Pet Peeve

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves ... people who look down as they walk.

I can't even begin to put into words how much this bothers me. Nothing says someone has a serious lack of self confidence more than walking along with their head down. I can think of only a few instances in which you should be looking at the ground as you're walking:

1. You're in an area frequented by dogs or Canada Geese.
   
2. There's a genuine safety concern about where you are walking.
   
3. You're retracing your steps looking for something.
   
4. You have a physical ailment that prevents you from looking straight ahead was you walk.

I was never aware of this issue until I studied karate as a pre-teen a looooong time ago. My instructor, Rick LeClair (I still remember his name!), was forgettable in many respects but he did teach me this one thing that I'll remember for the rest of my life. And ever since I was made aware, it's the first thing I notice about someone whether I know them or not ... for me, it speaks volumes about a person.

So I was in a class one Saturday morning and Rick would start each session talking about what we had learned so far, how to conduct ourselves inside and outside the class, etc. One day, he said the following (I'm paraphrasing, of course, but the essence of his message remains):

"Whenever you walk alone or with others, you should always hold your head high and look straight ahead. You all work hard and you should be very proud of that. People who look down as they walk often have little self confidence or feel (consciously or subconsciously) that they have accomplished nothing in life. You are not one of those people because the very fact that you are here means you have accomplished much ... you have done something you should be very proud of. I don't want to see anyone walking with their head down."

For me, this was one of those "Ah, ha!" moments people talk about and I'm amazed that 25+ years later, I think of this every single time I see someone walking with their head down.

So this is what it's come to ...

Just read this story on cnn.com and I'm speechless.

In a nutshell, the story is about women in the Santa Barbara area of California who sleep in their cars after becoming homeless because they lost their jobs.

What amazes me is that the problem is so bad that there actually are programs in place now that designate parking lots in which people can park and sleep in their cars overnight.

"There are 12 parking lots across Santa Barbara that have been set up to accommodate the growing middle-class homelessness. These lots are believed to be part of the first program of its kind in the United States, according to organizers.

The lots open at 7 p.m. and close at 7 a.m. and are run by New Beginnings Counseling Center, a homeless outreach organization."

Why do I get the feeling that this won't be only such program of its kind in the US?

Prom night

Kell's high school (well, it's not her high school, it's the one at which she is a teacher ... I digress) held their prom last weekend and I went along as a chaperone because it was a free date night and it was good to see some of the people she works with.

Anyway, it was at the prom that I came to a disconcerting realization ... I'm old.

I base this epiphany on a few observations:

• It never ceases to amaze how many girls (and they are girls, not women) go for the slutty look. Just astounding that their parents would let them leave the house like that.
  
• Apparently, the new(?) thing is for guys to wear new baseball caps as formal wear. There were a few kids there wearing caps with the flat brim, slightly askew. Now, this was bad enough, but what was even worse was the fact that they didn't take off the caps when they sat down to dinner. Drove me absolutely insane.
  
• Seeing kids practically fornicating in dark corners of the hall was ridiculous. But Kell had fun going after them, so that was fun to watch.
  
• Aside from the few teachers' requests that the DJ played, I didn't recognize a single song I heard. They all sounded the same ... bumpa bumpa bumpa ... thumpa thumpa thumpa ... crapola crapola crapola. Ye gods.

But, all that being said, I had to give credit to the few kids who go for that goth/Marilyn Manson-type look. It may be really bizarre to me, but you have to admit that these kids really don't care about conforming to the norm. They really have a unique style ... hmmm, I guess in their own way they're conforming to others like them, but it certainly isn't mainstream.

Anyway, this is a different generation to be sure and never is it more evident than when attending a high school event.

Quack quack

So today I picked up Joey from daycare wearing my green Red Sox cap.

We went to the park and had a grand time on the swings. After the swings,we grabbed some crackers and went to feed the mallard ducks in the nearby pond.

Joey's having a blast talking to and feeding the ducks and I explained to him the difference between the mommy ducks (with the brown heads) and the daddy ducks (with the green heads).

So Joey looks at my hat and then at the ducks and says, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy ... you're my daddy duck!"

Yup, I gave him a big smooch.

I love being a dad

So I'm giving Joey a bath right now (this just couldn't wait) and he's sitting in the tub (I'm on a laptop) playing with his dinosaur toys.

Parenthetically, Joey's in potty training and when he uses the potty, he gets a sticker. Collect enough stickers and he gets a prize (like a book or small toy).

