Posts Tagged ‘people’
New Essential James Taylor CD – Great Thanksgivukkah Gift
This new James Taylor double CD set is a great Chanukah / Thanksgivukkah gift. Or a gift for one of those other holidays. Christmas, I think they call it? It doesn’t get much attention from the media but I think it’s still sort of a big deal to a few people. You know. Like hockey.
Full disclosure: DaddyTips received a review copy of the new double CD, The Essential James Taylor. That said, receiving the press release announcing the new collection caused us to go on a bit of a JT shopping spree. Seriously. We took a picture. Look.
What can we say? We like James Taylor.
As for the item in question, it happens to be a great collection of JT’s music.
Even if you already own copies of “Never Die Young”, et al, you could do worse than to pop in this well-selected collection of great songs. As for gift giving, get “The Essential James Taylor” is a perfect fit for anyone on your list. (We’re assuming your list consists of people who like great music.)
Some reviewers on Amazon take issue with the “Essential” title, saying that they would have preferred one song over another. This is one of those dopey arguments that occurs with any collection from any musical artist. I happen to have a soft spot for “New Moon Shine“. Was I bothered by the fact that “Essential” doesn’t include the song The Frozen Man
Lord have mercy, of course not. (See what I did there? If not, Frozen happens to be a tune that I particularly love; I have fond memories of seeing JT do it live when he was on tour after “New Moon Shine” came out.
But once you start down that road, the one marked “Why Didn’t They Put (Fill In Song Title Here) On This 2 CD Set?”, you’ve kind of gone off the rails.
Bottom line: After listening to both discs, all I can say is that there isn’t a single bad track. How often can you say that about any collection of music?
Draw My Life – Ryan Higa – YouTube
This video by popular YouTuber Ryan Higa (10 million subscribers and counting) surprised me. Not only does it feature no profanity, it’s intelligent, positive, and offers a reasonable message that… I’m hesitant to type these words, but it actually communicates something that might be worth sharing with your children.
I’m not saying “THIS VIDEO WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE DOOD GO GET YOUR OFFSPRINGS NOW NOW NOW”. I’m not even expressing that sentiment in a more coherent and less caps-locky manner. But Mr. Higa has a pleasant style and not only did I watch all seven minutes of his Draw My Life video, I was rather charmed by it.
(Aside: I suppose “Draw My Life” is a YouTube thing. Who knew? Probably lots of people, just not me.)
Without giving anything away (“no spoilers!”), Mr. Higa does indeed draw his life. Much of it deals with his time in school which makes sense because he was born in 1990. (You may pause to feel old now. It’s OK, we’ll wait.) When he mentioned bullying I thought “oh boy, here we go.” But he handles the topic gracefully, far better than anything I’ve seen so far. He manages to say that yes, it sucked, but also doesn’t try to tell people that his lot was as bad as many other people’s. He also points out that he was lucky to have a loving family. (That part is at the beginning so it’s NOT a spoiler.)
Bottom line: I like Ryan Higa’s Draw My Life video. So much content, online and in traditional media, is hurtful and negative. Higa manages to be positive, funny, and entertaining. It’s probably the first time I watched a YouTube video that is entirely original content without drifting away. Give it a look, maybe you’ll like it too.
Draw My Life – Ryan Higa – YouTube.
Kids Trash Former NFL Player’s Home, Parents Defend Them
This is why I need to find a new Internet. One that doesn’t have stories like this.
What the hell, parents? Your kids pull this crap, take pictures, post them online, and then you defend their behavior? This is indicative of a very real problem: parents who don’t discipline their kids, and allow them to behave like jerks. If this news report is accurate (that’s a disclaimer in case it isn’t, but there are, you know, PHOTOS), the parents should pay a fine and perhaps go to jail if the law allows for such a penalty.
If you feel like getting more irritated, read the comments. Some morons are actually mad at Brian Holloway, the NFL player in question, for posting photos that WERE ALREADY POSTED ONLINE BY THE KIDS WHO BROKE INTO HIS HOUSE. Allegedly. In case the report is wrong.
Either way, I have noticed a lot of “my son/daughter would never do that” when in fact said son or daughter did in fact do that in front of dozens of witnesses. Or perhaps they posted a picture on the Internet of said action. You defend your children against bullies, stand up for their rights, love them unconditionally. You do not defend offensive behavior and make excuses.
Grrrr. And people wonder why I’ve seen the Avengers movie 12 times. Beats reading the news.
Teens trash home of ex-NFL player, teens parents threaten player (CBS Sports)
HelpMeSave300.com (website set up by Brian Holloway)
The Play Doh Royal Baby And Family
You may have heard something about the royal baby. But have you seen the royal baby and family rendered in Play-Doh? You’re about to.
What’s that you say? You haven’t heard anything about this? Are you sure? It kind of took over all forms of media, social and traditional. Son of Catherine (aka Kate Middleton), Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William? Grandson of Queen Elizabeth II? Future King of England? Not ringing any bells?
OK, I had to look up everybody’s names on CNN because I’m not a big royal watcher. But I’m not a royal hater either. The truth is that people seem to be genuinely interested in the royal bambino, just as they were with the royal wedding. (Sorry, I should probably say Royal Wedding.) I don’t begrudge people their distractions. (Avengers movie, cough cough.)
Whatever your opinion on all things royalty, I think we can all agree that the Play-Doh Royal Family is an impressive piece of work. According to information we received, it was made entirely from Play-Doh, using over 30 cans of the stuff, and took over five hours. (That sounds pretty fast to me, actually.)
Photo courtesy of the good folks from Play-Doh.
Wherein I Bash Parenting Blogs On A Parenting Blog
I’m not familiar with the parenting blog EarlyMama, but it sounds like the author, Michelle Horton, gets her chops busted a lot for having kids when she was in her early 20’s.
I have some thoughts to share. Generally we call these rants. It’s not really a rant, per se, but calling it a rant makes things easier. Read more »
United Airlines Starts a Fat Tax
Another airline is making plus-size passengers pay extra if they take up more than one seat. Read more »
