A dark night in Aurora

I didn't come out of my hole to write about the horrific shooting of the past few days. There's enough being written in main-stream and social media, and our hearts weep for all those innocent victims. 

The incident, however, did bring to light bad parental behavior that is all too common these days: 

What the heck are parents thinking taking young children to a midnight movie that is rated PG-13? News reports indicate there were numerous young children under age 13 in the audience.

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, here's the definition of PG-13:


"PG-13 — Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under 13. A PG-13 rating is a sterner warning by the Rating Board to parents to determine whether their children under age 13 should view the motion picture, as some material might not be suited for them. A PG-13 motion picture may go beyond the PG rating in theme, violence, nudity, sensuality, language, adult activities or other elements, but does not reach the restricted R category. The theme of the motion picture by itself will not result in a rating greater than PG-13, although depictions of activities related to a mature theme may result in a restricted rating for the motion picture. Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating. More than brief nudity will require at least a PG-13 rating, but such nudity in a PG-13 rated motion picture generally will not be sexually oriented. There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence. A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context. The Rating Board nevertheless may rate such a motion picture PG-13 if, based on a special vote by a two-thirds majority, the Raters feel that most American parents would believe that a PG-13 rating is appropriate because of the context or manner in which the words are used or because the use of those words in the motion picture is inconspicuous."

So the parents are strongly cautioned about the content of the film, but they think their child can handle it. (Maybe, but most small children probably can't or shouldn't.)

This was a MIDNIGHT show on a week night.  Why weren't these kids in bed getting a good night's sleep?

Oh, Mom and Dad couldn't get a baby sitter and they really wanted to see this movie?  Then they should go see it another time when they CAN get a sitter. The priorities should be children first, movie second.

Even if this horrible tragedy had not occurred, one wonders what the effect the movie alone would have had on those children attending. Rating systems are in place so that parents can make good judgments about what their children are exposed to.  There are times when we can't keep the evil of life from entering their lives, but as parents we have a responsibility to protect their innocence as long as possible.  Taking young children to a PG-13 or R rated movie at midnight or any other time is a violation of parental responsibility.

Henri's Ennui

Not only bored, but he can't speak French either.  Have a great weekend!

Tuesday Titillation

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Sunday Stealing - Charmed Meme

1. My uncle once:
kept a diary with pictures of all the physical abuse his wife did to him

2. Never in my life:
have I climbed Mt. Everest

3. When I was five:
I walked 3 blocks alone to kindergarten and back home each day

4. High School was:
four years of teenage angst

5. I will never forget:
April, 2011

6. I once met:
Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul & Mary) at a local drive-in restaurant. She needed directions to a concert venue.

7. There’s this girl I know who:
who has coulrophobia

8. Once, at a bar:
a former college hot shot basketball player dumped an entire pitcher of beer on my chest, simply because he thought it was funny.  I, however, was not amused.

9. By noon, I’m usually:
hankering for a sandwich

10. Last night:
I cooked a pork roast with carrots and parsnips, delivered some to my Dad for his dinner, took him for a car ride and back to the nursing home, then watched a movie, 50/50 , with my spouse.

"Adam: A tumor?
Dr. Ross: Yes.
Adam: Me?
Dr. Ross: Yes.
Adam: That doesn't make any sense though. I mean... I don't smoke. I don't drink. I recycle."

11. If only I had:
more hours in the day and more days in the week

12. Next time I go to church:
will most likely be for a wedding or funeral

13. Jonathan Frid:
now just a dark shadow of his former self

14. What worries me most:

15. When I turn my head left, I see:
my left shoulder

16. When I turn my head right, I see:
my right shoulder

17. You know I’m lying when:
I'm prone or supine.

18. What I miss most about the 80s:

my two babies and shoulder pads

19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I’d be:
Katherina Minola

20. By this time next year:
we'll know if the Mayans were right

Monday Musings

How is it that I had not written a post in almost two months, yet gained two followers of this blog?

A meme that's better than no post at all

From Sunday Stealing last week:
1. Why is your favorite color your favorite?

Blue. It matches my eyes.

2. Do you prefer dogs or cats or do you just hate animals, and want to kill baby seals?
I prefer animal attraction. 

3. How much time do you spend on the computer?

January-May, it's about 10-14 hours per day.

4. Not including porn, what do you do on the computer?

January-May, it's mostly work. Other times it's email, reading news and blogs, shopping, writing, investing, and facebook stalking. Yet I still have a life.

5. Are you a clock watcher?

No, I have this great internal clock that wakes me every morning and gets me to all my appointments on time.

6. What do you/did you look for in a partner?

A penis and a sense of humor

7. What type of clothing do you prefer?

Something that covers 80% of my body. 

