Curious Movie

As an involved parent, I preview movies and shows before the kids see them, though I don't do it nearly as often as I should. My most recent preview was Curious George and I approved the movie for viewing by my little ones even while dismayed at what a G rated movie says about modern society.

I vividly remember the reel-to-reel Curious George films from my grade school library days. I didn't spontaneously pray much as a little kid, but I came close during the walk to the library, hoping that we would watch a Curious George "book" in library class. Since I don't own a projector, my girls have received and inherited many Curious George books and they request frequent readings. The movie did an excellent job of capturing the art of H. A. and Margaret Rey while updating it with current technology and excellent voice talent. However, the movie missed the relationship between the Man in the Yellow Hat and George and came off as a buddy film instead of retaining the father-son relationship which the books portrayed. So I sadly approved the film which was acceptable but reflects the failings of modern society, adults who want to be buddies instead of parents.

NFP on Holiday

I have been fond of Green Day for a long time, despite the fact that my opinions on every subject under the sun have shifted radically since I was introduced to the band in high school. I was recently listening to Holiday and I realized that I truly agree with the lyric, "I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies..." but probably not in the way that Billie Joe intended.

Despite my radical changes in opinion, I have almost constantly defined myself as a rebel, in true American style. My first chosen philosophical opinion was to be a true rebel. While the majority of my grade school classmates were disrespectful, 90210-watching, football-playing, cool-kid idolators (pseudo-rebels). I decided to be a respectful, cartoon-watching, video-gaming, cool-kid agnostic (true rebel). This led to some good spiritual development such as actually singing at school Masses when no one else did, but it also made me an outcast in general.

Being an outcast had its own benefits such as being able to choose my own path in life without the burden of appearances. I have chosen the counter-cultural path of an orthodox Catholic: trying to follow the Natural Law, getting married without co-habiting, having kids before establishing my career, running a single income family, and teaching natural family planning. Considering Billie Joe's comments about hoping to win a Grammy for American Idiot (and the praise that goes with it), perhaps I have stayed truer to his message of rebellion than he has. In the End, I don't think I'm a Walking Contradiction, just a Basket Case.

Hidden Adventures

This article best explains the restlessness which I feel every day, the restlessness which drives me to start a business and perform my own home repairs. The song/speech Sunscreen sums it up well, "Do one thing every day that scares you."

There is a Brain in that Skull

Now that I am the proud father of little ones, I only get to the movies once or twice a year. As a Father's day treat from my father, this year's movie was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Since my father is the one who gave me his love of movies, especially epic adventures like Indiana Jones and Star Wars, I was thrilled to see this installment with him and happy that it lived up to its predecessors.


The movie definitely beat Temple of Doom, keeping it out of the bottom spot in the Indiana Jones collection. Interestingly, the adventure took place in South America, an area of archaeological history which is often overlooked. Conveniently, child sacrifices were glossed over but I can agree to that conceit since contemplating the murder of children is too deep for an action/adventure film. The moral of the story was not as powerfully depicted as in The Last Crusade, but it was pertinent to modern life. Finally, Harrison Ford did pull off the action star role despite his age while the car chases and fight sequences were all of Raiders quality. Crystal Skull also made the required slights against Indy's age, as well as references to the previous movies. I don't think this movie will win over anyone who wasn't an Indy fan, but as a guy who owns a fedora, I'm thrilled the series ended well.

Not Groucho or Cheeko but...

Harpo!

I admit that I'm not sure what to think of Oprah. She is an excellent interviewer and TV producer and all of her failings seem to be the common ones. She is "Christian" but mostly supports New Age belief so her definition of Christian is off. She is a feminist, helping African girls as a way to improve the continent instead of exposing the vast governmental incompetence and/or corruption. She acts as if racism is still the rampant social malady it was in 1968 despite the fact that we've had a black woman as Secretary of State for years. I suppose the best thing that I can say for her is that she is a normal human with the misfortune of international fame so that crackpots like me can form an opinion about her.

