Tonight, I watched the Finale of American Idol. After the program was over, I'm thinking to myself . . boy, you just wasted two hours of your time! ::)
I guess there is too much of a generation gap or something between what I watched and how old I am. Some really "strange" stuff. I'm just not "into" all the girls stomping as they strut their stuff across the stage. All the screaming, growling, body shaking, etc. that the "singers" do. Let's not EVEN mention Lady Gaga (one strange chick, for sure!!).
There were a few good performances tonight - Lauren and Carrie Underwood, and Haley and Tony Bennett and Scotty and Tim McGraw. The rest . . . I could have done without!
It just seems any more the more extreme a show is, the better the ratings or something. I just don't get it.
Feeling old tonight,
Bucky
Lets really show our age! Remember when "Hound dog" was new? Causus Clay (sp?) becoming heavy weight champion of the world? How about getting excited because The Lawrence Welk Band was headlining at Grandpa's Barn dance (mom's memory). Walt Disney announcing plans for a new amusement park called Disney World on his TV program? What about Fess Parker's Coon Skin Cap?
Did man ever walk on the moon? Where is my rocket car and ray gun?
My family's highlight of the week was our watching Saturday night programming on our black & white TV (we couldn't afford a color TV at that time!). We watched Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bob Newhart Show (w/ Suzanne Pleshette) and the Carol Burnett Show. Now THAT was TV!!! I don't know what they can call the things they show on TV now!! Times have changed!
Liz D.
Lol Bucky!
I'm past showing my age. I don't even WATCH, not American Idol, or DWTS (Dancing with....) or anything. Entire decades of shows have come and gone and had 20 year reunions and I've never seen them.
I did go on line and found a song by the Scotty guy, since he lives just down the road from us and is front page news in the Raleigh paper. I figured I would at least listen to what someone doing well on American Idol sounds like.
I was amazed. His picture shows him looking about 18, and he sounds like a 50 year old country singer who's been through the wringer! Where is that VOICE coming from?
Other than that attempt to see what the fuss was about, I'm completely clueless at all times.
And I don't mind it a bit. Funny thing is all the women around my age are GLUED to AI and DWTS and Oprah. So it really isn't JUST an age thing.
NOT knowing a thing about Kanye West, is probably an age thing. and all those faux stars like Paris Hilton or whatever.......
And I left music when Disco hit, I think. :-)
A few things have filtered up from children and grandchildren over the years. I made a CD of Eminem for my French grandchild.
In order to make it I had to LISTEN to the music to be sure the songs were complete. The lyrics were outrageous, but I knew that I could barely understand them and English is my first language. I was pretty sure my 12 year old French grandson had no idea what was being said. Or maybe he did, and I'm even MORE clueless than I think?
Right now I"m busy reading the first book in a fantasy series that I think my older grandson here in NC will be able to enjoy when he's about 15. He's 12 now. I'll give him the series when he's old enough. It's pretty good: A Game of Thrones. I think it's a TV show now, and maybe a video game, too.
He's not old enough for it now.
And I'm in two book groups. Just read Room, for a group meeting tonight. Reasonably interesting! A best seller.
I just love thinking about the current crop of 'youngsters'. When they are in a nursing home, they'll have wrinkly tattoos, pierced wrinkles?, and the sing-alongs will be Metallica and Dr. Dre music I guess?
Hugs
Elaine
I don't watch American Idol, Dancing with Stars, Survivor, Lost, or Oprah, or those so called reality shows. How about The Waltons reruns? Little house of the Prairie, Highway to Heaven? Found them on INSP, we are enjoying them, missed some of them the first time around.
Remember the family sitting down with TV dinners to watch the "Flintstones". Remember "I Dream of Genie"? What about "George Burns and Gracie Alan" & the "Nelsons"?
I don't watch tv anymore for all the reasons you mentioned. Family values used to be at its core, but it's mostly trashy now. I hate that the younger generations are exposed to it.
Cheryl
What bugs me the most is that I remember when prices were Soooooo much cheaper. When I was a kid, my dad sometimes would have me do additon and subtraction in the grocery store on items - so I remember the prices.
Also, my folks were Grand Ole Opry music fans. So I remember a lot of the music and musicians from back then though I am not old enough to be in "their time".
Elaine: Just think of these "youngsters" very old & in nursing homes with names like: Missy, Princess, Candy, Cookie, Sissy, etc. LOL
Well, Pisces,
My mother used to talk about a loaf of bread for 15 cents, etc.
