media blog

I guess I’m just a sucker for They Might Be Giants. they’re absolute geniuses in my book. They have the uncanny ability to write a catchy hook based around just about any subject. it’s absolutely astonishing to see John Flansburgh and John Linnell continue to be creative and inventive after all these years in the biz. I recently purchased Here Come The 123s for the kids and I can honestly say that it’s a joy to listen to. AND THIS is a KIDS album for goodness sakes! No more lame-brained Raffi tunes or god-awful Barney the Dinosaur crap for this generation of kids. with the constant exposure to multimedia, nickelodeon, the disney channel and the like, it takes a lot more nowadays to catch the attention of today’s youngsters. Flansburgh and Linnell are aware of this and have crafted well thoughtout and sophisticated songs for kids to sing-along and learn from.

Here Comes the 123s is their third kid-centric album. No! and Here Come the ABCs being the other two. I suppose kids between the ages of 2 and 6 will get the bulk of the benefit from listening to an album about numbers but the tunes are so darn catchy and fun that parents (and older kids) won’t mind the repeated listenings in the minivan. Honestly, not all of the songs are out of the park homeruns but you can’t help but admire the band for swinging hard with each attempt. personal favorites include: Zeroes, One Everything, High Five!, The Secret Life of Six and Heart of the Band.

Like most people, I have a number of mobile devices that need to be hooked up to a charger at regular intervals. It gets a bit cumbersome, searching for the ac adapters in our kitchen drawer each time we need to get something plugged in. and most of the time, the cords get all tangled up which can get a bit frustrating. that’s why I was glad to learn about charging stations. it’s a space saving organizer that can store and charge three devices at a time. with the built in 5-plug surge protector, you can neatly keep the cords and ac adapters plugged in and ready for use. the organizer even features a built in drawer to store even more of your gadgets. it’s a great idea and will be used frequently in this household.

It’s a bit disconcerting when you realize that your 10 year old son routinely makes the same type of idiotic mistakes just like his old man. day in and day out we find ourselves reprimanding him for the same things over and over again. Why can’t we get things to stick inside that lil’ head of his??? Apparently he has learned the art of blocking out the sound of his parents’ voices. ..and as time goes on, I’m finding it harder and harder to punish the kid when I am fully aware that I still repeatedly make the same old bad choices at my age. How can I punish him for being an idiot when I’m one myself. And as the type to avoid taking any sort of responsibility for giving this sort of trait to him, I am willing to shift the blame elsewhere. …It seems to all stem from those tiny demons. you know, those pesky lil’ demons that sit on your shoulders and suggest things into your ears that we all KNOW are wrong. ..they end up making us do foolish things and say outright lies to our family and friends. damn those tiny demons. damn them all back to hell….