I admit it. I’m a long-time viewer of Lifetime Network. For many years I would turn it on as I went to bed because I could never fall asleep while listening to the news. For years, I would drift off with The Golden Girls quietly snipping at each other across the bedroom. Then, for many years after that Will & Grace would help me fall asleep with a smile on my face. Then they started messing with the time slot at my bedtime. They aired How I Met Your Mother for a while, which I enjoyed very much. But then they, abruptly moved it to another time. It’s become hit-or-miss at bedtime on Lifetime with more misses than hits. The biggest miss being Dance Moms.
For me, there is absolutely nothing to like about this program. The dance coach, Abby Lee Miller, is a raving evil know-it-all bitch, the mothers appear to be dump as stumps but determined to live vicariously through their daughters, and the young dancers (whom I assume are supposed to be “precocious”) are portrayed as spoiled little she-devils in tights.
I tried to watch Dance Moms when it first took over the bedtime time slot, but I couldn’t stand it. Ever since, I’ve read about it online and I’ve seen a few commercials and concluded that the program is, basically, all about the coach being a despicable witch and the mothers being catty. Then last Monday’s episode was in the news because Miller made the little girls dance with guns.
We taught our kids that guns are not toys and that “pretending to kill people” was not an appropriate playtime activity. Miller defended the inclusion of guns in the little girls’ dance routine by citing her previous success and examples of Broadway shows like Chicago that include weapons in famous song-and-dance numbers. Of course, she overlooked the fact that those performances involved adults who’s mothers didn’t object. And the fact that hers is not a Broadway show.
In my mind, Abby Lee Miller is a despicable role model for young dancers and, even more so, for young ladies … and their mothers, Dance Moms makes Toddlers & Tiaras look like quality programming, and Lifetime is no longer my bedtime channel of choice.
What do you think about Dance Moms, Abby Lee Miller and the use of guns as “props”?
Copyright © 2012 www.DiatribesAndOvations.com
I feel old today. I participated in the 1987 March on Washington for LGBT equality. It was one of the most liberating days of my life. To be surrounded by thousands of LGBT people that were seeking nothing but the same happiness and freedom that I wanted, was truly a celebration. I met people from across the country that understood my life. They understood my feelings and my struggles. They understood ME.
And it was also a very sad day because, for the first time, I met people that had lost loved ones to AIDS. While I was learning about who I was, what I wanted and how I needed to live, I met people that had already found their answers. I met men and women that had found the deep love that I so desperately wanted, needed and deserved. They had found it and lost it before I had discovered exactly what it was. And they memorialized their lost loves via The NAMES Project AIDS Quilt which was displayed for the first time.
Each quilt panel is 3’by 6’, the approximate size of the average grave, and is arranged with similar panels into 12’ by 12’ sections called blocks. The quilt is warehoused in Atlanta when not being displayed and continues to grow. Currently, it consists of more than 46,000 individual memorial panes representing over 91,000 people and it weighs an estimated fifty-four tons. Sadly, it is said that the quilt represents only about 20% of the people lost to AIDS related causes.
Twenty-five years later, the world has changed dramatically and those of us who were there in 1987 have a unique appreciation of those changes. While the spread of HIV/AIDS has slowed and treatments, including expensive antiretrovirals, can slow the course of the disease, there is still no known cure or vaccine.
So much has changed since 1987. I’m confident that even more change is on the way. Hopefully, in my lifetime.
Copyright © 2012 www.DiatribesAndOvations.com
When I was young, my family had a motor home and our vacations were spent on the roads. Our courses were always plotted in advance and we would have a nightly destination. I remember how much I loved to sit in the passenger seat as we travelled down the highways and watch our progress on a map.
My grandfather, who travelled with us often, was an Air Force navigator in World War II and he taught me how to read maps at an early age. From him, I learned how to estimate arrival times by multiplying distance by rate of speed. I always knew how far it was until the next exit and I was usually the only one that could re-fold a map.
Today’s travelers, generally, don’t read maps. Personal electronics have quickly made them obsolete. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) tell drivers where to turn and how far to drive before changing directions. Even the built-in compass feature found in many cars and trucks has become obsolete. A Smartphone will speak driving directions in response to voice-recognition commands. Map-reading and navigation skills are quickly becoming unnecessary.
So are maps. The creation and use of maps has, historically, been essential to help people define, explain and navigate their way through the world. Crude maps scratched on the walls of caves have evolved into satellite images on the internet. While children of one generation ago may have needed to learn to read maps in order to travel, today’s youngsters only need to learn how to use their computers or cell phones. Those who, in the past, needed to learn to read a map now only need to know where to “click”.
I still always know how far it is until the next exit and I’m usually the only one that can re-fold a map. But I can’t get my cell phone to recognize my voice.
Copyright © 2012 www.DiatribesAndOvations.com
Ovation: Here’s To New Friends.
It’s funny how, sometimes, it can be difficult to meet new people. Some of us have friends that we’ve known for years, often for a lifetime, and sometimes we meet new people with whom we feel close from the start.
We went on another road trip this weekend to an out-of-state fundraising event. Trying to plan ahead, we asked an acquaintance familiar with the area to recommend a hotel near the venue where we could spend the night … but they refused. Instead, they introduced us to a couple that insisted we spend the night in their home.
At first, I was a bit nervous about accepting their offer. It seemed like an extraordinarily generous invitation and I wasn’t certain that I’d feel comfortable staying with strangers. After all, I wanted to enjoy my getaway and not worry about intruding. But, after a few telephone calls and conversations about the fundraiser, we decided to give it a try. They seemed like really nice people and we looked forward to meeting them.
Their home, built in the late 18002, was beautiful and they were fantastic hosts. We felt as if we’d known them for ages and they made us feel “at home” from the minute we arrived. They trusted us with a key to the front door of their house and told us to enjoy our stay.
The fundraiser was a success and well worth the drive. We had a wonderful time, returned to our hosts’ home, let ourselves in and called it a night.
The next morning we took showers in their vintage bathroom where soft towels were waiting and talked and chatted about the previous night’s festivities while we enjoyed bagels and coffee. It really was like a visit with old friends.
We can’t wait to see them again.