BUT the average annual income in 1939 was about $5,000. Think about it!
Our first house in 1969 was $24,500, but our income was only $10,000 a year.
Relative to income, prices haven't changed much at all. Some things, yes.
Movie tickets have increased much more than, say, the price of gas.
It's only relative.
My younger son asked why we didn't buy TWO houses when they were going for $25,000, in 1969. One for us and one for him! Course he wasn't born yet.
And on 10K a year we couldn't afford $50 K worth of houses.
Even tho' the same house was worth $234,000 25 years later.
Interesting thoughts.
Hugs
Elaine
Anyone race home from school to watch "Dark Shadows"? That oh so daring soap opera of the vampire world? I so adored that series, whew, drove the others insane!
Then there was Bill Cosby the comedian, and lets not forget about George Carlin and the seven things that you can't say on the radio/TV? Where did the time go?
Patze
Dark Shadows! I haven't heard that one in a long time! We don't watch much tv, it puts us in a bad mood. Sometimes we record a show so we can skip the commercials--we have a "no violence" rule and even the ads are over the top a lot of times. I preferred the old Hawaii 5-0!
Patze,
I remember Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows! Whew.....that took me back quite a few years!
Patze and lynnmarie,
Oh, my goodness-Dark Shadows!! I was in 6th grade at the height of it's popularity and had 7 blocks from school to run home to see it. I loved that it was so different, and I am still surprised that my mother allowed me to watch it! ;)
hikerknees, That's good that you have a "no violence" policy. If I had children at home no, I would really restrict tv and the internet. There is so much "trash" out there. Thankfully, when my sons were growing up there weren't the options we have now, and I limited tv then. We had lots of reading time and outdoor play time.
Melinda,
Outdoor play time? What a great concept!!! They had an outdoor play time in Central Park and 50,000 people showed up! We all miss it in one way or another. Growing up I lived in trees, and had a special one where I loved to read.
I know!!! ;D Outdoor play time- we didn't even call it that. They were just ready to GO when they got out of school. ;) :D ;D
They rode their bikes, I rode sometimes. They had impromtu neigborhood baseball games and made ramps for bicycles. They made up games on the swing set. They built "forts" out of anything they could find. In cold weather, we played in the snow and made elaborate snowcastles, and we'd see who could slide on the ice the farthest without killing themselves.
They played with friends! We had dinner, homework and read before bed. They helped their Grandpa in his garden. My parents helped me a lot since I worked long hours in a restaurant, serving and managing.
As a single mom for 8 years, I only had a 12-inch tv with no cable, and I'm glad of it. I spent whatever little extra I had on family memberships to the zoo, we went to free library programs, and bought books at the second-hand store.
Sounds like life in the 50's or 60's? This was the 80's! ;D
Working so much, I always worried if I gave them enough of my TIME. One of my best "rewards" has been that now that my sons are 30 and 34 years old, they've told me that even though we didn't have a lot of money or gadgets, they had a good childhood and memories, and knew they were always loved. Puts a little tear in my dry eyes! :)
OH yes, Meld, it all sounds so familiar!
But we lived before TV, and radio shows only for kids were on at certain times of day, not 24/7 like now on TV, Remember Sky King? And Sgt Preston?
We also lived before air conditioning! So being outdoors was better than being stuck in side, for sure. And of course we went everywhere on our bikes.
No stranger danger fear in my era, I guess. Anyway the biggest danger is always 'funny uncles' in your own family!
You know, I just realized why my son and daughter-in-law spent the entire three-day weekend at either their association pool, or our association pool. They wanted their three kids to be OUTSIDE, playing in the water, or playing board games under an umbrella, with NO TV or computers in sight.
The two boys are also on the swim team, which is lots and lots of kids swimming laps for 45 minutes straight. Wears them out, and they practice 3 times a week. I wondered why they joined a separate club when they could come to ours. But since they don't live in our community they couldn't put their kids in the swim team here.
They limit TV and computers very strictly, too. And snacks. She also has the older boy working with a trainer to help him build muscles and confidence as he is very academic and says he 'hates' sports. And my son runs with them each separately after dinner.
You HAVE to do this, cause kids just do not play spontaneously outside anymore it seems. In fact they never do anything spontaneously much, just arranged 'play dates'.
