Sneak preview of upcoming novel.
Monday, October 08, 2007
I like autumn because of the holidays.But I know other people like it because of TV. New shows! New seasons! A couple of my coworkers have been very happy in the past few weeks, plotting out schedules of what they'll watch.
I caught the fever. I found a few shows. I set my DVR to record Bionic Woman and that show about the Geico cavemen.
The pilot for Bionic Woman sucked. But I set my TV to record the second episode, because sometimes the pilot isn't representative of the show as a whole.
The second episode sucked. Predictable plot, hackneyed cliches, unrealistic story arc timing, lame dialogue. It was like the producers said, "You know, we've already spent money on hot actresses and special effects. That should be enough. Go with the budget writers."
"Let's never watch this again," I told my boyfriend. But, actually, we'll probably watch it again. Why? Because one of the actresses is Katee "Starbuck" Sackhoff, who we like. And, guess what? Starbuck is sleeping with an Asian man in this one. "It's about time I get to see an Asian brother get laid on TV," said my boyfriend, who happens to be Asian. I was like, meh. I can get that at home. But, okay, we'll watch one more episode.
Meanwhile... I'd been hoping that Cavemen would be good. But how could it, right? We're talking about TV here, where bad writing and hackneyed cliches abound. So, no matter how funny the commercials were, there was no way the show could be good. The producers would be certain to ruin it, just like they ruin everything else.
And then, we watched it, and it was so, so funny. We were cracking the hell up. Not only was it funny, but it addressed some interesting culture issues, such as interracial dating and sexual stereotypes. But in a funny way. Oh, and bonus: One of the guest stars is Super Terry, from Reno 911.
So, yeah. We loved it. Therefore, I predict that it'll be cancelled before the end of the season. You know how good shows always get canceled.
Guess what, I just discovered a musician who everyone else on Earth is already listening to!
I just got the MIA album called Kala. MIA is fronted by a Sri Lankan woman named Maya. I thought I was discovering something completely underground, because I heard her on KPFT's Thursday morning World Beats program. (I listen to that every week on the way to work. Then, on the way home every Thursday, I turn KPFT back on and listen to GenerAsian. Those are my two fave radio programs.)
So, I turned on the radio halfway through this song, a song so exciting that I knew, instantly, that buying the album for it would change my life. So I called the DJ (and won Greek Festival tickets -- yay!) and he told me, "That's MIA, and the song is 'Boyz.'"
And then I told all my friends, and they were like, "Oh, yeah, MIA. That's good stuff. You know she's from Sri Lanka, right?"
So I got the album, and I love it. And I looked at the reviews on Amazon, and they're full of people saying, "I'm too old to like this, but..." And then, of course, there are all the reviews complaining that MIA was good when it was underground, but now it sucks. Then, there are those by male reviewers who want to give poor little Maya their advice on how to be a better musician. Hilarious. But seriously, go buy the album.
Children can be like animals.
Y'all know that, because you've read Lord of the Flies.
Children like to conform with the pack, and when they sense difference in one of their own -- especially difference coupled with weakness -- some children are prone to attack. Especially, I'm imagining, children of animal-like parents who value conformity.
I already knew this, not just from reading Lord of the Flies, but also from personal experience. Not just mine, but that of my son. His Asperger's seems to be an asshole magnet. Once certain kids realize he's different, that he doesn't have the same instinctively ingrained compulsion to conform as the rest of them, they start the bullying.
Usually, when my son comes home and tells me about it, all he can do is report the facts of what happened, without understanding why. ("They called me a faggot, but I'm not gay. I told them I'm not gay, but I guess they couldn't hear me or they didn't believe me. They kept calling me faggot, and then I guess I made them mad, because then they started hitting me.")
I understand why. Children are animals. Some more than others. Especially the ones who were bred from animals. Animal children grow up and mate and breed new animals. New assholes, new bullies. It's a cycle as old as evolution, way older than your middle school or mine. What can you do about it? I don't know. Don't breed with animals. Don't raise animals. Is that enough? No. They don't need you. They'll keep breeding on their own, spawning and eating and rolling in mass-produced pap, hitting their kids when they don't conform. It doesn't matter what you do, I don't think. It's simply the way of our world. "Can't we just kill them?" you say. I don't think so. There's not enough time, energy, legal precedent. Plus, I don't want to kill anyone. I'm not enough of an animal.
My boyfriend always says it's lucky that my son is big for his age, because that probably keeps him from being physically attacked as much he might be, otherwise.
This kid wasn't so lucky: Attack On Autistic Boy, 11, Videotaped.
Sorry for the downer.
But it had to be said, I felt. Let's try to end on a good note now.
It's almost Halloween. I'm going to be a fairy. We went to the costume shop to consider the alternatives, but all it did was inspire me to move forward with my fairy-being plans. We went to the local big-box store, then, and got materials to put on the $2.32 thrift store full slip that will form the base of my costume.
What are you going to be for Halloween? What are you going to do? Did you see Martha Stewarts' double-sided "Good Things/Bad Things" October magazine issue? Normally I'm not into her too much, but this Halloween issue is beautiful. Go see it.
Did you go to the Greek festival, here in Houston? Did you see me there? Did you eat baklava and drink lots of wine? I did.
Are you ready for fall? Are you ready for Christmas? We'll talk more about that later. Until then...
Labels: Aspergers, Halloween, pop culture, venting
6:36 AM #Comments:
I'm so sorry your son is being teased. Two of my nephews (not brothers) have Aspergers. The younger one is in 1st grade and was sexually abused by a fellow kindergardener last year. A KINDERGARDENER. They are animals. I don't know what to say other than your son is so lucky to have you for a mom.# posted by
: 12:09 PM
I was on the receiving end of quite a bit of teasing for a while, and kids CAN be so utterly awful. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for your guy AND for you.
# posted by
: 8:28 AM
Anon: That is so effing wrong. It's so sick.
I feel like Aspies get targetted because bullies/molestors sense that they won't be able to tell anyone or to explain it for what it is.
Obviously, young children who sexually abuse are being sexually abused at home (or somewhere). But I always wonder what mentality it takes to raise a plain bully. Look at the 11-year-old kids in the story I linked to -- they planned an assault and recorded it. What the hell do their parent figures do, that would give these kids those kinds of ideas?
Sure, someone's gonna say that the kids learned it from somewhere else, like video games or TV. But what kind of childrearing makes it possible for a child to take pleasure in hurting others? Is it, like, parents who come home and brag that they got someone fired? Or parents who just don't care?
# posted by
Gwen : 9:43 AM
I think the parents must be bullies too. Particularly, I think the parents must bully their kids.
# posted by
kate : 12:36 PM
I might dress up as "The Grapes of Wrath." Basically, a bunch of grapes and a scowl.
# posted by
Cap'n Ganch : 1:39 PM
MIA is awesome! Kala is a great album.
# posted by
: 3:19 AM
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