Idiosycratic Life

Okay, so this period of not having a steady job (which, by the way, has become MUCH more relaxing now that there is a definite end point at which a Real Job begins) has led me to have a weird sleep schedule and much television watching which is starting to make me a little wonky, I think. I have gotten into the habit of watching two back-to-back episodes of Family Ties at 1:30 and 2 a.m. respectively, which is highly enjoyable. Generally I sleep from 2:30 to 10:30 or at which point I get up and have a productive day.

This plan is all well and good; however, I find myself starting to flip around a bit now after Family Ties (as Three's Company comes on after the Keatons, which is just plain old bad news). Last night, I found an AWESOME profile of J.K. Rowling on A&E. It was soooooo good. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT HARRY POTTER BOOK. I am as addicted to those books as your average nine-year-old. Apparently, Jo (We are on first name basis after our chat with A&E, apparently) Rowling got married. WHAT?!? WHY? Who has time to plan a wedding?!?! Write, woman, write! Mach Schnell! She was talking about how some of the characters die, however. I have come to grips with the fact that Dumbledore will probably die in one of the upcoming books, and I am okay with that. I really am. But I really, really, really don't want Harry, Hermione or Ron to die. I am getting very emotional about this. Sigh...

See? This is evidence of being up too late and having all this time to think. I got very upset about the androcentricism and hypermasculinity that is gripping this country since Sept. 11th. That rant is best saved for the Soapbox, I think. Maybe later, but anyway...

The really big sign of my Late Night Wonky Factor has to do with the fact that I just watched a profile about Britney Spears on E or something and I was strangely interested. I felt friendly toward her. Listening to her third grade teacher talk about how proud she is of her was almost endearing. They showed a clip of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake standing together at the end of an episode of the Mickey Mouse Club saying "See you real soon!" as in "M-I-C... See ya real soon!... K-E-Y," etc., and I got chills. I don't know what scares me more, the fact that anything that had to do with Britney Spears appealed to me, or the way that our entertainment industry pre-packages "stars" based on things that have little or nothing to do with actual talent and the value that Americans place on them.

And it occurred to me... What happens when I become a mom someday, and my kids want to partake of the type of Britney Spears-n'Sync-Olson Twins-Claire's Boutique-type pop culture? How am I going to stand that? I mean, I went through it. I never read Bop magazine or hung up posters of Kirk Cameron or Ralph Macchio (the Karate Kid) or anything, but hey- I admit it- Amanda and I talked our parents into taking us to see the New Kids on the Block at the York Fair. I remember getting mad at my Dad when he laughed so hard he nearly choked (in this fabulous, pure, deep, hearty Dad Laugh that he sometimes gets into- if you've heard it, you know what I mean) when someone on TV compared the New Kids to the Beatles. I would want my kids, especially my daughter(s), to have her own opinions and feel free to voice them, and certainly everyone wants to fit in and I would want my daughter to feel comfortable among her peers- but I really, really can't see myself buying anything pink that has a airbrushed picture of (Insert Name of Future, Scary, No-Talent, Sex Kitten Pop Icon here) on it, you know?

Okay. It is 3:39 a.m. I need to STOP.