By All Means, Speak Your Mind

Bullets time!

-I usually stay away from the name "Duggar" because it gives me hives. I've never watched their show for the same reason. But a 20th baby? On the heels of that poor little one who by all means shouldn't have survived? Obviously it's wonderful that she did survive, and medical science is awesome but what are these people thinking? They'll have a lot of competition in this category, but I nominate Mr. and Mrs. Duggar for the "Most Selfish American" award. Lifetime achievement, even. I like to give other parents a break and try to check my judgmental tendencies, but there's a limit. Oh, to go back to the time before I ever heard of them and started imagining what J-name they'd take liberties with next. 

-On the heels of what I just said, clearly babies are rad, and I can see why people want to keep having them. Not 20-freakin'-kids understandable, but I wanted to talk about HR's latest cute thing so I needed a segue. He's started putting his hand up to his head and saying "D'oh!", just out of the blue. Not that he's ever seen The Simpsons, but we do have a lot of Homer-related ephemera lurking around the house and it's a big wake-up call about what the little sponge is capable of internalizing.

-I am going to a real music show on Friday! Fitz and the Tantrums at the House of Blues! I'll be exhausted after the first set--I'm so out of live-music shape--but I don't care! I'm so excited to be doing something like this I have to write in all exclamation points!

-I forgot to write about this yesterday, but another thing I really enjoyed was last week's episode of Parks and Recreation. That show trades honors with Community as the consistently best thing on TV, and last week it went ahead one square. I love every character, and last week to me really belonged to Andy and April. Chris Pine is a revelation. And Aubrey Plaza really brought it at the Grand Canyon, that's all I'm going to say. The way that a show can be capable of this range of subtlety and emotion, the quality of the writing and acting, it's inspiring to me that such care is taken for a TV comedy when the creators could get away with so much less. I understand that people are gonna love their 2 1/2 Men and go to their graves defending its pleasures, but to know that there can also be... this. It's sort of frustrating, but I can't be a jerk and say that everything I don't like shouldn't exist, or stand on my stop-rewarding-mediocrity soapbox. I won't even say it's just a show and nothing to even put much thought into, because while 20 minutes of television is nothing in the face of natural disasters and hunger and atrocity, it's important in its own way. I'll keep to my philosophy of avoiding negativity, instead focusing on championing the things I believe deserve attention, and treasuring them as such. In conclusion, Parks and Rec, be my valentine.

-You fortunate dudes don't know the extent of your luck in me not being able to find a clip of Zoe's "Sippy Cup" song from Sesame Street because it's in my head and I wanted to put it up in hopes of exorcising it. I don't mean to wish this ear worm on you if you happen to know the song, but if I did, I apologize and allow me to replace it with my favorite song of the moment: