Stop the Madness!

Enough is enough! It is time for television to make some major changes to advertising. I am not a prude, but I can't take it anymore! I don't want to hear about the risks of 4 hour erections with Viagra, or the new fangled tampon that opens "from all sides". I don't want to see happy people riding bikes who also have genital herpes and can now have less outbreaks, yet still pass it on, because of Valtrex. Do I ever really need to hear, "Mom what does decreased semen mean?" Yuck! Presumably all of these things (except the tampons, but that can be advertised about in women's magazines) require a prescription therefore there is a doctor who is in charge of telling these people about this stuff.
It has gotten so ridiculous that now they just advertise that you should "ask your doctor about the purple pill" without even saying what the purple pill is for. Yet somehow we have to hear about every gross side affect that creepy old men might encounter in their quest to get some.
Advertise in magazines! Send out this info with AARP cards, I don't know, just PLEASE stop with the ads. The pendulum has swung too far to the side of everything goes with advertising. I am not suggesting censorship, just common sense. Does anybody really buy Herbal Essences Shampoo because they have had the same orgasm themed commercials for like 10 years? I don't think so.
To the Advertising world: it is time to get smart and stop going for the lowest common denominator.

They Write the Songs That Make the Whole World Sing

Generally, I am not a huge cable TV fan. I have about a million channels and nothing is ever on. For the first time in my life I have Showtime and about 10 variants thereof, but I have yet to see anything. MTV and VH1 never have music on--I don't even know how they call themselves music channels. It is all mindrot, and I am bored with it. I will make exceptions for Disney (love the Little Einsteins),Nickelodean (ditto Dora and Diego), and Bravo (Project Runway).

I have come to love IControl movie rentals however. You can order off the TV, never have to take it back and you can still manipulate the movies for 24 hours as you wish i.e. pause to take the 5 restroom breaks that a preggo girl needs.

The other night I rented Neil Young's Prairie Wind. I expected a documentary, but what I got was a concert. That was ok with me. I love Neil Young and I was thrilled to see Emmylou Harris singing alongside him. This particular album was made in a brief span of time in 2005 when Neil Young had been diagnosed with a life-threatening aneurysm and was awaiting a dangerous procedure to fix it. The music is steeped in the consciousness of mortality. "It's a Dream" is a beautiful song that makes me both sad and incredibly happy to be alive. It is the type of song that pulls me out of my own head and illuminates the world around me. This is the type of song that can make one resolve to not waste another minute of life because it is so precious.

Today, I just want to send a little shout out to artists who make me feel. I will admit that I am jealous as hell of musicians, writers, poets, dancers, and anyone who transcends the ordinary.
I know, I know, they often lead miserable lives which in turn fuel their art, and I am not wishing for misery--I actually quite like happiness, thank you very much, but art is powerful. Powerful because it is a mutual creation. I have no idea if anyone would have the same reaction to "It's a Dream" that I do. It might be construed as melodramatic, or ho-hum to some, but it moves me, and for that I am grateful. I laugh to myself a bit when my daughter shouts from the backseat that she wants to hear Coldplay # 2 (which is "In My Place," from A Rush of Blood to the Head ). She sings along word for word and she is moved. She gets it at 4. Actually, I think all kids get it, some just forget it as they grow up. Happily, I am married to a man who gets it too. I don't really understand people for whom the arts don't appeal.

I love all types of music, some happy, some sad. I feel lucky that I don't have to stick to a certain genre or risk ridicule. I think I mentioned in a post long ago that "End of the Line" by the Traveling Wilburys makes me feel like I can conquer the world--it is like a musical drug. I love classical, I love motown music. I would eat just about anything fear-factor style, to sing "Summertime" like Janis Joplin, "Ain't No Way" (or anything for that matter) like Aretha Franklin, "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones, "Hold you in my arms" by Ray Lemontagne, and I could go on and on. I would do the same to play guitar like Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, or John Mayer.

So here's to the creative types...you make this world more interesting.
what moves you?

Project Creative Blues Busting

I admit it; I am surprised that the cooler temperatures and the onset of fall has me a tad blue. I love fall! Ever since I was a kid I have liked fall the best of all seasons. It is a time of new beginnings: pink erasers, waxy crayons, and new clothes.

Perhaps it is because we had quite a bit of rain. Perhaps it is because my new clothes look more like tents, or perhaps it is because along with the accoutrements of a new school year comes the onslaught of Xeroxed parent/teacher reminder letters. I have 5 or 6 flyers of differing size, color and shape telling me about the Fun Fair at school and requesting volunteer help. (which I wholeheartedly plan to do) On top of that is the book order forms, school fundraiser box-top drive reminder, show and tell reminder, room volunteer form, the homemade playdough recipe (I will be in charge of that one in April), PTA requests, teacher room supply wish lists, bake sale requests and I could go on and on.

None of this is unique to J's school. Across the country, the trees of America...the very same trees that I am looking forward to watching turn magnificent colors, are heaving a collective groan that the endless paper brigade has begun. But I digress. This is not a environmental rant (I'll save that for another day) but more just an awareness that as the papers fly my way daily I am finding a harder time sorting, planning, scheduling and maintaining the clutter-free existence that makes my feng shui husband a happy camper.

So why the funk? I don't know. Maybe delayed processing of our move. Maybe the realization that we will move again and again. All I know is that I am pulling out all the stops to try to nip it in the bud. There was Monday's spontaneous decision to chop of 3 inches of my hair. Removing split ends does wonder for the mood. Tuesday I called a friend for a lunch date with kiddos before school. Wednesday I focused on my feet. Through amazing acrobatic feats I actually painted my own toes and although quite winded at the end, was pleased with the results. Thursday I worked out on the treadmill with music blaring (instead of my usual mp3 player) while J danced in a ballet costume in front of me. I had lots of laughs at her interpretative dancing to the likes of Coldplay and Johnny Cash. Today, it was prenatal yoga with J. I gave her my extra yoga mat--now her yoga mat and we had great fun.

My daily efforts to get outside the daily grind of meal preparing, laundry, dog walking etc. have helped to some extent, but it is during these vulnerable moments when I am most bothered by reports of e-coli in Spinach, potential terrorism, the crisis in Darfur, crazy laws in Pakistan which say that a rape victim must have 4 male witnesses (!) to corroborate her claim of rape, or it is adultery on her part!! Again, I could go on and on and I don't mean to say that these things are only bothersome because the world seems less sunny right now, but when it seems less sunny, obstacles are more apparent than opportunities. Maybe that is the real challenge today... to see what I can do to effect change in my world. By that I mean of course, something more long lasting than the color of my toenails.

She likes it, she really, really likes it!

As a child, my favorite cereal was a Quaker cereal called Crunchy Corn Bran. It was and still is delicious, but with the advent of nutritional information I found that it had yuckky hydrogenated oils and that type of garbage, so I gave it up.

There is an alternative, which tastes exactly the same--actually even better--and has none of the crap. It is called Puffins, and that is my unsolicited Friday advice.