Sunday, June 10, 2012

Is This Real?

First thing, let me admit that I am a fan of some of the dolls produced by Robert Tonner. As Mr. BTEG can tell you, I do have quite a few dolls, and a good proportion of those are Tonner dolls. He has recently branched out into Tonner Toys, dolls which are more for children than for adult collectors, although collectors are also displaying an interest. And while I wish the company success, I hope you can also see the humor (and some dismay) in two of the company's first offerings.

The first is Maudlynne McCobb. Say that name out loud. Yes, Tonner is continuing his interest in the dark, the gloomy, even the supernatural side of life. As long as that supernatural is ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night. Maudlynne was inspired by characters such as Wednesday Addams, and she does have a mournful attractiveness, but what struck me was the end of her online bio. "Maudlynne was home-schooled for most of her life until her parents noticed her peculiar nature and decided it was time for her to socialize a bit more with regular kids." Do you see a bit of stereotyping there? I do. Believe me, there are "irregular" kids everywhere. And will Maudlynne become more "normal" by socializing with "regular" kids? Homeschoolers, what do you think?

One of their other lines is well-meaning, but in this present culture, I find it more humorous than anything else. This line of dolls is the City Girls. "Freshly matriculated from college, these fresh, young and energetic ladies are all ready to take on the world and follow their dreams. Whether at work, a networking function or just out for a night on the town, they’re ready to dazzle and shine!" They may have decided to follow Nancy Pelosi's advice about choosing a career to follow their dreams, but the way things are nowadays, I think the next dolls in the series should be the OWS dolls, freshly matriculated from college with a mountain of debt. Accessories could include a dish of paté (pesky homeless person not included) and a bag of feces. Deposit it on a police car or just leave it lying around the tent city you can create for your OWS dolls! At least Mummy and Daddy can cover your health insurance until you're 26, in case you pick up an STD during a furtive fumble in that cute guy's tent.

Seriously, shouldn't we be getting over the idolization of the "Career Woman"? I do think it's fine for women to work, but I'm tired of the "Glamor Job" being held up as some sort of ideal. How many men do you know that have a job, or even a career, that holds any sort of glamor? Sitting in a cube farm, riding around in a truck all day delivering mail, cutting lumber at the home improvement store, stocking groceries -- none of these are glamorous, and I doubt anyone dreamed about someday performing these tasks, but as Thomas Sowell points out, what academia considers "menial" work is also necessary work, and "Some people take justifiable pride in working to take care of their families, whether or not the work itself is great." I think being making enough money to support oneself, and being able to support your children, may not being as exciting as taking on the world and following your dreams, but in the long run it's probably much more realistic.

Friday, June 08, 2012

Still Here

Wow, I have really been neglecting this blog lately. I need to step it up again, because I really don't want to quit blogging. It seems to have become very passé to blog, in a world of people who hop onto the latest new thing and then move on to the next trend within a few months, but blogging as a whole is still very necessary. Bloggers are still the New Media, and they are a way for issues, concerns and debates to occur which would never otherwise see the light of day. Yes, Twitter is making quite a stir, but sometimes there are things that can't be said in 140 words or less. And while I am definitely not an outstanding blogger in the field, everyone is allowed to enter the debate. Don't expect to go unchallenged, but don't be quiet if you can support your words.

Right now, I'm a mom whose life is still rather wrapped up in her family. My marriage is always important, and yes, my kids are older, but they still need someone to support their interests, to drive them to activities and friends' houses, and most importantly, to listen to them. I was brought up in a rather sheltered environment, so I have no idea what the "old days" were like, but today it seems rather unusual for a kid to not be dealing with parental divorce, or parental drug or alcohol use, or some kind of parental abuse, or parental suicide, or to be using drugs or engaged in free and easy sexual activity, or even considering suicide themselves. And we live in one of the "good" suburbs. Not only do my children need parental support for themselves, they need someone to talk to when someone they know cuts himself, or loses a parent.

Besides which, I enjoy being with them! I like hearing about what they are doing now and what they want in their future. I am transitioning to more time spent on me, and on wife-husband time, but I also want to not fritter away the years before my children set out on their own lives. Despite feeling the weight of hitting midlife, I do still have a lot ahead of me. Right now, my family still takes up a lot of it.