(Photo by Kevin Dooley on Flickr)

I didn't even bother reading all the way through this article about why French parents are better, because I can already tell you a) it's true and b) why it's true.

Basically, anyone is better at parenting than American helicopter parents. What about obsessing over kids, overscheduling them, overindulging them, and basically raising them to think they're the center of the universe could possibly create happy, well-behaved, reslilient, adults who are able to be productive and contribute to society while realizing that life isn't fair and that's just the way it is so make the best of it? Nothing.

French parents don't make their kids the center of their lives, and that's why they're better parents and the kids are better behaved. They care about the quality of their own lives and aspire to raise kids who are part of that life, but not the center of it. The same way they savor food and mealtimes and are, therefore, not obese like Americans who make their lives living hell by overscheduling and overworking and reduce mealtimes to hurried fuel-ups before the next round of activities. Americans fret that their kids are out of control and don't sleep through the night and have tantrums and aren't patient--yet look at the lives our kids lead. Who could sleep or concentrate or be on an even keel when life is a non-stop blur of playdates and activities and sports and computer games--educational ones, of course, because nothing is worth doing if it's not educational or related to achieving academic excellence? I'm an adult and watching these kids lives makes me tired. Living my kids lives makes me tired, and they're teenagers and I'm not a helicopter parent.

We also obsess over this parenting thing way too much. Witness last year's bestseller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and now what is sure to become a bestseller Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. We drive ourselves crazy striving for perfection as parents, pouring over books like these as if they contain the fomula for achiving parenting perfection so both we and our kids can get the gold star.

I don't need to read a book about why French parents are better; one look at French people says it all: they take care of themselves and enjoy life, and they don't let having kids ruin those things by  taking over every aspect of their lives. Oh, and also, they let their kids drink wine.

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It's that time of year again...time for my movie recap. In case you don't know this about me, I'm obsessed with going to movies. Not watching movies at home--too many distractions. But going to the movie theater. In 2008 I saw 50 movies. In 2009, I saw 53. Last year I made it to 57. So my number to beat this year was 57. Did I make it?

Of course I did! This year's total? 64 movies. Gulp. Next year is going to be a bitch having to top that.

Let me just preface this by saying that if you didn't go to a lot of movies in 2011, you really didn't miss much. It was a pretty crap year as far as movies go, especially the second half of the year.

Ok, so here we go. In case you haven't read my previous year's movie recap posts, this is my rating system: sucked, rocked or meh, followed by best and worst movies of 2011.

