Handy Manny's Pervasive Racism

Bloggers live glamorous lives. We're like Hollywood starlets except were older, don't shower often and wear pajamas to the grocery store. Wait, that's just like a Hollywood starlet. While I sit here cranking out the content, one of my progeny uses me as a jungle gym when he's not watching Disney Channel or Noggin. I have become intimately acquainted with kid-fare and it's generally as repugnant as adult-fare. No wonder TV ratings are in the crapper.

Exhibit "A" is Handy Manny--the ode to Mexican immigrant greatness. I'm a huge fan of the industrious work-ethic that seems to be woven into the Mexican culture. I can personally attest to the fine work that Mexican-Americans contribute to our country and economy. Handy Manny exemplifies these traits. More power to him. In contrast to old Hanny Manny, though there is another character: Mr. Lopart. Mr. Lopart is be-speckled, be-fuddled, so smart he's stupid, messes up everything he touches, rather weak and feeble, and refuses instruction or help from anyone, even those who know more than him. In short, Mr. Lopart is the worst cliché of the middle-aged, white American male.

It makes me sick. Watch just the first 30 seconds or so. You'll see what I mean.



The Mexican, black, and oriental characters are all kind-hearted, have something broken and have the sense to get help from the super hero Handy Manny. Not Mr. Lopart. He's the stupid white guy. Watching it once or twice is one thing. Seeing this racism every single day is galling. And this unspoken but obvious message is burned into the hard drives of America's children. So parents, pay attention. Indoctrination begins young and could be happening right under your nose.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Welcome to the Frakking Dark Side, Wachel

You guys have known, for some time, that my blog husband is Brendan Loy. Yes, yes, we've discussed the minor detail that he's married and spawned a cute little turnip with his wife, Becky. But whatever! Oh, and there's the small issue that he's jones'n for Obama. And oh yeah, he likes some Catholic team that sucks...can't. place. the. team. Ah well, we have our minor differences and I ignore them, because, otherwise, Brendan is super fantastic and shares so many of my arcane interests it's like we're twins, but then, we couldn't be blog married. That would just be nasty.

Watch out, Brendan, you have competition. I'm officially in love with Rachel Lucas. I'm shocked, too. Men have always been my thing, but sometimes, you just are caught unawares. You guys saw it coming, probably. The crash helmets for safety. The ebullient use of the word "fuck". The insightful opinions on everything political. The crush became too much to hide when she made it first on my list of lady bloggers. Rachel is so much more than a super awesome blogger: she's a super awesome TV watcher. She binge watches TV. She hears about good shows, ignores them and then gulps them down in a spasm of gluttony. All my life, I've traversed this little blue marble thinking I was the only, only one. And today I found my TV soul sister and I just feel....complete somehow.

I've binged watched TV shows multiple times. Only one show gave me gastronomic distress: Sex and the City. Like chocolates, the SATC episodes are meant to be taken one at a time over time. Watching them altogether made me physically ill, killed some IQ points and basically turned me into a cynic about all things women and single, but I digress. Back to Rachel and her awesomeness. She has finally decided to imbibe in the perfection that is Serenity and Firefly. She knows now, like Adam knew Eve, the sublime, frakking fantasticalness of Battlestar Galactica. And yes, she learned the way it's best to learn (the way I learned, so of course it's the best), by gulping them down whole. Here's what she says:

So I decided to post about it, because I know some of you nerds watch that show and maybe sometimes you want a nice, safe place to go to where you can talk about Cylons and Lords of Kobol and frack and how intriguingly sexy President Roslin is. So here you go. You’re welcome.

UPDATE: I can’t believe I forgot to mention this, but guess what is driving me completely fucking bonkers? Check it out. About a year ago, I watched one episode of Firefly. Loved it, then got busy. At birthday time last week, I remembered it and how bad I NEED to see the whole series (one season! it’s a travesty!) and the Serenity movie, so I put them both on my Amazon Wish List. Both were bought (thank you, givers - you will be getting a personal card in the mail), and the Serenity disc has arrived, but not the Firefly disc!

Do you see my agonizing dilemma? It takes ALL MY WILL not to go ahead and watch the Serenity movie just to get my fill of Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau and Jewel Staite (I have serious borderline lesbionic crushes on those last two). But I know it will be better if I wait and watch Firefly first. So I am waiting, and it hurts. Hurts so bad.

You know, Rupert, I don't want to frighten you, but you really picked a horrible time to decide to be called up by Uncle Sam and go serve in Iraq. I hear that you get a long weekend with Rachel coming up. You better make it count, buddy. I hope it's comforting, to know that she'll be well cared for--at least in cyber fantasy land.

Hey, don't judge the love.

Plus, just to remind you guys of my dork cred:

Tigerhawk asks, "Is John McCain a cylon?" My only thing is this: Why'd they go and make a cylon with a faulty arm? Does it have some special fighting capability? Is the arm actually weaponized? That's my theory. It's not just an arm, it's a diversion and a weapon. Makes him look old, but he could kill you. I believe that anyway. McCain scares me.

And there's this about Joss Whedon's possible misogyny. And if you're not a big enough nerd to know who Whedon is, I guess I'll just have to tell you. He's the writer/director of Firefly and also of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I'm sorry, mom. I really am sorry. Why couldn't I be like other girls and watch Desperate Housewives? It's a relief to be out of the closet.

Writer's Strike

The Writer's Strike hasn't bothered me content-wise although I do feel bad for all the people who are losing their jobs while the entertainment business is out of business. It seems that writers may have picked the worse possible time to strike. No one may want their product when they return, if you believe these numbers. People are moving to on-line entertainment.

Welcome, friends!

Joss Whedon New Show!!!!!!!

