I might be crazy… but I do it anyway
If you know the song the title is from, like me you probably have a young one with a Hannah Montana obsession. Now, I have so far been very accommodating, and have proved myself a worthy sucker for Disney’s marketing machine. I used to wonder how they made money on their shows and movies on the Disney Channel without the benefit of advertising (although I have noticed the “proud sponsor” spots sneaking in much like they now do on PBS shows, but that is a different rant for another day). Now I know where they make the money.
We have clothes, dolls, I was one of the fortunate parents that was able to get tickets (at face value) for the concert, and Santa Claus even came across with the Digital Blue 718 Disney Mix Stick Hannah Montan Mp3 Player (a compromise between me wanting her to have her own music player, and TheWife thinking she was too young for a “real” MP3 player).
Now of course, since our TV rarely leaves the Disney Channel, I of course knew that the Hannah Montana 3D movie was coming. I was somewhat hoping (fine I was in denial) that since she went to the actual concert, she would not be interested in going to see the movie. Of course this was NOT the case. But fine I thought, it is just a movie.
What I didn’t anticipate (and did not see in the commercials until this past week) is that this movie is being release for “1 week only.” Which in many of the theaters (at least around here) means they are only showing it 1 or 2 days. Then TheWife informs me that tickets are $15!!! $15 for a movie that is barely over an hour long! But things don’t stop there. No, since there are only a total of 6 shows over two days, the closest theater to us that is showing the movie is SOLD OUT! TheWife was actually considering (before I found tickets at another theater) trying to buy tickets through a ticket broker. Can you imagine this? Scalping tickets to a movie?
Fortunately as I said, I was able to find tickets at another theater, because there was no way I was “paying up” for tickets to the movie. So, TheWife and LatteGirl will get to see Hannah in 3D (Noooo, I’m not going… not at $15 per). And I am left to ponder, is Disney out of their freakin’ minds? Or am I?
That time of the year
I have always suffered from what is commonly known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (or S.A.D.) In simple terms it is a form of depression that is basically believed to be brought on by a lack of sunlight, and a corresponding lack of serotonin. In itself, it is a difficult thing to deal with, but the seeming lack of acknowledgment of its existence from far too many healthcare professionals makes it at time downright maddening.
But this isn’t about me. I know I have it, I have my coping mechanisms, and when they don’t work, I now have people that I can go to that can help. The reason I bring this up is more about the kids. When I was young, S.A.D. wasn’t even a diagnosis that would come into play (at the time it was strictly considered a condition for places much closer to the Artic regions where sunlight becomes even more scarce or downright non-existant in the winter). But just as bad, it is still overlooked often today.
As adults, we have more of a tendency to “know” when we are out of sorts and when we just don’t feel quite right. Not necessarily always, but we do tend to know when something is at least out of the ordinary. Kids do not have this mechanism (or perhaps experience) to recognize this or at least how to verbalize it.
Kidshealth.org has an excellent article which includes some things to look for in your child (this includes teens as well) and to be aware of. These symptoms include:
- Changes in mood during winter months (admittedly, this can be a difficult one to recognize in teenagers, as their moods change often)
- Lack of enjoyment in activities that the child normally likes doing
- A lack of energy or unusual tiredness or fatigue
- Changes in eating habits (often associated with lots of simple carbs, and sugary “comfort foods”)
- Difficulty in concentrating (Does your child tend to do better in the beginning and end of the year, but not so much so in the mid-year?)
- Less time socializing
This isn’t a checklist. A child suffering from SAD doesn’t need to display all of these symptoms, nor do they need to obvious. The changes can just as easily be subtle (depending of course on how severe the case is). It may not simply be a case of “the blues.”
Does she know something we don’t?
LatteGirl: I can’t sleep in my room any more?
TheWife: Why?
LatteGirl: That is the nursery now.
Insert sound of TheWife’s jaw hitting the floor.