However, her network has given my company its TV debut. (Click on the More... link under the Oh! Oxygen banner on the left of the page)

Father as Teacher

As I spent more time contemplating my direct selling dream of working from home, I realized that it meshed with my goal of being a great father.

I believe that a father should be a teacher, passing on many things: the Faith, family traditions, the history of video games, what-life-was-like-when-I-was-a-kid, and such. The task of teaching requires the dad's presence, for teaching by example is the best way. As I stated in my previous post on fatherhood, since I wanted my children to be helpful around the house; I took on chores such as the dishes and the laundry.

As I contemplated how we have arrived at this state in our society, I realized that working outside of the farm/home was a result of the industrial revolution. It seems, to me, that prominent paternal presence for the children was a casualty of the rise of the factory, along with handcrafted goods and quality food.

Makes me wish I knew how to run a farm.

Can Only God Make a Man?

As I pursue my financial freedom, I start to learn about the variety of laws which affect personal finance. I seem to grasp that corporations are taxed on money left over after investing, while individuals are taxed on everything. This gives corporations a huge advantage, since they have up to 35% more money to invest by their very nature. As I pay more attention to the way in which the terms are used, I realize that corporations are effectively legal people. This really bothers me, on a philosophical level. Though it doesn't seem actually immoral, I am disturbed by the concept of the State creating legal people. Maybe that mindset is what disturbed Alduous Huxley. If the State can already create legal people, why not create actual people. Creepy.

Worthwhile News

A Baby's Breath will be featured in an upcoming edition of The Bulletin, a local Philly paper. I generally distrust newspapers, but this one seem worth a trial.

Eggs on Film

No doubt many of you were eagerly waiting the moment when ovulation would be caught on film, wait no longer.

I am stunned by the resolution of this picture, considering that the ovum is one cell. I had no idea that there were any cameras capable of capturing such an image. I hope such technology can be applied toward noble ends.

Man of the House

I had some ruminations pertaining to the actual intent of this blog over my relaxing birthday vacation.

I have read in multiple places recently that the primary assistance which fathers provide in the home is not help with what was previously termed, "woman's work" but is something else. I don't know to whom these authors are responding but I will write a response anyway. Since the laundry, dishes, and other "woman's work" are not objectively assigned by the Lord; I assert that they are up for grabs around the house. It seems natural that they mostly fall upon whoever is home the most. In the majority of households, this is the mother as biology dictates that she has difficulty working outside of the home during pregnancy and early breastfeeding. However, if the father is to pass on the virtue of selfless service to his children, he should help out when necessary, during pregnancy for example but also in times of general familial chaos.

I get the feeling I said this before. Thanks for humoring me, dear reader.

God Bless America!

I am looking forward to a nice holiday to celebrate our nation's birth. It is a blessing beyond compare that an average joe like me can participate in running my country and exercise a variety of basic freedoms, including religion, speech, assembly, ownership, and self-defense. I often contemplate the sad state of affairs in our world and I often read about the abuse of power in our own country; however, this Fourth of July, I shall remember the honor of men who founded this Great Experiment. I don't believe they thought democracy would led us to perfection; I believe they thought democracy would engender responsibility and maturity. As a nation, we may have let them down but I hope that my life may be one that they smile upon.

Jen Made Me Do It

144 As a 1930s husband, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Tectonic Sleeping

Useful co-sleeping tip #8: Introduce change slowly.

When moving kids from one sleeping location to another, we did everything gradually. We started to talk to our eldest about moving into her own room months before we officially did it. She slept in there a couple times before the official switch but she still preferred the toddler bed so we didn't make a fuss. Everyone was sleeping well in our bedroom Pangaea. Suddenly, our eldest was playing with her dolls and talking about how the big kid doll was ready to sleep in her own room, so we struck while the iron was hot and she moved into her own room that night. The princess sheets which my forward-thinking wife had purchased made the change special. There have been no complaints so far, except from us.

While the eldest was ready for the change, the little one was not quite ready for the toddler bed so the change was made even more gradual for her. First, she dozed next to me in our bed. Then I placed her in the toddler bed and she cuddle against my arm. I extracted my arm to whimpering which was calmed by a hand on her tummy. Finally I snuck out of the room, as slowly as a tectonic plate, so that I could avoid the squeaky floorboards.

