Ryuk vs. Tipper Gore

I'm not one of those moms who wants to censor everything. I'm not interested in what the Parents Television Council has to say. I don't have a need for Common Sense Media. I'm not even sure if the PMRC still exists. However, that doesn't mean that I think that my kids should watch or listen to everything. Not everything is appropriate for everyone. I don't think it has to be, either. For example, I don't think my 5 year old should watch A Nightmare on Elm Street, but I don't have a problem if my 14 year old watches it. As a parent it is my job to determine what is and isn't appropriate for them.

Now, my nerdiness is pretty contained. I like Star Trek (mostly TNG and DS9). I like Buffy. I like Twilight Zone. I get most of the sci-fi jokes on Big Bang Theory but a lot of the actual science jokes are lost on me. There are a few other sci-fi and fantasy series that I enjoy, but again, it's pretty contained.  I don't branch out much. I never really got into anime.

The Girl recently started watching a lot of anime. Not really knowing a lot about it, other than its existence, I decided to watch one of the series she talks about. I started watching Death Note. At first I watched it just to see what The Girl was into and see if it was appropriate for her age-group. I watched the first episode and I was hooked. I am up to episode 10. The verdict? Is it appropriate? Meh. There are other ways I would rather she spend her time, but if she's going to watch TV (even though she watches it on the computer and not TV, but what's the difference?) it's more interesting than Victorious and it's something we can watch together and talk about.

I'm sure she'll find an interest one day that I'm not too cool with. For now I will keep my eyes and mind open and hope that she'll trust me enough to share with me her likes and dislikes.

The "Newser" - a dream

A few months ago The Boy told me "Mom, I saw a newser today." He told me he saw a newscaster from the Breakfast News we watch in the morning. When I was a kid I didn't pay much attention to the news. My two oldest watch the news all the time. It's on in the morning when they are getting ready for school. We also usually watch the 6pm news. They know all the newscasters and when the regular ones aren't on, they notice. When they get haircuts, they notice. When they haven't been on in a while, they notice. I didn't start paying attention to the news until I moved to San Francisco. I didn't even know Breakfast News existed until about 5 years after moving to San Francisco and my boyfriend (now hubby) watched it. Anyhow, I had a dream about one of the "newsers" we see on TV on most days.

I had a dream about local news anchor Frank Somerville.

I was in Long Beach walking down the busy street that intersected with the street I grew up on. I still lived in the house I grew up in, but I'm not sure if anyone else lived there. Frank Somerville passed me on the sidewalk and I struck up a conversation with him. I asked him if I could get my picture taken with him. He said yes. I told him that he'd have to walk back to my house with me so I can get my camera. He followed me. On the way to my house he said that he knew someone who lived on the same street as my house but they lived there a long time ago. I told him that I was pretty old and that I moved into my house when I was 2 months old. We probably lived in our houses at the same time. He asked me if I remembered them. I told him "oh no, we never talked to anyone on that part of the street."

We entered the house. He sat on the couch and struck up a conversation with my parents plus some other people. About a half hour later he left. 

I never got my picture with him.