Writings from the Dirt Road

In case you don’t follow closely, I’m the dad of two girls that are (at the time of this post) five years old. I alluded to this in a previous post but we watch a lot of children’s shows, for better or worse and one of our favorites around the house is My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I am here to confess to you that I actually enjoy watching this show with my girls, and have been for quite some time. There’s a term for guys like me. Brony is used all over the internet and it’s either a term or derision or a badge of honor depending on who’s using it. Brony seems to be a natural phenomenon within the context of the New Sincerity movement that has grown tired of irony and cynicism that pervades most of our lives.

I can’t deny, the show is a treat to watch with my daughters. There’s a lot of subtle humor in the episodes and nods to a previous generation, those of us who grew up on Chuck Jones humor that might cringe a little bit with every dynamite explosion. (Though much like in Bugs Bunny world, there are an inexplicable glut of anvils and such around in precarious places in Equestria.) There are send ups to Benny Hill’s “Yakety Sax” scenes, I Love Lucy, The Big Lebowski and more. I love that they added John de Lancie to voice a character very similar to Star Trek – The Next Generation’s Q. I also love that he became so interested in the fanbase that he helped produce a film about them. I’ve yet to see the film, but I’m interested in seeing it.

I also love that the characters are well rounded, though occasionally flawed, role models for girls. Everything is not about boys, looking pretty, and being popular. Instead, the characters model characteristics like loyalty, studiousness, responsibility, kindness, toughness (and yes, being pretty if you’re Rarity) which little girls need to learn before entering the cruel, cruel world of school. I love that the characters live in a dangerous world, but that they can overcome the challenges together. I feel like my girls are at a stage now where they need to learn that life is full of difficult tasks, but I’m not ready to drop them in the deep end of the pool just yet.

I also love that the show gives me something to connect with my girls. We love Phineas and Ferb and My Little Pony gives us another show to memorably quote. (We quote a lot of movies/TV shows around our house… it’s something Adriene and I have always done, so it’s no surprise the girls are learning that trait, too.) It’s a perfectly normal thing on a car trip for me to ask “Who wants a flugelhorn?” and get response from the back seat, “I want a flugelhorn!” I ask again, “Who ELSE wants a flugelhorn?” and hear in stereo, ” I WANT A FLUGELHORN!!!”

We have been through several stages of life raising twins and I have to say that the stage we’re at now is by far my favorite. I love that we seem to be finally getting past the difficulties of communication of toddlerhood and the instant resistance to rules and order. I love that they can understand jokes and humor and laugh at our absurdities and they make me laugh on almost a daily basis. This is a sweet age that we are at now and I know it is going to be all too short before they start caring more about what boys and other girls think too much. In the meantime, I have no problem watching a cartoon show about Ponies with my girls if it means we spend more time together.

I was hiking in the North Georgia mountains on the night that a bomb blew up in Centennial Olympic Park. This was long before iPhones and even regular cell phones were something of a novelty. We were oblivious and when I got home I turned on the TV to see if anything interesting happened in the Olympics during the day. We were shocked when the coverage was not a recap of the day in the Olympics but instead wall-to-wall coverage of the explosion, of death, of injury, of fear. It took a couple days for the horror to wear off, but after that the feeling was replaced by anger and defiance. They can’t do this to us.

I went with some friends to Centennial Olympic park a couple days after they re-opened the park and apparently the whole city of Atlanta had the same idea, too. This seemed like a great idea when I was young and didn’t have children. It was elbow-to-elbow people inside the park. If there had been a follow-up bomb the casualties would have been double or triple that original incident. That’s fine, we as a city were out to let people know we weren’t going to be afraid.

I don’t know a whole lot of people in the Boston area, only a few. The ones that I do know, however, are tougher and harder bitten than us here in Atlanta. If we were tough and defiant, I expect they will be even more so. I hope double the number of people turn out for the Boston Marathon next year and I hope justice is swiftly brought to whoever caused this. I don’t just hope the people of Boston will be brave,because I know they will, it’s in their blood.

Now that I’ve got about 4 years of experience watching childrens’ shows, I feel like I’m in a position where I can authoritatively rank them in order of watchableness as an adult. I’d love to say that we don’t watch television in this house and that we spend all our time doing arts and crafts and healthy exercise with family activities in the yard and all that, but I’m going to abandon any of that pretentious lying. Sometimes daddy just needs the girls to sit still for a little while because he is tired a lot.

A couple of caveats first. I have two girls, so unfortunately I don’t get to watch superhero shows like Spiderman, Batman, etc., I can’t tell you if they are any good or not. Also, I couldn’t find a place for Sesame Street on this list. It’s a classic and it defies ranking. All that being said, here are my rankings of childrens’ TV shows:

I WOULD DEFINITELY WATCH THIS EVEN IF I DIDN’T HAVE KIDS
1.) Phineas and Ferb

I MIGHT WATCH THIS, OKAY I WOULD PROBABLY WATCH THIS EVEN IF I DIDN’T HAVE KIDS
2.) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

I HAVE CHUCKLED BEFORE WHILE WATCHING THIS WITH MY CHILDREN
3.) Pound Puppies
4.) Word Girl
5.) Martha Speaks

SWEET AND WISTFUL AS LONG AS YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE EPISODE 100 TIMES
6.) Little Einsteins
7.) Backyardigans
8.) Super Why!
9.) Sofia The First
10.) Doc McStuffins
11.) Octonauts

KINDA REPETITIVE
12.) Fresh Beat Band
13.) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
14.) Jake and The Neverland Pirates
15.) Dinosaur Train

NAILS ON THE CHALKBOARD
16.) Curious George
17.) Dora The Explorer
18.) Go Diego Go!
19.) Max and Ruby
20.) Calliou

Feel free to argue your case if you think the rankings should be different, even if you are probably wrong.