1. The Rite-- rocked
2. True Grit--rocked(ish)
3. No Strings Attached--cute and better than meh, but can't really say rocked
4. The Company Men--rocked is a bit strong, but I did like it
5. Country Strong--sorry but this movie rocked. Have seen it three times.  
6. Just Go With It--rocked(ish)
7. The Mechanic--rocked. I mean, of course Jason Statham rocks.
8. The Eagle--rocked(ish)
9. Unknown--actually Rocked, with a capital R.
10. Battle:Los Angeles--action parts rocked, and if you like loud movies, you'll like it.
11. Insidious--ROCKED--if you like scary, this is a must-see.
12. Limitless--Rocked--I love this movie, although it starts great and kind of peters out.
13. Soul Surfer--Better(ish) than meh, sort of. Cute for teens/tweens.
14. Hanna--Sorry but this looked like it was going to be great but in reality SUCKED.
15. Scream 4--Ok, yes I saw this and of course we all know it SUCKED.
16. Prom--Utterly forgettable so I'm going to go with cute for teens. Yes, I have one, which is why I saw it.
17. Thor--Meh plus.
18. Bridesmaids--HILARIOUS. ROCKED.
19. Hangover 2--Meh plus. Nowhere as near as good as the first, but some funny parts.
20. X-Men--I want to say "ok" but that's not a rating, and meh is a little low, so I'll go with rocked(ish)
21. Pirates of the Caribbean 3--the mermaids ROCKED; the movie was rocked(ish). First Pirates movie I've seen, btw--I only saw it for the mermaids.
22. Midnight in Paris--Rocked. Even my kids liked this.
23. Super 8--rocked.
24. Cowboys & Aliens--Meh. What did you expect?
25. The Help--ROCKED. I was worried this wouldn't be as good as the book, but it really was.
26. Captain America--can I just give this a sigh? Patrick (my husband) loves those Marvel movies, but I"m personally over them. This was actually pretty good, but please, 2012, no more Marvel movies, ok?
27. Crazy, Stupid Love--Meh. Maybe I'll throw a plus on there for Steve Carrell and Julianne Moore
28. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--I'm giving this a meh on principle--seriously, can we stop with the two part movies Hollywood?
29. Rise of the Planet of the Apes--ROCKED. Ceasar better win an Oscar.
30. Bad Teacher--ROCKED. Raunchy but hilarious.
31. Friends With Benefits--Meh plus. I liked it but can't bring myself to say rocked. Cute though.
32. Green Lantern--another sigh. And a meh.
33. Horrible Bosses--Meh. Jennifer Anniston as sexy just does not work for me.
34. Transformers 3--Meh.
35. Contagion--Meh, and a big disappointment--this looked like it was going to be good.
36. I Don't Know How She Does it--I'm going with Meh, because I can't remember one thing about this movie.
37. Drive--fun if you like action, but meh if you are looking for a great movie.
38. Don't Be Afraid of the Dark--SUCKED. This was just freaky and creepy and sucked. AND had Katie Holmes in it, who is meh personified.
39. The Change Up--Rocked.
40. Sherlock Holmes 2--Meh. Yeah, really.
41. Young Adult--Meh plus. Was really slow, but decent if you don't mind really slow and some random details just thrown in there with no real tie-in.
42. The Sitter--Meh, and a big disappointment--this looked like it was going to be awesome.
43. Mission Impossible 4--ROCKED. Especially in Imax, something I'd never shelled out for before but now I'm a convert.
44. Dream House--Meh.
45. Jumping the Broom--rocked, if for no other reason than the house. But even my kids liked it.
46. Paranormal Activity 3--Call me crazy, but I thought this rocked, and even saw it twice. I like scary.
47. Twilight 3--There is not a big enough font in the world to convey how much this movie SUCKED. But I need to find out what happens so of course will have to go see the second part, which just makes me hate it worse. And no, I'm not going to read the book.
48. Fast Five--Meh
49. The Dilemma--Meh minus--this was another big disappointment--looked like it would be great and totally was not.
50. The Roommate--Fun in a Single White Female kind of way, but Meh.
51. The Ides of March--Yet another disappointment--they're getting really good at making great trailers for not great movies. Meh.
52. Immortals--Rocked-ish for action, but as with Marvel, no more greek god movies in 2012 please.
53. Sanctum--Meh minus. Utterly forgettable.
54. I am Number Four--this was actually pretty good, but I can't really say it rocked. How about enthusiastic Meh plus?
55. Hall Pass--rocked. I've seen it at least three times and would see it more.
56. The Lincoln Lawyer--rocked--this was pretty good, but not so good that I actually remember much about it other than that I liked it.
57. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules--I had low hopes for this movie after the first one, but this was actually pretty good. Can I just go with Good?
58. Sucker Punch--HORRIBLE. SUCKED. But the girl was super cute.
59. One Day--Long, drawn out....Meh.
60. Moneyball--not as great as I thought it would be but still pretty good. Too long, though, and slow. But rocked. With a small r.
61. What's Your Number?--Cute and funny--but I don't know if I'd say rocked. But better than meh.
62. Jack and Jill--Sigh. Yes, I saw this, and it was bad as I thought it would be. Could be fun-ish as a rental.
63. New Year's Eve--Cute, if predictable. Meh.
64. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--I had high hopes for this but have to give it a solid Meh. WAYYYYY too slow. Just read the book. I haven't seen the Swedish version, but I would imagine it's better.

Ok, so worst movie of 2011? It's a close race between Sucker Punch and Twilight 3. The girl in Sucker Punch is so cute....but ultimately that movie was just BAD. So Sucker Punch.

And best movie of 2011? I have to say that I hardly want to name one because the year as a whole was so meh, movie-wise. I will give a nod to Midnight in Paris because it was Woody Allen and cute, and another to the Help, because it was pretty good, but for sheer movie enjoyment and pretty tight plot, I'm going with Unknown. Patrick said I couldn't say Mission Impossible 4 was the best movie of the year, but it was pretty awesome.

So there you have it. Here's hoping 2012 will be a better movie year.

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In case you're not familiar with the awesome power of dad bloggers, you better brace yourselves for the revolt that's brewing. Not.

