Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Parenting 101

Okay, I feel the need to point this out. I would HOPE that the majority of parents out there have a clue, but I'm starting to learn that not everyone has the common sense one would think they inherited at birth.

If you have two children - one 14 and one 17 who have proven themselves to be very unreliable via drug use, poor friend/boyfriend/girlfriend options, episodes with huffing that come close to a terminating a life, etc., don't think these same kids will be PERFECTLY fine without adult supervision while you go off to Italy for a week.

I'm sorry but these responsible children have been having what appear to be mass orgy sleepovers. The 14 year old's 21 year old girlfriend moved in without hours of your departure. The 17 year old's drug dealing boyfriend moved in the next day. There have also been two other cars there all night - who knows who they are.

The banging on my door last night at 11ish proves that these irresponsible idiots need supervision all the time. I didn't catch them this time, but when I do I will call police and press charges if necessary. You may not care what your children do, but I will not have them harassing my family.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Summer Obstruction

They can try to call what they do to roads and interstates "construction" but to be "construction" it should be constructive. I find it is more obstructive, so I long since dubbed construction as obstruction, hence my bitch of the day.

We had to go to Home Depot and Walmart last night which means getting on the interstate. The interstate here sucks and is usually very rough. Thankfully, the state has deemed our section awful and they are repaving. So for a five or six mile stretch the road is scarified and nasty. So we went through the section where they were working. It is closed to one lane. We finally got through the first batch and found a sign that increased the speed limit to 65, yet signs stating that work zones are 55mph and double fines are given if you are caught speeding. So we became confused - not that we were going to go 65 on scarified pavement anyway.

A 1/2 mile down the road more signs warning 55mph and double fines appeared which make us wonder what the 65 sign was all about?

Anyway--- after 6 miles the zone actually came to an end. Why we were one-laned for 6 miles baffled us too. There were one set of workers near the interstate on-ramp - there were no others. The on-ramp is right near the beginning of the work zone. Why not close it to one lane in the one stop they were working? Why go 6 full miles when you are not touching those other 5 1/2 miles???

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

News from around my area...

So, I've been told I can be a pretty amazing gossip. Maybe it's all the chick lit I read. :-)

Anyway, so today is going to be gossip day. Ready? (Remember that these are my observations so maybe I'm missing something more to the story--maybe...)

1. Action heated up on Saturday night in my back yard when I watched a local 14 year old sneak off with his 21-year-old "They're really only friends" girlfriend. Sure... and I'm a virgin who happens to have two kids through childbirth. Only friends.... At midnight when a 21 year old pulls off on the side of a nearby road and waits for her 14 year old "friend" to sneak out of the house, you know there is much more going on than friendship. There is a whole other term for that kind of buddy. I'm not sure what disturbs me more (not that it really is any of my business and I do know that) that this 21 year old female is interested in a 14 year old boy whose mental age is probably 10 tops or that the mother seems so blind to it. I'd be throwing down statutory rape charges so fast it would make her head spin!

2. So a rare frog has been found in the area where Walmart has been trying to build a store for 15 years now. Funny how this "rare frog" was seen recently and comes from Africa orginally. Five bucks says that hippie environmental firm from MA who wants Vermont to be Walmart free planted it there. Why does an organization out of Massachussets who doesn't pay VT taxes get a say anyway?

3. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes had their baby. Anyone know if she screamed during birth? I really hope she did! If not, hopefully she embedded her foot up his behind and then told him to expel it without making any noise.


Anyway... it's sunny outside and I want to be out in it. So I'm off for now, but I plan to share more gossip soon.

Monday, April 17, 2006

Movies

So we went and saw Scary Movie 4 on Friday night. It has its good and bad points. Obviously, this is a spoof, anyone going to the movie thinking the humor will be high class is wrong. I'm still surprised at the number of reviews I read where the critics were disgusted by the use of crude humor. Anyone knows that these spoofs rely on crude humor - think Airplane with the blow-up pilot... If crude humor is not your thing then don't go!

Carmen Electra's scene was so out of character to me that it was rather amusing. The spoof of Tom Cruise was a highlight and so close to the truth that he must be steaming mad right now. :-)

Now seeing Leslie Nielsen naked... that still makes me cringe. It's kind of like another movie where Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates were naked together. I enjoy them as actors/actresses, but seeing them naked is a whole other ballgame.

Meanwhile, there is something I noticed that has me pondering the fate of screenplay writers everywhere. While the previews were playing there is a strong leaning towards remaking movies of the 70's and 80's. Are there no good screenplays out there? Screenplay writers must suck wind. The Omen is being reissued. Superman is coming out yet again. The Poseidon Adventures.

Another trend is making movies from video games -- Doom, Lara Croft, now Halo and Castlevania are joining the action.

Monday, April 10, 2006

Today's News

I have a couple of issues that I've heard on the news...

