Win a Jackson 5ive Cartoon DVD!
Mar 17 2013

I’m hosting a giveaway for the first time in a long time.  I think Michael Jackson (link to the post I wrote after he died) and his family are really talented so when someone reached out to me to see if I’d write a post about the newly released DVD and host a giveaway if they sent me a free review copy, I said “Yes, thank you!”

The Jackson 5ive Cartoon DVD retails for $32.99 for a DVD and it’s $39.99 on Blu-Ray.

The kids watched all of the 23 episodes and really enjoyed them!  I wasn’t able to watch all of them due to regularly scheduled “mom duties” and work related stuff, but I did see many of them.  Despite hearing the “ABC-123” song way more times than I have in my entire life before now, I really enjoyed them too.  It was neat (a.k.a. groovy) how they took classic fairy tales and turned them into shows that had a “hairy godfather,” “The Wizard of Soul,” “Michael In Wonderland,” “Jackson and the Beanstalk,” etc.  Michael loses his glass sneaker when he sneaks out to the ball and the pretty girl finds him in typical “Cinderjackson” style.  In another one, Michael eats a poisoned apple and needs to be awakened by a princess’ kiss. Their pet mice (Ray & Charles) & snake (Rosey) join in on the antics and the episodes even teach nice lessons about topics like taking care of nature.  The episodes were a fun flashback to the 1970’s and the songs that made the Jackson 5 (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael) famous.

Here’s the blurb from the folks giving away the free copy: “For the first time ever, the famous Jackson 5ive Cartoon DVD is on video … available to the public since January 15, 2013! Introduced in 1971, the cartoon takes the Jackson brothers on a colorful journey, teaching them a life lesson along the way of all 23 episodes. Making this DVD extra special is that each episode features two digitally re-mastered tracks from the Jackson 5ive! We think this is something that all Jackson fans, music fans and the 1970’s in general will love, as the cartoon brings back the glory years and celebrates the immense talents that each Jackson possessed. Not only do I think you will enjoy this DVD, but believe your kids will be captivated by the incredible music and colorful animation of the Jackson 5ive!”

How can you win? Just leave a comment on why you (or someone you know) like Michael, The Jackson 5, or any of the other talented Jackson family members, and the kids and I will sort of randomly select a name on Friday, March 29, 2013.  The lucky winner will be put in touch with the promoters of the video and will receive a free DVD directly from them.  It’s as easy as A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3!

Time Heals All Wounds – But We End Up Older Too
Sep 3 2010

Time heals all wounds or so they say.  Time certainly does makes the wound look different and allows it to close up a bit, but the wound is still there to remind us of something.  In the world of high-tech entrepreneurship, people sometimes refer to those wounds as ‘scar tissue’ or ‘battle wounds.’  It means you’ve been through a lot, learned a lot, and in some cases they are looked upon as honored badges of experience here in the US.  In other parts of the world, that ‘scar tissue’ is socially a black mark which is why you have fewer risk takers and people trying new things.  The results of failure in some cultures/families are not just some scratches you can put Neosporin or Mederma on, learn from and move on, they come to define you as a person.

The trick is to learn from those wounds but also be open enough to recognize that although a situation might remind you of circumstances before you got stabbed previously, you should be aware of the subtle differences so you can move to avoid the hurtling knife or not react in a way that causes history to repeat itself.

Another thing that helps heal wounds is keeping up a strong network of friends, mentors, advisers and to watch a bunch of movies, musicals and TV shows. Talking with people about what they have experienced in life & business, really helps put perspective to what you have experienced.  We have all faced challenges and talking about things out loud with others helps heal your hurt ego and heart.

The endless debate on whether life imitates art or art imitates life might never be solved, but it’s sure great to watch them and feel better about your situation.  It’s usually never as bad, crazy, funny as what happens in the movies or TV.   I recently saw Inception in the theater, watched The Holy Grail (I didn’t have time to re-watch Life of Brian before I had to return it – Ugh!), and saw Mean Girls on TV.  I started watching a TV series called Mad Men (set in an advertising firm in the 1960’s) but missed the first several seasons I think.  Inception was incredible.  It’s about dreams within dreams and I’ve always been eerily effected by movies like The Matrix and this one Twilight zone show about spiders that bite you with this venom that makes the characters think they are fine, but they are really dreaming that everything is fine with occasional glimpses that they are caught in a space shuttle with alien spiders wrapping them in their webs (Scary!).

Last night I saw Jersey Boys: The Story of Franki Valli and The Four Seasons.  What a fabulous show.  All the drama of their families, debt, drinking, taxes.  It makes me wonder if with such talent, misery also follows.  You can point to so many great singers/actors whose lives were tragic (e.g., Elvis, Michael Jackson, Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, etc.).  The actor that played the role of Franki Valli had a wonderful voice and I had forgotten all the songs they sang.  Some of my favorite songs were My Eyes Adored You, December 1963 (Oh, What A Night), and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.  But behind those lovely lyrics & melodies was a lot of pain and heartache as well as good times.

