Trying to catch up with blogging friends over the weekend...
Big Kid is moving out on Wednesday, so we'll be busy packing him up and getting him settled. More on that soon!
The Good:
Saw a great article about "The Top 25 Downloads for Your Computer", from Switched. A couple I have, many I don't----if you have any experience or reviews, I'd love to hear about them!
The Bad:
I know this is sort of old news, but my mind is still boggling about the kiddie baseball league that insisted that one team pull a 9-year-old pitcher for being "too good". The kid never hit or hurt anyone with his pitching----he just beat the pants off the competition, helping his team achieve a great season. That "scared" the other teams' players.
Whatever happened to teaching your kids that they can't win all the time? Whatever happened to the notion that if someone is better at something than you are---it can/should motivate you to work harder? It seems like everybody expects an award/paycheck/pat on the back just for simply bothering to show up these days.
Don't want to hurt the self-esteem of our little budding sunflowers, now do we? feh
On the other hand, we cheer sports phenom Michael Phelps for kicking ass and taking no prisoners in the swimming competition at the Olympics.
Maybe we should have worried about the self-esteem of the budding sunflowers in countries less fortunate---like say, Venezuela and pulled Phelps from the competition.
Instead of squashing the aspirations of kids who work hard/have true talents in order to make the rest of the average-performing herd feel better about themselves, why not encourage the herd to aspire to excel in their own way?
The Fugly:
AOL subscribers get a "Welcome" screen every time we log on. There is a rotating screen that covers entertainment, sports, national and world news, along with headline links to articles.
I don't know who writes the headlines, but they are obviously designed to catch the eye.
And goes to my previous post about the media "making the news" and not reporting on it. It's really starting to chap my heinie.
The other day, I saw a headline with linky-goodness that said "Selfish" Singer Doesn't Want More Kids.
"Well good for her/him", I thought.
There's already too many people who breed just for the sake of breeding nowadays, and it's refreshing to read about someone who knows their own mind.
And what the heck is so "selfish" about knowing when to stop?
Plus I was feeling a little sensitive about some of the ignorant shitheadedness that's been posted on the web lately about VP Candidate Sarah Palin's "selfish" choice to bring a child who has Down Syndrome into the world instead of aborting after she knew in advance via amniocentesis.
Well duh. I should have known better.
I'm not a fan of J-Lo, but this headline really just took the cake.
Let me repeat it. "Selfish" Singer Doesn't Want More Kids.
What bullcrap.
The actual article doesn't even have that headline. That was something totally made up by the linky media-writers at AOL. The Popeater headline wasn't that accurate either. It said, "J.Lo Probably Won't Have More Kids".
What Ms. Lopez actually was quoted saying to her husband in an interview with Elle Magazine, after coming off of tour and realizing she was pregnant was....
"We came off tour and I said 'I did the Superwoman thing, I finished the tour—now I need you to take care of me. I love doing things for you; if I'm not cooking, then I'm picking out a shirt. But this is the first time in my life where I'm just going to be a little bit selfish. I don't know if I'm going to have kids again, I want it to be a beautiful experience. I don't want to have any drama. I want to just be smiling every day."
Wouldn't actually get that if you went by the headlines, would you?
Sheesh.
20 comments:
All the homepages do it - and I confess to clicking through on a few of the more ridiculous teasers, only to be redirected to the usual fluff.
One more download on my computer and it's going to fry. (It's making a whirring sound right now.)
As for those kids who outshine the rest in sports? I've watched hundreds of them in my time. Might be a little frustrating for the others, but it's also inspiring.
Looking forward to the progress reports re: The Big Kid's move. Best wishes for all.
Hi Attila,
Yahoo News does the same thing; they create sensational headlines that are meant to grab your attention and rarely have anything to do with the true facts of the story. It’s a direct result of modern technology; everyone wants to keep on top of the latest developments and is seeking a quick synopsis of the breaking news. Also, the younger generation have exceedingly short attention spans and demand that everything be short and concise so they can move on to other things…whether the facts are correct or not seems to make little difference.
Chap my heinie? Burt’s Bees® has a vast assortment of creams and lotions that could alleviate the problem in no time!
I so agree with you on the whole little league baseball player. The 9-year old pitcher should have been moved up to a more competitive level. This would allow him to continue to grow in his skills, while allowing the players he was dominating to play with kids at their own skill level. It also would have been a good example to show that you can advance in life by excelling at things. To take baseball away from him because he is "too good" is downright wrong.
Good luck with the "Big Kid" move!
Yup....the comcast home page is notorious for that as well. ug. Drives me crazy. I'm always reading the story shaking my head and feeling like an idiot for even going there.
GOOD luck with the move!!
xo
Yep. Charter does the same thing. The headlines are there to reel you in. And, yes, most of it is CRAP.
As for the little fast pitcher boy, it makes me sad/mad, too. How is he supposed to feel? What about his self-esteem? So, it's not okay to be EXCELLENT in this country?
Looking forward to hearing about your son's move.
I've been annoyed by EXACTLY the SAME THINGS lately! How funny. Why should every kid get a medal? And whose business is it anyway whether a person has 0 kids or 8? I tell people all the time when they ask if we're trying for the girl, "If you had 3 boys, you would SO know the answer to such a stupid question."
Go git em girl! What's wrong with just letting folks make their own decisions about THEIR own decisions and keeping our nose out of their business? I think the reality tv stuff has made folks think that noone deserves a little privacy these days.
Yes the media has a way of screwing with stories.
frustrations in other news
Hope the move out goes well
I couldn't agree with you more on ANYTHING in this post. And yahoo does the same thing with it's news. that's why i usually keep it on the "local" page section. oh, btw, i saw that teaser on aol.com, though, and i forgot to go back and click on it. ha ha ha.
hope you had a good weekend!
:]
My best wishes for BK's move!!! xoxo
I have been called selfish for not having children....I just ask the person why they are so determined that I have children? And if I am that selfish, should I really be having kids??
BTW, I do love children, adore my nieces and nephews, but just never had any maternal instinct, I guess.
Good luck with the move!
Didn't she have twins? I'd say she has her hands full already!
Don't even get me started on birth control issues.............
Best wishes for big kid finding his wings and you finding a hobby or two so you don't worry yourself sick!!
Big hugs!!
:)
Good luck with packing. Hope all goes well.
Sick of the news period...I am on overload from all the hurricane coverage!
Yep, totally agree. I don't even click on them, so out of context.
Can't wait to hear how the move goes. Did I tell you that you are my hero?
I'm 40, childless (rather, no HUMAN children aside from my husband), and loving it!!
I don't need human children to make me complete. I don't begrudge those that have them or want them, & I adore my closest friends' kids, but I don't need them in my life to feel complete.
I'm seriouly thinking of starting up a chapter of "No Kidding" in our area.
Among the issues I have with Palin, her not aborting her child is certainly not one of them. Good gosh, who would even suggest a thing? Are we supposed to abort every fetus as soon as we know it's going to have a "difference"? Next we'll be making sure we don't have too many girls or that we only give birth to babies who will be pretty. Good gosh.
I have way more issue that she tried to get a librarian to ban books.
I have way more issue that she tried to get a librarian to ban books.
Agreed... banning books is much scarier than any one person's stance on abortion.
Hi Attila,
I hope Big Kid’s move is going smoothly! Hopefully all four of you will make the necessary adjustments and this will turn out for the best. Thinking of you…
I boycott homepages... google is my home... hate the headline thing too! Not usually a JLo fan but I think she is right on with enjoying the time with the babies. Palin, wow -- that is one hell of an ugly attack you cited. How can people be that way? I hope I never stop being shocked by it....
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