Jesus F-in' Christ!!

I really wish there was a better way to put that...

Stupid me changed banks and went from a Mastercard debit to a Visa. Guess what? Apparantly Visa has gotten extraordinarily anal about letting you deposit to gambling sites or even some transfer services.

Hmm.. It's MY money, why don't you let me do what I want with it!!!!

Ugh... that is all.

Williamsburg Civic Association -- Arlington Pediatric Center

Quick update---THIS...is the winner of "most inappropriate logo" for 2004. Nice of 'em to change their page!

What is a man?

Okay, kids. Time for another bona fide 100% certified stark raving rant.
George Carlin has talked about it. I think I've made reference to it once or twice. The pussification of America.
Before I go any further with this, let me note very briefly what I do. I'm a merchandiser. When new products hit the shelves, I am often one of the first to see them. Today I happened across "mens" grooming. Why do I put men in quotes? Because, quite frankly, no real "MAN" would be caught dead using some of this stuff. What is happening now is the skin care companies have learned that the new generations of boys like to primp, preen, and pluck just as much as the gals! What does that give us? Skin toners, under eye cream.. in short, WOMEN'S SKIN CARE.

Why is this an issue with me? I guess it's because this country is no longer producing "MEN". Let me tell you something about real men...

With a MAN, his word is his bond.
A MAN doesn't worry about the wrinkles and such that come with age.
A MAN often has calluses on his hands.
AND..he doesn't care.
A MAN is not afraid to get hurt once in a while.
A MAN will mow the lawn, cut down those limbs, get up and check the roof, clean the gutters, wash the car, and do some other odd jobs around the house--on the same day!

Men don't worry that their skin is a little dry. They don't care if their hair isn't quite right. Men get dirty when they work on their car. Men cut down a tree and then go fishing. Men wear the same clothes for days at a time. Trust me on this.

But todays boys aren't destined to do that. After mommy and daddy pay for college, AND room and board...AND transportation, they hit the real world at the ripe old age of twenty something without a clue in the world.

Now, I'm not exactly Lumberjack John, but I wouldn't be caught DEAD using some of the crap they are coming out with. Give me soap to wash, shampoo to wash my hair, an a fresh blade and some gel to shave. I'm good. And you know what? I DO work on my car when I can. I take apart and fix my lawnmower. I cut down small trees. (I cut down trees. I wear suspenders and a braaaa.. I wish I'd been a girlie.. just like my dear mama...)..sorry..suddenly had Monty Python running through my head.

Anyway, if you are a guy reading this, look at yourself and the world around you. Yes, we are in a technological age, but we shouldn't forget our roots. Once upon a time, a man took pride in being a little dirty and grizzled. It meant something. Now you have to be pretty and smell good.

There's really....really...something wrong with that.

The Almighty Dollar

For no particular reason, I've been thinking about the past just a little bit more lately. I was somewhat inspired to create a lengthy post, and was further inspired this morning by a Sunday comic I just read. The comic commented on the evolution of newspapers. Newspapers used to have in depth reporting. They wanted to make a difference. Now it's about how much money they can make and nothing more. Some still have local reporters on the beat, but now it's about the stories that jump out and make themselves known more often than not. The days of investigative journalism seem to be gone. I know our local paper seems to be turning into some sort of entertainment rag. There are only a handful of local reporters and most of the stories are AP stories. Needless to say, I don't read it much.

But you know what? That's not even the primary topic of my post. The original inspiration came after poking around online and reading about old shows like Big Blue Marble, 3-2-1 Contact, and others.

I grew up in the 70's. Back then, like newspapers, television felt a responsibility towards children and our society. TV has always been about advertising and revenue, but once upon a time it was also about GENUINE kids programming. I still have memories of the 15 minute educational shows on PBS that schools would record and play for classes like Vegetable Soup, Inside/Out and others. If you search online for these sorts of things you will find many people roughly my age who have fond memories of these and often ask the universal question, where are those shows now? I suppose with luck they are buried in a vault somewhere. At worst, they're gone forever.
Have kids really changed so much that we can't create shows similar to what we grew up with? Mr. Wizard? Captain Kangaroo? Electric Company? These, in hindsight, were all brilliant!
So if you are old enough to remember any of these shows, ask yourself what happened. Why aren't kids exposed to the same positive influences they once were? I know one of the answers.

We stopped trying.

Somehow, the "experts" had all the answers. Even worse, the tv execs had their own answers. Kill the captain and go with news! Hell, you can't even really find Saturday morning cartoons anymore! With the advent of cable and cartoons on every day of the week, the ritual of waking up early Saturday to watch cartoons is gone. Too bad.

I'm just glad I was a kid in the 70's. All you younger folks don't know what you missed.

Now pardon me while I curl up with my Schoolhouse Rock tapes..