Thinking Out Loud
I just listened to the hottest new pop singer, who happens to have the number one album out this week, and the number one and number two song on the Billboard Top 200 for the week. With stats like that you would think the music would be phenomenal. No. It is not. In fact, you know what it sounded like to me? It sounded like Caligula in the form of a twenty something female singer. It sounded like the end of morality. It sounded like maybe, just maybe the terrorists have won, because we have gone so far in the opposite direction of their right wing religious extremest ways that we now allow an album that is nothing but musical pornography, filled with the foulest of language and sexual context typically found in gentleman’s magazines to be recorded and sold to children as legitimate music.
OK, maybe I have gone too far. Maybe it isn’t the marker for the beginning of the end of civilization. It has to be close though. What scares me, is this is the digital age and parents who used to be able to look at the CD cover and see a sticker warning them that this contains lyrics they would not approve of no longer know what their kids are listening to. These songs set records for highest digital downloads in a week. It seems too easy to let kids download an album that is on the top of the pop charts, with a little Brittany-esque girls face on the cover of the album. Click, it is downloaded, click, it is loaded onto the Ipod, and click, it is played repeatedly by kids all over the country without parents even having a clue as to what evil, vile, perverted words and ideas are downloading into their kid’s brains.
Mommy can I downlaod this album?
Want to hear it for yourself, you can listen to it for free at Grooveshark.com Just search for Ke$ha and her songs come up. See how long your stomach can take it, I dare you.
Oh man, have I gotten old. I remember the older generation saying the same things to the music I liked when I was younger. All kids go through the same things, have the same feelings and desires when they are teens and early 20’s. There had always been limits on how songs portrayed that stage in our lives though. Artists have always tried to push the envelope on that line, but at what point do we just say, “That is just too far. We refuse to go this far beyond our moral values as a society”? Or, we can just ignore it. I am sure YOUR kids and their friends don’t listen to this kind of music…
Today’s Tweets
- Both kids at home, just need Linh home and the week end can begin! #
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Lowes Build and Grow continues
This past week end T and I went to Lowes again to build a new toy. This week we built a garage for the #48 Lowes car. It also came with the #48 car so he would have one to park in the garage. T was very excited to go this week. We had other things to do this week and tried to persuade him to miss this week, but he just kept talking about the race car. So, off to Lowes he and I went. We had to rush it a bit to make it to our next stop, but that was not a problem. I had T put the sticker on the car to make it the race car, and he was pretty much done. he just wanted to play with the car, and left me to the job of assembling the garage. I tried to get him to help, but the few hits he attempted with the hammer were a little less than enthusiastic. I wasn’t about to do any forcing, so I just finished the project and we were on our way. Here is what it looks like:
#48 car and garage from Lowes
Lowes #48 car and garage
We Elfed Ourselves
You all know you want to do it too. Go ahead and put your link in the comments if you do so I can go check them out!
Enjoy our awesome dance moves!
Even Elmo Needs to Eat
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
Have a safe, fun and HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Mario and Luigi!
Photos courtesy of Stylized Portraiture.
Things You Don’t Say to Your Wife Song
I just thought that during trying times it might be god to have a little chuckle, and with all great humor there is so much truth behind it. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Halloween!
Touch a Truck Day
Two posts in one day, you know we have been having fun today. Our city area sponsored a “Touch a Truck” day for the kids to come out and see all the coolest vehicles from around town. We went last year and T loved it. Q was still a tiny baby and was stroller bound the whole time, so she had a much better time this year. She was just thrilled to be out of the house on an adventure. A whole parking lot filled with stuff to run around was just what she had hoped for.
T was very interested in the vehicles this year. The winners for capturing his attention were: (I think I heard a drum roll.)
1. Ambulance (Also a winner last year.)
2. Dump truck
3. Tow Truck
4. Bomb Squad Robot
5. Sewer dept.’s sewer robot (Used for looking for broken pipes. Had a camera so he could see himself on the monitor. Small, but very cool.
6. Fire truck
7. Sheriffs dept.’s van.
Q on the other hand liked the city bus the best. She kept wanting to walk over to it. We let her go in twice and pretend ride it. She also liked the postal carriers truck and the ambulance. Any vehicle she can run around in I guess was good for her.
Here are some pictures of their adventure.
Back of the postal carrier truck.
Fire Truck
T driving the Tow Truck
It was a great afternoon, and everyone went home worn out from all the exploring.
Build and Grow Workshop - October
Time once again for the build and grow update. Twice a month Lowes presents a Build and Grow Workshop for kids. T loves to go and loves the projects. Today’s project was a Frankenstring Magic Trick. (Pull the string out one side and it is red. Pull it out the other side and it is green. WOW, That IS magic! )
Finished Frankenstring Magic Trick
Going to these projects is a lot of fun for both of us. T is always excited about getting a new toy, and I get to spend that elusive quality time helping him learn to swing a hammer. Each week he gets a little better at hammering in the nails. sometimes he hammers longer, sometimes he just wants to start them and passes the heavy hammering on to me. For example:
Easy to follow instructions
T and I follow the simple instructions. They have nice pictures as well to make it even easier to follow.
T hammers just as much as he can until he notices the nail no longer going in any further. At that point he hands me the hammer and I get to wail away on it until it is set. T does final detail work with stickers and we are on our way home to show mommy our new toy. How much cooler can it be.
Hammer Away!
Once again, our thanks to Lowes for putting on the Build and Grow Workshops each month. If you would like to attend one with your child, check out lowes.com, go to How To tab and select build and grow. As far as I know they are always free. Just sign up, print out the parent permission slip and show up.
Lowe’s Build and Grow Workshop II
We went to our second build and grow workshop today. The project today was a ball toss game. T loves to go, and told me that this was the best time he has ever had at Lowes. I thought the fire truck might have been the better of the two, but apparently a game that comes with two free balls beats a fire truck in the four year old world. The whole project had six nails, so it only took us a few minutes to complete it. T enjoys hammering in small doses. He hammers a few times, looks concerned and then hands me the hammer. I hammer it in the rest of the way and he tries the next nail. After the nails were all in, T then felt the need to spend a few minutes testing out the balls, and threw them at the game. This led to a few minutes of chasing the balls across the floor of Lowes. All good fun though. He received another Build and Grow patch to sew on his shop apron.
Assembling the ball toss game
Ready to Play