FixitMilw's Blog

The whole Rosie Odonell thing is quite funny when you read these blogs, many people are glad she is leaving, but I for one will miss a few things she brought to the show.

Having been a View watcher whenever I could get myself away to, and for years before Rosie was ever on it. I must say, the show lacked spark before Rosie. It was even dull as can be many times..Many times the multiple veiwpoints became hen-chatter as they tried to out-talk one another, the four personalities before Rosie were too polished, too afraid they would make someone angry.  One often got the feeling they were afraid to project any appearance other than syrup-y sweet daytime programming.  Rosie added a believable, outspoken character to the mix.  She didn't care if she appeared "polished" or agree-able.  and she did her job well, in that she got the show talked about, she brought many issues into the public conversations we all have daily, and she successfully got both her admirers and her detractors to discuss the issues more than ever before, and the ratings were proof of it !

Overall , her decision to not renew with what the network wanted to offer her, is one I would make at my job.  If the pay for doing a job is not to my desires, I move on with my talent and time till I find exactly what I want.. Don't we all?  It is rather amusing to see the spin others choose to put on it. but then again, that is what blogging is about...differing perspectives, and so far, I have found blogging to be a fun endeavor..

I will be interested to see some people sharing their positive comments on the subject instead of just complaining and labeling any point of view they don' t hold as their own with insults or name calling...

I have very much enjoyed finding and trying the blog feature on Channel 6's website and looked forward to meeting a few of you at the Blog-a-palooza today, but last minute schedule changes keep me from going this time..

PLEASE..FOX team, hold another soon!~  I will be watching the news from home while I work and happily be checking the blogs and responses of the people that are lucky enough to be there...

Say "Howdy !~" to both Vince and Kim for me if you get the chance and hopefully, there will be mention of what some of the prizes were, and pics of the event to share on future blogs...

If there ever was a recipe for a successful event, it would be blogging and coffee...my two addictions together in one public place...!  ya can't get better than that...

Untill the next Blog-a-palooza, I will wait with baited breath...Thanks again for making this forum so entertaining..

 

While sitting after dinner with several friends, both married and un-married; with and without children, and from different generations, the topic of parenting today came up and many viewpoints were expressed.  I was wondering what others thought of some of these points and would like some input from other bloggers.

The methods of parenting have changed much over the years, of that there is no doubt.  But are some of the problems with children today a direct result of some of these changes?  It seems that in my Grandparents day, the general rule was "spare-the-rod; spoil-the-child". My grandmother, a Farmer's wife during the years after the last Big war, was one that would even make my father cut his own "rod" or "switch" as she termed it...and if it didn't suit her for the punishing, which it never did, she would make my dad go cut a second better one for her to use to spank him with...Mind you, we aren't talking "hitting" but rather about spanking, which when done right is little more than a psychological reminder of the person in charge, not a form of physical abuse or harm.  Children at that time and in their region were expected to contribute to the family at a very early age and taught many responsibilities such as gathering the food for the day's meals, sometimes even hunting daily for the meat on the dinner table that night, be it squirrel or rabbit or whatever else they could manage by the boys, and gardening, chores, and hard work as the girls were expected to do.

The result in this case was a father who held the parenting belief that spanking, again done responsibly and being more of a startling technique than a painful one. was called for in some situations. However, his children were raised with more toys, time, and extras than he was.. and much less responsibility.  He wanted things "better" for his kids than he had it in EVERY way he could manage.  What seems to have been the result was children that had a sense of priorities but respected authority and the ways it is expressed. Children with a knowledge of the channels of authority and of dealing within that authority to get change.

This was mirrored in several of the friend's experiences as well in their upbringing, such that we shared and comiserated on the woes of childhood and had many laughs at what we each encountered as we learned life's lessons from our parents, along with the limits of what was expected behaviorally of each of us..

Move ahead to the generation of post Baby Boomers and a change yet again in parenting style, that of the "time-out" instead of spanking as society was made more aware of the impacts in many cases of physical abuse, by parents that had no moral compass as to what was overboard in the punishment of their children...This shift seemed to have many impacts as children were raised with even more commercialism, time, and recreation than ever before, and less punishment, with the focus put on either reasoning with or negotiating for the behavior one wanted from the children.  Problems seemed to arise from this shift, and there are many articles and people of the belief that the children were spoiled, out of control, and rude with little respect for authority, and many are the times imminent doom for society were talked of because of the change in parenting style. 

The "time-out" generation in many ways, raised the children they had with much the same "time-out" mentality, but the trend drifted yet again to strive for "bettering" the childhood from what they had experienced.  This improving of the upbringing of their children took the form , in many instances, of even less emphasis on punishment, and more use and reliance on the "extras" now availiable, such as video and cartoons, or movies, as escapes from family time spent together or parenting in the "old-fasioned" sense.  Many -many parents now worked and the household became a two income one just to get by, while the responsibilities and contributions of children were even less emphasized as a necessity for the family unit, and many parents strived to "insulate" children from any responsibility at all...

Now these children are raising their own , and I wonder at what we as a society ( if anything) have bothered to learn from the changes(and results) from each generation fostering the belief that they were raising their children with less of what they felt was difficult in their own childhood...and more and more freedoms for kids as time goes by..Does or will the current generation even be able to handle their kids or have the skills to raise them?.

