Posted on November 9, 2008
Phew. I made it another year. Of what? You ask. Life.
And here is where I am at.
Birthday’s were WAY more exciting when I actually wanted tangible recognition of age. This is no longer the case. Now that I have officially reached so called “adulthood” (as if) it is WAY more exciting for me to enjoy the new experiences of my daughter.
Therefore:
We spent my birthday at Playhouse Disney.
John was able to get FREE tickets through work, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone. But free is free, and Chloe LOVES the Little Einsteins with a fiery passion.
Much to our surprise, there are many OTHER characters in the Playhouse Disney line up. We don’t watch live TV. The only TV show Chloe watches is the Little Einsteins because we record it. She has a couple of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofey, and Tigger stuffed toys. But, other than being at a friend’s house when it was on, has NEVER seen the shows. I think it is possible we saw a Winnie the Pooh show at Mama and Papa’s house, and I am positive she has NO IDEA who Hanny Manny is. So, she was overjoyed to see the Little Einsteins characters, but was a little confused by the rest. When Pooh came on, she said, “Wook, Mommy, a bear!”
All in all, she loved it because it had dancing, pretty lights, and lots and lots of music. But, I am trying to decide how I feel about that fact she didn’t recognize the other characters. Part of me feels a sense of pride because she has latched on to a show that I feel has actual merit. The other part of me, again, worries that she is missing out on a very important level of pop culture.
Seth loves Diego. I think it is safe to say that Chloe has never seen a Diego show. Jacob is infatuated with Mickey Mouse and Goofey. Again, I don’t think that Chloe has ever seen a Mickey Mouse show from start to finish. Julia wants to BE Minnie Mouse, and WAS for Halloween. Chloe decided to be a pirate.
It amazes me, still, how different our children’s lives can be depending on what we choose to show them on television.
I am not going to say Chloe doesn’t watch TV. Because, that would be a bold faced LIE! But, she watches movies. We have an extensive selection of Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar movies. She has probably seen movies that most children her age have never seen! (Cough: Incredibles, one of John and my ALL TIME FAVORITES)
Therefore, she can’t sing the title song to Mickey’s Clubhouse, but she can sing along with Ariel.
And, she was beside herself to see the Einstein’s Live! All the other kids where like: “Look, its MICKEY MOUSE!” Chloe was like, “Wook, Leo! Mommy, Wook ANNIE, Mommy wook QUINCY! Mommy, wook JUNE!” Then Rocket appeared on stage and I flashed back to when I saw Micheal Jackson for the first time. Yeah, it was that dramatic.
So, no. I didn’t celebrate me on my birthday. What I did was WAY better.
Posted on September 11, 2008
I love Tyra Banks. I love her because she is a STRONG female who is WAY more than just a pretty face. I love her because she came from humble beginnings but made something of herself. And she took it to more levels than just a pretty picture. I love that she puts herself out there every week on her talk show (which, admittedly, I do not watch but have read reviews of) and on America’s Next Top Model. I love that she gives EVERYONE a chance, but when it comes down to selecting who is going to get cut, its all about attitude, motivation, and your final product. I love that she often tells models who are obviously too thin to gain wait, models that would be considered “full figured” that they are beautiful (and then admits that she is also “boodylicious” which I appreciate since I got some junk!), and that those that are healthy, are called out as healthy. I love that she can be strange, goofy, honest, pretty, smart, and professional all at the same time. And I love that they continue to come up with amazing photo shoots, dramatic poses, and bizarre challenges every season.
And, just to justify myself a little bit more, I have learned a lot about the modeling industry from this show. Now, admittedly I do not now or have ever wanted to be a model. But, for in terms of my half life, its very useful information to have. Although, at this point a lot of the information is redundant, so I am not sure how many more seasons this will hold my attention.
Just to brag on my girl Tyra a bit more, last year a “plus sized” model won the competition, and this year they have a transgender model in the running. (Although, I don’t think Isis is going to last long. She had an awesome picture last week, but this week she just looked odd.) If I had to predict this early in the game, I would say the awkward French girl is gonna walk away with this thing. But, it’s hard to say what the pressures of the contest will do.
(Don’t you worry, I am also following Project Runway. I just haven’t seen anything this season that has blown me away. I can’t wait, however, for them to cut “Suede” who keeps talking about himself in the third person. That’s just obnoxious. And I wasn’t heartbroken that “perma-tan dude’” Blane got cut. His neon colors were starting to hurt my eyes!)
