Not Intended for Children Under...10?

I Am Legend is on HBO this month, and I just recently finished watching it. I say "finished" because the first time I sat down to watch it it started to freak me out and since I was planning on trying to sleep soon, I decided to Tivo the rest of it and watch it later. It took me a few more nights to get through the whole thing. Not because it was a bad movie, but because it was seriously creeping me out, and watching something that makes my stomach all tight and my heart pound right before bed doesn't generally lead to a solid night's sleep for me. Once I got past the scene where--*spoiler alert if you haven't seen it, but it's not like you can't see it coming*--the dog dies, I did relax a bit. That was just something that was building and the anticipation and dread of waiting to see what happened to her put me totally on edge.

In a discussion at work the other day about the movie (after everyone finished laughing at me), someone casually mentioned that her son loves the movie and probably knows every line from it. Her son is just a few weeks younger than my daughter who is NINE. We also talked about horror movies in general, and several of the movies that were brought up I remember as being pretty scary when I saw them as a teenager (Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, When a Stranger Calls). I would never let my daughter watch them now, but again, my friend with the 9 year-old boy thinks nothing of letting him watch scary movies like these.

I think part of her logic is that he is a boy, and boys view that kind of scary, gory stuff differently. That may be true, but I still think there is a certain basic maturity level that should be present before a child is exposed to certain things. Trust me, my daughter is WAY more mature than this kid, and there is no way she is viewing some of the stuff he might be allowed to see.

When I was a kid I was never allowed to watch R rated movies. I don't think PG-13 existed yet. When we first got HBO I remember sneaking down to the basement to watch some movies in the middle of the night. I kept the sound really low and stood right in front of the TV, ready to shut it off if anyone came down. (Pre-remote days, of course.) My parents might have been a bit extreme, as by junior high I'm sure I could have handled at least some R rated films. But I think I'm glad I wasn't allowed to watch them at age 9.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, I still think this quiz is really cool. After 7 minutes I only had 21 out of 50.

I Never Win Anything

Do you know anyone who always seems to win things? Someone who whenever there is a random drawing at an event, they always seem to have their ticket drawn? The person who knows nothing about sports yet just happens to win the Super Bowl pool? I think everyone knows one of those people. I am definitely NOT one of them. I usually don't even bother to stick around for drawings at the end of things, because I know I won't win. Just doesn't happen for me. I'm OK with that, I'm used to it. So I'm not really sure why I'm bothering to take a chance with this contest. Maybe it's because I didn't post anything about 9/11, and this is sort of my chance to do that. Or it could be because I have writer's block and have nothing else to post. If you click over and decide to enter because you saw it here, take pity on me and split your prize with me.

Baby Steps

I admire the way that some of my favorite bloggers really put themselves out there with some of their posts. From sharing a diary, to details about a colonoscopy, to intimate thoughts and experiences, it is amazing how open and honest they can be. While I'm perfectly comfortable writing about sports, my garden, my dogs, or Nintendo, I can't imagine being able to write about really personal thoughts and experiences like that.

I didn't even really want to post a picture of myself, until I was Simpsonized.
Baby steps.

Wild Wonderful Web

The internet has become so much a part of most people's everyday lives by now, that I think we sometimes take for granted just how great it is. This week alone there were numerous tricky and important questions that we asked the almighty internet:

1. How do you get chewed gum out of the pocket of a pair of shorts that have just been washed and dried? (This totally worked, by the way.)

2. Tomatoes are taking over the kitchen, what ELSE can we do with them? Decided not to do this, but tomato jam isn't too bad.)

3. Is there any chance I can get PSU tickets for just one decent game this year? (Answer: Yes, if I'm willing to pay a LOT for them.)

4. If I'm not going to a Penn State game, will I maybe get to see the Phillies in the playoffs? (Answer: An optimistic "Yes!", because that's what Philly teams do to you--make it to the post season, THEN crush your hopes.)

5. Will the Eagles beat the Steelers this week? (Answer: Yes. We should have won the Cowboy game on Monday night, and the Steelers are nowhere near as good as....I can't even type that the Cowboys are good. Monday's game took my hatred of them to a whole new level. Let's just say that after Monday's game I feel like we can beat the Steelers. If you aren't from PA you might not appreciate this take on the game, but I liked it.)

Isn't the internet handy?

PhotoHunt: Strings

This was a tough one. These are technically chains, but I think that is in the same family as strings, right? This is a shot from Ocean City, New Jersey, June of this year. I had to take about half a dozen shots before I timed it correctly to get my kid as she swung (swinged? swang?) by me. She is the one on the left, having fun, but concentrating on squeezing her toes to hold her flip-flops on her feet.

Photohunt: Beautiful

From the iPhoto library, circa August 2003. It was the first year for the birds in their new stadium. I remember seeing that our seats were in the 200 section and expecting them to be really good. Little did I know that at Lincoln Financial Field the 200 level is the same as the 700 level used to be at Veteran's Stadium. The same because we were almost at the very top of the stadium, and because the 2 children with us (aged 3 and 4) did not deter anyone around us from yelling, cursing, throwing things, and fighting. (Click the link if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) Remember, this was just a meaningless preseason game, too. Ahh, Philly. A beautiful thing. Is it football season yet? I'm ready!! E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!

You Know, For Kids

Ever since we got to try out the Wii Fit at a recent outdoor music festival, we've been dying to get it. It took a couple of months, but Amazon finally came through. After just 1/2 hour with it, I have decided that I totally love it. There are 3 reasons:

1. My Wii Fit age is 7 years less than my actual age.

2. The Wii Fit as a scale is NOT the same as the scale in my doctor's office. Let's just say I'm going with Wii Fit as my scale from now on. (And if adding the extenders to the bottom to take into account the thicker carpet would correct this, I'm pretty sure I lost them.)

3. In Wii Fit, I can hula hoop like a madwoman. I cannot hula hoop in real life. Never could, not for more than about 6 seconds. In the world of Wii, I can have multiple hoops going, while still leaning and catching more. Kinda like this picture, only with a much higher score.



I've set my goal, and I gave myself 2 months to achieve it. Hopefully I will still love my Wii by then.