I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Awfully Acrylic-Looking Skull today and it was, you know, pretty fun (Harrison’s like a Timex, man). I was talking to JB about it afterwards and we both thought that there were some scenes that might be a little rough for young kids to watch — tut tut tut — then I considered what it was about those movies that stuck with me and probably gave me a few bad dreams back when I first saw them: the face-melting scene, the monkey brains, and who can forget the moment in Temple of Doom when a still-beating heart is removed from someone’s chest? The more I think about it the more it seems to me that kids NEED to be scarred by movies, or they’re missing out on an essential part of childhood. Why, I wouldn’t be the yellow-bellied chickenshit I am today if I hadn’t had the living bejesus scared out of me by Poltergeist at an impressionable age. Just don’t talk to me about clowns. Or thunder. Or swimming pools full of rotted corpses jesusfuckingchrist.

:::

A weekly round-up of Elsewhere Blogging, for those who are interested, and even those who aren’t:

Father’s Day gift ideas at Work It, Mom!
• The thrilling tales of taking Dylan to the pediatrician and testing a Googled home remedy on Riley at ParentDish
Foods I’m eating on my “diet” at Gather

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By the way, I really enjoyed reading your comments here — you guys have such interesting and diverse lives. And, may I point out, it’s awfully damn nice that almost everyone who comes by this corner of the web is refreshingly devoid of the Shithead Factor, as evidenced by the total absence of even one little steaming comment-turd to the effect of You’re a Terrible Mother For Working Outside the Home Like OMG.

On that particular subject — but only briefly! I swear! — I saw some ugly opinions left on ParentDish a while back from some vitriolic working-mom haters, and I’ve been thinking, if Narrow-Minded Angry Internet Person’s own daughter grows up to have children of her own, and circumstances lead her to continue working at the same time that she’s raising her children, would NMAIP tell HER that she shouldn’t have had kids if she was “just going to let someone else raise them”? Would they still hold such ignorant, judgmental beliefs? When NMAIP looks at their little girl, do they want her to be a strong, independent woman capable of making her own decisions and raising her children according to what’s best for her own family’s situation? Or is she only allowed to make the exact same choices NMAIP made? What do you think, Non-Narrow-Minded Sane Internet Person?

Okay, that wasn’t really all that brief, was it. Dear brevity: suckadick.

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Amy
Amy
16 years ago

First…Josh, you rock! Second, haven’t seen the new Indy yet, but did watch the old ones with my two young sons over the weekend. They love it. Sometimes too much in a theatre setting, but it’s good for them to get the shit scared out of them once in awhile….get that imagination flowing!

Thirdly………NMAIP can kiss my full-time working ass! It’s great to be all holier than thou from atop her ivory tower, but come on down to the real world where some of us working moms are the bread winners in the family. My mom stayed at home for awhile and then went back to work. I saw a wonderful marriage where my dad would do the grocery shopping and cook some of the meals. As we kids got old enough, we each had to cook dinner one night, we had to help clean the house. God forbid….a child that had to help around the house and do homework. And yet, I’ve made it to 40! My boys are 6 & 3.5 and they already help around the house. Cheers to those who can stay home, but don’t be a hater for those of us that can’t!!!! (‘k…I’m done)

Claudia
16 years ago

Oh, and I agree with Andrea about daycare. “Other people” help me raise my children but I am the mother. My kids know that. People who say, “I don’t want other people to raise my children” forget that kids are human beings with intelligence and aren’t for one moment confused about who their parents are. Childcare (good childcare) provides a safe, structured place for my daughter while I work and it offers things I can’t – friends, working together and learning to get along with peers, trusting other adults, connecting in positive ways with the people in the wider world. They are nourished both in body and mind while I’m not there. My kids have learned that they are just fine away from me. While I have no issues with attachment parenting (esp for infants), I do think a too-strong attachment only to one’s mother is, well, maybe not 100% healthy. As kids grow, the world opens up to their consciousness and we, the parents, have to make it available to them. A good childcare center/preschool is one way to do that.

Brooke
16 years ago

I didn’t like the new Indy movie, except for the Harrison Ford part. My 8 YO girl loved it. Go figure. I thought the aliens and wedding were lame. I’m a fan of weddings, but not for Indy. It seemed like there was more to the story that got left on the cutting-room floor. Oh, well.

Don’t get me started on NMAIPs.

zeghsy
16 years ago

poltergeist = ALL CLOSET DOORS MUST REMAIN CLOSED DURING SLEEPING HOURS.

um, no matter where you work, if you’re a mother, you’re a working mother. in the home, out of the home, WHATEVER. i’m a single, OUT of the home, working mother. soothwm? does that even make sense? who cares. my kid loves me because she knows i’m doing the best i can for her with what i have now. :)