Can it be coincedence that we have increasingly difficult times in schools, after school hours, in children's sports by both parents and kids both when it comes to modeling behavior,  With behaviors that once were unthinkable in public becoming more and more the norm with each passing generation?  Is the attempt we make at each generation to improve the lives of children really helping them in light of much of the results we encounter in behavior represented today in schools, at malls, and on the streets?  Where are we going with the next generation if we do not take up the cause of teaching some tough lessons starting at a very early age?

Many felt at our discussion group that the responsibility and contribution to the family in many difficult ways was important, yet lacking in today's culture of instant gratification.  The over-abundance of childhood posessions and the emphasis on what a child experiences being a shielded time for the life of the child seems in many cases to have become a form of neglect, with no emphasis now on authority, ways to channel behavior, and what is appropriate, blurred by more and more entertainment emphasis than ever before...

I couldn't help but wonder where our next generation is going if we have the same realization in each generation that behavior norms are getting more relaxed and expectations made less and less for each generation, and that as a result, we have outragious behavior exhibited that the previous generation each time extolled as the practical death knell of society as a whole...I prefer to be an optimist, but many friends are almost afraid of what is ahead if we can't bring back some of the old ways, along with the lessons we have learned as a society since then...

I might be rambling, but it is interesting that each generation feels the next is going to be the undoing of society, and yet we go through yet another shift away from ways that had some good results, and could be coupled in our knowledged society with the temperance to achieve results that are Better, instead of worse, when it comes to behavior of our youth.

 What do you think.?..I will be interested to see if our conversations last night are mirrored in  the comments people choose to give after reading my thoughts from the end of the evening as a whole...Overall, no, I don't think we are heading for social armegeddon, but we do need to do something, and shouldn't that start with re-focusing our efforts away from shielding kids from hardship to emphasising their place in the family and what they must do from day to day just to get by, instead of throwing in another video game or dvd, and working our two-job parenting when we have the time to afford to spend a little time with them...

We all strive for a gorgeous lawn...well, maybe not "all", but who wouldn't agree with a little less work while getting splendid results in maintaining that Green-Sheen we all so desire. In getting out and about this weekend, we should also take the time to assess the way we will each choose to maintain that sheen while impacting the environment as little as possible.
While I may use a minor application of some weed-killer responsibly, I also found that a mulching mower in just one season makes the need for pesticides and weed-killer on one's lawn almost un-necessary.
For those who feel the need for yard perfection, and think the "pulling weeds yourself" concept is too daunting, just use a mulching mower for the spring season (maybe with some spot treatment like a sprayer of dandylion killer), and by summer you will be able to keep up with any that pop up on their own without the spending of many hundreds of dollars in these chemicals from companies that have little care of what they do to our lawns as long as the customer is pleased with the outcome...
While many who read this will wonder if they have the time to commit to such an endeavor, I should also point out that many are the benefits from taking thirty minutes playing in the dirt and helping the environment...The peace and quiet, the calmness, the sense of one-ness with nature that pulling a few weeds once a week can bring is FREE Therapy for me and many other home-owners.
So, as we all prepare to green up our lawns, lets take the time to update our ways of maintaining that greenery while being responsible and saving money at the same time...Go invest in a mulching mower, spend thirty minutes a week in the dirt with a "weed-popper", and make a difference with pride that both you, AND your neighbors can enjoy...!

NBC gave the guy exactly what he wanted by airing and sharing the entire contents of the package sent to them by the Virginia Tech. shooter...and he lost the RIGHT to express his views the moment he took a life...When will networks realize they have a responsibility to the victims and the society as a whole with regards to some of their decisions...the airing of this crazyman's video was unwarranted and indefensible when viewing the human cost of rewarding this nutjob's behavior..It is small wonder we have copycat situations every time these atrocities arise...There is more than enough to have covered with regards to the human tragedy, the cost to society in loss of life and potential of 33 human victims, and the roads to recovery we as a nation walk as we greive and mourn the dead...
While I admit to being a news-junkie, I am appalled at the many stations that thought they were justified in any way to give this killer exactly what he wanted most...
The ONLY message the network managed to send the world by airing the packages contents including his video was that if you want your atrocious message spread around the globe fast...just KILL KILL KILL and the networks will oblige you...

While watching the news on this story and reading other blogs, I was surprised that the protesters had no other offer of ideas or solutions to the school board for use in a disruptive and potentially dangerous student outburst...When "children" are not taught that there are appropriate channels to disagree with authority and how to use these channels, and when kids believe they have some right to behave any way they want as an entitlement of rights, there can be damage to both themselves and others when violence is seen as an option...I commend the school board for discussing this issue and hope they do give personell at schools the tools they need to prevent damage to students and property when violent behavior is shown by a student...What about the Teacher's and Security personell's rights to not be hit, or worse, by students who choose to misbehave weather because of lack of parenting, or because they see violence as a choice due to the constant barrage in television, games, and movies...I think the people protesting would better serve our society and the schools if they helped develop programs for the students to balance some of what they are not taught in most cases at home or in school, and that is (pardon the pun) a little restraint...which we all know, can do a person good...