In which much rambling and parentheses occur

Good morning.  It's gonna be a long day, I'm afraid. Farrah Fawcett is dead, Michael Jackson is dead, and it's like bits of my youth are slipping away.  Apparently others feel the same judging my the meloncholy tweets and blog posts this morning.

To top it off, I was up at 3 a.m. after having a terrible nightmare (I have nightmares all the time - in fact I never 'dream' at all, I just have nightmares. I have the occasional one about the children [as I did this morning - Fiver was lost in a huge convention center-like place and Bodog and I were running everywhere among the crowds of strangers, calling his name] and those always leave me wide awake and jumpy.  It takes several hours to get over the uneasy feeling. So I'm blogging!  yay!)

Anyway, in persuit of my new Steampunk / Dieselpunk adventures, I've been collecting ephemera for possible art projects; old machines and watches for same (or, ohh, maybe jewelry!) and gleefully taking them apart (to my detriment. Managed to slash two fingers open AND bleed all over my dining room table and a watch movement yesterday.  It did feel v. Sylar-ish, though, which was cool.  Mmmm, Sylar ... )

Where was I?

Oh, anyway, I also found some excellent brushes and vectors for Graphic Designs (assuming I can come up with some) to try out on t-shirts.

Here's my Steampunk Gal:

Jules Verne and H. G. Wells would be proud.  This vintage Victorian equestrienne, who is hurrying her horse along to catch the train, sports a nifty retro space helmet and ray gun. Cool!  I had a lot of fun doing this one.

Here's the Victorian steampunk space girl on one of Zazzle's gorgeous, colourful mugs:

Hopefully I'll be able to come up with - and have the time to do - more steampunk soon.

Right. Enough with the pimping. How is your morning going?  I know a lot of you do Etsy; how much of a pain in the backside is it?  Jewelry makers, what do you suggest I use to stick together diverse materials like plastic and metal?  I'm inordinately excited at the prospect of getting to use epoxy, lol!  My next blog post will probably have me reporting that I glued my cut fingers together. *rolls eyes*

Steampunk -vs- Dieselpunk?

So I have a new obsession ...

No, no, it's not a bloke, and so, no, Zachary Quinto's incredibly hot place in my heart has not been usurped.

     

Actually it's about writing. Yes, I know, this is my Mommy Blog, but it's also my personal blog so I get to bore you with share with you any miscellaneous stuffs that come up in my life.

I've written all my life, since I learnt how to write. My dream is to write novels (this has always been what I wanted to be, a novellist ... well, that and a jockey, but at 170lbs and 5'8" I've finally given that one up, LOL).

I have just recently returned to working on my fiction, have been enjoying it, and most of all have been delighted to share my passion with some close friends (If you are a reader or a writer please join me at my mate, Barb's, forum)*

I'm a Sci Fi sort of gal and of the 5 or so serious potential novels I have in my drawer, 2 are thrillers set in space, a third is fantasy with horror overtones, one is a ghost story, etc, etc, you get the picture.  Well, whilst researching something science fiction-y, I came across the word "steampunk". I'd seen it on Twitter at some point in reference to fashion (I think) and it turns out that there is a whole steampunk lifestyle, a subculture - writing, fashion, decor, films, hairstyle, music, and on and on. How COOL!

I quickly discovered that many of me very fave films/books EVAR were steampunk or a similar genre that I had yet to define. In searching for the definition, I realised that MANY people on the 'net either aren't aware of or are misapplying the word steampunk. 

Steampunk (in film or books) is generally set in a past time (often Victorian England) but one where some technological advances have occured earlier than they really did. For example: computers in the 1800s. The technology is portrayed as being constructed of period materials, wood, brass, etc, and is often run on the power of the time (in this case steam, thus the name).

From Wikipedia: "Steampunk is a sub-genre of fantasy and speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. The term denotes works set in an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century, and often Victorian era England—but with prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy, such as fictional technological inventions like those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne, or real technological developments like the computer occurring at an earlier date. Other examples of steampunk contain alternate history-style presentations of "the path not taken" of such technology as dirigibles, analog computers, or digital mechanical computers (such as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine); these frequently are presented in an idealized light, or with a presumption of functionality."

Popular examples of steampunk works are: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and Wild Wild West.

