The reason this really got under my skin is because "Sesame Street" is always trying to be reflective of who is watching their show, but they chose to make fathers look bad.
What I want to know is why they didn't use a jailbird mother instead when there are so many women in prison.
As a man, I feel attacked by the media biased tainting of the image of men, but god forbid they ever show women in a negative light! I am so tired of PC society because they seem to be politically correct on everything except the fair portrayal of men.
Yesterday during Group Therapy, we read a texted we received at 77999 by a Rock-A-Holic named Bill who was seeking some advice.
He's been dating his girlfriend for a year now; they have a lot of the same hobbies and she even shares his biggest passion in life.
Their relationship is going so great that he's thought that she might be "the one". He has no reason to want to end it except for the fact that he is 22-years-old and the idea of getting tied down scares that crap out of him. Bill wanted to know if he should break it off now or keep things the way they are.
In this day and age, 22-years-old is actually a very young age; if this was 20-50 years ago, that wouldn't be that same case. Over the years, parents have stunted the growth of children and my generation is no exception. Psychologists have even come out and said that "26" is the new "21" because "26" is when you become autonomous and can do things on your own.
I'm happy to see that Bill has a good head on his shoulders and he will be successful in life if he has a good group of mentors to help guide him through life.
An adage that gets thrown around a lot is, "If it was meant to be it was meant to be," which is one thing I really like about this new age stuff.
People regret what didn't happen thinking things would have gone better or a certain way if they took a different path but the truth is we have no idea how it would have really happened.
For example, if someone still longs for "the love that got away," if they did stay together, it doesn't mean that things would have gone great. They could have gotten married and been miserable for the rest of their lives.
For better or worse, you can learn from the bad stuff, but I don't believe there is such a thing as being in the wrong place and the wrong time. If Bill thinks he still has things to do before he decides to settle down, then he should do it and if she is there when he is ready, then "it was meant to be."
Today's guest bloggist is one of my mentors, Dan Sanders:
In 2001 after the tragic bombings of the world trade center flags were popping up on everyone's door step. A rampaging fever of protect America at all cost was spreading like dandelion seeds in the wind and out of this, the Patriot act was conceived, birthed and was loved.
We would make those that had attacked us pay the cost no matter what the cost. Now 12 years later we seem to have all but forgotten the alarm that brought us to the point of flag planting surveillance cameras, phone tapping, etc. Now we scream we are being spied on, and we are. We scream our privacy is being invaded, and it is. And we scream it is wrong. It is a dictatorship on some level it is, and it is making us into a Big brother is watching country, and it is.
It is not to be condoned, but neither is the death of thousands in New York nor the lamed and dead in Boston.
I have said and will explain further in the podcast that I don't mind, my life will not change one bit if I am being spied on. I will not do one thing different. I will not monitor my word's phone calls or blogs and podcast. I will not change one bloody thing because some guy or hopefully woman is sitting in my tree outside watching me take a shower.
As I told one FBI agent years ago; I ask. "Have I put your son through college yet with the money you've been paid for watching me?" He laughed and said two things, " and my daughter also". The other thing he said is, don't stop doing what you're doing. Here is a link to another of my websites, which will help explain that even further. http://creative-treehouse.com/a-small-cabin-on-a-mountain-top-the-beginning/
And enjoy the rambling. I love feed back, and it's good to welcome you to rambling Harbor.
Earlier this week we received a text at 77999 from a Rock-A-Holic named Kate who wanted our opinion on how to handle a situation with her daughter.
Her 16-year-old recently told her she likes a guy. The problem Kate has with this guy is she considers the kid a freak with her green hair and all black attire.
Kate told her daughter that she's not allowed to date this guy and she is not interested in meeting him…ever! Her husband told her that she needs to relax and meet the kid before forming and opinion on him.
The reason she texted us was because she wanted to know if she should listen to her husband or should she force her daughter to obey her.
First off I'd like to congratulate Kate because she has a husband and father figure in her daughter's life. Second off, I'd like ask: has anyone has ever been able to get a 16-year-old girl to obey their parents?
