Dobrindts dot com...again

I am deeply ashamed to admit this, trust me, but the Wiggles have become a big part of my life over the last 4 years. For those of you who have older children or no kids, the Wiggles are a disturbing group of 4 men, from their 30s to, someone told me the Asian guy is in his 50s but I have not verified it, who formed in the early 90s and are the hugest thing in kids entertainment and were last year's highest earning entertainer in Australia (they are from Australia), over Nicole Kidman and AC/DC. They sing and dance and play with other imaginary creatures and even have their own amusement park. They tour the world and kids hold up lighters at the end of their concert so they will come out and play more songs filled with ridiculous lyrics that adults of small kids find themselves humming while sitting in traffic. The four guys wear very basic outfits and each one is color coded - Greg in yellow, a handsome man in his thirties is sort of the leader of this band, Murray in red who my wife calls Ken Garee, a friend of mine, Murray is also fairly young I think and is kind of the timid one, Jeff in purple, the Asian guy who someone told me is like 50 and his shtick on the show is that he is always sleeping, something that is a reality in my life but more because Patti and I are up every night with one of three kids being the reason, and finally Anthony in blue, a step child sort of guy who has no real place in the group other than a fill in. It's all very sad.

So I have come to know and loathe this wacky troop of mischief because my kids, and millions of other kids, love them. Their show has pirates with feather swords and a talking octopus and a big dog and a convertible and a boat and all of that crap. Kids go nuts over them.

Well, things are coming to an end. Greg, the leader I mentioned, is leaving the group. It's actually pretty sad because he is dropping out for health reasons. I'm not sure of the details but he has some kind of rare disorder that has made it impossible for him to continue. He did not go on their last tour and his understudy, yes, they each have an understudy, is going to fill in. Kind of like the Beatles without Lennon or the Stones without Jagger, the group is centered in Greg. He sings most of their songs and leads most of the skits. Now, others have faired well with a new leader. The AC/DC group I mentioned had to get a new lead singer after their very successful one past on and they continue to be very successful. But more times than not the new front man is just filling in until the group or TV show or whatever entertainment act just dies a slow death.

I make fun of this group but they have to be given their due respect. Their show hits on the right things for kids I guess, simple lyrics and the right message and funny songs and ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Four adults doing this is strange, no matter how much kids love them. As an adult with normal interests (global economics, politics, sports, movies, James Taylor, ideas for a nicer kitchen) I want to drill holes in my skull when the show is on. It bugs me and I find it slow and lacking depth. There are some kid’s shows that I don'tt mind but this is not one of them.

But getting back to the respect thing. So they did the right thing and built an empire out of the very true fact that parents will spend an insane amount of money to make a 3 year old happy when that three year old will never ever remember what their parents did for them. Sure, they will remember by exhibiting traits that we all want in our kids, happiness and respect for others and discipline and being well adjusted, but the truth is we, as parents, spend the money so that we sleep better at night because basic human nature allows people to get satisfaction when others are made happy by our actions and that is multiplied by a thousand times when its your own kids. So the Wiggles did this and built a very successful business. The other more serious side is that this guy might have an ailment so very bad that he is risking the future of his empire by dropping out because of it. That is no joking matter and I hope that everything works out for him. As much as I might not like the Wiggles, Greg Page is married with two little children of his own and a life changing health issue is something that affects not just him but all those affected by him. I hope it works out well.

So my guess is reruns will play more on TV and kids will have no idea that a new leader is fronting the band. The premise of the group will stay the same and unlike adults who might not like the new Bewitched husband or daughter in Roseanne or doctor in Northern Exposure, kids will just care about laughing and dancing.

Posted by David at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I like to watch TV magazine programs like Dateline, 20/20 and of course, the original, 60 Minutes. I DVR the programs and will at least see what the topic is and then decide if I am going to watch them. I love 60 Minutes and usually watch the segments. I’ll skip some of the nonsense segments that spend an hour going over an obscure murder or something that has mysterious circumstances around it.