So while he's in the tub, I had to ... use the potty. So I'm standing there giving the Fitchburg Water Dept. something to do (Joey can't see me from the tub) and here's the convo that just took place:

Joey: Daaaaaaady, I can hear you!
Me: Yeah, Daddy has to use the potty, Joe.
Joey: Congratulations, Daddy! You get a sticker!

I'm hoping to get enough stickers to get an Xbox 360 game. Go me!

Seven seasons in nine minutes

Man I miss this show ...

It just keep getting worse ...

Was zipping around the news websites this a.m. and read about the earthquake damage in China and caught this story on cnn.com.

For days now we've been hearing about the devastation of the latest earthquake and its aftershocks to hit China and I didn't even think about this angle of the story.

In a nutshell, the story talks about China's law that parents are only allowed to have one child. Now we're seeing that included in those tens of thousands of people who have died are many children ... which means that there are so many parents now without kids.

At any point in my life this story would have affected me on some level, but since Joey was born, stories like this take on a whole different meaning. Looking at the woman crying in the photo accompanying the picture and reading about parents standing outside a destroyed kindergarten, I couldn't help but put myself in their shoes and I just can't begin to imagine what that must be like. In an instant, your family is gone ... just like that. You'll never hear your child's voice again, never hear them laugh again, never hold them again ... you'll never hear them say, "I love you" again.

Seeing and hearing about this just reminds me again how you can't take anything for granted. I hug my son and kiss him every day and I tell him as much as possible that I love him. I can't imagine life without him.

This is cool, but ...

I don't usually click on ads on webpages, but this one caught my attention.

M&Ms is now offering MLB team-themed M&Ms. I'll save you the time ... here's what the Red Sox ones look like:

Now, this is cool, but ... when you look at the order info, you have to order a minimum of three, 7 ounce bags at $12.99 a pop ... which comes to $38.97 before shipping. Seriously?!? Really?!?

I just went to the vending machine in the breakroom here at the office and I see that a 1.69-ounce bag of M&Ms is $0.80. So, rough math tells me that you'd have to buy about 4.5 bags from the vending machine to get seven ounces which is $3.60.

Look, I love the Sox and baseball as much as the next person, but not enough to spend that kind of coin on M&Ms. Wow ...

Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge

Every year atomfilms.com hosts the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge in which fans post movies they've made celebrating all things Star Wars.

Check out the site for this year's entries.

My personal fave? The Eyes of Darth Tater ...

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

Iron Man

The official beginning of the summer movie season kicks off with Iron Man and what a way to do so.

Believe everything you've heard, folks, this movie rocks. Great cast, great special effects, excellent story ... s'all good.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man was a stroke of casting genius. I've always liked RDJ as an actor and he absolutely nailed this part. And Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane was excellent. Reminded me how much I like him as an actor, as well.

And, of course, Gweneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts ... well, you can't go wrong with Paltrow being in a movie, IMO. Man, she is beautiful.

Best of all, there's a great "Hmmm, didn't see that coming" moment about two-thirds of the way through the film ... very cool and cleverly done.

If I had one complaint about this movie it's that once Stark becomes Iron Man, there's really only one sequence in which he does the superhero thing (other than the big fight at the end). It would've been great to see him flying around doing more good deeds. But then again, Stark addresses in the movie his motivation for becoming Iron Man, so the story line does make sense.

I found it interesting that the ending also didn't make it blatantly obvious there would be a sequel (usually, movies like this bash you over the head and scream that Part II is in the works). Still, I can't imagine them not doing a sequel. The Iron Man comic provides tons of story possibilities and there's one very strong hint in the movie at what a sequel could include ... stay 'tooned.

That and this movie no doubt is going to make a boat load of coin, so does anyone really think the studio isn't going to greenlight another potential blockbuster?

Fave Yankee Stadium moment?

I'm sitting here watching the Cubbies/St. Louis game on Fox ('cause the Sox aren't on until 7 p.m. tonight and this game is Hi-Def and I'll watch any baseball game in Hi-Def) and Fox is running this promo about what is your favorite Yankee Stadium moment.

In case you don't know, this is the final season for Yankee Stadium, which is being replaced after 85 years.

So Fox Sports wants people to log onto their website and tell them what their favorite Yankee Stadium moment has been over the years.

Of course, as a Red Sox fan, I thought to myself, "My favorite moment is when the demolition team implodes the place this fall."

Couldn't resist ...