First, what was up with Andy Rooney's segment last night. Why on earth did CBS cut him off so abruptly? I was cheering him one (he was discussing elementary school/middle school testing thanks to No Child Left Behind) and all the sudden it went to ads right in the middle of his sentence and they played ads for five minutes. When they returned credits were rolling.

Here we have the NECAP tests. My son and daughter's scores just returned. Now a couple of weeks ago, we went to parent/teacher conferences and were told that my daughter is having problems with reading comprehension. This really surprised me as she reads all the time at home and seems more than capable of retelling me the key parts. So I looked over her NECAP scores for reading comprehension. She got 11 right out of 13. That means she's having problems??? I find that disturbing. What kind of pressure are these kids under if two wrong equates to having difficulties?

I've had my fill of NECAP tests and want to see the education system overhauled. Children doing well in school get the money - the kids struggling find themselves in schools being cut off from federal funding because the kids can't pass these ludicrous tests. Oh, please. It comes down to the whole rich get richer principle that seems to dominate the world. Take the money from those who need it the most and give it to those who don't necessarily need it.

Another news story (this morning) truly ticked me off. A thirty-seven year old man was found guilty of molesting a 15 year old girl. It turns out this fifteen year old had the molester's baby and now he is suing for custodial rights. The fact that this is tying up the court system is absurd. He admits he molested her, though he says he thought it was consensual and he thinks he should get to see this baby. No freaking way!

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Brokeback Mountain

So... I watched Brokeback Mountain a couple of days ago. I wanted to see if the hype was worth it. Typically, I don't trust Oscar nominees--- Crash bored me - it flipped around too much, yet it won best picture. I'm renting or going to the movies for entertainment not to have some artsy-fartsy director/producer/writer create some "vision" that borders more on art than on entertainment.

So with that in mind, I'm perhaps already biased. So Brokeback Mountain started. The setting is gorgeous and seeing Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhal's behinds on camera isn't such a bad thing - men can have breasts, I'll stare at a nice tush anytime. ;-)

Brokeback Mountain started out boring me as usual. Day in and day out of moving a herd of sheep up in the mountains. It's tedious work in real life I'm certain, it's plain boring on screen. Then the two men decide they need sexual release and the action (if you don't mind me calling it that) begins. Now I have no issues with gay romance in reality---to each his/her own---but watching it was kind of pornish and creepy to me. I wound up skipping through those scenes. Gay sex just is not something I care to watch... and I am certain there are homosexuals who find man/woman sex to be just as icky. Again, it's a to each his/her own type deal.

Anyway... then the movie goes back to more sheepherding - again boring. Eventually the pair are pulled out of the mountain by Randy Quaid who knows what they've been doing and he's disgusted and doesn't want them working together ever again. Heath Ledger marries (Michelle Williams) and is miserable. Jake goes off and hooks up with one of my favorite actresses (Anne Hathaway) and has a son--he's miserable too. So the pair take off periodically for a "reunion fishing trip" and keep up their romance.

Now I realize times were different, but I still get pissy that these men toy with women. If you know you can't totally give your heart to a woman then do her a favor and don't marry her. From that point on, I know longer liked the characters. In the end, I did watch the entire movie and felt it was a waste of my time. It's one of those artsy films that just doesn't entertain me.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Music Industry

Okay, so it ticked you off that people were downloading. As someone who has over 1000 cds, albums, cassettes and 45's, I think you should stop hosing the public. I've supported your industry for years. I am, however, furious over your latest action and think it's time the public fights back.

For years, greatest hits albums added one or two new tracks ensuring that fans would wind up buying the greatest hits regardless of the fact that it was those one or two new tracks that made the album worth purchasing. That always steamed me, but I accepted it.

However, the new trick they are using should be illegal. I like Shakira's music. So when Oral Fixations Vol. 2 came out, I bought it the same day of the release. Now her new song - Hips Don't Lie - just came out, but it isn't on Oral Fixations Vol. 2. At least, not on the version they released a number of months ago. No, they have recut the album, added two tracks and are expecting those who have already bought it to go out and buy it again. This is absurd. Why not offer a huge discount/trade-in to those who bought it when it first came out.

Shakira is not the only artist whose record company is pulling this trick. Trisha Yearwood's record label has pulled the same trick. Is this a new trend? Probably. It's the way for the music industry to now punish fans. Am I going to buy the new Shakira album? Hell no. I'll find a way to get the additional two songs, and meanwhile, I am now boycotting Epic. Hopefully, other fans will follow suit.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Spring Ahead...

I hate the time change. I really hate the time change. Profound, I know, however, I watched the hours pass yesterday and at 11pm, I was still wide awake. Knowing I had to be up at 5:30am, I was not happy that my body was so freaking perky. So what happened?

Well, I finally fell asleep at about midnight. Then come 5am when my husband's alarm went off, I rolled over and fell into a deep sleep again. So come 5:45 I'm still sound asleep and showing no signs of coming to. In the end, I'm pooped and ready for bed - yet it's only 3:15. I see no need for the time change anymore, so let's do away with it for good!!