So Sunday night I recorded 60 Minutes and was interested in a segment on the Iraqi war. It had an interview with 4 Star General Abizaid who took over for Tommy Franks as the commander in charge of the operation in the middle east (as well as other responsibilities). He has a really interesting background (West Point, Harvard, speaks fluid Arabic) and I wanted to see what he had to say.

Now, most of Americans understand that television news and the media in general is very biased toward the left side of politics. The media is very liberal and I have no problem with it as long as they are clear with their slant on specific stories. I still love the Boston Globe, still read the NY Times and still watch the evening news even though they are not objective, not in the least.

60 Minutes has always been the same, even more so than other news magazine shows. Again, I have no issue with it, I read enough to get a full picture. Or at least think I do. People often rely too much on one source for their facts (i.e. only watch Bill O’Reilly, only read Washington Post, only watch local news, etc) and I try to read enough to get the facts, then I can see what is clear political motives on a segment and what is just reporting of facts. I’ll admit I look at things through a certain colored glass, but I try.

So I watched the segment with Abizaid and it was a freakin joke. The show didn’t match up one of its heavy weights or well known/respected journalists like Safer, Mike Wallace or even Lesley Stahl. It paraded out Lara Logan, this young cutie who wore a tight shirt in Iraq and fish net stockings while interviewing a FOUR STAR GENERAL at his headquarters in Tampa. She insulted him by calling the war a defeat (managing defeat) and was no more objective than David Duke speaking about affirmative action. She is certainly attractive and I’m sure she is smart, but the interview and the segment in general was a joke. If they got President Bush to do an interview, would they have Michael Moore write the segment and Lara in a bathing suite?

Posted by David at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have a cat named Finley. His name comes from a watering hole we lived near when we were in Huntington, NY called Finley's of Greene Street. It was a great bar in Huntington Village and kind of fit for a cat.

We got the cat about a year and a half ago because we wanted a dog but with three little kids and a small house, a cat was more manageable. He's a charcoal color, shaggy kind of hair that is not totally short even after we have him shaved (75 dollars) for the summer, and he is evil. Evil as Beelzebub. Here is why.

When there is no other animal in the house, Finley is a typical cat. Arrogant, aloof, non committal...

When there is no other animal in the house, Finley is a typical cat. Arrogant, aloof, non committal, kind of cold and distant. He appears every now and then when he feels like it, might approach someone, lay down for a second, and off he goes again to sleep quietly in some warm and dark corner of an open closet. The kids can pull on his tail and ears all day long and he doesn't scratch them, he just gets up and struts away like some movie star who can't be bothered by local fans. Overall, I don't like the cat because there is no interaction and no loyalty. It seems like he could be at any home, with any family and it wouldn't phase him. In fact, I bet if in some alter-world event another family of 5 came home from dinner, it would take him months to realize if at all. Now that I think about it, that stupid cat thinks we, I, exist to serve him and clean out his freakin cat litter box every week. And what's the freakin point, we got a cat so the kids could have a pet and what kind of pet is he?? Huh?? Seriously, what kind of pet is a cat that doesn't play, doesn't sleep on a bed at least when someone else is there, doesn't seem to really LIKE any of us and trust me, we are not mean to that stupid cat. At least Patti and the kids aren't. Why even get a cat, at least the kid's stuffed animals can be used at night to get them to sleep. Why not just stick one of Ethan's stuffed monkeys in the back of the closet and take it out once day to remind us it's still there, it would save on cat food and no more smelly box of cat sh*t in the basement. And that's another thing, every chance he gets, Finley runs out the door and I have to freakin chase him around the house like some merry go round to coax him back into the house. I started just letting him stay out there until someone else opens the door and he begs to come in. Rain, snow, cold, sleet, firey balls of hail coming down from the sky, I don't care, if Lord Finley wants to roam the yard like a bull out to stud then let him.

So anyway, a family that we are friends with had to go to the hospital (the wife was having a baby, their third) and we got to watch their dog Gloucester. He's a 70 pound yellow lab with a great personality, kind of like Puumba, our Rottweiler we had before Emily was born. Large dog but great with kids and people.