Oh, and Fringe was awesome but predictable.
Stay tuned for my other keen assessments of this year’s fall line up!
Posted on August 22, 2008
My latest obsession is the TV show “The Wire” from Showtime. We, of course, don’t get showtime, so I have been watching all the DVD’s from Netflix.
I gotta say, this whole drug dealing business is starting to make sense to me (hence, my concern.) The first season was impressive, but the third season is totally off the hook! (They still say that right, “off the hook”? I am pretty sure it means: “really really cool.”) The third season is about one of the drug dealers trying to legitimize himself and his partner by investing in real estate. I have to admit, as evil as this man was (ok, yeah, he killed people, and when he was too high up to kill people, he had other people kill people) I felt for him. He was just a business man who was constantly getting screwed by a corrupt system.
Of course, my favorite character is Omar, who happens to be a gay drug dealer. His only racket is to screw (both literally and figuratively) the other drug dealers. In other words, he robs them. He has a very specific code of ethics, so every now and then he has a “crisis of faith” and has to rethink his life. When he loves, he loves unconditionally, and that’s something that you have to respect. (And ya, he had to kill his last lover. But that was ’cause the guy knew too much, and really, what’r'ya’gonna do?)
This show is all about point of view. Each character has their own agenda, their own ideas on right and wrong, and their own understanding of good and evil. The drug dealers’ code is more straight forward and adhered to than the cops, probably because straying from their honor system is literally a life and death choice. And the politicians are the ultimate evil, because they don’t really care what’s happening, they mostly just want to “look good” which is a terrible way to lead. (Hmmm….)
I told John, “I am pretty impressed with the work ethic and the business saavy of these drug dealers!”
He says, “Tiff, you realize that it’s not really like that, right?”
Shiiiiit, what does he know? He don’t know what life is really like on da streets! I’m down with it now. If this whole teaching thing doesn’t work out, I think I could be a “soldier.” (Maybe they could call me, “bad ass teacha,” Or “Mommy with tude”? I don’t know, I’ve never been good at coming up with gangster names.)
Yo, holla! (which, if I am reading the context right, means: “talk to you later.”)
Posted on July 30, 2008
Watching “So you think you can dance” tonight made me want to cry. Not in a sad, feeling sorry for myself kind of way. But, in the appreciative, that “FUCKING GAVE ME CHILLS!” kind of way. The dancers this season have ramped up the level of difficulty so HIGH, its like watching a professional dance performance. There are only six left, but they are all so good, it makes it really hard to vote. I love Twitch, for his comedic stylings, but Chelsie rocks EVERY SINGLE DANCE! Katee was the girl that they weren’t sure they wanted on the show, and then decided against better judgment to add her, and she is AMAZING! Joshua is the hip hop guy with absolutely NO classical training who is doing passe double’s and waltz’s as if they were easy. Mark has this bizarre, Danny Elfman quality to his dancing, which intrigues me. Courtney is a short (which in this industry tends to be rare) but strong dancer.
To any of you out there who aren’t watching the show, you don’t know what you are missing. Even if you don’t enjoy dance, this has got to be one of the BEST reality shows on. I think it’s better than American Idol, and that’s saying a lot. This show is all about skill, versatility, and entertainment. And it fails to disappoint.
PS. I swear, nobody is paying me for this review. However, if you want to, I could use the money. I am going Italy, after all. That shit ain’t cheap!
Posted on July 16, 2008
I felt the need to educate all you other white suburbanites out there. “Buck” is apparently good, like “hot” or “awesome.” The official definition is when internal artistry meets external expression, and I think it is related to being a hardcore dancer. Use: “That hip hop routine was so buck!” (They keep using it on “So You Think You Can Dance.”) Now, use it three times in a sentence tomorrow to truly make the word your own.
Posted on June 25, 2008
I am really impressed with all of the dancer’s in this season’s So You Think You Can Dance. THEY ARE ALL GOOD. I had a really hard time even trying to pick who is going to end up in the final three. I’m not even going to vote tonight. I still like Twitch, but there were others who were just as good. I do have to say that this season seems to have a lot more dancing and fewer “tricks.” I wonder if that’s just because they don’t have any gymnasts in the bunch?
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