Vicky B actually weighed in and said that she shouldn't judge him by how he looks and if she did a good job parenting her daughter, then she shouldn't worry about her falling on the wrong path.
That's a good point; if she has been shown good quality love especially by her father, she will be successful in relationships. If a guy starts mistreating her emotionally, physically, or in any other way, she will be strong enough to walk away.
I made sure my own daughter was given the proper amount of love and emotional support from me so that she would have high standards for men and how they treat her. If Kate and her husband do the same with their daughter, they won't have to worry about any guy she dates, no matter what color his hair is.
A Rock-A-Holic named Trisha wrote in asking for some relationship advice which we addressed in Group Therapy yesterday.
Trisha and her boyfriend have been together for nearly two years but before that, he was with his ex for 11 years!
He cheated on his ex with her and eventually left to be with Trisha. There was a cross over period where he was still living with his ex of about six months while he was with Trisha but slept in separate beds…as far as we know.
He has since moved out and has his own place. Trisha's biggest insecurity she says is that even though they have been together for two years, he still hasn't told his family about her and some of them don't even know that he left his ex yet!
She took it upon herself to look through his phone, and she found texts from his family and his ex's family which pass along regards to both of them. So not only has he not said anything to his family, some of his ex's family doesn't know about the break up either.
Trisha wanted to know if she should give him an ultimatum: if he doesn't introduce her to his family by the end of this month, she will leave.
There is so much very wrong with this situation.
I know this is going to harsh but Trisha wrecked an 11 year relationship! What I think is missing in this situation and even in society is a man's directness especially in the Pacific Northwest! Most men have lost that directness and in order to spare someone's feelings, they won't be honest.
Well here is the truth, Trisha is a big girl now, and she has to realize that she's a home wrecker! When you're with a person that allows you to wreck their home, what do you think you're getting into? "There is no honor amongst thieves." When you deal with dishonorable people, you get unfavorable results. Trisha needs to see that her boyfriend is a leopard who may never change his "cheating" spots.
Yesterday on the show, we talked about how former NFL player Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson got sentenced to 30 days in prison…for a butt pat!
It all started last year when he head butted his then wife Evelyn Lozada during an argument. He was in court because he had failed to meet the requirements of his probation.
Luckily for him, he reached a deal where he had to attend community service and counseling instead of going to jail plus three months probation.
The judge was about to sign the plea deal when Chad congratulated his lawyer by smacking him on the ass which caused the room to burst out in laughter and infuriated the judge.
The judge said, "I just saw you slap your attorney on the backside. Is there something funny about this? The whole courtroom was laughing. I'm not going to accept these plea negotiations. This isn't a joke."
Chad said that he didn't mean it as a joke.
Look, I understand that for most athletes being submissive and learning to surrender is a hard thing to do but he should have taken accountability and said something like, "I'm sorry judge; that was a stupid thing for me to do, I apologize."
I think jail would serve him well because he might be able learn a lesson from all of this.
Yesterday during Group Therapy, I read an email from a Rock-A-Holic named Brooke who is already having problems in her marriage.
She explains that she met her husband a year ago and they "fell hard for each other" and have been married for three months.
The problem Brooke has is that he doesn't help around the house. She has to do all the cooking, cleaning, and she even has to feed her husband's dog while he sits around watching TV, playing on the internet, or working on his truck.
She says even though he is a slob, he isn't lazy because he pulls in 90 thousand dollars a year at his job. Brooke didn't know what to do at this point because she is already married to him.
First off, I'd like to ask why someone would get married if they have only known them for a year.
That is not really enough time to really get to know someone and their living habits.
I also want to point out that her husband does do his part, he works at a job where he makes $90K per year and I can only assume that he makes that kind of money by working hard.
Some people say that everything in 2013 needs to be equal in the household but that is not necessarily fair. I believe that when it comes to house work, the amount of work done at jobs should also be taken into consideration.
