Crabby Blogging Lady

The kids were bored with all our movies (a collection that cost me many pretty pennies over the years) and I was resigned to scouring through the online movie dregs for some entertainment. Good Lord, the filth that is out there, marketed as “family” entertainment. I don’t have television and don’t go to the movie theater, so I have a different (read: objective) perspective on it all. Eek.

Anyway, I came across an old show from Father Knows Best. Do any of you remember that old show? It aired in 1954 (it was a radio program before then). It evolved into the TV show with Robert Young and Jane Wyatt. So we saw some episode where the boy wants a baseball team to visit Springfield, and he is convinced that his insuperable dad can arrange it. Which he does.

But the problem is that the dude Dad partners with to make it happen wants some (political) favors. Dad is unwilling to do it and there ends the heroic hopes and dreams of the Springfield boys.

As we watched the show, I was appalled. Simply APPALLED. What the heck ever happened to fathers???

Oh I KNOW, Father Knows Best was fiction, fantasy. But heck, even at its most fantastical, most Dads were still WITH their families in the 50s. Life has changed so much in 50, 60 years. Not for the better, no. Better to have a lame dad than no dad.

Whatever happened to the family unit, to the sanctity of marriage and the honor of raising children? Hey, a huge and fancy barbados wedding is terrific, a real accomplishment. Keeping those vows is even more important. So what happened between point A and B that makes us so radically different.

Of course, there is a lot to be thankful for– women don’t have to have 18-inch waists and wear poofy dresses all the time. And we have iPhones and laptops now. But all those things seem like a poor exchange for a wholesome family. So much has changed.

I saw this video showcasing the “latest” iPhone app. Watch it and tell me what you think…

If you are like me (and why else would you be reading this blog, hmmm??), then you probably thought, “Hey! That is so cool!!” After a moment when your brain cooled down to normal mode and the marketing scent evaporated, you no doubt thought, “What the heck?” Finally, you thought, “This is actually dumb. Why use your iPhone as a remote? Why don’t ya just put your TV remote in its proper place every time?!” See, I KNOW what you were thinkin’!

I think the iPhone is indeed a nifty device. Hey, vanilla dutches can be nifty, too. But humans always seem to take things a little too far to the extreme, you know? The iPhone is indeed neat, but do we really NEED an app for EVERYTHING?! Must it replace EVERYTHING we do? Just because there’s an app for that does not necessarily make the app good.

Blast it.

I went to the local “mega behemoth gigantic super” center store Saturday. I’m still shaking from the shock. I could kick myself.

I HAD to go. We were out of milk. The kids had guzzled it down during the week, and I really didn’t want to drive to the convenience store (creepy in there). So I drove the 3 extra miles to the “mega behemoth gigantic super” center store, TOTALLY forgetting that it was a Saturday. And a Saturday afternoon, too!

*screams of horror*

Why does every shop on Saturday? You’d think they’d hate the cologne-soaked crowds, the sweaty, dirty, screaming children, the bumper-to-bumper traffic. I know I sure do. I came home in shock. Get me to see one of the folks who work those Occupational Therapist Aide Jobs, I needed help!

So next time I get it in my head to go to the store on a Saturday, especially when it’s just FOUR WEEKS before Christmas, kick me. Hard. And pray that I get the message.

It’s almost here: the night responsible citizens and property owners sit up all night, guns in one hand and phones in the other, preparing for that one night of “mischief” where the worst of the population is allowed to wreak havoc, destroy property, and worship satan. All while law enforcement and other mindless citizens chant, “Oh well, kids will be kids…”

I HATE HALLOWEEN. Hate it. I’ve hated it ever since I was 14 or so. What a crappy “holiday.” I can’t believe that people actually recognize this day, let alone “celebrate” it!

Don’t give me that crap that this is “all for the kids” and “it’s only about dressing up.”

NO WAY!

Let me ask you something, you who say this– if my town celebrated Hitler’s birthday, what would you say to that? Oh, we don’t bake a cake that says “Happy Birthday, Hitler” on it, no… but we dress up, play dumb games and pass out goodies that rot our teeth. We carve vetetables with little arms in the raised “heil” position; some of us dress up with little black mustaches, too, ALLL in GOOOOD fun– knowing in the backs of our minds that it’s Hitler’s special day and it’s because of him that we set aside this day… but we celebrate guilt-free, and what we’re doing is OKAY, because ALL we’re doing is HAVING FUN and DRESSING UP! That’s what makes it OK, isn’t it?? Well, isn’t it?!?!

So now do you see how stupid that kind of reasoning is?

Halloween has disgusting pagan roots, and anyone whose brain hasn’t been washed by commercialism knows this. You can cover up the crappy celebration with decorations, treats, costumes, goodies, and apple-bobbings….. but we all know what it’s about. In the United States, Halloween was anathema to our godly forefathers… until the Celts brought the crap over in the late 1800s. Once the businessmen got ahold of the idea that they could sellsellsell all sorts of useless trash for this day and this day only, *BANG* it became a nationwide, celebrated “holiday!” There was no stopping it! And what’s absolutely gut-wrenching is that Christians actually take part in it, too!