A few months ago, there was a big whine-fest in the blogosphere when Ragu poorly executed a social media campaign and some dad bloggers tried to go Motrin moms about the whole thing. Melodramatic headlines like "Ragu Hates Dads" ensued. Shockingly, the world did not stop spinning and life went on as usual.

But a new article in Boston magazine warns about a powerful new movement that's forming: pissed off dads sick of being seen as morons. You know, sick of being objectified and portrayed in a sterotypical light as bumblers who can't cook or clean or....you know, make sauce from scratch.

Here's what I say to those dads: get in line behind the moms/women you think are getting all the respect as gourmet cooks and ass-wipers and house cleaners and...oh, what else are we always getting all the limelight for? You think being treated like a moron is the special domain of dads? Try being a woman for a while.

You know, because we can't do math, and we all love doing crafts, and baking, and, well, home-making. We all hate sex and only do it to get our husbands to do chores. We all want to be nurses or teachers or nurturers...that is, if we have any ambition at all outside the home, which, according to every woman's magazine and consumer product peddler, we do not because everyone knows all women care about is streak-free windows and flawlessly decorated baked goods that are the envy of all the other moms at bake sales, the running of which is the highlight of our lives.

Here's the thing--as a 43 year old mom, I've lived a long time and known plenty of dads. Currently know a lot of dads. And out of those hundreds of dads, there are about zero who are jockeying for the prize position of chief homemaker. That's not to say a few don't pitch in around the house--do some (or even--gasp--all) of the cooking. Some cleaning. Some child-rearing. But those few dads are by far the exception to the rule. I'm pretty sure huge brands aren't going to spend a buttload of money designing campaigns to appeal to a handful of these domesticated men. And here's the thing--even if they did decide to do it--change the stereotypes and swap out the cookie-cutter housewives featured in their ads with men--would that be a good thing? Is that really something men want to strive for-- being objectified not as "beer-swilling bros" but as domestic gods? And if so, why? Is swapping out one stereotype for another somehow better?

The article goes on to quote the publisher and CEO of Good Men Media:

“We think the daddy bloggers are just a couple of years behind the mommy bloggers as a real marketing force”

Really? That's what this is about? Because being known as "daddy blogger" is better than whatever it is you are currently known as? Or because being a "mommy blogger" is such a lucrative enterprise for millions of women? Dads, too, strive to do real work in exchange for coupons or "free" products that they have to pay taxes on? They want in on the "free" giveaways that they a) have to pay taxes on and b) have to pay to ship? Or is it the fortune that mommy blogging brings in that is allowing millions of women to support their families?

How about this--I'll trade you. My "status" as woman and the 70 cents an hour I make to your one dollar an hour? The stereotype marketers peg me as: homemaker, crafter, lover of all things domestic--for your "beer swilling bro" and jar sauce user? I'll take it. Because if using jar sauce makes you a moron, I'm already one anyway--may as well get out of my other domestic duties and make more money while I'm at it.

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So I went to Target to look for a stencil frame for the chalkboard paint we bought. And it turns out you don't even need paint--behold the chalkboard decal(s)! (There were three in the package--AND chalk!)

Now if only I could buy good handwriting...

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Somewhere between washing dishes last night and waking up this morning I was struck with what seemed to be the best idea ever: painting the door with chalkboard paint. Not only would a black door look better than a white one, but then I could WRITE MESSAGES AND NOTES on the door, the last thing we all see when we leave the house each time. Granted, I have the worst handwriting on the planet and both Patrick and I are so anal that a half-erased/smudged chalkboard door will surely drive us both crazy, I'm thinking it's still a good idea.

But I'm not sure about painting the whole door black versus some kind of cute frame-y thing or something involving tape and precision--things which, luckily, Patrick is good at because I'm terrible at both--so I Googled "chalkboard paint door" to see some inspiring images. But instead: controversy. Who knew there were people out there blogging about chalkboard paint doors? Or that it was such heated topic?

All I know is that now that I've noticed that crazy white door it's driving me insane and I have to do something about it.

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Really?

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Think Anthony Weiner, Tiger Woods, Arnold Schwarzeneger, John Edwards, and the millions of philandering men like them are pigs? Roland C. Warren, president of the National Fatherhood Commission, thinks we’re placing blame on the wrong people in cases where married men cheat on their wives. The real blame, he feels, should rest on the “home wreckers." The women who “preyed on other women’s husbands” are the ones who should be blamed and shamed, in his opinion.