If one partner brings in 70% of the income, then they should only be responsible for 30% of the chores. That's equality to me.
Today's blog is from one of my mentors, Dan Sanders:
I do not believe that all people are selfish, single minded, narrow thinking, racist, violent, or fat. I do believe that some people are all the above. I also believe that a large number of the ones that suffer from the above nonproductive traits are not born that way but are a product of our society in all its surreptitious ways of mind control.
And of course, the media, which I have been a loyal card-carrying member for the last 40 some and very odd years, I always had a love-hate relationship with that wonderful form of often misused and misunderstood form of communication. For example, if not for the media coverage where would - Dominique Ansel be? He would be alone and fat and full of Cronuts. If you don't know who - Dominique Ansel's is. Then surely you are by now aware of the cardiologist best friend, the Cronut. And if you are not conscious of what a Cronut is it may be due to either hiding behind a rock or still in a sugar coma. But you are going to learn more than perhaps you ever thought you would about the Cronut in this pod-cast.
Of course, life would not be complete for the media without a few incredible stupid acts by Justin Bieber. In Justin's case, the media does not have to look for, but it may be encouraging such bone head actions. The Bieb is supplying plenty of dumb things to talk about. And in this pod-cast, I will talk about how one of the local R stations here in Boston has, in my opinion, helped to propagate and influence of bad behavior, not just from the little Bieber but from the fans, who idolize him.
Another big piece of news from this week is the monitoring of phone calls, email, Facebook, shaving cream, just kidding, I think about shaving cream. But if the shaving can starts clicking sounds like a camera, then start smiling.
I don't think I mentioned much about this government watching us program in this pod-cast, but I will in the future. What I do want to say here is. If, and of course, they really are, there is no "If" about it, we are being watched by BIG brother. I'm not sure how I feel about this except to say I personally have nothing to worry about. I have nothing to say on line, on phone or in private written in a blog said in a pod-cast or left in pretty colors on a fading wall that I would not say to the president directly. I have no violent methods, and I am an American all the way back to my mother and her Cherokee ancestry. So listen in government, I have nothing to hide, and if it makes me safer then, so be it. The world has become a very violent place, and it is no longer in some distant land. It is in our own back yards. I think, George Orwell's ( Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) thinking did not envision the needs for such security. If someone is threatening my home, and I put up security cameras and I see you walking up, plain as the day a friend, no threat, no worry, so what do you care? But if I see you coming up with a hood over your head, and you run away, then I suspect the camera is doing its job.
In a finale note from the age of more innocent times, when movies were musicals, and fantasy, dance and song, and not one explosion after another, killings and hate desensitizing us to violence, making it almost acceptable, we know it's OK we saw it on the big screen or the TV.
As a child and young man, I fell in love with the beauty of Ester Williams and synchronized swimming. Ester was also the champion who made synchronized swimming a competitive sport.
Ester Williams died at 91 a few days ago, and with her, another part of what once was a much different world. However, it's a world I hope we can regain in small positive steps.
That is if the Cronut doesn't make us to fat to walk at all.
Yesterday on the show, we played audio of an example of embarrassment in broadcasting.
A news station in Rhode Island tried interviewing Melissa Lawrence when she threw rocks, yelled curse words, ran at them with a bat and sent her dogs after the news crew.
The reason they were trying to interview her was because the alleged gunman who shot and killed her daughter turned himself in and they wanted to get her opinion on it. Her daughter Ny'asia was 16-years-old.
She has since been charged with two counts of felony assault and has been released on a $50,000 bail, but could face more charges.
Watch the video of went down here:
I cannot blame Melissa for her reaction; she just went through one of the most traumatic experiences any parent could go through and then some reporter wants to just stick a microphone in her face.
It's sad to see that people don't even get to grieve properly. I'm not condoning violence but I understand why she reacted so passionately.
Hey TV News, let me save you some time and money; people who lose loved ones feel very sad. You're welcome.
A Rock-A-Holic name Stephanie wrote to us asking for some advice on an issue she is having with her parents.