In other countries, holidays have spiritual significance underlying the physical celebration (for good or bad). America is unique in that the only thing that makes us tick is MONEY and SHOPPING. Thus, Halloween is a-OK. It’s *just* a dress-up day Let the shopping celebrations begin!

BAH.

HUMBUG.

P.S. Does anyone happen to remember that October 31 is Reformation Day? Does anyone even know what that IS?! If not, well, WHY NOT, huh??? How come Reformation Day isn’t celebrated in public schools, but satanic Halloween is, huh???

BAH!

This may come as a surprise to you, but I tend to be a little high-strung. For that reason, I make great attempts at reducing stress. Part of my regimen is sharply reducing time spent reading or watching the news, which seems to jack up the stress to exponential numbers.

After an earthquake in the northeast and the constant stream of hysteria about Hurricane Irene, I’ve been peeking at the news a bit more often.

MISTAKE.

The headlines are simply…. disgusting. Horrible. Heart-wrenching. Devastating. High-blood pressure inducing! How can anyone live on such drivel and disaster every day?!

And I think the nasty headlines are planted there on purpose, to make people nervous. Seriously, DO WE CARE that an angry dad tossed his kid on the couch in anger?! Heck, when is THIS news?! When I was a kid, dads would whip off their thick leather belts and nail us. So the kid is tossed on a cushy sofa during an argument and this makes TOP NEWS?!?!?! Aren’t there any starving Ethiopians in the world, can’t the headlines scream the injustice about that?! And don’t get me going about all the persecution of Christians in the world– no major media outlet EVER talks about that! They’re too preoccupied writing about angry dads or Obama’s vacation plans.

So anyway. I feel my anxiety levels creeping up again. I’m spending more time in the Psalms this week. It does a body (and soul) good.

My bloggy pals are also trying to relax more, it seems. Some have been talking about their latest vacation, a time where they sit around and DO NOTHING all day. Another friend raises horses and is dreaming about her latest equestrian riding apparel dreams. Horses are so lovely, imagine riding them into the colorful sunset! Sounds good to me! Gives the mind a time of rest, something sorely needed in this day and age.

How about you? Are you sick of the media vitriol? I say we should tune them out completely. We don’t need those instigators. I’m gonna enjoy my life, how about you?

…well, er.. maybe they are a little TOO MUCH in touch, when I think about this topic….

So you’ve heard about the New York State Representative Anthony Weiner. What a disgrace of a representative. Doesn’t ANYBODY stop to think about that that word MEANS?? The guy REPRESENTS the people of New York! Have we no honor, no self-respect? We let a guy like this represent us???

It looks like Mr. Weiner is getting a slap on the wrist for what he’s done. All that’s at stake is his job and career. Oh yeah, and his marriage. That’s KINDA important, too (although, just not to Mr. Weiner).

In light of this scandal, politicians are taking action to fix this heinous behavior– by making it less of a crime. Oh, yes!

It’s called “sexting.” The word makes me shudder because it’s so flippant. Apparently, it’s an “epidemic” amongst teenagers. According to MyWay News, 1 in 5 young people have “electronically transmitted explicit photos of themselves, and one third say they have received such photos.” OK, that is DISGUSTING. That’s not “normal” societal behavior. A kid caught doing it has committed a felony crime, because transmitting indecent photos of a child falls under child pornography laws.

So what do the politicians want to do? Reduce the penalties! Golly gee! Child porn isn’t truly child porn if it’s the child doing it, they say!! Yes, seriously, they actually mean that. Unbelievable.

These politicians are IDIOTS. Instead of watering down these laws because teens are doing it, these teens should be clobbered with the hard hand of the law so that they’ll learn their lesson that doing such stuff is disgustingly sick and a reproach in society.

I don’t know where this philosophy comes from, that “kids will be kids” and the judicial system needs to go easy on them. I am of the exact opposite belief– you don’t “go easy” on a kid that rapes and murders a toddler because “kids will be kids” and “kids make mistakes.” That actually happened in my area: a 13-year old raped a 2-year old and murdered her, then put her in her little crib overnight. When mom came home, she found her daughter dead. The punishment for the boy? A couple of months in a juvenile detention unit. I cried my eyeballs out when I heard that. What does that say to that kid, to society in general? That it’s not really all that bad to abuse little girls and kill them. Good Lord….

No, KIDS will NOT be kids. Sending lewd photos of yourself is not “kid” behavior. This kind of crap should not be tolerated, not even once. The consequences are so devastating to other people. I’m a firm believer in hard laws being an excellent deterrent. Even if it’s not a deterrent to the child, it would be for the parent who’d have to pay $5,000 and see their precious little baby go to jail for a while.