Those wacky Duggars are at it again...

Yep, they're expecting kid number 18. I found it funny how annoyed the other kids looked when mom announced she was pregnant AGAIN...

Honestly, they can have all the kids they want, but I have to take issue with all the energy and food consumed by just one family.

FLDS Children and their Brainwashed Mothers

This is video (the sync is off, so just listen, don't look at their mouths) of three of the mothers whose children were removed from their home (a.k.a. "The Ranch") and their lawyer. It saddens me so much, not only to know the abuse those kids suffered, but the blatant brainwashing these women have undergone. Their eyes are vacant, their voices meek, and their thoughts are not their own. They don't answer questions, they merely repeat over and over how they are "free" and their children are "free" and so on. It's disgusting on multiple levels. This other video reports that there is much evidence that many young girls were "spiritually married" to older men and then had children by them. There is speculation that no one is legally married to anyone so that wives and kids can be moved around, young girls are sexually available to men, and welfare checks can be received for the dozens of kids each technically single mother has. This is beyond fucked up.

First Friday

I can't believe it's August. Soon all the students will be back on campus and things won't be so quiet and laid back anymore. Until next summer, that is.

So what's been going on this week besides a tragic bridge collapse and people having way too many babies to compensate for an unfortunate miscarriage? Well for one thing, I found a responsible parent online! (This restaurant diner thanks you!) For another, the TV at home has been kinda funky lately, resulting in me doing other things besides planting myself in front of it. For this tv-junkie, that's huge! I think the fact that it's summer helped that situation... When fall rolls around with its splashy roll-outs of new shows and old favorites, the couch will most likely become my main hangout once again. Sigh.

Product recommendation: Baby G bought me a Zen Stone last week. I have to say it's awesome! It is easy to use, tiny, and has great playback. And it only cost $40! If you're looking for something smart and simple, give this gadget a try. By the way, mine is pink and it's fabulous!

"Baby" Songs

Um, if you want your infant to grow up to be musically literate, perhaps starting him or her off on these CDs would help? I know I'd want my baby to drift off to sleep to the gentle sounds of Tool. Wouldn't you?

From the "I Could Totally Do That" files, vol.2

Oops. You work for two days straight, creating a colorful work of art out of sand and some kid comes along and tap dances all over it.

Reminds me of the shit I used to pull when I was a little kid... I mean, when you're three, who wouldn't want to dance on pretty sand? Fortunately for the kid, the monks are zen guys who seem to appreciate the "extra" struggle his dance caused. Woah. And I thought Catholic guilt was bad...these guys take suffering to a whole new level.

Whah whah whah...

...why weren't the librarians babysitting my children at the public library? Whah! I'm a parent who doesn't get it that the public library is just that: PUBLIC. As in, it's for EVERYONE, not just school-aged children dropped off to do homework and wreak havoc at the local library.

The father is asking for damages: $10,000 per kid(!). Apparently his children are having "sleepless nights." I'll bet they are, but not for the reasons he thinks!

My favorite part of the article? Oh, definitely this quote by the boy's father:

"Any effort to reinstate the book will be met with legal action and protests from the Christian community."

Right. I'd bet you just about anything he's got a nice stash of so-called lesbian porn on his hard drive at home. Perhaps he wants the $20 grand so he can buy more?

Oh! The Childrenz...

I sometimes wonder if my not having children has made me an 'outcast' in some circles. Luckily, my personal circle of friends neither contains any parents, nor cares that they have not reproduced. However, at work I am the only one of my colleagues who does not have children, and sometimes I either A) get left out of whole conversations, or B) don't get the same 'privileges' my colleagues do (staying home w/ sick kids, bringing kids to the office during work hours, leaving early to pick kids up from ballet/football/violin, soliciting for cookies or candy or band trips, etc).

Now I certainly don't mean to imply that I'd push out a kid simply to have a reason to chitchat at work or stay home [with a flu-ridden rugrat]. Oh contraire! But I do disdain the dichotomy between parents and nonparents. In an era where celebrity pregnancies are frontpage news and every f*ckin' place from the local restaurant or bookstore to Dirty Jim's Saloon* has to be "family-friendly," kids and their influence are everywhere. Is it wrong that I don't have kids and I want a break from all the people that do?!

What really bothers me is all these uber-pampered babies are growing up to be uber-pampered adults who only want to be rich and lazy. All these parents who are bff with their kids make me sick. My parents weren't my best friends when I was a kid; hell, they weren't even my friends! But that's the point --- they weren't supposed to be my friend, they were supposed to be my parent.

Woo! I don't know what inspired this particular rant this morning. Perhaps it was Cloying Girl's bragging about her daughter getting into some dance class or something.

CG: OMG! [Daughter] got into the highest level class! Oh! [Insert unspoken line here --- What did your daughter do lately? Oh wait, you don't have one.]

Me: Yeah, that's so great. I'm. So. Happy. For. You...

Eh, what can you do? I don't know. Not all kids or parents are bad. I know this...

I need some coffee.

*I totally made that name up, but doesn't it sound like a great dive bar?