“Preyed on?” Please. Have you been approached by a married man? The kind who tell you how they love their kids and they love their wives, but they’re just not happy? How, while, technically they’re still married because divorce is just too expensive or they can’t stand the thought of living separately from their kids, in actuality they’re basically separated but live under the same roof? Or how their wives ignore them or hate sex or are too busy with the kids to pay attention to them or belittle them or take advantage of them or spend every dime they make or refuse to take care of themselves or can’t lose the baby weight or….I could go on and on but I’ll spare you. Suffice it to say that if you were a fly on the wall during any random interlude between a married man and “the other woman” at the time the relationship was established, I’m pretty sure the person we’d blame for the affair wouldn’t be the other woman. Sorry Mr. Warren.

And seriously—for someone ostensibly looking to strengthen the family—as, I presume, is at least one of the goals of the National Fatherhood Initiative—I really don’t think inciting a bunch of angry mothers to start hating on other women is great for anyone. He uses the example of the mom who lost her daughter to a drunk driver and channeled her outrage into action by starting Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and he encourages women whose husbands have cheated on them to do the same to cause a public outcry against "homewreckers." “Mothers Against Homewreckers?” Yeah, that would be a really helpful campaign to everyone.

Women already hate each other enough. Encouraging yet another wave of hate among them is not going to stop married men from cheating. Ignorance and hate is not good for society, and it’s certainly not good for families. What if Roland Warren’s daughter grows up and gets wooed by a smooth-talking married guy, the kind who promises that he’s all-but-divorced and will be telling his wife he’s leaving the day after tomorrow? Should we hate her too? If I were a father, I sure wouldn’t wish that on my daughter—or anyone’s daughter.

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I just spent literally an hour trying to write a post on my other blog. Nothing. I officially have nothing interesting to write about. Well, at least nothing interesting that has to do with social media. Because, frankly, there is nothing interesting left to say about social media.

I've been blogging since 2005. It used to be fun--especially back when nobody read what I wrote. Now enough people read it that I have to watch what I say--but not enough people read it that I make a living off blogging or anything. So basically just enough people read it to make it more work than fun.

Either that or I've just wrung every molecule of fun out of it. Generally, that's my strategy for other parts of life--computer games and junk food, for instance. You want to get over your addiction to a video or computer game? Here's how I do: play whatever game for literally three or four hours a day, EVERY day, for months. Play the ever loving shit out of that game. At first you will be freakishly addicted. That will last for a few months. Maybe six months. Maybe longer. But eventually the day will come when you suddenly can't stand to spend one more minute looking at it. It totally works--or at least it's worked for me.

I did the same thing with Krispy Kreme donuts. Eat six Krispy Kreme donuts at one time and most likely you'll never want to eat another, ever again.

At any rate, I feel kind of lost without the urge to blog. It's what I've done for fun for so long now that I don't know how to not do it, even if not doing it is what I want to do. So here I am, blogging about how I don't have anything to blog about.

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This was originally supposed to be a review of Yoplait's Two Week Tune-Up. If you read this blog, or my other one, you know I don't usually do product reviews, but for whatever reason, I decided to try it for this one. Ok, the reason? The reflective wrist wallet that was offered, along with 28 free yogurt coupons, and the fact that I already like Yoplait yogurt.

Long story short: I never actually did the Two Week Tune-Up, mostly because I'm not disciplined enough to go to the store and buy 28 yogurts, let alone only eat yogurt plus a grain and a fruit twice a day for two weeks. I tried to get my mom to be my guinea pig and gave her the coupons, telling her to follow the two-week tune-tune up to the letter and report the results to me to blog about, but, alas, the tree is not far removed from the apple and she showed as much discipline as I did and never made it as far as the store.

But don't let my slacking keep you from knowing whether you can really lose five pounds in two weeks if you're the type who is not too lazy to go to the store to buy yogurt. Leave a comment and you could win the same prize pack I got--except, alas, only one free yogurt coupon. But you know you only want the reflective wrist wallet anyway. If anyone leaves a comment--or even more than one person--I'll use Random.org to generate a winner on Monday, April 11.

Disclosure: I received 28 coupons for free yogurt (which I didn't use), a wrist wallet, a bag and a pedometer from Yoplait through My Blog Spark. If anyone actually leaves a comment and wins, Yoplait and My Blog Spark will also be providing the gift pack for that giveaway.

