Your disgust brings back memories. Since I switched, I have had no such problems. Things works as you hope they would. No, how they should. I no longer have to concern myself with the ins and outs of my computer. Instead I worry about the jobs I have at hand; What colors to use, subtlties over punch, and any user task I need to do. I never want to open a computer again. And I won’t have to if I continue to purchase Apple products.

Since your parents almost named you with the best name in the world, I can forgive you. I will however, have to call you Keith Blumenthal forever more. I hope you don’t mind?

Please don’t throw Kevins under the bus either! I know a few of them and at least one isn’t a dream killer.

Thank you,
Dream Constructing Keith

Anyway, I wish you well in your dreams.

Best,
Brett

” The name of Keith creates a very aggressive and independent nature, one with big ambitions, giving you original, progressive, large-scale ideas, salesmanship and promotional ability as well as the excellent business judgment which enables you to gain the financial accumulation to which you feel entitled.

You have a versatile, restless nature, and could do any job well, although you would not like to do menial tasks. You are seldom satisfied and are always seeking something new. However, you do not know the meaning of relaxation, for when supposedly resting, your mind is forever active, planning out some new project or seeking new ways to improve your present enterprise.

You could organize the work of others, though in your impatience to see the job done efficiently, you would likely step right in and do it yourself. Your intense, restless nature can bring on tension which affects the solar plexus and digestion, or the generative organs. “

i couldn’t agree more! i cannot tell you how much crap i get because i refuse to succumb to the world of children’s television. “oh my god tiffany you are so mean! oh come on tiffany, that program is sooooo educational! what do you mean you have no idea what backyardigans is?!” “oh poor mikaela!!!!!” ugh.

my 7 month old doesn’t even know what a tv is and my two and a half year old watches, on average, two hours of tv a week…and it is in the form of a dvd program because the last thing i want is for her to see a commercial for some ridiculous toy and whine to me about how much she wants it. granted, this is quite an easy feat for me because i am not a big fan of television and very rarely watch it. i read to my girls…a lot. i started it at a very early age. by the time my oldest was 15 months she was speaking wtih a pretty extensive vocabulary. by 18 months she was speaking in complete and complex sentences. now that she’s almost three, well, she’s amazing in every sense of the word. everyone in my life is astonished by this. i am not.

we do art & science projects, we bake & cook in the kitchen together, go for nature walks, play in the snow, watch the rain and talk about what makes thunder/lightening, etc. we listen to music and dance around like crazy girls. we converse about many different topics…yes, contrary to popular belief, it is quite possible to converse with a toddler. some say i’m creating a monster because yes, my oldest will absolutely debate with people on a number of topics. but this is because she is both curious and educated. she knows her stuff and she likes getting her point across. she’s learned that her opinion, at least in my home, is encouraged and respected.

yes, it is hard work. very hard work. but all worth it in the end. the last thing i want is for my children to become television obsessed, drooly, open-mouth breathers, who are too afraid to think for themselves.

as you’ve referenced, a large part of our beliefs are influenced by extensive marketing campaigns. almost every major brand out there appeals exclusively to women or moms. for instance, take pine-sol. “moms choose the power of pine-sol.” um…so does this mean that dads aren’t capable of mopping the floor? alternately, does this mean that it is solely moms responsibility to mop the floor? does mom choose pine-sol because dad lacks the intelligence and/or common sense to recognize an effective cleaning product?? this is only one example. i could go on and on ad nauseam.

perhaps by the time your daughter is grown there will be a complete shift in our collective thinking. although i do hold out hope, change is slow.

another great article my friend. thanks for putting this out there.

We seem to be enabling behavior in our kids. Everything from Disney to MTV showcases 12 year olds that are sexed up, tell us that being an individual or being smart is stupid and panders to them as lemmings. It’s bully marketing.

These kids are tough to get through, I applaud those marketers for figuring out a way to actually get through to these kids. It may not be for the social well being of the world, but I’m sure that wasn’t the marketers primary objective to begin with.

Boo-urns I say.

At first glance, what the lobbyists are doing might make sense considering that Egypt has ordered the slaughter of ALL of their pigs because of this. But I think we need to stop enabling half-thinking, even if by a government official.

What Egypt ordered was absurd and they should be above it.