What do you listen to...?

...in the car, that is. These days, I often have toddler-appropriate music playing in the car. When I'm on my own, however, I am able to indulge in a little NPR-listening. I heard an interesting report tonight about teens and sex. The report focused on sexual content on TV shows. Now, this isn't anything new, but it was thought-provoking. Some people interviewed asserted that shows like Gossip Girl influence teens to engage in sexual behavior. I contend (and they did not touch on this point) that teens that watch shows that are risque (and I can't really say that Gossip Girl is risque, really, since I've never watched it, but for the sake of argument...) have less supervision and are therefore more likely to have opportunities to engage in sexual activities. I mean, my parents didn't let me watch 90210 when it first started in the early 90s (I really was too young for the show then--12 or 13), they were totally involved in my life, and I would have never dreamed of having sex anywhere within a million-mile radius of them. So maybe there's a connection somehow, but not in the way the researchers think... What do you think?
Also heard on NPR, the radio cartoon of the day. Listeners go online and look at the cartoon and come up with possible captions. Here's the cartoon (which I think is just absolutely hilarious), along with the cartoonist's caption--
Here's my favorite alternative caption from an NPR listener: "So, when did Mrs. Claus' interest in "reindeer games" begin to subside?"

Finally, I ran across this little gem on the NPR website as well. It made me think of my dearest friend, Rachel. So Rachel, as a little welcome back from the paradise of Jamaica, this cover of "Such Great Heights" by Ben Folds. This little treat definitely put a smile on my face.

Pater, part II

Here's a write-up about Pater from an Tribute.com:

Harry King White

• BORN: August 22, 1914
• DIED: November 30, 2008
• LOCATION: Little Rock, AR

Harry King White, age 94, a lifelong resident of Little Rock, loving father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 30th, in Conway, Arkansas. He was born August 22nd, 1914 in Little Rock. His wife of 66 years, Mildred Cockmon White, his mother: Nettie Schaer White, his father: John H. White and his brother: Jack W. White preceded him in death.
He is survived by his three daughters: Kay Quinn of North Little Rock, Lynn White Hotchkiss and her husband Robert of Long Beach, Mississippi, and Debra Ann White of Springhill, Kansas; grandchildren are Susie Brough and husband Mike of Tomball, Texas; Shawn Cervantes of Conway, Amanda Corker and husband Mike of Sherwood; Robert Lee Hotchkiss, Jr. and wife Sonjiala of San Diego, California; Jennifer Haar and husband Darren of Tokyo, Japan; and Michael Hotchkiss and wife Carrie of Lawrenceville, New Jersey; great-grandchildren are: Brandon, Joshua, and Kayla Brough, Eric and Dylan Cervantes, Christopher Corker, Evelyn and Isaac Haar, and Wilson Hotchkiss.
Mr. White was retired from the Western Electric Company, was a great lover of all kinds of music and the Arkansas Razorbacks, but his first love and focus was his family. He made friends with everyone he met and will be greatly missed.
Visitation will be from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at Griffin Leggett Healey and Roth, 5800 W. 12th St., Little Rock, AR 72204 ~ 501.661.9111. Funeral service will be Wednesday, 2:00 p.m., December 3rd at the funeral home officiated by Rev. Chris Allen with burial in Roselawn Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 200 S. Commerce St. Little Rock, Arkansas 72201; PO Box 15728, Little Rock, AR 72231 or other favorite charity.
**
What the obit doesn't mention was the period that Pater and Mater lived in Vegas. That is one of my favorite stories about them. They just decided that Little Rock wasn't exciting enough for them in their retirement so they packed up and went to Vegas back in the 80s and stayed there until the early-2000s. Also, Pater taught Mike how to play pool. You gotta love that in a grandpa.

Pater

Mike's 94-year-old grandfather died yesterday. Mike is flying to Little Rock tomorrow morning. The funeral will probably be on Wednesday; Mike will get home late Thursday night. Most airlines don't offer bereavement fares anymore. As far as bereavement "favors", the only thing they'll let you do is change or cancel your ticket with no penalty fee, which I suppose isn't a small thing, considering how much they generally charge for that. I wish that W and I could go with him, but with tickets over $400, it just wouldn't work out.
So it's going to be just me and W this week. Wish me luck.
I got my Christmas decorations up yesterday. The house looks festive. I can understand why some people leave Christmas lights up all year! Unfortunately, the cats think the tree is for chewing and swatting. Badness!

The aging process

George W. Bush has aged A LOT over the past eight years. I mean, going from this:

...to this:
I mean, I know the presidency is a stressful job and that a person AGES A LOT during the 4-to-8-year term, but really... is it just me, or does he look like he's drinking again??

Thinking about India

I've been doing a lot of thinking about India over the past few days. If you watch the news, you know what's been happening in Mumbai. I can't imagine how frantic and chaotic the scene is. Even on a good day, Mumbai is chaotic! I can't even fathom how rescue crews are getting through the streets, as the one rule of the road is that there are no rules! Apparently the hotel that Dad and I stayed at, the Palm Grove, was used as a "jumping off point" for the terrorists. Renu, one of the family members with whom we traveled, is in Mumbai right now, visiting her brother and his family (the Gandhi's). All of them were present for W's baptism; they are like family. I am hoping that they all piled in the car and headed to Umbergoah, about 100 miles to the north of Mumbai, where their family roots are.
In other family-related news, Mike's grandfather, Pater, is in the hospital. He's 94 years old. He has something seriously wrong going on in his abdomen. The doctors think it's due to a blood clot that killed part of his intestines. He's been in relatively-good health up until this point, living independently in an assisted-living home for the past few years in the Little Rock area. I think the only medication that he's been prescribed is Flomax, so that's pretty awesome for someone his age. He loves the Arkansas Razorbacks, and as much as I hate that LSU lost to them today, I'm happy that Pater's team won.
W and I spent yesterday afternoon at our church. Mike had to work (he has the day BEFORE the holiday off, but has to work the actual holiday), so it was really nice that our pastor and his family hosted an "open Thanksgiving" in the church's fellowship hall. There were about 40 people there, and TONS of food. W had a great time running around with the other kids and even played a little football with them. I had fun playing dominoes and meeting some new folks.
My parents were here last week, so we did Thanksgiving dinner with them on Sunday night. Mike roasted a chicken and made his mom's cornbread dressing, and I made mashed potatoes and green beans. We bought a carrot cake and Key Lime pie at Wegman's, both of which were delish.
We all have so much to be thankful for.

Gimme a break!

W has a favorite candy. He LOVES Kit-Kats. He just found a tiny piece of a wrapper somewhere that was leftover from Halloween and brought it to me and said, "Kit Kat, Kit Kat" (or something close to that).
Good lord, what have I done to this child?! Mike and I don't even really LIKE Kit-Kats!! I don't know where he gets it from....

Toilet paper woes

Amazingly enough, our supermarket has fantastic store-brand toilet paper. I never would have thought that generic TP would be the way to go, but seriously, Wegman's TP is great. I did something dumb last week, though. We were nearing the end of our stash and were in desperate need for more. I was at Wal-Mart (ugh) and figured I'd just buy some there. I got a 24 pack of the White Cloud (WM brand) kind. I mean, toilet paper's toilet paper, right? WRONG. This is, as Mike calls it, John Wayne toilet paper-- "Rough, tough, and don't take sh*t off no one." It is only ONE PLY. And, it doesn't feel very good. So now I'm stuck with 24 rolls of crappy (I couldn't resist!) toilet paper. I have definitely learned my lesson.
Oh, and today, when we went to Wegman's, I got a big pack of their TP. So we have enough to last us the rest of 2008.