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I was trying to have a screen-free weekend, reading my paper copy of The Washington Post, but this article ruined it. In the article, Michelle Obama states, as fact, "kids who are breast-fed longer have a lower tendency to be obese." WHY is it that, despite the fact that there is NO STATISTICAL EVIDENCE proving anything of the sort, people in positions of authority continue to spread misinformation about the benefits of breastfeeding?  Don't believe me? Read this:

Exposing the Myths of Breastfeeding--I found out about this article/research via Significance, the joint journal of the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association. In case you are not compelled to click the link here are the important parts:

“The evidence to date suggests it probably doesn’t make much difference if you breastfeed.”

"I put her conclusions to one of the world’s leading clinical experts on breastfeeding. He shared most of her concerns."

"In 2007, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the highly respected American government organisation, did the first large-scale review of breastfeeding research in the West. Its scientists were exasperated with the quality of the evidence, giving a strong warning that, because the breastfeeding mothers were self-selecting, “one should not infer causality based on these findings”.

"...the world’s most authoritative sources of breastfeeding research: Michael Kramer, professor of paediatrics at McGill University, Montreal....[said] 'The public health breastfeeding promotion information is way out of date' and 'the trouble is...that the breastfeeding lobby is at war with the formula milk industry, and neither side is being very scientific ... when it becomes a crusade, people are not very rational.'”

There. Is. No. Accurate. And. Compelling. Research. Proving. Breastmilk. Is. Better. PERIOD. (That wasn't a quote from the article--that's me screaming.)

Am I anti-breastfeeding? Absolutely not. Breastfeed all you want, for as long as you want, wherever you want. But don't tell women who either can't breastfeed for real reasons or just choose not to that they're doing something wrong based on nothing. On scientific "evidence" that doesn't actually prove anything. 

And for the love of GOD don't go making policies or giving tax breaks based on rhetoric.

Lucky for all of you, I just bought the Kindle edition of Joan Wolf's book Is Breast Best? so I'm sure I'll have more stuff to scream about soon.

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Did I mention I hate snow? Like HATE HATE it, and being cold, and winter in general. So this week has sucked, since it snowed Wednesday and I've basically been sitting in my house since then. Actually, not even "basically": I have not left my house since Wednesday, when I went to the grocery store. Magically, our power stayed on, which I am extremely grateful about since most people in the area were not as lucky. So we had food, lights, heat, cable TV and internet. We also have PS3, which means we can watch streaming Netflix movies on TV.

The only problem was picking a movie that we all wanted to watch. It only took like a half hour but we finally found one: Super Size Me. I love that my kids are as crazy as I am and willing to watch documentaries, one of my favorite movie genres. We've already seen Super Size Me a few times, and each time it has the reverse affect it's supposed to have on us: it makes us crave McDonalds food. I'm telling you, McDonalds must have gotten at that film footage and spliced in some subliminal advertising because rather than grossing me out or scaring me into never eating McDonalds again, like the film is supposed to do, each time I watch it I am more skeptical and more pro-McDonalds. Go figure.

So this time we were watching it I told the kids I bet I could make a movie where I ate nothing but McDonalds for a month and not gain a pound. In fact, I bet them a million dollars I could do it. Actually, I'd even raise the stakes on that: I bet I could eat only McDonalds for a month and LOSE weight. McDonalds, if you're reading this and want to pay me to prove it, I will totally do it.

Speaking of McDonalds, behold my new favorite concept: The Ghetto Big Mac:

Best idea ever, except a) I would skip the fries inside the sandwich and b) I'd just ask for the sauce not the different roll or onions because I don't know where those guys live but obviously they don't live where I do because here you can barely get the food you order at McDonalds as-is; asking for any modification whatsoever and they get it wrong 99.9% of the time.

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Anyway, while he was buying the food I felt compelled to take a picture of the un-funnest cat toy imaginable. Seriously? "Wool balls"? In case you can't tell from the photo, they are tiny stuffed balls made of undyed wool.

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So I think the Universe may be trying to send me a signal about my other blog. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, my other blog is Mizz Information, where I've been writing about social media for the past few years. I started writing about social media back when it was just something I was into; fast forward a few years and now it's my full-time job. I used to blog for fun about whatever I wanted, then I moved to blogging about social media...now I get paid to manage a blog and do social media. Suddenly what used to be a fun passion for me has turned into a job...a fun job, but a job nonetheless. Now when I'm not working and want some down time, blogging is kind of the last thing I want to do, to be quite honest. 

