Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Let us begin with the assumption that if you are a parent, you wish for your child every advantage and opportunity. From the ergonomic high chair to that all-important first sushi experience and beyond, life should be as golden for your little one as it is for, say, Pax Jolie-Pitt.
But inevitably the moment arrives when all your doting and care come back on you in the form of a precocious little barb that reminds you in no uncertain terms of…you. It might be that his friend Jake’s eighth-birthday party was “unbelievably lame” or that “it’s weird that Brandon’s family flies first-class and we don’t,” or maybe it’s simply that “these taquitos taste like turd.”
Yes, of course I see a problem here. I have for awhile…
Thing I Know #321. We have an awful lot of parents walking around who seem intent on raising their kids so that problems of future generations can be avoided. That is a good thing and it is to their credit. But they seem to think the biggest problems of those future generations have to do with people not feeling good about themselves, being unready to claim special perks and privileges. I don’t know how they settled on that. I wish they’d put a little bit more thought into this.
What is missing is a sense of commitment…obligation…duty. A feeling of self-worth that is won, through a process of earning things. Without that, you can’t teach a child that he’s a meaningful individual unless you teach him he was born that way, and if you teach him he’s a meaningful individual because he was born that way then what you’re teaching him is that he is somehow pre-destined to come before other people and things in terms of priority. Regardless of what he does.
And that, my friends, is the very definition of an asshole.
Update: I notice, a few months later, this was still on my mind:
Thing I Know #339. I’m not the first cranky old fart to say this and I won’t be the last. Back in “the day,” grown-ups yelled at kids, punished kids, shushed kids up, made kids feel like subhuman vermin anytime they felt like it; the kids grew up to cure diseases, invent wonderful machines that revolutionized civilization, and kill Nazis. Now, kids are wonderful no matter what they do. “Oh, Susie! You didn’t burn down the school today! Oh Johnny, you didn’t crap on the teacher’s desk! So precious!” And the kids learn how to text each other, play games, and do nothing else. You can’t tell them a goddamn thing. But don’t you dare call them lazy, unimaginative or inattentive. It’s a disability.
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When my daughter, who’s about your age, was a little kid she was a favorite of our friends and acquaintances. It’s great being a parent when people come up to you and compliment your kid, as you know. It’s also maddening how many people assume the right to comment on and criticize your child-rearing techniques
The top two comments, often from the same person, were “You shouldn’t be so tough on her” and “I’ve never know such a happy, well-behaved and polite child.” Nobody ever seemed to notice the ironies of this internal contradiction. Some of them no doubt went on to have children of their own, and the current state of the “culture” comes as no surprise to me as a result.
That kid in the picture has douchebags for parents. Not his fault, but going through life needing his face slapped ain’t gonna get any easier, either. A couple of loving whacks on the butt would be infinitely preferable to the inevitable broken nose when he finally encounters a man.
- rob | 02/21/2010 @ 07:15a little adversity is good for the soul. it builds character.
rob: +1. I always explain it to the parentally clueless as “well, it’s simple really. I get better behaviour through bigger beatings” at which point I’ll have my kids nod yes.
such precious darlings really.
who says parenting can’t be fun?
- pdwalker | 02/21/2010 @ 07:45My two huge pet peeves:
Manners. I see so many kids who lack basic manners; please, thank you, may I, excuse me, etc. Being nice goes along way.
Respect. Children who haven’t been taught the most rudimentary concept of treating others with respect, especially their own parents. I am constantly appalled at how disrespectful and nasty many small children are towards their mothers and fathers.
- Daphne | 02/21/2010 @ 12:20Daphne,
Absolutely. Too many parents make the mistakes of:
– trying to be friends instead of parents
– sparing the rod
I just had a thought based on something you wrote recently. Do older couples have problems with having enough energy to keep on top of their kids and eventually just get beaten down by the inexhaustible energy of their charges?
- pdwalker | 02/22/2010 @ 09:17