Year of Magical Thinking, (my early Fall book- and a non-fiction grief themed book at that), a nice relief!

Check out this paragraph. I love books. Writers are so cool.

“Was being Cecilia just as vivid an affair as being Briony? Did her sister also have a real self concealed behind a breaking wave, and did she spend time thinking about it, with a finger held up to her face? Did everybody, including her father, Betty, Hardman? If the answer was yes, the the world, the social world, was unbearably complicated, with two billion voices, and everyone’s claim on life as intense, and everyone thinking they were unique, when no one was. One could drown in irrelevance. But if the answer was no, then Briony was surrounded by machines, intelligent and pleasant enough on the outside, but lacking the bright and private inside feeling she had. This was sinister and lonely, as well as unlikely. For, though it offended her sense of order, she knew it was overwhelmingly probable that everyone else had thoughts like hers. She knew this, but only in a rather arid way; she didn’t really feel it.”

The movie Atonement comes out shortly after book club meets, which is nice. I wish I could squeeze in Love in the Time of Cholera before I’m tempted to see the new movie of it, but that probably isn’t realistic with my schedule!

Feist is tonight, YAY!!! We’ve got a sitter!

I’m half excited about the concert, half excited about the venue! It’s not every day we have reason to go to the Arnold Schnitzer Concert Hall! Maybe this won’t be so exciting after several years as a Portlander, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ve been skipping around the house all morning!