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Thursday

3/23/06

The Boys Of Spring

Ah, spring. Season of daffodils, bunny rabbits, longer days and all other things renewal-themed. It is also, however, a season of convergence in which just about every activity the boys have ever been involved with competes for attention. Karate, belt tests, D.A.R.E. basketball tournament, homework club, religion, sleepover birthday parties, regular birthday parties, parades, Easter, book reports and every pesky little side project in school that they're trying to get in before the end of the year... and then just to add insult to injury: little league.

I understand of course that I shouldn’t complain, really. Happy healthy boys with fun, fulfilling lives and all that. But still, little league? Just the thought of the endless hours sitting on an ice cold aluminum bleacher early in the season and then sizzling, sun baked bleachers by the end of the season is enough to make my butt go numb already. Second only to the butt-numbing quality of little league, however, is its uniquely mind-numbing quality. I can’t, after all, watch a bunch of 10-year-olds alternately whiff balls and walk in runs for very long before my eyes glaze over and I lose my will to live.

But, as my Lovely Bride is fond of reminding me, it’s not about me, it’s all about the kids. Yeah, I know, and I’ll still keep taking the boys as long as they want… but should you find yourself at a little league game someday and notice a guy sitting on the bleachers with that look on his face, you’ll know who it is. Bah.


# posted by Dad's off the Couch @ 4:32 PM
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3/16/06

The Funny.


Good morning philosopher kings and queens, working class heroes, progressive utopians with no sense of humor, lurking conservatives... you know the drill. If, by any chance you don't though, then grab a hot cup of cocoa and snuggle up with your favorite blankie and I'll tell you a little story about the funny.

Ahem. Although I have never had any interest in listening to commercial talk radio, about a year ago I did find myself suddenly and serendipitously addicted to Air America's morning drive-time show, Morning Sedition with Marc Maron and Mark Riley. I was hooked from the first episode I heard; I couldn't believe my luck in running across a radio show made by smart guys making smart funny that embraced all things cerebral including, but not limited to, philosophy, politics, art, dreams, feral cats, the occasional fart joke and one particularly foul mouthed stem cell.

Anyhoo, long story short, although the show got killed last fall by the spineless toads at Air America, the funny is now finally back on in L.A. complete with Jim Earl's Milfington boys et al... but the sucky catch is that the podcast is only available with a "premium" (read: $50 per year) membership to Air America. So, being that I can't live with out my fix of Rapture Watch I did pony up the dough, but I figure as long as I did I'll perform a fine public service by making the shows available by posting them on the interweb.

So, with little further ado, please allow your gaze to drift up the left side of this page where you will find links to the shows for your listening pleasure.

Good night, sheeple.


# posted by Dad's off the Couch @ 4:29 PM
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3/14/06

Goggles, By Golly.

~ Nature does nothing uselessly

~ Aristotle

...which may very well be true, unless of course if one considers little doggie sweaters and the sort of music sampler CDs that are sold at the counter in Starbucks. Oh yes, and of course the entire line of "baby goggles" produced by the presumably fashion-unconscious folks at ParkerG Sunglasses.

I am, of course, usually the last to know about these sorts of trends, but I still can't resist putting in my two cents, so here goes: Whaa? Goggles for babies? Why? Was there something wrong with a shady stroller, an occasional sunhat and a bit of squinting? I wouldn't think so, but apparently there are parents who do indeed feel the need to disguise their precious progeny as tiny little rock stars or mini-Howard Hughes.

Now don't get me wrong, it's certainly none of my business if presumably well-meaning parents want to fork over 35 bucks for such items, but personal experience tells me two things: One, there's not a chance in heck that either of my boys would have allowed goggles to be stuck to their faces, and B, even if they did it would be only a matter of seconds before said goggles were rendered useless by multiple layers of fingerprints, dirt and drool. In a word, yuck and no thanks.

~ ~ ~

P.S.-- Of course it turns out that before I got a chance to post this lovingly crafted entry I was shopping at my local Targét where I saw a woman in line holding a goggle-wearing infant... and they both seemed very pleased indeed. Happy mom, happy baby and happy goggles. Go figure. Well, I guess I'll just have to go find something else to be a curmudgeon about. Bah. Have a nice day.


# posted by Dad's off the Couch @ 4:26 PM
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