When I read about steampunk my first thought was: "so what's the opposite of Steampunk?", when you have a work set in the future but with retro technology? Some of my all-time fave films and books EVAR make use of this theme. What is it?  It has to have a name.  That name, my friends, is dieselpunk:

Dieselpunk from Wikipedia, again: "Several devices which are affiliated to the genre are generally linked to 1920s architecture, such as the introduction of the skyscraper, along with the automobile and aeroplane, and diesel as the prime resource for fuel. The genre also borrows influences from the 1950's, such as postmodernism and the googie design. The dieselpunk world is a post-Atomic dystopian world that is still stuck in the 1950s (a post-WWII environment) and is usually cast in the future capitalist-run world that relies on the nuclear values of an isolationist America. Its main source of influence would be from George Orwell's book Nineteen Eighty-Four along with Fritz Lang's 1927 film, Metropolis. Aspects of the Futurist art movement are also relevant to the development of the genre relating to dieselpunk"

The list of books and film in this genre is long so I'll just list the changed-my-life, wildly favourite ones: War of the Worlds, 1984, Brazil, Tim Burton's Batman, V for Vendetta, and the film that fascinated my early childhood mind: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

There's also Post Apocolyptic Dieselpunk, "(an) anarchistic world where there is no future or remnant of the past other than ruins and the left-over machines of mankind. The Apocalypse is usually blamed on a horrendous consequence of nuclear war or another terrible global disaster such as extreme climate change. This idea usually employs the elements of big, oily, smokey, rusty, machinery and the savage, tribal, neo-primitive, anarchic civilisation. "

Examples: Dr Strangelove, Mad Max, Waterworld.  I'll also add another one of my film-loves: 12 Monkeys. Terry Gilliam totally has the genre nailed.

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So what am I going to do with all this info and obsession? Well, I might want to write a book set appropriately. Bodog and I had an exhilerating knock-down drag-out argument and thoughtful discussion on the concept and he insists that there must be a reason to use it.  My argumant is why can't romances, mysteries, and dramas happen in the dieselpunk / steampunk setting?

I guess it all boils down to my doing it and seeing how it turns out.  Perhaps it's all a visual thing. perhaps what I really love is the incredibly rich scenery and devices and gadgets. Hmm, maybe what will fulfill me is visually artistic rather than the written word.

Whatever it is, I am totally stoked about it.  It's an amazingly satisfying feeling to have loved something so long and then discovered that it had a name and a whole community of folks who love it too!

Wish me luck on my Dieselpunk adventures!  I'll keep you apprised.



*This is 'mate' as in 'my friend' in case you just wandered by and are not aware of my Anglophiliac tendencies. Though I adore Barb and would totally do her.

It's not a magic trick, it's parenting.

So, I came across an article in my local newspaper (The State) about baby-proofing your home that made me so cross, I thought: "Ah, hah! Blog fodder!"

I happily continued my paper, setting aside the offending section.

Then I got to Rosemond. I read Rosemond religiously (LOL!) and am v. often outraged or angered by some of the stuff he writes about. Not at HIM, mind you, but at some of the bloody idiots who are parenting out there.

See, here's the thing. I don't give a flying fark at the moon how you parent your child. Srsly. They are YOUR kids and you should be allowed to raise them as you see fit. You can bottle feed, stuff 'em with carbs, co-sleep, give 'em a paci, let them drink Mt Dew straight out of the 20 oz bottle at age one, or wear your 4-year-old on your hip in an organically grown designer hand-woven hemp sling that costs $250.

I DON'T BLOODY CARE.

I might comment to myself, my friends, on Twitter, and snarkily in my blog - I welcome you to do the same about my parenting foibles - but I would never say you shouldn't do these things, only that *I* wouldn't do them.

BUT. And this but is almost as big as my own:

You are NOT allowed to parent in ways that affects me and my children adversly without criticism from me!

Did you get that?

This includes endless moaning on Twitter, Facebook, IRL and blogs about the results of your particular parenting. If that 4-year-old in the sling is hurting your back and you whine about it every day, well, this bitch is gonna finally tell you to put the damned spoilt kid down cuz even my 2 year old can walk on his own!

If you go on and on about weaning from a paci or being kicked in your co-sleep by a toddler, I reserve the right to sigh and roll my eyes and suggest you might just trash the paci (finally), kick the kid into her own bed (finally), be tough, ignore the crying, and go on about your lives. Jeez!

Look. I'm NOT a better mom than you, and my kids are NOT superior to yours, but when you make parenting choices then complain overly much about the results and do nothing to change it, well, it's not cute and is gonna elicit comment.

"Right, Blue," you're saying now, "So we get it, but what's this post about? What got yer knickers in a wad in the paper? Are we getting to some point?"

Yes. Yes, we are.

It's also not OK when your parenting methods affect me and mine. That's bad. that's v. bad.

The Rosemond article is about classroom sizes and how the idiots trying to 'reform' schools are basically pissing into the wind and using huge wodges of cash to prop the outhouse door open.

