No one is unique anymore

The fashion industry stole my look.

"The Newly Uptight"

Bitches!

The accompanying copy is somewhat interesting. I've never considered myself uptight or bourgeois, I just happen to love the collection of vintage 50s and 60s dresses and skirts in my closet. I spent about 2 decades collecting them.

From the article:

Some of Seventh Avenue’s most influential tastemakers are invoking in their latest collections the proprieties, the seamless appearances and the tony aspirations of midcentury Middle America. They are, in short, going bourgeois to the core.

Puke. I hate the fashion industry. Of course, this trend won't reach my part of the country for about a decade, so I guess I'm cool.

I suppose the coin slot pants are no more?

The power of advertising

I knew our little blissful world of children's television sans commercials wouldn't last for ever (but thank you, Noggin, for making that a reality for so many years) - and I will be the first to admit that I ushered in the era of, "Mamma, maybe I will have that!" by letting O watch a few Spongebob episodes here and there...

So, last night, O declares, "Mamma, I like Chuck E. Cheese!" (a little background - we do not have a CEC here in town, thankfully, but there is one in the "big city" down the Interstate a ways. I have never mentioned CEC to O and he's never been to one). My guess is that he saw a commercial for it on Nickelodeon, or one of the kids at his daycare has been there and raved about it recently over a project at the craft table). So I ask O, "Oh really? What is Chuck E. Cheese?" His response was so charming: "It's a fun place with games and food and tables and presents...and you can have a party there!" Uh huh, I think that's the commercial narrative to a T. Very cute of him, but I have no plans to book a birthday party there anytime soon.

The first few times O watched a program with commercials, he was quite offended that someone would interrupt his show with these short, loud and visually mesmerizing things. The he noticed the sugar-laden cereal, race tracks, flying space guys and Sowder Rangers (his term for Power Rangers - ugh) on the screen in front of him and started to change his tune. I think I'm going to start recording Spongebob and Scooby Doo (his two new faves) and put them on DVDs for him without those darn ads!

Good Friday

It's Friday. I worked my ass off all morning on my Women In Media class putting together a stellar set of readings - I hope anyway. Came home at lunch, hit the library for kid-entertainment so we won't go stir crazy during the frigid below-zero weekend (I will admit right here the thrill and victory I felt when I looked through the DVDs and actually found Meet the Robinsons). O's been wanting to see if for weeks now and it's always checked out (and I'm too cheap to rent it). I also picked up the newest Caldecott winner, The Invention of Hugo Cabret - holy cow! The drawings are amazing and the book is about 500 pages long! I'll see how far we get before I have to return it to the library.

Then I was off to the grocery store - always good to avoid the Friday afternoon or Saturday morning rush - and anytime I can go without a three-and-a-half-year-old, I snap up that opportunity. Came home, put everything away. Made sure M was doing okay (he had knee surgery Wednesday - 5th scope - ouch!). He's good, but his knee looks totally puffy, lumpy and yellow. Note to self: O will not be a high jumper, or play catcher on a baseball team. Those activities will ruin your joints for life.

Just made "healthy" rice crispie-ish treats. Not sure there is such a thing. The marshmallows alone have 1000 calories. O can eat them. He's all brand new and doesn't seem to be slowed down by such things as too many calories or sugar comas.

I've got my iPod Touch going - currently Frank Black "(Do What You Want) Gyaneshwar" and now INXS "Don't Change. All in all a good Friday. Now to go get the kid. It was Hat Day at daycare today. Someone always comes in a cowboy hat. O wore his Jacks babseball cap. Cute cute.

The low tonight with the wind chill is supposed to be 37 degrees BELOW zero. Super!

Cajun Style

I thought I would feel calmer about the whole Hillary wins New Hampshire thing two days post-shock, but I am still very unsettled. I have that feeling that I know many of us had when they called the race for Shrub after insisting Gore had won Florida. Not good - especially when it's a Democrat causing those waves of dread and negative anticipation. I've been revising and revising what I wanted to say about all of this, and I'm still not sure how to put it together in a way that makes sense and doesn't just sound like rambling. A few things, I guess:

I do not like the people with whom Hillary Clinton has surrounded herself. It's like 1992 all over again. We do not need that. Mark Penn makes my skin crawl.

The fact that she "found her voice" in New Hampshire - excuse me while I vomit - is, well, stupid. If she hadn't found her voice before NH, then there's something wrong with her.

I don't think it's a good sign that my first thought when I saw her "emotional moment" before the NH primary was, "Well, they must have planted the woman who asked her that question and the whole thing was staged." I mean, seriously - I am a woman, a feminist, but this is what Clinton does to me.

And don't even get me started on Gloria Steinem's Op/Ed in the NYTs that was essentially a "you are either with us or against us!" rant about women supporting Obama over Clinton. That really pissed me off. You are wrong, Steinem - so wrong. This isn't about the hegemonic order giving a black man a pass and more hard luck credit over a woman. Yes, I would love to have a woman as president, but I do not think Hillary Clinton is the right PERSON to be president.

And Maurenn Dowd, who I am not usually a fan of, hit the nail on the head in her Op/Ed:

There was a poignancy about the moment, seeing Hillary crack with exhaustion from decades of yearning to be the principal rather than the plus-one. But there was a whiff of Nixonian self-pity about her choking up. What was moving her so deeply was her recognition that the country was failing to grasp how much it needs her. In a weirdly narcissistic way, she was crying for us. But it was grimly typical of her that what finally made her break down was the prospect of losing.

Bill's fairy tale crack was really uncalled for - and Hillary's quip, “I just don’t want to see us fall backwards,” was so out of line - I really wanted to smack both of them. If any of the Dem candidates will make us fall backwards - Hillary's the one to do it. The negativity that poured from her campaign in NH was appalling, and yet typical of a Clinton approach at the same time. It's like they threw everything they could at Obama and hoped some of it would stick. Apparently, some of it worked with people. I'm guessing women over 45 who didn't like to see their contemporary "attacked" (insert gag emoticon here). I don't know how many of you saw the 30 Rock episode from earlier in the season that featured James Carville - but the running joke was that he taught people how to do things "Cajun Style" - a sort of "The End Justifies the Means" approach. Well, that's what the Clinton campaign is doing and I think it's a mistake.

If Hillary Clinton truly wants to help the people of the United States, she'll stop thinking of herself first and foremost - her narcissistic element - and Bill will stop thinking all of this is a personal referendum on him. Their egos are huge - and I know you have to have a pretty big ego to go for POTUS - but that type of behavior will never get my vote, and I know many many others who feel the same way. As I've told my family and friends over and over again, If H, Clinton is the Dem nominee, I will have to bring a bucket with me into the voting booth - but I don't know at this point if I can truly stomach voting for her. Oh, and if she thinks she'll get the same kind of youth and independent turnout that Obama is receiving, she is DREAMING. Yet another reason why she is NOT the person for the nomination.

Oh, and just as an aside, the running joke in our house for the past few weeks has been "Cajun Style" and every time M or I say it, O says, "No no, I don't like cajun style!" So HC wouldn't get the 3-5 year-old vote, either.

Sleep Talking

Last night, about 2 a.m., O crawled into bed with us, as he often does - although he usually waits until about 5 a.m. He was sound asleep almost immediately, but a few minutes later had this to say:

"Grandma, but I don't like cheese!"

The only other time I've heard him talk in his sleep, he was mumbling something about there not being enough crackers...he had to fight for them at his old daycare. I'll expect something about a nice, dry Shirah next.