Good Reads Library
Random Rantings On Things Large and Small
I have been too preoccupied with summer reading programs, hives, and the needs of my family to rant much lately. So brace yourselves for all of this:
I am looking forward to the next "Harry Potter" book. But there are lots of other fabulous childrens books sitting on the shelves of libraries and bookstores because they haven't been hyped to the stratosphere. And I wonder how many copies of "Harry" are sitting on the shelves of misguided parents who thought it would turn their child into a reader miraculously? A whole lot, I'd bet. Especially judging from the number of pristine "Harry" books that get donated to the libary each year.......................
Hint, parents. Take away the XBox. Shut off the TV. Cut off the chatrooms. Take your kid to the library and look for some books about something he/she is actually INTERESTED in! Bring them home. Pull out a book yourself and read while your child reads! It's not a "magic fix", but it can help, and you might enjoy it as well. Hey, no one said parenting wasn't going to be WORK........
I'm also delighted that my 10 year old isn't reading the Potter books yet--I hope she waits until she is a few years older and can really appreciate them. Anyone reading them to a 5 or 6 year old is NUTS!
Please don't waste my time telling me how BRILLIANT little Max or Madison is. I've heard it all before. Been hearing it for going on 20 years from all the parents I've ever dealt with. Spare me. Just go to the library and find someone who can suggest something a bit more age appropriate and wait for "Harry" until they're big enough to read it on their own! It'll still be there and meanwhile there are a whole lot of other books for them to love and enjoy that will really appeal to them on the level they are on right now--socially and culturally. What's the big rush? They grow up too damn fast anyway--at least mine do!
The day Tom Cruise gives birth is the day I'll listen to his pronouncements on post partum depressions. As for pyschiatry, after watching his increasingly erratic behavior over the last few months, I find it hard to believe he isn't on some kind of medication himself. And if he's not, he needs to be......
And the day that Oprah gives up her lavish lifestyle and pours ALL her money into charity is the day I'll put her up for the Nobel Peace Prize. (Some group is actually proposing this--I am NOT making this up!) Considering that fit of hers over Hermes de Paris not allowing her to shop any time she knocks on their door (so she could drop an amount probably equal to the average single mom's yearly take home pay on some designer duds), I won't be staying up nights waiting to write that petition to Sweden.....
Here's a wild thought! Why don't we put 12 totally independent judges on the Supreme Court. Not Democrats, not Republicans, not Libertarians, or Progressives or whatever else is out there. Twelve judges who understand that the Constitution is not supposed to be about our personal beliefs or our political views but about the LAW!
A lot of the so called political blogs I am reading are no more than schoolyard level nastiness disguised with fancy slogans, graphics and pretentious puffery. And if you aren't willing to field comments from opposing views, or can't do so in a way that ALLOWS there are opposing points of view, please say so, so that the rest of us can ignore your blog and go on to the next one....
The angriest, most virulent, most loudly self declared "patriots" tend to live in zones far, far away from urban sprawl. And yet, somehow, they seem to have suffered the most since 9/11 and also seem to feel that they are the ones in the cross hairs of any further terrrorist plots. Amazing..........
The coverage of events in London via the BBC World Service is fascinating and moving. Londoners are not plastering themselves with Union Jacks and hiding in their houses--they are out and getting on with things!
I knew there was a large Muslim population in the UK, but I didn't know that over 1 million Muslims live in London. And the area around Edgeware Road--one of the bomb sites--is a predominately Arabic area. Think about that for a bit.........
Can we just put all the fundamentalists on a deserted island somewhere and let them fight it out? I mean the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, all the hard liners of every race and faith who feel they and they alone have been given the truth. We could watch the whole thing on TV--it would be the biggest summer replacement show ever!
And then maybe the rest of us can go back to raising our kids and living our lives and letting other people live theirs in peace........
SIGH. Okay, that's enough ranting and raving to keep me calm for a few more days. Blogging is SO theraputic......
