Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50 - CNN.com

Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50 - CNN.com

I know Michael Jackson was weird. I know he had his issues. After the allegations of child abuse, I chose not to follow him or his music, but at the same time, I find myself sad that a man who was a large cultural icon of my childhood is gone.

I tend to look at Michael Jackson like two different people. The Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5 era, or the "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" eras, is how I chose to view him and his musical genius. The Michael Jackson that was larger than life, the one that made one stand in awe of his talent.

I think that Michael Jackson was a victim of his own fame and family. It's a shame he could not overcome them.

Ch...ch...ch...changes....

First of all, let me wish a very Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there....it reminds me of a quote I have heard;
Any fool can be a Father, but it takes a real man to be a Daddy!!

It makes me think of all those fathers, not just the biological ones, but the stepfathers, the life partners, the uncles, the grandfathers...any man that has stepped in to be a caring, supportive, role model to a child so that child feels protected and loved. It also makes me think of all the single moms who have to be both mom and dad...to all, this day is for you!!

It is also the first day of summer, the summer solstice, and to Pagans, Midsummer. Here is an article about the Pagan holiday of Midsummer. To all my Pagan friends, a Blessed Midsummer to you all!!

I have been scarce and my family has been through a lot of changes as of late. First of all, we have moved into the city, which is new to me seeing as I have always lived in the country. It is nice though. We live in a great section of town and the kids love it. The other place we lived was not a good fit. It was too small and the fact that we had neighborhood kids that tended to be hoodlums didn't help either. No, we are happier here than there....each boy has a room and this place has a better feel to it...more like a home.

We have also made a decision for me to go back to work and to end our homeschooling journey. My boys are now 16 and 12 and it seems that we need to find a new direction in their education. With this decision, my oldest can attend BOCES for auto trades. Both of the boys have toured their new schools to be and seem to be really excited about it...which is a relief as I have had periods of swinging from being excited about this new chapter in my life, to complete and total guilt of not homeschooling anymore, but I think we had a good time while it lasted and we have more exciting things to come.

Well, it is off for dinner...take care all!!

St. Patrick's Editorial Piece

I saw this on the Watertown Daily Times online. It's a great editorial piece. Being of Irish decent myself, it is quite meaningful.



If you're Irish, you must remember this

By JOHN CARBERRY

TIMES STATE EDITOR

SUNDAY, MARCH 15, 2009

You're already making plans.

Tuesday night will be a time for celebration. You'll get off work early. Depending upon your parish, you may or may not enjoy some corned beef and cabbage with a side of soda bread and without Lenten guilt.

Then it's on with your favorite green sweater and off to whichever is your favorite genuine Celtic watering hole for the evening. Maybe you'll wear the funny foam fedora or the plastic shamrock pin they hand out at the door. Maybe you'll even taste the green beer offered by the bartender who offers everyone a strained brogue. Maybe you're Irish just for the day. After all, it's St. Patrick's Day.

Well, it's all fine by me.

Heck, I might be the guy with the pint or the teacup standing next to you.

But if your connection to the Emerald Isle is deeper and more permanent than the dye in those drinks, add one thing to the revelry Tuesday night:

Remember who you are.

You are the product of thousands of years of Celtic determination. From the time when Ireland's legacy of poetry and law began — long before the Greek word "Christos" would be applied to a radical Jewish rabbi — through the time an ex-slave named Patrick brought home that rabbi's message, through Europe's Dark Ages when Irish scholars saved Western civilization from oblivion, through the invasions of the Vikings, and through the centuries-long murderous campaign of the English, men and women whose genes designed your body and spirit fought tirelessly against long odds to survive.

It was seldom easy. At its best, it was the ancient battle to scratch a life from the earth, to beat back hunger and disease and build a culture. At its worst, it was genocide, with nearly half of Ireland's 8 million natives killed or driven off in a single generation and much of that culture erased.But, if you are of Irish descent and you're reading this, some ancestor of yours conquered those odds. They somehow summoned the necessary will and courage to survive. They were determined not to be erased. You're the victory. You're the heir.