The problem with Gloucester (for those not from here, it's pronounced Glahster), is when he gets into our house he loses any sense of being a large male dog. The stupid cat immediately gets in his face and for just about every minute torments him. Finley stares at him and just when Gloucester puts his guard down, the cat pounces and bats at him. Last night at like 2 in the morning the cat attacked the dog and made both of them yelp or whatever sound a dog makes when it's attacked and whatever sound a cat makes when its attacking. It scared the living crap out of me, I thought there was a fight in a chicken pen or something, in my bedroom right at the foot of my bed. I almost got up and kicked the cat through the window but Patti would not have been happy we don't kick animals in our house she told me.

So the poor dog is by my side every second, and when I go out, he goes with me. He interacts with us. He sleeps on the bed with some part of him always touching me. He rests his head on my knee when I am sitting down. He is obedient and trained and reacts to me when I tell him something. When the cat is clawing on the couch that I AM SITTING ON and I yell at him to stop he doesn't even give me the courtesy to look at me when he ignores me. It takes a thrown pillow to get him to stop. When Gloucester is running along the brook the runs near our property, all it takes is a grunt and he comes back to my side.

So for the next three days I need to protect my temporary yellow lab. The cat is on him every second and the poor dog is going to leave his stay a broken animal, shaking and jumpy, eyes deep in his socket and black from lack of sleep, shoulders slumped from constant bullying, probably a twitch in his eye. Freakin cat, thinks he owns this house.

And we're getting a second cat in about 4 weeks. A calico, our neighbor’s cat had 4 kittens and we are told cats should be raised in pairs. Why do I agree to this type of stuff.

Posted by David at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I got the flu shot today. Exciting. And for another year I had someone inject dead flu virus into my body.

Posted by David at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Uh oh. John Kerry's in a little bit of trouble.

From the NY Daily News.

In a speech Monday at Pasadena City College in California, Kerry opened with some one-liners, then said: "Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

He shouldn't have said that. There are few things that people are more proud of than their time in the military, their association with someone in the military, or our military history. To call people in the military stupid, which is what he did, was not a good political move. I think what's worse is Kerry's unwillingness to apologize.

It's kind of like two kids in third grade arguing over something. The republicans jump all over Kerry for his remarks and what does Kerry do? He shoots back at Bush for Iraq. Yeah, we get it.

"I'm stupid?? Yeah, well...you smell bad. And your clothes are too small. "

Bush is doing a terrible job in Iraq. That's what everyone stands on during their campaign. We get it. But what about your comment to those students? It's like when someone asks my father in law how old he is (usually on his birthday), his response is also "6 foot 2 inches".

Things for Kerry are going to get worse before they get better. The republicans have their own issues to deal with, but Kerry just offended almost everyone in this country.

Unfortunately, Bush responded with...

"The members of the United States military are plenty smart and they are plenty brave and the senator from Massachusetts owes them an apology,"

Now why did he have to go and use the word "plenty". Damn it.

I'm going to keep an eye on this one, I think it has legs.

By the way, if you have last week's 60 Minutes on your DVR, make sure you watch the piece on the military's medical treatment of soldiers and wounded civilians in Iraq. It's sad but a great story.

David out.

Posted by David at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Halloween this year was fun and the kids got dressed up and all of that stuff. I'll post some pictures in a few days, all three of our kiddies looked good as did the other little kids from the neighborhood we went around with. The weather was upper 60s so great night for walking around begging for food.

The problem I had this year was the choice of "treats" that Patti bought to give out to the kids. Instead of candy, like chocolate or gum or licorice or something, she got pretzels. Halloween themed bags of pretzels. Yep, when kids came to my door I had the pleasure of handing out bags of pretzels. I usually did with an apology and request not to egg my house, that I was just a participant and not the decision maker.

Next year we are going to give out toothpaste, notepads or advice.

Posted by David at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)