I'm not a big fan of awards shows, but I thought it would be an interesting thing to write a post on, and since it strategically planned to ruin my night of Revenge, I decided to watch some of it. (I say "some" because I could not possibly stay up late enough to watch the whole thing.)
I liked some things, but I disliked more, and this is just from the first hour or so... imagine if I posted about the whole thing?!
Kate's Top 2 AMA Likes:
1. Real Women
Okay, there were still plenty of toothpicks there on Sunday night. But I was so happy to see that some of the women actually look like they are women! It was so nice to see that Kelly Clarkson and Ke$ha did not look like they starve themselves! I hope this is a continuing trend so that in 10 years when my daughter is into all this music stuff she'll have someone to look up to who at least looks healthy. Too much to ask?
2. Ke$ha (again)
Okay, so I cannot relate to anything in Ke$ha's music, and I'm pretty sure I don't even approve of what she's singing about, but I can tell you that she knows how to perform. I know I sound silly, but I was entralled by the performance, it had so much energy and I really felt like I should get up and dance, but I would have felt like a doofus. Ke$ha on the other hand was dressed up like some kind of jungle woman and had all of these male dancers with skull-like faces performing with her. Amazing!
Kate's Top 3 AMA Gripes:
1. Justin Beiber
Can I just express to you now how much I despise Justin Beiber?
Since this kid's been on the scene I haven't liked him. At first I found it mildly annoying that school girls got all verklempt about this otherwise average-looking boy. Then the whole hair-in-the-face style. Ugh!
Well, this past Sunday he really wanted to make sure he pushed me over the edge. He went up on stage to accept his award, and what are his first words of gratitude that come spewing so eloquently out of his mouth?
"This is for all the haters!"
Really?! All that "hard work"? All those late nights? All those top hits? You did that all for -- whom now? For the haters? You did it for the people who didn't believe in you? sho said you couldn't do it? who didn't think you'd be around in two years? That really sounds like a worthwhile endeavor to me! Keep up the-- er --good work...
2. Mini Dresses
I don't care how awesome your body is... if the hem of your sleeves come down farther than the hem of your dress you have a problem. I am looking at you, Taylor Swift!
In all seriousness, though, I wonder how much of that was her choice, or if a stylist made that choice for her, because she looked absolutely awkward, self conscious, and uncomfortable in it, constantly trying to pull the hem down. Given her body language I can only guess that she was not happy with the wardrobe choice either. Taylor, either speak up for yourself, or learn how to dress appropriately! The dress was otherwise beautful as far as color, style, and embellishments go, I would have liked to have seen it at least 4 inches longer...and if she was my daughter, 6 inches longer. ;)
3. Live Performances
I was not impressed (save for one, which I mentioned above). Maybe I'm getting too old, but I didn't like Carly Rae Jepsen's song (which I then had to hear repeated during the Macy's Day Parade), Kelly Clarkson's performance had no energy, and No Doubt (whom I used to worship as a teenager and I didn't even know had had a comeback) has not made any big changes or development to their style of music in nearly 20 years.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Class Debate
I found the class debate on children and media violence to be an interesting one. Both sides brought up very valid arguments including the "pro side" who explained that children imitate what they see on television and also have a heightened sense of agression after viewing violent programming, and the "con side" pointed out that there are other factors that contribute to childhood agression.
Now that the debate is over I can talk about my true opinion. I do feel that extreme and excessive amounts of violence are not good for children. Of course, I would never dream of letting my young kids watch a horror flick. But I think, for someone who is very aware of what my kids are watching, I'm pretty liberal. I like to describe myself as a middle-of-the-road parent.
My kids will see an occasional agressive act, but they are not watching those Saturday morning cartoons where they're bombarded with violent images. I don't think completely shielding kids from violence is going to help them in any way. Better to witness it (in small and occasional instances) and talk about it.
And by "talk about it" I don't mean lecture. A quick, "Well, that wasn't very nice." from Mom shows that she disapproves! If the behavior or the words are imitated (which I can't really even remember a time when this has happened), then that particular show will not be viewed again.
Now that the debate is over I can talk about my true opinion. I do feel that extreme and excessive amounts of violence are not good for children. Of course, I would never dream of letting my young kids watch a horror flick. But I think, for someone who is very aware of what my kids are watching, I'm pretty liberal. I like to describe myself as a middle-of-the-road parent.
My kids will see an occasional agressive act, but they are not watching those Saturday morning cartoons where they're bombarded with violent images. I don't think completely shielding kids from violence is going to help them in any way. Better to witness it (in small and occasional instances) and talk about it.
