I own a business that is all about creativity! I love this inspirational video based on a talk President Uchtdorf gave at the General Relief Society Broadcast last Fall. CREATE something great this week!
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Super Bowl {free} Sunday
We aren't watching the Super Bowl today. We are recording it and the kids will get to check the score in the morning before school so they can have "street cred" with all the boys at school who will be talking about who won.
I think the Second Coming will take place on a Super Bowl Sunday. And, I think many members of the church will be caught by surprise, in their football jersey with hot wing sauce dripping from their chins. They'll say, "But hey, we blessed the Seven Layer Taco Dip, doesn't that count for anything?!" And, if He comes before the final score, I imagine that there will be much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I love our Stake President. He purposely (I think anyway) plans Stake General Priesthood Meeting on Super Bowl Sunday every year. As a former Bishop said to me today, "It's a 'sheep' and 'goats' kind of thing." You should hear the moaning and complaining about it to Mark. Mark's answer is always, "It's your choice - your priesthood duty or the Super Bowl."
At our house, we are recording it and although it will have less excitement next week for our boys, they will still get to watch it. In fact, it will be better because we can buzz through all the boring, "standing around doing nothing" parts that Football games always have too much of.
At least our ward meets at 9am. Nobody had to cut out early for a "family obligation" or try to look at the score on their Blackberry without anyone seeing. If the Second Coming happens today, at least our ward can say, "Hey, we went to church first!"
I think the Second Coming will take place on a Super Bowl Sunday. And, I think many members of the church will be caught by surprise, in their football jersey with hot wing sauce dripping from their chins. They'll say, "But hey, we blessed the Seven Layer Taco Dip, doesn't that count for anything?!" And, if He comes before the final score, I imagine that there will be much weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I love our Stake President. He purposely (I think anyway) plans Stake General Priesthood Meeting on Super Bowl Sunday every year. As a former Bishop said to me today, "It's a 'sheep' and 'goats' kind of thing." You should hear the moaning and complaining about it to Mark. Mark's answer is always, "It's your choice - your priesthood duty or the Super Bowl."
At our house, we are recording it and although it will have less excitement next week for our boys, they will still get to watch it. In fact, it will be better because we can buzz through all the boring, "standing around doing nothing" parts that Football games always have too much of.
At least our ward meets at 9am. Nobody had to cut out early for a "family obligation" or try to look at the score on their Blackberry without anyone seeing. If the Second Coming happens today, at least our ward can say, "Hey, we went to church first!"
Monday, November 3, 2008
No kidding....
It's amazing to me that society thinks that nothing's true unless there's a study done somewhere. Common sense doesn't seem to be that common anymore.
Consider this news story: LINK. Imagine that, teenage girls watching Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City are MORE LIKELY to do things that cause them to end up pregnant! Shocking... who would have EVER made that connection???!!!! It's a good thing they did a study to point that out to us!
I remember seeing an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker a few years ago when Sex and the City was at the top of it's game. She said she would be out walking around NYC and young girls would come up to her and say, "Ohhh, I LOVE Sex and the City!!!!" She said she always wanted to slap the parents. It was definitely not a show that teen-aged girls should be watching.
How many years have leaders of our church been telling us to be careful about what we let into our homes and careful about what we watch in theaters? Now we have "proof" of what we already know.
What's next? A study on violent video games and violence among young men? Nahhhh.... oh wait, it's been proven but no one wants to listen.
Consider this news story: LINK. Imagine that, teenage girls watching Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City are MORE LIKELY to do things that cause them to end up pregnant! Shocking... who would have EVER made that connection???!!!! It's a good thing they did a study to point that out to us!
I remember seeing an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker a few years ago when Sex and the City was at the top of it's game. She said she would be out walking around NYC and young girls would come up to her and say, "Ohhh, I LOVE Sex and the City!!!!" She said she always wanted to slap the parents. It was definitely not a show that teen-aged girls should be watching.
How many years have leaders of our church been telling us to be careful about what we let into our homes and careful about what we watch in theaters? Now we have "proof" of what we already know.
What's next? A study on violent video games and violence among young men? Nahhhh.... oh wait, it's been proven but no one wants to listen.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Movies
Probably 18 years ago, I heard a story - I think it was in the New Era - about movies (and really all media) that has become the "standard" at our house. It's a story about "One Bad Part". Have you ever watched (or read) something with just "one bad part"? Have you ever described a movie or book to a friend and said, "There's only one bad part in it"? I have done that countless times.
The story goes like this...