So I ask again, during this celebration of Patrick, remember who you are.

Then keep remembering.

When someone points out the poor or the homeless with disgust and waxes aloud about how they are the way they are because they lack the intellect or the character to improve themselves, remember you're the child of a people once made poor and homeless.

When someone tells you that some racial group is inherently inferior because of its alleged laziness and tendency toward violence, sexual obsession or drug addiction, remember you're the child of a people whose rights and rich culture were disregarded with these same claims.

When politicians talk about the problem of world hunger, about how the economics of the wealthy and well-fed cannot be threatened by the distribution of food to the desperate, remember you are the child of a people left to die when their one crop failed, while food was exported from their island for the profit of the wealthy and well-fed.

When political leadership or wealth come to you and circumstance and ego call you to indulge in the exercise of power for the sake of the powerful alone, remember you are the child of a people who long suffered under such tyrants.

My friend, you and I, the children of the Irish scattered around the globe, have a special honor and obligation each March 17. The honor is we get to watch the world celebrate — however misdirected and uninformed it may be for most — one of history's most brave and charismatic and democratic figures, our figure, the shepherd-slave Patricius who became St. Patrick. We eat the meals, watch the parades, and go to the pubs and know that, while the guests are happy, this party belongs to us.For me, that's always been a source of pride.

But with that pride comes the obligation, the debt we owe the men and women who faced swords, tyrants and hunger and determined to live, to somehow find a way to create us, and that obligation is simple:

Remember who you are.

John Carberry, the grandson of Jack O'Cairbre and Katie O'Brien of Cappamore, County Limerick, is the state editor of the Watertown Daily Times.

Rush to the President: Debate Me

If you can stomach the transcript, see where Rushbo wants to debate Obama.

Rush, I have news for you...

1. You have to know how to debate first in order to do so. Low blow jabs and condescending phrases is NOT debating

and

2. I suppose we should expect the next four (and hopefully eight years) to be filled with your whining about the GOP losing the White House....oh well, no different than the Clinton Years, I suppose.

It's ok, Rush...just take one of your prescriptions and sleep it off.

Rush to the President: Debate Me

Saw this on PunditKitchen.com

Thought it was a good one.........



Sometimes I wonder if old Edward R. is rolling over in his grave over what constitutes news nowadays.......

CCFC Slideshows on Advertising to Children

CCFC Slideshows on Advertising to Children

Part I
Part II

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not one of those parents that will blame the media for all the worlds woes. I don't blame McDonald's for my youngest having to struggle with his weight. That is on me. On me for allowing him to sit and play his video games instead of going outside. On me for caving when he said he wanted McDonald's instead of insisting on healthier choices. As a parent, I now have to watch him work hard to lose the extra weight he gained, knowing I helped him get there. His father and I finally had to put our foot down or we were going to watch our son get more and more unhealthy. It is hard, however, to keep this healthy lifestyle going when a child is bombarded with food ads every 5 minutes on TV.

Which brings us to TV limits. I think that this is one of the best ways to go if one wishes to have a healthy, well-adjusted, non-materialistic child.

Just my opinion......

Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood

This organization has been in the news lately due to it's recent crowning of Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader Barbie as the worst toy of the year and speaking out against the fact that at least 1/3 of items in the Scholastic Book Club flyers at schools are not books, but toys. The CCFC was also the organization that filed with the FTC over the Baby Einstein series.

I had to check this organization out, mostly because I wanted to see if they were one of those alarmist, overprotective agencies that scope out Disney movies for naughty words in the grass. What I found on this site was actually eye opening.

Even before finding this site, I have wondered about what is happening to our kids today. Yes, I know, I know...every generation says, "I just don't know about kids today!!" but having worked with children in the past and presently, I am concerned. Part of the reason I pursued a career in child care and early childhood teaching is because I always thought it was refreshing how children see the world with new eyes, how everything is fresh and new to them and through them, no matter how jaded one becomes, the world still seems magical.