And by "talk about it" I don't mean lecture. A quick, "Well, that wasn't very nice." from Mom shows that she disapproves! If the behavior or the words are imitated (which I can't really even remember a time when this has happened), then that particular show will not be viewed again.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Election Night -- Oh What a Night!
Election Day started off pretty quietly. I watched the morning news to see what was being covered.
The interesting dynamic this year was how people in storm-torn areas were dealing with getting out to the polls. In New York voters could go to any voting station, in New Jersey voters could email their votes. I think the highlight for me that morning was when Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey responded to people's complaints about their emails bouncing back. He told them, "get off your butt" and vote. Wow! Strong and eloquent words!
Then the long wait until the evening when we would find out how our next four years would be determined! My sister and brother-in-law joined us and we all enjoyed Election Night pizza as we waited for the votes to be counted. I felt that some of the networks -- especially NBC were making too many projections, they were calling states when only very small percentages of votes had actually been submitted. I also found it interesting that at no time did the networks seem to have similar counts. How does that happen?
I stayed up for it all, well after my sister and brother-in-law went home. I put on my p.j.s and watched as Romney conceded and after a brief snooze (I tried my hardest!) I woke up just as the first family was taking the stage. At this point it was after 1:30 am, almost nothing that President Obama said registered with me at that point, but his energy and the energy of his audience moved me. I'm not one to talk to the television, but I was punching the sky and cheering along with the crowd. I wish I knew what he was saying, but that part of my brain was already in bed. I know west-coasters don't like that their geography means their votes often "don't count" but on the bright side, they could have been it bed by 11!
The interesting dynamic this year was how people in storm-torn areas were dealing with getting out to the polls. In New York voters could go to any voting station, in New Jersey voters could email their votes. I think the highlight for me that morning was when Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey responded to people's complaints about their emails bouncing back. He told them, "get off your butt" and vote. Wow! Strong and eloquent words!
Then the long wait until the evening when we would find out how our next four years would be determined! My sister and brother-in-law joined us and we all enjoyed Election Night pizza as we waited for the votes to be counted. I felt that some of the networks -- especially NBC were making too many projections, they were calling states when only very small percentages of votes had actually been submitted. I also found it interesting that at no time did the networks seem to have similar counts. How does that happen?
I stayed up for it all, well after my sister and brother-in-law went home. I put on my p.j.s and watched as Romney conceded and after a brief snooze (I tried my hardest!) I woke up just as the first family was taking the stage. At this point it was after 1:30 am, almost nothing that President Obama said registered with me at that point, but his energy and the energy of his audience moved me. I'm not one to talk to the television, but I was punching the sky and cheering along with the crowd. I wish I knew what he was saying, but that part of my brain was already in bed. I know west-coasters don't like that their geography means their votes often "don't count" but on the bright side, they could have been it bed by 11!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Hurricane Sandy!
What's that you say? A storm is coming?
The "weather man" always hypes up storms, doesn't he? I have to say, I really thought this one was going to be all hype too. It's a bit like the boy who cried wolf, except in this version the wolf like Big Bad Wolf from the Three Little Pigs, blowing houses (and other objects) away.It turns out that hype can come true, as Sandy has proven.
It's difficult to keep yourself informed of the events as they unfold if you have kids in the house. I wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time, I really didn't need my kindergartener to hear about young kids being killed by falling trees. The radio doesn't give a disclaimer. How about a quick, "Turn down your volume for our next story, if you have children around."?
Another interesting piece to this whole thing is how people survive without their media, now that power has been lost to so many for so long.
P. S. Can I just say, I hate the term "Superstorm?" I'm not sure why, I just think it sounds ridiculously uncreative. The world of meteorology couldn't come up with a more inventive term?
The "weather man" always hypes up storms, doesn't he? I have to say, I really thought this one was going to be all hype too. It's a bit like the boy who cried wolf, except in this version the wolf like Big Bad Wolf from the Three Little Pigs, blowing houses (and other objects) away.It turns out that hype can come true, as Sandy has proven.
It's difficult to keep yourself informed of the events as they unfold if you have kids in the house. I wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time, I really didn't need my kindergartener to hear about young kids being killed by falling trees. The radio doesn't give a disclaimer. How about a quick, "Turn down your volume for our next story, if you have children around."?
Another interesting piece to this whole thing is how people survive without their media, now that power has been lost to so many for so long.
P. S. Can I just say, I hate the term "Superstorm?" I'm not sure why, I just think it sounds ridiculously uncreative. The world of meteorology couldn't come up with a more inventive term?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