I am so Smrt

TV Reviews

Not that Kind of Sublime

"...it ain't hard to understand, this ain't Hitler's master plan, what it takes to be a man..."
lyric from Same in the End by Sublime

I admit to rabidly enjoying Sublime in my adolescent years, despite the knowledge that the lead singer overdosed shortly after cutting their best seller. As I've listened occassionally throughout the years, I skip over more and more tracks because of profanity and general vulgarity. However, this lyric struck home upon my last listening. Perhaps even as a worldly teen, I was subconsciously aware that manhood was important and Sublime conveyed the sense of frustration. Every man should know how to be a man, it seems so basic. Yet even the lead singer couldn't find the manhood he needed and sought refuge in fleeting pleasure.

God rest his soul.

14 Weeks with Reliv

Health: So far, my allergies are mild. My nose often leaks like a sieve by the time I finish mowing the lawn. Granted, it is early in the season so I am curious about what the future holds.

Business: My first week completely off. Things have been crazy with home improvements and the shift to summer scheduling so I haven't done much else. I had my first technical trouble when the website was out of commission for a few days and a customer needed to re-order.

I am starting to see how word-of-mouth actually works. Friends are asking how business is, and family is mentioning it to other friends. Business is teaching me patience and persistence. I won't necessarily see fruits for a while, or ever, but the longer I keep at it, the better my chances get.

Can I Be a Witness up in Here?

A co-worker that I barely know approached me today and asked if I had a Bible. Unfortunately, I did not have one at work. However, he said if I didn't have one that he was going to call his wife and ask her to look up the quote that he couldn't remember. I was initially flattered and somewhat proud of being known for my faith and approachable about the topic. Then I realized that there were at least two dozen people in my room, and he didn't want to ask anyone else for The Good Book. That was a sad realization.

I pray the Lord will make me (and my pride) diminish more, so that He may work more fully through me.

Welcome Available Lighters

Welcome to my little home on the web, fair travelers from Available Light and all long-time readers. My main concern on this blog is figuring out authentic manhood in this crazy world, especially a father's place in family life. I try to approach my other interests from this direction, but my interests vary widely so cohesion is not obvious. Feel free to peruse my labels to learn more about Natural Family Life.

I have noticed that many other bloggers occassionally do a "Hello World" post and ask their readers to leave a comment. Please leave a comment and introduce yourself, I love meeting people. As an incentive, I am running my first blog contest ever. I will pick one random commentor to receive a copy of My Grandfather's Son, the book which I recently reviewed at Available Light. If you don't want to be in the contest, please say so in your comment.

Embarassing Parenthood

I just read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein for the first time. Now, I do remember having the book read to me at the public library when I was little, and I am pretty sure it was featured in Reading Rainbow, so the story is not new to me. However, since this is the first time I ever read the story on the other side of parenthood, I was surprised by my overwhelming emotional reaction to the book. I read it as a bedtime story to my two lovely girls and I wept for the brief interval of time where I can help form them as young Christian ladies.

More surprising to me than my emotional response, was how I understand the Tree much better now. As a child, I guess I pitied the tree and sympathized with the boy. I simply expected that the Tree enjoyed helping the boy so the Tree was happy. Now I know that the Tree did enjoy helping the boy, but that the Tree suffered as the boy grew since the boy grew further away. I guess The Giving Tree taught me the lesson of love which I only absorb intellectually from the tree of the cross. Successful love, like successful parenting, involves suffering. The better I do my job of raising my daughters into mature, independent ladies, the more I will miss these years of providing everything for them.

Trying for a Boy

I was finally asked the dread question by an old neighbor who I hadn't spoken to in years, "Are you going to try for a boy?" He didn't listen to my response beyond the word, "Yes" so I don't know what he thinks about, "At least three or four times." I think I handled the first test well. I hope I can develop more eloquent answers in the future. Perhaps I should avoid answering all together if I want to get into real conversations. Maybe I'll go all Socratic and respond with a question, "Why is that important?"