Food Battle
Since more than 50% of people are against animal cloning according to a study done by the International Food Information Council, I am confident that I am not alone when I say how disappointed I am at the FDA approving cloned animals to be used in our food supply. What bothers me more than that, is that the companies that lobbied the FDA to get this through, are aware (as I am sure the FDA is as well) at the negative response, and because of this have gone through the effort to hide it by refusing to require food derived from cloned animals to be marked as such. Sort of a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell for Clones.
This of course leads to the potential for labels from those that do not use cloned animals to mark their products as such. But let us look for a second at an issue that I have mentioned here before, the use of synthetic hormones in milk. Dairies that have chosen to not use Monsanto’s rBGH/rBST should under the same theory be “free” to let consumers know that they produce a product that does not use these hormones, giving consumers that would rather not use them a choice. Simple enough, right? Wrong! Monsanto tried the court route, with mixed results, certainly not good enough for them. Suddenly now there appears to be a genuine campaign to get these labels removed, so that consumers will not be allowed to chose for themselves.
Is this what the FDA means by “free to label or mark their products?” The simple fact is, that they assume an uneducated consumer is the best consumer, because that means more profits at the expense of your health… not that you would know it, because the FDA… who is supposed to be watching out for the best interest of the people, are all too quickly giving in to pressure from politics and big business.
It is coming to a point, where regardless of how careful you are or try to be with what you feed your family, these corporations have the money to take away your right to know what it is that you are eating. If this all sounds “anti-business” it isn’t. It is about anti-corrupt-businesses. Businesses like Monsanto that have no ethics and cheat and lie to the public and try to buy off politicians. Heck, I have all the respect in the world for companies like Burger King. Are they selling products that are, well questionable in nutritional value and awful in regards to fat? Of course. And they make no bones about it. They tell you simply the way it is. We cater to fat people with big appetites. Sure, a bacon cheeseburger is loaded with fat. But if you are a big person, with a big appetite, and want something that has 5 layers of cheese, burger and bacon, and want to consume all that fat in one sitting, then we are happy to serve you. It is not healthy. It is not smart. But they aren’t trying to get lawmakers to ban health food stores for “misleading customers by claiming that their tofu is a better choice” as their defense. It is disgusting… but it is honest. You want to eat that… you know what you are getting and are making a choice.
Unfortunately, when it comes to cloning (and unless we can stop it soon milk as well), you can’t make such a choice.
Ski-rrific
Nerves started to set in before we reached the mountain. Both for me and for LatteGirl. In the end she stood strong, got on the skis, went for it, and had a blast. The kids and the adult lessons were on separate areas, so I walked back and forth between the two of them, watching them progress through the lesson. However, I stopped checking on TheWife after a while, because every time I seemed to come back to LatteGirl, she was in the next stage of her lessons already. She blew threw her lessons so fast, she was out on the (bunny) slopes, while the other kids she was with in a group lesson were still 2 step back in the progression to the slopes.
Me on the other hand… well… I opted out. Not solely out of fear of another injury (but I will admit it was part… conditions, granular but icy, were just too similar for my comfort. I may have even had a flashback as I stood there looking up at the mountain.), but also so I could play a supporting role in ensuring that LatteGirl and TheWife’s first trip skiing 
was a pleasant experience. So, I played pack mule, and arranger, and of course photograher, so all they had to worry about was enjoying themselves. And they did.
I have to admit, by the end of the day, part of me (the part that was fearful earlier) was regretting not getting up the nerve to get back on those skis. The part of me that was exhausted just from trying to ensure everything went right with this excursion however, was glad that I didn’t try to do all of the little things that I had to do and try to ski on top of it.
So how much fun did the two of them have? Well, let me put it this way. Next Monday, while I am at work, and they are enjoying a day off (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) they are planning to hit the slopes again without me. I guess they don’t want me and my nerves dragging down their mood. But who knows, as enthusiatic as they are about it right now, they just might be able to get me back on the slopes yet.
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