Sometimes I wonder if the only age group that applies to is infants and toddlers because quite honestly I feel that our children are becoming jaded themselves.
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These are some of the things I have noticed:

No matter how small the girl, she seems to have on low rise pants. Sometimes the added disaster of words on their ass are present. Why am I seeing more and more little girls dressing like hoochie mamas? I saw a little girl at the mall in high heels during Christmas Break. No..she wasn't wearing a dress and there were HEELS...big girl heels made for a little foot.

I have seem so many kids with Nintendo DS's or cell phones at the table in restaurants, that I want to scream!

Many children don't know how to play creatively anymore. Trust me, I have seen it. Give them free reign with arts and crafts or a box of loose Legos and some of them look at you like you are asking them to explain Einstein equations. They simply don't know how to freely create without a Lego Set with instructions to tell them what to create. Look at many of the Legos and Lincoln Log Sets....there is no room for free creativity, just the one creation. I took all of my sons Lego kits and threw them into one box....they had no choice but to get creative with them.

Recently I presented a paper house craft to a group of 2-6th graders, thinking it would be pretty cool for them to color, cut, and assemble them. Most of them turned up their noses and said "Ummm, no!" Afterwards, I overheard one say, "I'm bored" while they other said, "Well, duh...there's nothing to do!"
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I have been on a mission lately to bring things back to basics in my house. I have been noticing a disturbing trend in television geared towards children. I have to completely agree with the CCFC....through our children, advertisers and companies are trying to create super consumers. Just today, I asked my son to watch some Cartoon Network and tally up how many commercials directed towards children to buy something were present. In 45 minutes he counted 19 with averages to about 2 ads per minute. This was around noon so I imagine after 5pm, it amps up even more.

So what do we do as parents? Well, since I have expressed my new direction for this blog, I will post what I as one parent is doing to counteract consumerism in my household and how I am trying to bring us back to basics.

However, right now, I need to close as this post is long and it is getting late.

Take care all and good night.

I'm Back!

Yes, I know...it isn't like the Queen of England or Angelina Jolie has come back after a long absence...just little old me with my little old blog that a very few seem to read, but I do like writing...it has been my passion since I was a child, so I continue when the mood strikes me.

On my last post, I mentioned that I was going to put more work into my homeschool blog, but I have since dismantled that blog. To me, blogging on two blogs is a bit too much. I had originally decided to go with the two because I wanted to put out informative information on homeschooling, but feared that my politics might turn some people off, so I had the two, keeping my politics and my homeschooling separate, for the most part. Then I thought to myself that this is me....mother, homeschooling parent, liberal, political...the list goes on, and why not put it all in one spot. So one change you will see is more of my homeschooling adventures with my boys.

I also plan on posting more of my photos that I take as I move about Northern NY. Some may find it dull, but others, like my friend in Tennessee, may find it a hoot that I trudge through snow 6 months out of the year.

This blog will continue it's same Aimless Wanderings, maybe even more so, but this is me, and so it is.

What to talk about now??

Hmmm...I am sure everyone has noticed that I have not posted much since the Election, if at all. I guess after being caught up in the fever of the Election season, I am at a loss of what to talk about that would be interesting to everyone. My life is pretty basic. I homeschool, I work, and I live....

For now, I am going to post what I find interesting. Rant when I need to....muse when I should....

I am also going to pay more attention to my other blog, A North Country Homeschool Adventure. It's a homeschooling blog that was supposed to follow our adventures in homeschooling, but unfortuneatly, that went by the wayside too. I am sure that anyone that visits it thinks we don't do anything during our homeschool day, but I assure you we do....I just haven't had the time to post it.

So, if you don't find me here, you will find me there.

Yes,we can....and we did!!