This is the most exciting news of the day and it's been a great day so far!

H/T Conservative Grapevine

Kid Nation and Other Shows

As most long-time readers know, we got rid of the television, cable and whatnot probably seven years ago now. First, my autistic son would sit like a zombie in front of Thomas the Tank Engine, and I was so overwhelmed, I simply didn't know what to do with him. It was him stare at the TV or stare at me and the latter freaked me out. Two, my husband and I were addicted to watching mindless shows. I would have the TV on during the day and watch Oprah or whatever arts show was on just to pass the time feeling overwhelmed (see #1).

It got ridiculous.

So, we sent cable to never-never land. We missed sports. I missed football, too. But we soldiered on. Well, this last year, I bought the hubby the flat screen, and then the DVR and then the universal remote and then I programed it. Well, ya gotta have cable! So we're back watching sports. The TV isn't on during the day. And I'm not really hooked into any show besides House. I just flip around (when I can make the remote work. Strangely, I could program it, but using the blasted thing is incredibly difficult.).

This last week I watch caught the Bionic Woman and Kid Nation. The former was OK. Unfortunately for Jaime Summers, she's not the most compelling person on the show. Battle Star Galactica actress Katee Sackoff steals every scene. Sackoff does tortured so well. The actress playing Jaime Summers seems bland in comparison. And she's not at all athletic. She just feels wrong for the part. Maybe she'll grow on me. So far, I think she was mis-cast.

Kid Nation surprised me. My husband couldn't get past the exploitation issues and I agree that it's disturbing to see a poor little ten year old sobbing for his family. What struck me most, though, is how Kid Nation reveals cultural changes. Adults these days underestimate children. We have infantilized children and even young adults so completely, that it's unimaginable that a seven year old cares for younger siblings all over the world. But they do. And they did. And they could. And they can.

Ironically, part of the reason I decided to home school was to foster independence in my children. Now that they're not pried out of bed at 6:00 a.m., they have time to make their own breakfast, clean up, get dressed, get their work out, and start their work. They are already working more independently, helping each other and caring for their younger sibling. Self esteem has risen.

Happiness is directly related to control. That is, when we feel in control, when we have something mastered, we get a sense of satisfaction. Our kids get deprived of that satisfaction when everything is done for them. They feel helpless and hopeless.

Anyway, I'll try to catch Kid Nation again. It's good to see that left to their own devices, even modern American kids would dig deep and have the emotional, intellectual and physical resources to survive--even if the situation is contrived.

Get Rich, Quit Watching TV: It Worked For Us!--UPDATED

The founder of SavingAdvice.com says:

When people ask me what was the best decision I made when I decided to create this website, they are often surprised when I tell them that it was my decision to quit watching TV. There is no doubt that TV costs people far more financially than they believe. For most people, TV is a habit that costs in excess of $1 million over a lifetime, or the equivalent of a healthy retirement account. For me, had I continued to watch TV over the past five years, in addition to the monetary aspects, it would have been the difference of working in a job I didn’t like and having my dream job working for myself for which there is no way to set a price.

Did getting rid of cable five years ago [Update: it was seven years ago, now] make us richer? Well, we certainly spent our time doing other, more important things like reading, learning something new and communicating. It helped us more clearly identify our goals and we spent more time fulfilling them. Actually, when I think about it: new house, new vehicle, new pool, new kid, restructured office hours, more savings.... Maybe it did work. [Update: New business, too. That's the key. We went into business for ourselves which was more work but more rewarding. And it took five years for the new house and new kid, and seven for the new pool.]

In retrospect, getting rid of the TV freed up time to think. It cleared mental space and forced us to be mindful of what we were (or weren't) doing.

You'll recall that I got my husband digital cable (curse Comcast!) for his birthday so he could watch March madness. We're weaned of TV shows, but do like watching sports. Even still, we have been irritated with how much time that wastes. (And I did get hooked to watching American Idol. Sigh.) So, we just got rid of it again. Unlike the past, I just don't turn on the TV during the day. It's not a temptation. I hate the noise.

Unfortunately, now I'm addicted to blogging. My brother calls it a disease. He may be right. I have wondered if I've used this new medium to distract me from doing really important things. Could we get even richer if I quit blogging? Goodness knows, I'm not getting rich blogging. Although, I do feel, intuitively, that blogging is clearing a path for my future. I'm just not quite sure how yet.

Maybe I should give up blogging for a month and see how I spend my time. That would give me at least three hours a day to do something else. Maybe even do something more worthwhile.

H/T Glenn Reynolds

UPDATE: For what it's worth, I wouldn't consider myself rich. Makes me think of the Cosby Show when one of the kids asks, "Are we rich?" To which the mom responds, "Honey, rich is when you don't work for your money, your money works for you. And we work for our money." So, I wouldn't say we're anywhere near rich. I doubt rich people have student loans in their late thirties. Ha!

Maybe if I give up blogging, though.....

Watch ABC TV on Your Computer

Totally cool. Unobtrusive advertising. Waste only 45 minutes of your life instead of one hour! I just watched my first episode of Grey's Anatomy.

My husband said the show was "wholly unredeeming". I begged to differ. "Patrick Dempsy is redeeming," said I. "He gives hope to nerds everywhere." (And frumpy mothers, too.)

Via Fat Doctor who has an interesting blog, by the way.

Update: The episode tonight had a 14 year old kid who dumped her baby in the waste basket and they had to do surgery. The rescued preemie was in the ER, they couldn't find a vein for an IV and all these coughing bit actors around. The doc runs with the baby foot-ball style,0\ like he's heading for a touchdown, and not even bagging it. Steve and I laughed and laughed. Obviously, this show is character, not accuracy, driven.