Cocaine - It's one hell of a......song???

As I was listening to a local radio show last evening, Eric Clapton’s classic song “Cocaine” came on.  While I love the song, I thought to myself, why in the world would they play this song on the radio?  More than half the song will be blanked out.  Well you can imagine my confusion when the whole song played and they didn’t edit one word.  Not one!  Imagine if my seven year old son had been in the car.  I would’ve surely been asked, “Daddy, what is cocaine?”  Which would have been a very interesting talk at such a young age but I guess it’s never too early.

It got me thinking about other songs and other stations that play music and block out drug and sexual references.  For instance, the two local Hip Hop and R&B stations block out all marijuana, ecstasy and sexual references all the time. Sometimes a song comes on and more than half of the song is blanked out, it’s basically just one long instrumental.

Aren’t all radio stations following the same regulations?  I’m confused.  I’d hate to bring race into it but is it a black and white thing?  It can’t be that the Eric Clapton song is portraying cocaine as being bad because the song glorifies it the same as most rap/r&b songs.  The only thing I can think of is that it’s from a different era and therefore it’s a “classic” and can be played as an oldie.  Either way it’s on the radio waves for children to hear and I’d like to see similar radio sanctions across the board.

Truthfully, I’d like to see less or no restrictions but that’s the United States and we’ll have to deal with it.  My problem is if you’re going to edit weed and sex, then you better mute Eric Clapton declaring his love for cocaine.

Maybe it’s me but the radio stations clearly want you to do cocaine and not smoke weed while having sex with a bad a*$ bi$#h.  Sorry for the censorship, this must be a hip hop / r&b station.

Your thoughts?

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

Have you seen the news today about an author and special ed teacher that claims Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer promotes bullying?  Here’s an article that discusses the claims made by this “professor”.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer-bullying-fox_n_1129731.html

I’ve been watching this Christmas Special for my entire existence.  Every Christmas for the past 30 years I have watched this movie at the very least once a year, now that I have a child, probably closer to two times a year.  Not once have I every thought, wow, Comet and Santa are really giving it to Rudolph.  Not once have I ever said shame on you Comet for bullying poor old Rudolph and damn you Santa for not reprimanding him.

I’ve realized that the Comet and the other reindeers were making fun of Rudolph because he was different but they weren’t bullying.  No one punched Rudolph in the gut and said he wanted his lunch money.  No one flushed his head down a toilet.  Not once did I say to myself, holy shit Comet is setting a bad example for my child by picking on Rudolph.

You know why I never thought of those things?  It’s because the whole story is about Rudolph over coming the mocking and ridiculing to become “the greatest reindeer of all.”  I guess I always so it as an underdog story and how despite not looking the same, he overcame that and became the hero. To take out the other reindeers picking on Rudolph and not accepting him would be to RUIN the story of the underdog against all odds.

Lastly, I think we are going a little too crazy with the whole censorship of children materials.  Kids aren’t as gullible or stupid as the media claims them to be.  My child isn’t going to go to school and become a bully because he wants to be like Comet from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  What’s next editing out Charlie Brown’s Christmas so they don’t mock Charlie Brown at the end saying his tree is stupid?  Really, this author/professor has a problem with Rudolph?  God help us if he re-watches Charlie Brown Christmas.  I just watched that two nights ago and the children mock, ridicule and call Charlie Brown names pretty much the duration of the special.

Maybe it’s me but we need to leave Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer alone.  Keep it as the underdog story that it is.  We need to stop pretending our children are so stupid that a Christmas special from 1964 is influencing them into a world of bullying.  Our kids are listening to the story of how it’s ok to be different and rooting for Rudolph, not sad because Comet is mean to him.

Christmas Cards

Christmas Season is upon us and my wife and I are in the midst of a disagreement about Christmas Cards.  I say, screw it, let’s not send any out this year and she’s at the opposite end of the spectrum and says it would be rude not to send any out.  Since I want to keep a happy household, I agreed to send them out this year but only if it’s a picture of Pete or the family.  We agreed that perhaps only Pete this year since last year we had a family picture.

I agreed to a picture card or nothing because if we just sent out a card with our signed names, people are just going to throw them away.  You know how I know that?  Well, because I do it.  You send me a generic Christmas card with Happy Holidays or Merry Chirstmas and just sign your name with no picture, personal note or anything; I’ll tell you right now where it’s being filed…The Garbage Can.  If it has a picture, I’ll keep it with our photos or if it has a personal message, then maybe I’ll call you and thank you or write you back, but if you just buy and send out a generic ass card and sign it, love the so & so’s, it’s trash time.

If you’re going to be lazy about it, then why bother?  I’m with those people though, why bother?  If I was alone, living by myself I wouldn’t send out Christmas cards, I guess my friends and family should be happy I have a wife that takes the time to take a picture, order cards and send them out every year because truthfully I wouldn’t waste my time.  I know it’s tradition but it’s a dumb tradition.  I can’t tell you how many Christmas cards I get from people that I don’t really ever see.  If the only contact we have is a generic Christmas card every year I think it’s time to re-evaluate our relationship.

Like I said, I’m all for Christmas cards with some thought or a picture of the family or a loved one but if you’re going to be lazy and just sign a bunch of cards, maybe it’s me but save the time, ink and paper and just don’t bother!  I wouldn’t!