I don’t know why I still follow baseball. After the nonsense of an infield fly rule called in the outfield of a nonsense one-game wild card playoff, I was so over baseball last year. Yet. Yes, yet, every winter I get suckered back in. Even before winter is finished, those words “Pitchers and catchers report” get my attention and I’m back again.

I grew up on baseball. My father took me to my first football game, but when I went to my grandparents, the Braves were always on. It didn’t matter which set of grandparents, at either house the TV was always on TBS in the evening when I visited. At home, I had a transistor radio and at night I tuned it to WSB and Pete, Skip, and Ernie would talk me to sleep as a child. I learned to score games and even today I’ll buy a program and a pencil at a game so I can fill it out. I didn’t play organized baseball as a child because I played soccer, but when I was a little older I played church league softball. However, in our cul-de-sac all of the kids would play baseball with a wiffleball bat and a tennis ball. We were Dale Murphy, Bob Horner, Claudell Washington, Gene Garber, or Phil Nekro. It didn’t matter if the Braves were terrible (and they were) they were our team.

Something funny happened in high school. Our terrible team suddenly, and very suddenly became very good. I was on the phone with a friend when Sid Slid and we screamed at each other. We were so excited as a city that we threw a parade for losing the World Series. Then came the strike and when the Braves did win the World Series, I was 600 miles away and still mad about the strike. That’s ok though because leading three games to none the next year, I was going to get my chance to celebrate a World Series at home and Jim Leyritz ruined all that. That’s when the cynicism set in from year after year of playoff exits. After that, football became more fun at Georgia Tech and I rediscovered soccer.

Still, I can’t shake baseball and the Braves (and if we’re going include teams that underachieve in the post-season, let’s throw in Georgia Tech baseball, too.) No sport has the optimism right in time to match the weather every spring. No other sport drags through the long, slow summer with such a laconic pace. No other sport brings me face-to-face with such constant failure where one hit out of four at bats is a decent day. No other sport ushers in the bitter cold of winter with the bitter cold disappointment in the post-season. We’ve taken the girls to college and minor-league baseball, but this year it’s time to go to Turner Field. I’ll set aside my pessimism, just like I do every spring, and bring back the soundtrack to my summer evenings again.

Now that the year is almost burned down, it’s time for my annual post of my favorite music from the year 2012. This year was simply incredible for good music. I mean, even the throwaway pop hits like “Call Me Maybe” and “Gangnam Style” were stupidly fun.

It should be noted that these albums didn’t necessarily come out in 2012, but I bought them this year.

The Top 5 are in no particular order:

TOP 5
Paper Route – The Peace of Wild Things
I really thought there was no way that Paper Route could successfully follow up their last album Absence with something as good or better, but I was wrong. I don’t know if this album is better than Absence, but it’s pretty close. It’s a bold and loud album with a lot of soul giving bones to all of the electronic gloss.

Anberlin – Vital
I’ve only had this album for a month or so and it’s already on the list, that’s how good it is. Vital is closer to that awesome formula of sound that Anberlin perfected on Cities and New Surrender

Kye Kye – Young Love
An Estonian singer with trippy sounds, how is that not a great combination? It’s a peaceful album with soothing sounds and lyrics that relaxes me. The remix EP might be even better than the original CD.

Derek Webb – Ctrl
I’ve already written a post about this album. The CD is great by itself, but when the album is combined with the EP SOLA-MI released earlier in the year, the combination really rewards the listener.

M83 – Hurry Up We’re Dreaming
Dreaming indeed, this 2 CD release feels like one long dream. From the catchy glowstick-happy single “Midnight City” to the instrumental tracks in between to the anthemic “Echoes of Mine”, the package is one long beautiful journey.

The Next 5
Also, in no particular order.

JT Daly – Memory
A raw little EP where the lead singer of Paper Route reveals his heart a little bit, it’s not as polished and smooth as a Paper Route CD, but it’s got some catchy songs and showcases his individual talents.

Matthew Perryman Jones – Land of the Living
More than his previous albums, MPJ seems to be channelling a little bit of David Gray on this album. That’s not a bad thing, mind you. It’s pretty consistent with his last two albums.

Andrew Osenga – Leonard the Lonely Astronaut
A really bold project by Osenga. He’s cleverly disguised the album as a science fiction story, but at the core it’s an heartbreaking tale of loss and regret. Andy poured his heart into this album, even decorating his studio like a spaceship while recording to immerse himself completely into the story.

The Farewell Drifters – Echo Boom
Bluegrass is getting a nice resurgence after Nickel Creek broke up a couple years ago and I love this thoughtful little CD of tunes that have me humming the tunes for a days after listening to the songs.

The Choir – The Loudest Sound Ever Heard
It’s been interesting to listen to The Choir as a band with no expectations and no pressures from a label. Sometimes I think they could be pushed a little more and it would improve the product, but on the other hand, their unfettered whimsy has been nicely balanced with a little bit of wisdom and age.

I’ve created a playlist on Spotify so you can sample some of the tracks from these CD’s… please support these great artists and buy their music!