She is 18-years–old and her parents have been divorced for over 8 years now. Her mother remarried a year after was divorced and Stephanie's step dad has been an important part of her life since; he became a second father to her.
Last month however, she found out her mom is cheating on her step dad and when she confronted her, she didn't deny it!
Stephanie told her mom that she has a week to confess to her step father otherwise she was going to tell him what is going on. Her mom said that can't because she was cheating with Stephanie's biological father, the one she divorced over eight years ago.
She was shocked and irate at both her parents because of what they were doing to her step dad and to her! She wanted to know why if they were going to be having an affair with each other; they put her through a horrible divorce in the first place.
Her parents are acting like selfish idiots. They don't see the trauma they are putting their daughter though! Even though she is 18-years-old, it doesn't mean she is not young enough to be hurt by all of this.
I also want to know how Stephanie found out. How bad of an adult is her mother that she couldn't keep her kid from finding out the stupid things she's doing?
On top of that, her mother is cheating on a man who has been with her for all these years and has been a good father figure to her daughter! He doesn't deserve to be treated like crap from such a selfish human being.
It is just sad to see that kids are the voice of reason and the parents are acting immature children.
Last week during Group Therapy, the advice I gave a Rock-A-Holic named Gary has caused a lot of backlash!
About a year ago, Gary wrote in asking for our opinion and completely ignored them. His ex-fiancé pretty much abandoned her teenage daughter and her father was not in the picture. He was wondering if he should take her in and help her out since she had no one else and he felt she could use some adult guidance.
He took her in around a year ago, against my advice, and she has turned her fail grades to A's and B's and is close to graduating at 18 years-old.
The problem is, she just informed Gary that she is 5 weeks pregnant with her 23 year-old boyfriend's child. He is a high school dropout who works in construction and neither of them have driver's licenses.
According to the couple, they want to keep the child and even though Gary thinks they are not ready for this financially or mentally he knows he has no say.
He feels however, if she thinks she's old enough to be a parent then she is old enough to move in with the father of her unborn baby.
People got mad at me when I called Gary dumb for all this. First he asked for advice but decided to ignore the counsel of someone who genuinely was looking out for him, and now he wants to kick this troubled teen out, because something bad happened.
When he decided to take her in, he agreed to be her guardian which is like being a parent. Once you agree to this, it's forever not for when it's no longer easy.
This girl, from what Gary explained in the message, has had a difficult life with parents who are not even around so is it really surprising that she ended up in this situation?
He is pretty much her parent now and as any good parent would do, he has to support her for the rest of his life. That's why parenting should be thoughtfully considered because it's a lifelong commitment.
Today's blog is another guest blog from Dan Sanders:
What do Justin Bieber, Keyshawn Johnson and Ellen DeGeneres have in common, nothing? Except that I am going to talk about them.
If Keyshawn has his way Little Bieber may in up in traction. And Ellen DeGeneres may get lost in her 26 million dollar new mansion. This is not her first mansion, the last one she bought she sold for a profit. I can't help but wonder what the mark up is on 26 million. However, she will probably sell it to someone. I understand the little Bieber may soon be looking for a new neighbor.
Warren Buffett also will be included in this podcast. Warren Buffett 3rd richest man in the world also had a few things to say, as usual about Congress, millionaires, billionaires and the little people like Ellen Ungenerous. Now ungenerous may be unfair to say. It's not that she's ungenerous. It's just that she has a very strong fear of being homeless.
Little Bieber doesn't drive too fast; it's just that the speed limit is to slow.
And Keyshawn Johnson didn't chase little Bieber to give him a good lecture on manners and safety. He really just perhaps wanted to beat the crap out of him.
Bon Jovi has the cure for Bieber Fever: "Be an A-Hole who shows up 2-hours late."
I assume he means for the little Bieber show, and I think that would be great. Imagine little beaver Beiber going on stage and seeing only empty seats. I think I would be right in the front row with my back to him and applauding the audience that was not there.