But I have worked hard to cultivate some measure of success in blogging and don't want to just let the whole thing crumble, so I just went to write a post on Mizz Information, only to get the same glitch that ultimately doomed the predecessor of this blog--Motherwhatnowredux. Blogger just stopped letting me add new posts to that blog, and I fear the same thing might be happening on Mizz Information. And frankly, I just don't know if I have it in me to spend the several hours it would take to migrate it to Wordpress.

So is this a sign that it's time to stop blogging about social media and go back to blogging about important stuff like vagazzling?

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Were you thinking January 1 had come and gone without my movie recap post and worried I wasn't doing one this year? Well, fear not...just like I did in 2008 and 2009, I saw a ton of movies in 2010...56 to be exact. In the theater...that doesn't count movies I saw on DVD or TV. Yes, I'm obsessed with going to the movies...if you didn't already know that about me you know it now.

Before I proceed to the list and ratings part, I have a few observations I'd like to share--you learn a thing or two about going to the movies when you go as much as I do.

1) Regal Theaters rewards program totally trumps AMC's.  All movie theater reward programs are not created equal--not by a long shot. But AMC's reward program is lacking in a huge way compared to Regal's: you don't get points for concessions. You know how much movie food costs--spending that money and NOT getting rewards for it? Fail. Also, AMC's "rewards" most of the time consist of coupons like "50 cents off sour Airheads with the purchase of a combo." You call THAT a reward? Spend $12 on popcorn and a drink for the "reward" of buying the crappiest candy on earth for ONLY $2.50 instead of $3? Um, no thanks. So props to Regal Theaters...for superior rewards and NOT calling shit like a coupon for crappy candy a reward.

2) Discover Card rocks a frequent movie-goer's world. It costs a lot to go to the movie theater, even if you don't buy food. It costs a LOT to go to 56 movies in the theater, mostly along with at least one other person, and I almost always buy food. But this year it cost me a lot, lot less because I started using Discover and use all the cashback rewards for movie passes. For $20 in cashback rewards, you can get two movie tickets and a $5 gift card for concessions (or more movie tickets) for Regal Theaters or two movie tickets and two small popcorn coupons and a drink coupon for AMC Theaters. By using Discover for as many regular expenses as possible (and paying the bill in full every month...I don't do credit card debt) I estimate that more than half of the movies we saw in 2010 were free. I generally don't do sponsored posts, and this one was definitely not sponsored by Discover card in any way, but Discover, in case you're reading this, I would absolutely do a sponsored post for you on this topic because I LOVE that you make my movie addiction financially possible.

3) 3D movies must die.  A very unfortunate--and growing trend--is 3D movies. If I do no other prediction this year, I will predict this: 3D movies will die. Paying as much as $5 more for an already expensive movie ticket so I can sit and watch a movie wearing sunglasses so I can experience something that would have been fine in 2D but was made in 3D for the sole purpose of novelty? No thanks. Most 3D movies have no business being made in 3D--I mean, Yogi Bear in 3D? Seriously? Tron comes right out and tells you at the beginning of the movie "Parts of this movie were filmed in 2D"....so basically you're sitting there watching a 2D movie in dark glasses for no reason. F.A.I.L. Hollywood, please stop with the 3D movies.

Ok, sorry--just had to get those 3 reflections off my chest before proceeding to the movies. In case you've not read my previous year's movie recap posts, this is my rating system: sucked, rocked or meh, followed by best and worst movies of 2010.

1) Iron Man 2--rocked

2) Predators --I'm going to be honest and say I can't remember but I think meh is a safe bet

3) Clash of the Titans--rocked if for no other reason than the line "RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"

4) Nightmare on Elm Street--meh. Ok, probably sucked but the horror thrill makes it worth a meh ;)

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--rocked. C'mon, it's Harry Potter

6) Alice in Wonderland--Rocked. With a capital R.

7) Twilight Eclipse--Sucked. With a capital S.

8) The A-Team--rocked

9) Inception--rocked, but not quite with a capital R, I fear.

10) The Losers--meh

11) The Last Airbender--cool but meh

12) Kick Ass--Rocked. Very violent but I'm ok with violence.

13) Machete--Rocked. Twice. Again, violent but in a good way.

14) Percy Jackson & The Olympians--meh

15) Salt--Rocked

16) Sex and the City 2--sucked, but I admit--it was fun to see the "girls" again.

17) The Book of Eli--rocked. But sadly only with a small r.