One of the 'reform' methods is to reduce class sizes and teacher/student ratios, yet, back in the day, classes were as much as twice as large and they were taught successfully by a single teacher. Rosemond nails the reason why this worked:

"The reason 1950s kids could be successfully taught in overcrowded classrooms is because they had been and were being properly disciplined in the home"

Let me pause here and say, emphatically, that I don't condone overcrowded classrooms. I also would never want my kid's teachers to have any more students. But the reason is exactly the one Rosemond pointed out.

I will share with you the last day of 4-year-old Kindergarten for my Bitty Girl (all the children in the class are 5 by now, of course). They had a wee little celebration with singing and such and it was loads of fun. Most of the 4K moms/grandmoms were there and several dads. Afterwards we retired to the cafeteria for sugary carbo-bomb snacks.

During the hour and a half that I was there I saw one child deliberately, and with forethought, stomp on another child's foot (during the singing!) This little creep never once attempted to join in the performance, but scowled around and messed with the other kids. Until he decided to stomp on Taylor.

Yes, I know. He is 5 and 5 year olds stomp on others every now and then. but this was viciously well-thought out. srsly.  Yes, yes, I know, this is 4K, designed especially for kids with various needs. The only reason Bitty got in was because of our pathetic income and her Autism. I have no idea if this child has behavioral problems. Well ... yes, I do. He obviously does. I have no idea if they are developmental or the result of parenting.

But here's my thing. His mother was sitting right there. Right there! Two feet away. This kid stomped on Taylor's foot, deliberately and as hard as he could, pausing in between each to study Taylor's face for a reaction, and he did it SIX times as his mother just stared. I was this close to barking at him to knock it the fark off myself before one of the teachers spotted and 'redirected' him.

My child in this class is Autistic, and I would never, never allow her to harm another child. I parent her just like I parent her NT siblings - making adjustments for her needs, of course - but I still parent her!  She still must abide by all the rules of polite society or I remove her from the situation.

One child during the entire thing would not stop talking and running around the room. His mother just smiled at him and encouraged him. One child threw a snit-fit in the middle of the room, lying on the floor and screaming (no he's not Autistic). His mother just gave us all a 'what're ya gonna do?' shrug and grin.

WTBF?!

Later on, in the cafeteria, while my own daughter sat quietly eating (as did her 4 year old brother and her 2 year old brother) at the table, a perfect storm of kids whirled around us, running, screaming, climbing on the tables. Not one child took his plate and threw it away except for mine (the 4 and the 2 year-olds as well, without being asked). Kids were shouting, kids were interrupting their parents' convos, kids were whining and dragging on their mother's sleeves, kids were throwing food.

It was a nightmare and all the while the parents stood around talking and ignoring the bad behaviour.

I understand that kids will be kids. Mine will be happy to run and scream, and can whine at the pro level, but I spend my time actually, oh, parenting. All the time. Every day.  If mine step out of line, I am there in a heartbeat to nudge them back.

My kids must say and do at home as they say and do in public. Subsequently they require v. little overt parenting when we are out. I'm not some super mom. I'm just bloody consistant and insistant. I expect them to be quite and respectful. They have never been allowed to leave the table without permission in their lives. They are expected to tidy up after themselves, say "Yes, sir" and "No, Ma'am", and wash their hands after going to the bathroom. It's not some magic trick. It's parenting.

So, back to the classroom sizes: I understand completely why teachers need reduced class sizes these days and it's all because of parenting FAIL. And that's a damned shame.

It's a shame and it makes me angry the OTHER people are not parenting their own children and then are sending said children to school where they interfere - through their out-of-control behaviour - with MY kids' education.

This is wrong. You can coddle, you can cuddle, you can not spank, you can not discipline, you can buy your kid anything and everything, you can do his homework for him, not expect him to behave or be respectful, but this little monster YOU have created is interfereing with MY well behaved kids who want to learn.

Are any of your kids' classrooms filled with poorly behaved children? Does your child's teacher spend so much time dealing with out-of-control kids that she doesn't have time to teach?  What should be done about this problem, do you think?  Leave me your comments and let me know!

Friday Funneh

I've just wasted an arse-load of time and laughed myself silly over this:



Go. Read the reviews. Read ALL the reviews.

Srsly. Trust me.

Regulate THIS. Parenting fail.

I didn't know whether to put this turd of an article on childhood obesity and  junk food ads on my Thrifty Dieter's Blog or may parenting blog. As a matter of fact, I'm typing this right now on my dieting blog but am fixin' to cut n paste it over ...

Stand by ...

There. Shiny.

So, here goes:

"AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Junk food ads account for two-thirds of televised advertisements for food that are shown when children are likely to be watching, researchers into obesity said Friday, based on a study of 11 countries.

Germany and the United States led the way at 90 percent, with Britain and Australia the lowest at about 50 percent, the researchers said, urging governments to limit such marketing in order to combat obesity.