A father was weary of his teens always trying to get him to let them see something by saying, "But Dad, it's only got ONE BAD PART!" So, he decided to give them a very graphic example of this. One night for FHE (Family Home Evening), he told the kids he was going to make his special EXTRA THICK Milkshakes for dessert. At our house, it would be like Mark telling the kids he was going to make his Chocolate Chip Cookies (he makes the BEST ones ever!). The kids were excited for this treat. So, after the lesson, they all crowded in the kitchen to wait for Dad's yummy shakes. He made them extra thick with extra good ingredients. He got the first batch all done in the blender and then turned to his children and said, "I have a REALLY special ingredient tonight for these shakes!" Then, he unfolded a napkin on the counter, pulled out a dead fly and dropped it in the blender. Then he blended the shake one more time before pulling out the glasses and pouring it. Of course his kids thought he was nuts and there was NO WAY they were going to drink the shake with a dead fly mixed in it.
Guess what he said to them... "But kids, I don't know what you're so upset about. There's just ONE BAD PART. The rest is good!" Priceless...
A video from seminary comes to mind, too. I love it and really should try to track down a copy of it. It's got a young women all in white (pants and shirt) living in a completely white home - white couch, carpet, etc). Someone stops by who looks "shady" and at first, she refuses to let him in. But he convinces her to finally. He comes in and sits down and immediately, you see he has tracked footprints on the carpet. Then his briefcase starts to ooze black. Pretty soon, she and her home are covered with dirt. It's a great visual about being careful what you let in your home.
So, what do WE do at our house when it comes to movies? Mark and I don't watch anything we wouldn't let our kids watch. Not that they would WANT to watch it, but we keep it clean. Your kids get a mixed message when you say things like "it's a movie for grown-ups", or "it's not appropriate for children". N is too smart for that - he will immediately say, "Then why are YOU watching it if it's not good?"
One thing we have found and LOVE is Clearplay! The Clearplay DVD player filters movies! We don't use it to watch R-rated movies - we don't even use it to watch many PG-13 movies, but it takes anything out of the PG movies that we don't want to see. For instance, "ET" is great - except for "one bad part". With Clearplay - it's GONE! You hardly notice. Either the scene gets deleted or the movie goes mute for a second. Our kids know that if we won't let them see a movie in the theater because we are uncomfortable with the content, that they usually will be able to see it using the Clearplay later. And, when we bring a DVD home from the video store, they always ask, "Is there a filter for this?"
Like the music, I would LOVE to believe that our boys will always refuse to go to an R-rated movie with friends. But, I'm not sure they always will say, "Nope" when asked by friends. But, for now, they have a solid foundation on at least what our expectations are. And, when the come out of that movie that they know they weren't supposed to go to in the first place, I hope they will feel a little like the woman in the white house who opened her pure, clean self to filth.
The story goes like this...
A father was weary of his teens always trying to get him to let them see something by saying, "But Dad, it's only got ONE BAD PART!" So, he decided to give them a very graphic example of this. One night for FHE (Family Home Evening), he told the kids he was going to make his special EXTRA THICK Milkshakes for dessert. At our house, it would be like Mark telling the kids he was going to make his Chocolate Chip Cookies (he makes the BEST ones ever!). The kids were excited for this treat. So, after the lesson, they all crowded in the kitchen to wait for Dad's yummy shakes. He made them extra thick with extra good ingredients. He got the first batch all done in the blender and then turned to his children and said, "I have a REALLY special ingredient tonight for these shakes!" Then, he unfolded a napkin on the counter, pulled out a dead fly and dropped it in the blender. Then he blended the shake one more time before pulling out the glasses and pouring it. Of course his kids thought he was nuts and there was NO WAY they were going to drink the shake with a dead fly mixed in it.
Guess what he said to them... "But kids, I don't know what you're so upset about. There's just ONE BAD PART. The rest is good!" Priceless...
A video from seminary comes to mind, too. I love it and really should try to track down a copy of it. It's got a young women all in white (pants and shirt) living in a completely white home - white couch, carpet, etc). Someone stops by who looks "shady" and at first, she refuses to let him in. But he convinces her to finally. He comes in and sits down and immediately, you see he has tracked footprints on the carpet. Then his briefcase starts to ooze black. Pretty soon, she and her home are covered with dirt. It's a great visual about being careful what you let in your home.
So, what do WE do at our house when it comes to movies? Mark and I don't watch anything we wouldn't let our kids watch. Not that they would WANT to watch it, but we keep it clean. Your kids get a mixed message when you say things like "it's a movie for grown-ups", or "it's not appropriate for children". N is too smart for that - he will immediately say, "Then why are YOU watching it if it's not good?"