18) Paranormal Activity 2--rocked, but nowhere near as good as the original.

19) Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World--I'm giving this a cute, which is like a meh but with a smile.

20) The Last Song--My daughter loved this movie, I gave it a meh plus.

21) Jackass 3D--sucked, as in not funny, a LOT of penis showing and really didn't need to be 3D.

22) Despicable Me--rocked. Very cute.

23) Shutter Island--Rocked. Still haven't figured this one out.

24) The Green Zone--rocked

25) The Other Guys--rocked, but not as funny as it could have been

26) Takers--I think rocked, but am having a hard time remembering details

27) Dear John--rocked, if you like this kind of movie...I like every kind of movie.

28) Hot Tub Time Machine--Rocked.

29) Step up 3D--ROCKED. I LOVED this movie. Could have been done without the 3D, though.

30) Saw 3D--yikes. I mean, meh but fun.

31) Devil--Rocked

32) The Last Exorcism--Rocked. Surprisingly good, I thought.

33) Grown Ups--sucked. Sorry.

34) Date Night--rocked but leaning towards meh.

35) The Town--ROCKED. Loved this movie. Outstanding.

36) Cop Out--rocked...for funny, if not so much for the actual movie as a whole.

37) She’s Out of My League--Rocked. Loved this.

38) Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps--sadly, Sucked, but loved seeing Gordon Gekko again.

39) Knight and Day--rocked

40) Chloe--rocked, but Patrick HATED it. How can a guy hate a movie where Amanda Sayfried is nude?

41) From Paris With Love--ROCKED. Serious contender for best movie of the year, IMO.

42) Dinner for Schmucks--meh, but funny. Ish.

43) The Social Network--rocked, but felt long even though it really wasn't. Well done, movie-wise.

44) Diary of a Wimpy Kid--sigh. Yes I saw this with my son. Read the book instead.

45) Case 39--Had to leave this before it ended but it was pretty good--I'm going with rocked minus.

46) Just Wright--Rocked. My world, at least--I loved it.

47) Charlie St. Cloud--Meh plus, but didn't actually rock.

48) Catfish--I just want to give this a Weird. I found it very disturbing but interesting--definitely rent it.

49) Lottery Ticket--sadly, sort of sucked. But I'll give it a meh for effort.

50) Hereafter--Truly disappointing--made no sense to me. Love Matt Damon, but sucked.

51) Cyrus--Meh plus--I was disappointed and thought it would be better.

52) Morning Glory--I liked it but as a film probably a solid meh.

53) Fair Game--Rocked.

54) Black Swan--Rocked. This will get an Oscar, either for the film itself or Natalie Portman for best actress...probably both.

55) Tron--sucked...which is a total letdown to me and nerds everywhere. And did NOT need to be 3D, or at the very least, they should have told you to leave off the dark glasses for the 2D part.

56) Little Fockers--sigh. My daughter made me see this and I have to give it a grudging Meh plus...it was  better than I thought it would be.

Ok, so IMO (that's "in my opinion" if you don't speak internet) best and worst movies of 2010:

Best: The Town. This year's Gran Torino. Black Swan was also great, and honestly, I really liked The Last Exorcism too, so honorable mentions to those two.

Worst: I'm going to have to go with Jackass 3D, which admittedly was made exponentially worse for me  by virtue of the fact that I saw it with my dad AND my kids. Sigh. Usually I kind of like Jackass...I can deal with the crudeness and think it's funny in a gross way. This was just gross. And, although it pains me to say it because I love the original, honorable mention for this category goes to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

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I love my Toyota Venza and even if I wanted to I couldn't trade it for a smart car because I need to fit at least four people in there. Oh, and also I don't want to die because I'm driving a roller skate in DC-area traffic. However, I have to say that the Hello Kitty smart car wraps make even me wish I had a smart car. 

Toyota, I know you're out there monitoring the interwebz...I'm officially offering to let you pimp my white Venza with a Hello Kitty wrap. Pretty please? The swagger wagon couple will die of jealousy.

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And if you're Jewish...forget it. Then you get the joy of feeling totally left out, having to listen to every store clerk ask your kids "Are you excited for Santa?!" and having to either just say "yep" or explain "we're Jewish." Thank god at least my kids are too old to attract such comments anymore--one less thing to worry about. 

Ok, I'm done now...hope I didn't ruin Christmas for you.