"Internationally, children are exposed to high volumes of unhealthy food and beverage advertising on television," Bridget Kelly, a nutrition researcher at the Cancer Council NSW in Australia, and colleagues told the European Congress on Obesity in Amsterdam.

Uh, huh.  Then thay show us the stats - just so we are aware of the problem - in case we've not stepped into a Wal Mart / Target/ K-Mart / whatever in the last decade:

''About 177 million children and teenagers under 18 years old worldwide are clinically overweight or obese. The figures include 22 million overweight children under five years old, according to the International Obesity Task Force."

Yep, yep, OK.  Knew that. V. concerned about it, myself.  Then we have:

""There is a lot of attention on unhealthy food marketing as an influence on childhood obesity and a lot of governments are reluctant to regulate," Kelly said in an interview. "So most countries in the study don't have regulations on food advertising."

The researchers, who looked at children in Australia, Asia, Eastern and Western Europe and North and South America, found that junk food ads mainly featuring fast food, confectionery and high-fat dairy foods increased during times young people were most likely to be watching
.
"Children see around 4,000 to 6,000 food advertisements on television a year and between 2,000 and 4,000 are for unhealthy foods," Kelly said. "So even if you are in countries that are advertising less to children, that is still a lot.""

And, finally:

"While establishing a direct link between advertising and obesity is difficult, it is clear marketing plays a big role in the kinds of food children prefer, the researchers said."

BIG FAT PARENTING FAIL, people!!

They're talking about CHILDREN!  Children who, for the most part, do NOT purchase their own food!

"kinds of food children prefer"?!  I'll bet every child on the planet would prefer to eat brownies, marshmallows, and a half pound of candy corn, drenched in syrup, and milkshakes to wash it down with.

You stupid idiots!  These kids all have - what I like to call - "PARENTS" (use the air quotes, go on,) whose damned JOB it is to make an intelligent best-for-my-kids decision about what to purchase and prepare for their children!

These assholes want the government to regulate parenting some more?!  Because a huge number of parents just can't be arsed to make smart food choices for their kids?  How dare you suggest that we are all some sort of helpless victims, here. Unable to stop our weak, weak willed selves from giving wee Ymmah ("pronounced "Emma") and Jaysonne every little damned thing they want!

Or because mommy and daddy are, themselves, grotesque, bulging, sweating, wheezing, sedentary carbohydrate addicts (y'all know I had to squeeze in a low-carb pimp) who'd rather get their GUTS sewn up and eat 1/2 cup sized meals (and vomit quite a bit) for the rest of their lives (oh, and end up gaining the weight back anyway!)???

Did I get that right?  Did I? Did I use enough exclaimation marks?

Seriously.

"Limiting this food marketing is an important preventative strategy for childhood obesity."

No, no, no, NO!  I don't need a damned government nanny.  I mom for a living, people. Like Dane Cook said in My Best Friend's Girl : "It's what I do."

(*pauses to wipe Dane Cook induced drool off of chin*)

I chose to be a mother. I wanted to be a mother. I am determined to be the best damned mother I can be. And that means being One Tough Mother. I'm not my kid's friend or buddy. I am his/her mother. I try to buy stuff they prefer, but fact is, there's just one rule at my table: Eat What I Fix, or Go Hungry.

No, wait, there's a second one: No Bitching.

I try to get the best, most healthy ingredients: fresh eggs, wholesome meats, real vegetables, real butter, cheese, whole milk, etc, etc, and I spend a lot of time shopping, planning, cooking and cleaning up afterwards.  Eat or don't eat, your choice, and keep quiet about it.  No one gets special meals, no one gets a PB and J if you just hate what I served. "My baby will only eat mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets so that's all I serve!" has never been typed by me on a baby board.

If my babies (and I have five children with 5 v. different tastes) didn't like something, well, too bad. They got served that something 12 more times and had to eat at least one big bite every single damned time. After a while, when I determined that there were some things that certain kids just hated (oldest Boy, won't eat mashed potatoes, for instance), well, then I just leave that off his/her plate. Otherwise: supper as usual.

YOU are the mom. YOU make the food choices. BE the mom. Make GOOD choices.

See how simple that was?

Kids learn by example, folks. They learn by what you do and say.  Your sweet babies will be exposed to cigarettes, drugs, sex, crime, commercialism, idiot victim-minded liberals, stupid closeminded conservatives, money-lenders, and high fructose corn syrup in their young lives.  If YOU, mom and dad, actually pay attention and stand up and teach Bryttani and Kayde how to make good choices, well, you may actually produce some normal sized, normal lived, successful, and happy people.

Cuz, y'know, that HFCS will kill you.