What Parent Isn't a Kids Show Expert?

In my house, it's impossible for me not to be intimately familiar with tons of kids shows. And that's even given that I'm away at work for most of the day.

This is because when the TV's on, the kids are watching it 90% of the time. Consequently, I have a highly detailed knowledge of their favorite shows. Not because I watch it, but because I'm around it. It's similar to my detailed knowledge of 80s era Days Of Our Lives, which I absorbed while as I played while my mom got her fix.

Anyway, here's a list of the TV shows I know best right now:

Phineas and Ferb: Okay, I admit I sometimes watch this on my own. It's hilarious and brilliantly written.

Wild Kratts: This is a somewhat interesting cartoon featuring brothers Martin and Chris Kratt (real people) who go on missions in animal suits which mimic the animals they are learning about. It sounds weird, but kinda makes sense when you watch it. At least it's a good way to impart some knowledge that might otherwise appear dry to the easily bored kid.

Caillou: I've probably seen more hours of Caillou reruns than just about any other show I've ever seen. That's no exaggeration. When it's not on TV at home, it's playing in the car. Something about that little cartoon kid's whiny voice really appeals to the little ones. It's pretty benign, though, so I don't mind it terribly. Caillou's parents are the quintessential "yes" parents who can never say no to their kid. I hope the other parents watching it aren't taking cues.

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: I have a soft spot for Mr. Rogers, so this animated spin-off featuring the characters in Trolley's land of make-believe is palatable, though not even close to stimulating for anyone over five.

Brady Bunch: My older kids love this show. And, surprisingly, I enjoy it a lot more now than I did as a kid. I find it much funnier--maybe that's because I see it from the parent's perspective. Or maybe it's just the nostalgia I feel as I watch. Either way, it gets a thumbs-up from me.

Bob the Builder: This is the one that I'm best at ignoring. There's nothing remotely funny or interesting about this. Bob always fixes things. Spud the scarecrow always messes things up. And all the machines are so ADHD that it's amazing they ever get anything done. Unfortunately there seem to be hundreds of hours of this show, and my smaller kids want to see every single one.

Adult shows? Usually whatever my wife has on after the kids go to bed. Nothing terribly interesting, though I've been known to sit down for Downton Abbey now and then.

Man of Steel + Gillette = Brilliant Product Tie-In

What do you get when you combine a highly anticipated superhero movie, the combined nerdiness of famous self-proclaimed comic book lovers, and one of the most pedestrian toiletries on the planet?

You get a brilliant viral marketing campaign, that's what.

Seemingly incongruous Gillette has hitched its wagon to the Man of Steel movie with a simple question: How does the Man of Steel shave?

Apparently this is subject of countless discussions among Superman fans the world over. At once Gillette has reached reached a huge demographic that 1) shaves, 2) enjoys superhero movies, and 3) probably reveres the personalities who provide their own theories in answer to the question.

This just goes to show that even the most apparently unrelated concepts can be combined to create super-traction for a brand. More marketing departments should be thinking along these lines.

Peregrine falcons are raising a family where I used to work

In 2010 I worked at Campbell Ewald in Warren, Michigan. That year it was discovered that our 10-story building housed not only several hundred employees, but also a pair of peregrine falcons . In the weeks and months following, it wasn't uncommon to see bird watchers and naturalists observing the birds from the parking lot far below. I even took a photo through one of their telescopes.



Well, in the time since I left CE, the birds decided to make their house a home by laying some eggs on the roof. Right in front of a security camera.

CE has set up a Tumblr page to document the events. It will be fun to watch the feed and wait for the chicks to hatch.

High Stress, High Enjoyment: Welcome to Utah.

I've just learned something new about my recently adopted home state: it's among the most stressful in the nation.

According to Gallup, Utah is the country's #4 most stressed-out state.



Which is interesting—because the same report lists Utah as the country's #3 most enjoyable state.



So stress...is enjoyable? I think this goes to show that there's positive stress and negative stress. Apparently, Utah has an abundance of the former.

And why not? It's becomes pretty clear when you see videos like these.

Firing up the old word forge...

I've decided it's time to bring this blog back to life. I write for a living, but it's time to add some variety back into the mix. Insightful/insipid thoughts incoming...

I've recently been reading articles about biocentrism - a radical cosmological theory that supposes that it's so statistically improbable for the universe to develop in such a way to support life, that the only other reasonable scientific explanation is that life, or consciousness itself, is what shaped the universe. Rather than the other way around. And that concepts like "time" and "space" are simply constructs of our minds to help us comprehend what we perceive. In other words, "time" and "space" don't really exist beyond our own limited perception.

In the words of this article, by Rosemary Bachelor,

Biocentrism redefines our concepts of space and time. They aren’t as definite as we think. Everything we see and experience comes from activity in our mind. Space and time are merely tools mankind invented for putting everything together.

In a timeless, spaceless world, death doesn’t exist. Lanza tells how the great Einstein admitted this when speaking of an old friend: “Now Besso has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us…know the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

There are all kinds of cool facets to this hypothesis. One idea builds on the proven theory that energy can be neither be created nor destroyed--and that includes the energy which powers our consciousness.

To Dr. Lanza, individual bodies are destined to self-destruct, but something important is left after they do. He calls it the alive feeling, the “Who Am I?” This, he says, is a 20-watt fountain of energy operating in the brain and it doesn’t go away at death.

Is this immortality? Yes and no. A proven axiom of science is that energy never dies. It can neither be created nor destroyed. Okay, but does this energy transcend more than one world or universe? Where does it go when the body dies? Is this what religion calls our soul?

I find this particularly interesting as a Mormon. Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught the same principle of energy conservation. He also taught that God doesn't abide by our mortal concepts of time and space. Rather, He supersedes them. to Him, time is "one eternal round."

Check out a good summary of Biocentrism on Wikipedia. Who knows? That dude Lanza (who developed the theory) could be onto something.

The Digital Youth of Jeff Bridges

I just saw the awesome latest trailer for Tron Legacy. Aside from the movie looking mind-blowingly spectacular, it was neat to see the young and old versions of Jeff Bridges.

I wonder if youthification through the use of CGI will become so cheap and easy that age will mean little when it comes to casting. When will we have a movie starring a digitally youthful actor for no other reason than billing that actor's big name? Time will tell.