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How can I pass up the obligatory "Stuff I'm thankful for" post? Twenty just seemed like a good number...lets see if I can actually come up with that many things I'm thankful for:

1. My iPad
2. Keurig and pumpkin spice K-cups
3. Patrick (my adorable husband)
4. My snarky but fun kids
5. That I'm employed
6. That I get paid to be on Facebook and Twitter all day
7. The awesome people I've met online and in real life this past year
8. Especially Penelope Trunk. Still blows my mind that she blogged about me. And I'm double thankful that the photo only shows the back of my head--I hate photos.
9. Good health. I don't ever take it for granted...for real.
10. My Toyota Venza. Love that car. 
11. My Totoro mouse pad.
12. That the sequel to Stuff White People Like just came out. It's as funny as the first one.
13. Blogging. 
14. Boardwalk Empire. Took some of the sting of the Mad Men season being over away. But only some.
15. Mad Men. Best. Show. Ever.
16. Except for Nurse Jackie--love that show too.
17. Discover card's free movie tickets for points deal. If you know me you know I see tons of movies and this year most of them have been free, courtesy of Discover's partner bonus thing. 
18. Latisse. 
19. And Dysport. Beats Botox's ass. Yes, I am that vain.
20. Ambien. Beats Latisse, Dysport AND Botox's asses. 

Oh, and in case you're reading this and wondering whether any of these brands paid me to include them in this post--I WISH. But nope, this is all just stuff I like and pay good money for. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

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I'm having crippling buyer's regret about not buying the matching pencil cup. Perhaps my sister, Cassie, who was with me and did buy it, will find it in her heart to give it to me for Christmas....

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Photo bymarfis75 

One thing I think I've established on this blog (or its predecessor, Motherwhatnowredux) is that I were to classify my parenting style, I'm definitely more in the Slacker camp then the Helicopter camp. I love my kids and want them to be happy, safe and healthy. Eventually be able to support themselves and enjoy life. That's it. School--that's their bag--and they're doing way better at it than I ever did. TV--I don't give a shit--watch it, don't watch it, whatever. Video games, computer, etc--same. Food--don't even get me started. I. Could. Not. Care. Less. We eat healthy mostly, but sometimes we don't. You get the point. Seems to be working fine so far.

At any rate, if you read The Washington Post you know they have pet topics that they tend to feature regularly. ADHD seems to have become one of those topics. Parenting--of the helicopter variety--is of course woven into the very paper the Post is printed on, because, after all, this is DC, and one of the mainstays of parenting in the DC area is trying to make your kid the best he/she can possibly be--so the whole ADHD medicate/don't medicate issue is hot and heavy in the Post on a regular basis. But today's piece about Katherine Ellison's new book--which sounds a lot like the "Eat Pray Love" of ADHD-- is a master blend of helicopter parenting applied to ADHD treatment. She describes the year she spent (presumably funded by a book advance) investigating every "treatment" under the sun for ADHD, with which both she and her son have been diagnosed. Fish oil. Brain scans. Meds. Neurofeedback. Mediatation. She apparently stopped short of dolphin therapy, though. She lobbied the schools for special accommodations for her son, such as letting him chew gum while studying. No doubt it will sell like hotcakes, and dolphin ADHD therapists will no doubt prosper as thousands of helicopter parents grasp at yet another possible way to fashion their kid into the best, most successful kid who ever lived.

Just as her book is basically the helicopter parent's guide to ADHD treatment, someone needs to pay me to write the slacker parent's guide to ADHD. I have ADHD and here's the thing: in this day and age, once you get through school, it can actually be quite beneficial. Lots of jobs lend themselves to ADHD and make having it actually a boon, not a handicap. Your kid has ADHD? Or you do? Don't sweat it. Embrace it. Grades only matter until you're out of school, then they don't. These days, and especially in the future, ADHD will be a desirable thing, a necessary success factor in many jobs. App culture and ADHD go hand in hand. Did you read today's New York Times article about growing up digital? If the smartest, most promising kids can't do school the way it's always been done, is the future really going to be about medicating them to fit into a system that doesn't work anymore? Or is school going to change to cater to kids with ADHD? I say the latter.

So don't sweat the ADHD--it's only a matter of time until the universe starts bending to accommodate kids with ADHD the way it has for adults who have it. ADHD means innovative ideas and people who are able to multitask and accomplish 10 times more than regular people. And that means money for the companies that employ those people. So don't spend thousands of dollars on tutors and dolphin therapy--buy your kid a MacBook.

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