DadCentric

It Was Almost a Banner Day for Me

It began like any other trip to the bookstore.  There were words of encouragement and threats of consequences.  We shared a pastry and had something warm to drink.  They behaved like I asked them and used their inside voices.  There were pee-pee dances and occasional wanderings.  It was like any other trip.

Then Thing 1 picked out a book that wasn't his typical fare of dinosaurs or cartoon characters.  It was Star Wars, and the force was suddenly strong in my boy.  We discussed R2D2 and Yoda, and I explained the difference between myself and a Wookie through an awkward charade which included a public display of body hair.  We were bonding.

I started planning our evening.  We would only watch one movie a night, no reason to rush it.  Pace this moment, I thought.  Finish his training, I will.

It was set in stone, or carbonite as the case may be.  Things were moving along swimmingly. We stood in line, me taking in the moment and the boys happy to be getting stuff.  It was special.  I placed my books on the counter and turned to the boys for theirs.  Elmo for Thing 2, and my oldest boy, he had switched out Star Wars for yet another dinosaur book.

"What happened?" I asked as I looked around frantically for the Star Wars book.

"I like dinosaurs better," he answered, smiling.

Damn, I thought, that's bullshit.

Sunday Scary

For all you parents out there considering the idea of bringing a nanny into your employ, be sure you get the non-scary version. Guys like me will have to be content scaring our own kids.

It really is all about the editing.

Friday Fun (and kind of creepy)

Charlie the Unicorn.  Gotta stick it through to the end.

A DadCentric Review: The Groomsmen

To be fair, I liked the movie, "The Groomsmen" before I even saw it.  It's an Ed Burns movie, what's not to like?  The fact that he got the actors to each work for a measly 11k and he edited the whole film and soundtrack on his Mac.  Hey, I love that.  It's easily his best work since "Brothers McMullen."

What I didn't know was that I would like it as much as I did.  It resonated with me in a way that a lot of movies can't.  Sure, there is funnier, sexier and more action-packed fare available, but that's just fluff. 

"The Groomsmen" picks up where "Beautiful Girls" left off.  It's a tale of friends and family, history and future. In fact, the only thing the movie was missing was a Neil Diamond sing-along.  They did manage to humor me with a Billy Squire cover, so I'll let it slide. Plus, they drank a lot of Harp, which I agree with.

My wife didn't watch it.  Her loss.  She had baked all day and was subsequently stuffed on meringue cookies and a generous glass of port.  She disappeared down the hall with a thick book before the opening credits even finished.  Me? I had a few beers, some popcorn, and watched a movie about guys that get it, and I pitied those that don't.

Rent it.

Isn't 30 the new 20?

I have a question.  It doesn't have anything to do with parenting or kids or poop or puke or pregnancy.  All fine topics, but not what's on my mind at the moment.

Why does Hollywood/entertainment have such an obsession with the 30s?  No, I'm not talking about the Marx Brothers or the Golden Age of radio or any of that.  I mean one's chronological age.  What is it about turning 30 or being "in your 30s" that it is such an anathema; that the mere mention of it gives people the chills and causes them to scrounge for a cootie shot?  Honestly?  Is it really that bad?  I think mine were pretty good - married, two children, good job - damn, that really does suck.

I bring this up because VH1 is about to launch a new comedy series called I Hate My Thirties.  Oops, sorry, make that "an irreverent comedy."  Sidenote: if you have to tell people it's "irreverent," it usually ain't.  Just sayin'.  Anyway, so the network that brings you Flavor of Love and Scott Baio is 45...and Single, now brings you a comedy that will tackle the real issues facing our 30-something characters or, as the great copy writer who penned the show's description tells us, it's "TV as a tool for living" - wha-?  I do have to hand it to the copy writer though, his description for the show is so run through with cliches, pitch-speak and babble as to confuse the hell out of the guy who just quickly scans the five graphs.  Example: "The comedic tone comes from the absurd handling of relatable problems, matched with clever observation of the contemporary landscape. References to retro-storytelling will be minimal but maybe gratifying as occasional winks to the audience in the know."  Um...yeah.

But, haven't we seen this already?  Isn't this just The Big Chill with a laugh track?  thirtysomething, I believe, tackled many of the same issues this will, didn't it?  And, they were probably funnier than this will or could ever be.  What's that?  It was a drama?  C'mon - look at Peter Horton's mullet - that's funny.  High comedy at its best.  I like Friends, but wasn't it essentially about pretty people in their 30s dealing with relationships and jobs and babies?  Is there really anything else to deal with when you're in your 30s?

I'm sure there are many other shows, but I think you get my point.  Your 30s don't really suck, just Hollywood's interpretation of it.

Now, being 40?

While we're on the subject of Transformers

When obsolete Transformers hit bottom...

A New Hope... For Me to Poop On

Want to feel better about your social life?

Hello, I'm a Parody

Mac vs. PC, that's so yesterday (Mac won by the way).  Here's the real dilemma in a nerd's guy's life, Marvel vs. DC. 

Are We Here to Amuse You?

What can I say? We like muppets.

Creativity Department. Nope, fresh out.

I'm conflicted.  All is not right with the Force.  One of my tenets with regard to pop culture is whatever you do, don't fuck with institutions.  There are certain things that should just be hands off, bitch.  You know, that whole you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don't mess around with Jim, da, do, da, do...I fear, however, that things are about to messed with, or are, at least, already being messed.  And wouldn't you just know it, George Lucas is involved.  I know, I know.  You could knock me over with a feather.

Ark of the Covenant?  Check.  Sankara Stones?  Check.  Holy Grail?  Check.  What's next?  Anyone want to hazard a guess?  Excalibur?  The Golden Fleece?  Aphrodite's Girdle?  Hey George, how about Indy retraces the steps of Ponce de Leon and goes after the Fountain of Youth?  As reported, the Indiana Jones franchise is gearing up for a new release in May 2008.  The 64-year-old Harrison Ford has signed on to play Indy once again, 18 years after locating the Grail with the help of 007.  As I stated at the beginning of this post, I'm conflicted.  As much as I love the franchise, I'm not sure there's a need.  Sure, it could be a ton of fun.  But, I thought the Star Wars prequel was going to be fun too and we all know how that turned out.  (Spoiler Alert: Jar Jar Binks is rumored to play Sallah in the new film.  "We's a-gonna die, Indy!")  Methinks we'll find that the franchise will follow a similar path to that of the Star Trek movies, but, in this case, the odd-numbered will be the best of the series.  I will, however, reserve judgment and see the new one with cautious optimism, of course.

Live Free or Die Hard.  Oh, so crossing my fingers on this one.  Die Hard, for me at least, is one of those that I will stop channel surfing for if I come across it.  Immediately.  Regardless of where I land in the film.  Redeeming factor is that George Lucas is not involved so there will be no Jar Jar Binks in the Sgt. Al Powell role (Me's a-shot a kid.).  The premise sounds pretty cool, but are Internet Terrorists now like Bad Guys v3.0?  Again, conflicted and I wish they (they=Hollywood) would understand when to quit.  Shitty prequels/sequels have a tendency to sully the originals' good name.  Let's hope that's not the case with these two.