8. What is your favorite type of music? 
Almost every type.  Right now I'm listening to the B-52s on a PBS special.

9. Do you believe in the paranormal, Ghosts, ESP, levitation, spoon bending?
Only ESP, and I know exactly what you're thinking.

10. The most important question: Do you have a inie or outie belly button?

I have the prettier type.

11. What kind of car do you drive?

The one that will start on that particular day.

12. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or The Boys Are Back in Town?

There's no choice.  Girls just wanna have fun when the boys are back in town.

13. Camping or the Ritz?

A vacation must include a comfy bed, private shower, maid service, and a good restaurant.

14. What food are you craving RIGHT NOW . . . did you eat it?

It's the middle of the night and the dog's rawhide bone is looking mighty good.

15. The most thrilling place you've ever visited. Why?

The Acropolis in Athens.  As I strolled down the hill with my friend, we saw a man under a tree that, in the glimpse from the corner of my eye, I thought was twirling a white rope lasso.

Oops. I forgot I wasn't in the Wild West. It was actually a stream coming from his manhood. 

16. If you could slip into the skin of one public figure--celebrity, artist,--who would it be?

Dolly Parton

17. Look up from your computer. What do you see first?

web cam

18. Sum up your philosophy of life in one sentence. You can borrow it from someone else, if you'd like.

No regrets.
 (Yes, I know that was not a sentence.  It was a phrase, but it is now acceptable to use phrases instead of sentences as indicated by current editors of most publishing houses.)

19. Name the one thing you just don't understand about kids today.

Why can't they think of synonyms for the F word?

20. If you could steal one work of art from a museum or gallery, which would it be?
It's those beautifully detailed veins in the arms and those abs.  Do you think they would notice it sticking out from under my coat?

This and That

(I started this post almost a month ago, but at least I finally published it so you know I'm still alive.)

1.  This is my busiest time of year - especially the month of February.  Those of you who have followed me for a while know my posts get fewer and fewer during tax season, but I promise to be back on a regular basis sometime soon.

2.  Everyone around here is talking about this "new" singer Adele who won so many Grammy Awards the other night.  I've been a fan of her for years, and "Chasing Pavements" is still one of my favorites from her repertoire:



It's a shame that the death of Whitney Houston pushed Adele out of her well-deserved spotlight. No wonder she raised a finger in protest a few days later.

3.  And that begs a question: Why does the media go into overdrive when an entertainer with a very public drug problem leaves this world.  There is rarely day after day, week after week of coverage when an entertainer who lived a clean, decent, good life dies.  Personally I am sick of this elevation of troubled souls into hero status.  The media is always more interested in covering stories of those who are weak and have no self-restraint than those who value life and avoid self-destruction.

4.The winners of the four top acting Academy Awards were an interesting group:  two were over 60, one a plus-size minority, and an average looking French dude. It was refreshing to see that perhaps awards were finally being given for great performances of normal looking-people and not for plastic Barbies and Kens.

It's Faux Real

I've been thinking recently about how people today are embracing fake as the norm. 
We all know people with fake body parts:

Breasts -Nature didn't give that many women 38Ds
Hair - Oh, please. Everyone over 50 has grey hair. Not everyone has long thick hair. Some don't have any.
Teeth - Real teeth don't glow in the dark.

Eyelashes - Even the thickest natural lashes don't project 2 inches from the face

Nails - Real fingernails don't look like claws

Tans - Leather skin is only in fashion in Florida

Eyes - Cat eye contacts belong in cats, not humans

Generally they are found on fake people with fake smiles who are fake friends.

Houses have also become fake. Hardwood floors are now made of plastic.  So are fancy stair railings and fences. And Roman/Greek columns are now made of aluminum.  Shake and slate shingles are now fiberglass.  There's fake brick that needs no mortar. The homes are protected by fake security cameras. 

The houses are filled with people watching fake wrestling on television while surrounded by fake plants and fake flowers, fake Christmas trees, fake fireplaces, fake fur, fake diamonds, and fake orgasms.

Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake whole relationships. — Sharon Stone

Food is also becoming fake.  There's fake sugar, fake fat, fake cheese, fake soda pop.

I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut — is unnatural, almost immoral, a bane to good eating and good cooking. — Julia Child

Let's not forget fake i.d.s, fake designer items, fake tattoos, fake photos, fake checks, fake money.


Even our language is embracing this phenomena:

"It's like kind of  a big deal." 

"Like it's totally awesome." 

 

Yeah it's not awesome, just like it.

ABC Reporter Bill Weir came up with other excuses for use of the word "like."  (I couldn't embed it in this post so you'll need to follow this link.)  It's like a news report, but isn't real because it's full of fake punches in the face.

Yes indeed, we can even say that there is fake news reporting...unless you're one of those who think The Onion is real news.

My childhood was spent with real men and women with real bodies.  We lived in a real house with real wood floors and real flowers and ate real food. We spoke proper English.

But all that's like history now.