We also got to parks regularly, and toss balls. My husband plays catch with the younger grandson, and we recently put a basketball net in our driveway, and even the kids parents like shooting a little hoop. (I of course, alas, can't do any of that). I do play catch in the pool with the kids, and play with the 4 year old granddaughter endlessly in the water. I really love the water, and can still do that easily.
So now parents have to manage outdoor time, but at least they do know how important it is.
I of course just told my kids, go outside and play!
Hugs.
Elaine
Yes, Elaine, I think parents now really have to put some effort into getting kids to have outdoor activity. So good your son and daughter-in-law are doing that. Being on a swim team is great!
With our "information age", even though there is junk on tv, there's a few good things, too, and the internet is awesome used the right way. Just look at us here; I'd never met all you wonderful people without it! ;)
Kids also need time outdoors and time to just "be a kid". Our nephew's son just turned 2, and one of his favorite phrases now is "Go ou-siiide?" He is so cute. And he has time to play and get dirty. He has one of those old red and yellow coupe toy cars, and loves either riding it or better yet, pushing it down a little hill. He pushes, then he falls on his face, bounces up, and pushes again...repeat, repeat with the face til there's dirt and grass all over him. ;D :D
Yeah since I work with kids I firmly believe they need all the outdoor stuff they can get to develop their sensory and motor systems--all that running, jumping, spinning, dodging and falling down, swinging, etc, etc, on an ongoing and repeated repeated basis. I am not surprised people aren't comfortable with thier bodies and go on to do dangerous things like drive too fast and self-medicate. I am forever grateful to my parents for pushing me out the door every day (well actually it was hard to keep me inside).
hikerknees,
You explain that in a very good way; outdoor play is serious business so that kids develop many skills needed, and it helps them learn better, too.
I worked as a federal food program director for a day care years ago. We had many kids who lived in apartments, their parents worked a lot, and they just didn't get out a lot.
Sometimes new parents would be surprised when told that their children would be playing outside a portion of every day, and to dress them appropriately. This was in Cincinnati; so if it was 95 degrees, they went out, if it was 25 degrees, they still went out.
BTW, I was able to add lots of fresh fruit and veggies to the menu, and it always amazed me that there were 3 or 4-yr-olds who had never seen or eaten things like a fresh pear, broccoli or a fresh strawberry. One little guy told me strawberries are in ice cream; I told him this is what they look like BEFORE they go in the ice cream. He was amazed! :)
Yeah Melinda I remember going out to recess in even the fiercest of weather in Ohio myself! I don't remember that all the teachers had to go out with us though like they do today--I remember when a classmate fell off the slide and broke his arm--considered back then a rite of passage, not a reason to sue the school--and it took awhile for the teacher to get there.
sue
I remember some really cold recesses and some really hot ones! Seems like I remember one teacher being out there somewhere, but no, they weren't readily available. Oh yeah, a broken arm, a bloody lip, a scraped knee-all rites of passage.
I took that to the extreme in h.s. track when I slid across the cinders after a fall, embedding them in my knees and elbows. My mother came to pick me up after practice and I walked out of school all bandaged and bloody. Of course, she asked "what in the world happened to you?!" Well, I was in a relay practice, the 3rd girl dropped the baton, I slipped on it, and skidded myself face and belly first down the track a ways. I was sore, but I was tough, so I ran in the track meet the next week. ;)
In Jr High I broke my arm. No tears, I just set it myself. After gym class I was sent to the nurse. My teachers noticed a marked improvement in my penmanship when I had to start writing with my left hand. The Doctor said he could not have set the arm better. That night after the cast was on I started to feel the pain. Shock can block pain.
Wow, Joe, you set your own arm... :o And did a good job of it, apparently!
I always had a scrape, a cut, and bruises down my legs all summer from running, jumping and climbing. My sister said we didn't need a calendar; when Melinda starting looking banged up, we knew it was spring! (she's sooo sweet)
I said I was tough, but maybe not entirely true. My track coach went inside with me to bandage me up after my fall, looked at the cinder bits in my knees and said we could go to the ER and have them scrub those out. Oh, no...my knees were already torn up, thank you. I still have visable bits of dark cinder on my kneecaps, and little scars under my elbows. My husband calls it my "war wounds." :D
Those cinder tracks always scared me for that reason.
I was not considered that athletic. I did a lot of swimming, camping, canoeing, cutting and splitting wood in my youth. No big muscles.