One thing we have found and LOVE is Clearplay! The Clearplay DVD player filters movies! We don't use it to watch R-rated movies - we don't even use it to watch many PG-13 movies, but it takes anything out of the PG movies that we don't want to see. For instance, "ET" is great - except for "one bad part". With Clearplay - it's GONE! You hardly notice. Either the scene gets deleted or the movie goes mute for a second. Our kids know that if we won't let them see a movie in the theater because we are uncomfortable with the content, that they usually will be able to see it using the Clearplay later. And, when we bring a DVD home from the video store, they always ask, "Is there a filter for this?"
Like the music, I would LOVE to believe that our boys will always refuse to go to an R-rated movie with friends. But, I'm not sure they always will say, "Nope" when asked by friends. But, for now, they have a solid foundation on at least what our expectations are. And, when the come out of that movie that they know they weren't supposed to go to in the first place, I hope they will feel a little like the woman in the white house who opened her pure, clean self to filth.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Music
My husband and I both have iPods. Our sons LOVE to listen to our iPods. Consequently, we make sure the music ON the iPods is squeaky clean. It would normally be anyway, but I had to remove one song that contained another word for a "donkey's behind" in it. Basically, the rule at our house is that if the kids can't watch or listen, neither can the adults. In our view, the standards apply to US as well as the kids.
My husband grew up listening to the usual stuff - the '80's heavy metal (he finally admitted to owning an Air Supply tape, though!). The most we have around our house now is Journey. He put that aside a long, long time ago - well before we had children. The kids don't know that dad ever was an AC/DC fan.
As our sons grow, I have already practiced hollering up the stairs, "TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN!!!!" D loves it LOUD - and he's not even 10 yet. If he's going to like it loud, I hope it's at least good.
Here's what our boys LOVE to listen to! Mostly because this is what we've encouraged them to listen to and what we listen to ourselves. We are teaching by example:
My husband grew up listening to the usual stuff - the '80's heavy metal (he finally admitted to owning an Air Supply tape, though!). The most we have around our house now is Journey. He put that aside a long, long time ago - well before we had children. The kids don't know that dad ever was an AC/DC fan.
As our sons grow, I have already practiced hollering up the stairs, "TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN!!!!" D loves it LOUD - and he's not even 10 yet. If he's going to like it loud, I hope it's at least good.
Here's what our boys LOVE to listen to! Mostly because this is what we've encouraged them to listen to and what we listen to ourselves. We are teaching by example:
- Harry Connick, Jr.
- ABBA
- A LOT of Weird Al (but even then, we are selective - it's not all good.) Their current fave is "White and Nerdy".
- Journey
- Funky Town (we could get terrorists to confess all sorts of things by subjecting them to the extra long version)
- Not Your Mother's LDS Music 2 (Alex Boye' is a true ROCK STAR at our house! Watch for him in the Mo-Tab Choir!)
- Janice Kapp Perry "Unplugged" (who says LDS music is stuffy? Rock out to "The Hallow of Thy Hand" in a way you never thought possible - and you'll never hear at a missionary farewell!)
- Josh Groban
- Jonas Brothers (please don't go "Britney" on us, boys!)
- Pretty much anything sung by the High School Musical Cast (You should hear Mark and I annoy them by singing "Soaring" in hideous voices)
My neighbor had Christian Heavy Metal blaring out of her garage the other day. Our boys came home because they didn't like it. Pretty soon I get a phone call assuring me that it was "okay" music because it was "Christian". Ummm, I don't think Jesus would like it even IF it's about him. I don't think people screaming His name over and over to a heavy beat is showing reverence. She said she bought it when she had her foster son. The boy's mother was sending him nasty music so she bought this as an alternative. I wondered why she just didn't say, "We don't listen to that type of music at our house." She missed a great teaching opportunity for a child who hasn't had anyone to teach him about standards.
At our house, the music and the feeling you get from it is as important as the lyrics. We talk often about how certain music makes you "feel" and our boys are great at identifying the "yucky stuff".
I'm not naive enough to think our kids will choose ABBA over some of the more current bands forever. But, what I hope is that they have learned enough about music to at least make some good choices in the future - that they will enjoy music and not just stuff their brains with any garbage their friends tell them to.
At our house, the music and the feeling you get from it is as important as the lyrics. We talk often about how certain music makes you "feel" and our boys are great at identifying the "yucky stuff".
I'm not naive enough to think our kids will choose ABBA over some of the more current bands forever. But, what I hope is that they have learned enough about music to at least make some good choices in the future - that they will enjoy music and not just stuff their brains with any garbage their friends tell them to.
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