The sad thing is that we get older while time is passing by and healing all those wounds, so we have less energy to do more things with those learnings.  So we have to learn fast!  Self doubt diminishes but so does the stamina.  “Youth is wasted on the young.” – George Bernard Shaw. But then there’s always the saying that apparently an internet search can’t even reveal the source “Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.” – unknown

What’s So Funny?
Aug 1 2010

To me, a sense of humor is really important.  But funny enough what some people think is funny others don’t.  The best comedians appeal to a majority of people with their jokes because usually they pick on the insecurities many of us have.  If you can’t laugh at yourself, your mistakes, or even others from time to time, you’ll go insane.  In my opinion, a good sense of humor is important with friends, family, and in the workplace.  I like to laugh and I like to make others laugh.  I’m certainly not a comedian by any stretch of the imagination, but I tend to show my humor much more off blog than on blog because I really don’t know what will resonate with you hundreds upon hundreds  of readers out there. (Are you still there? Feedburner, Google Analytics and WordPress stats say you are. :-))

There are two cartoons that I think are hilarious that my kids watch.  I like to watch them too and my kids ask me (while they are laughing) why I think they are so funny and I tell them “I just do.”  They are Penguins of Madagascar (based on the DreamWorks movie series Madagascar) and Emmy award winning Disney channel’s Phineas and Ferb.  King Julien, the ring-tailed lemur, cracks me up in his self absorbed ways in Penguins of Madagascar.  The crafty penguins with their dry wit, make me laugh out loud.

The creativity (and obliviousness) of the two little step brothers in Phineas and Ferb, their older classically teenage sister (Candace) who is always trying to BUST them in their over-the-top, dangerous projects, and Perry the Platypus who is always busting the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, are so well ‘cast’ together.  The brother’s Firecamp Girl (play on Girl Scouts) friend Isabella helps them with their projects and always greets them with a “Watcha doing?” when she sees them.  According to the Wikipedia link, the creators of Phineas and Ferb pitched the concept for 16 freaking long years before Disney picked it up.  Wow!  To me, it’s pure genius.

I also just rented Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, Life of Brian, and The Holy Grail because a friend (Earl Lundquist – soccer blogger) mentioned that he and the family were watching Monty Python on one of his facebook updates.  It reminded me that I hadn’t seen those movies in a really long time, and I think Monty Python is classic British wit that pokes fun of many sensitive subjects (religion, politics, personal relationships, gender) at its finest.  I re-watched Meaning of Life last night and it still is so funny.  The scene where Death comes to visit, or the scene where the professor is trying to teach sex-ed to a seemingly uninterested group of boys by going through the mechanical acts of procreation with his wife, or the scene where the Catholic mother is doing the dishes and gives birth to her 30th child and they sing about not being able to use protection, or the scene where they come to harvest a liver from a live donor are just classic.

I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to watch them with me.  I think if they can laugh at themselves or find the humor in things, they will hopefully be happier individuals overall.  [Although I do have a limit to the bodily functions humor they both seem to like.]  I hope they find Monty Python funny too and don’t roll their eyes at me and think how embarrassing their mother is, but I’m prepared for the worst.  Well, maybe my sense of humor is odd, but hey at least I can laugh at something (some people are so serious they can’t see the lighter side of things).  Plus they say laughter is the best medicine and it can be just what you need to make a breakthrough in a tough project at home or work. 😀 <— that’s me Laughing Out Loud (LOL).

Why I Watch Grey’s Anatomy
Nov 2 2007

I don’t have time to watch a lot of TV but one of the shows I do watch on a consistent basis is Grey’s Anatomy.  I know it’s a night time soap opera of sorts.  I know it’s not a real depiction of life in a teaching hospital, and I know that most doctors aren’t that good looking, but I still get caught up in the drama.

In the November 1, 2007 episode, Dr. Cristina Yang said something quite simple yet quite profound to Dr. Meredith Grey.  First a little background for those who do not watch Grey’s Anatomy.  Dr. Yang is a brilliant surgeon who expresses little to no emotion.  It’s clear her entire goal in life is to become the world’s best cardiothoracic surgeon and nothing will get in her way.  She is very direct with people and she rarely takes time to listen to other people’s problems.  It’s all about her and she has recently been faced with experiences that are making her evaluate her approach to life.

Dr. Grey is also an outstanding surgeon with serious relationship/personal issues.  Her dad left her when she was a kid partly because her mother was cheating on him and partly because she was so focused on her career.  Her dad never came back to see her.  He married another woman and had two kids with her one of whom is Dr. Lexie Grey, who has just found her way to Seattle Grace hospital as an intern.  Needless to say Meredith and Lexie have an awkward relationship.

Meredith’s mom, Ellis Grey, was intensely focused on her own medical career and was a highly accomplished surgeon and pretty much resented that she had to take care of Meredith.  She often told Meredith that she did not want to have children and consequently was extremely critical of everything Meredith did (or did not do).  So now Meredith has tons of personal issues but somehow has won the heart of Dr. McDreamy (Dr. Derek Shepherd), whose character in the show is one of practically a saint among men because he is there for Meredith no matter what she does or says!

Meredith almost drowned in an episode last season.  She could have saved herself but instead gave in to her self pity and crossed over to the other side for a short while.  Somehow she comes through after being unconscious for several hours and awakens to a different perspective and awareness of who she is and where she fits into the world.  This perspective soon fades and she begins to involuntarily inflict her insecurities on those she loves and on those who love her once again.  She doesn’t want to, but she does not know how to accept or give love because she was physically and emotionally abandoned by the people most important to her as a child.  Despite these childhood traumas, most of the rest of the world would classify her as a functional adult (i.e., she is smart, has a career, has friends, etc.). 

In one scene Meredith asks Cristina why she just can’t get past all of this stuff and move on now that she’s aware of her issues.  Cristina says “being aware of your crap is not the same as getting over your crap.  They are two very different things.”  Meredith knows she’s right and stares off into space.

This post is dedicated to a good friend of mine who is dealing with crap of her own right now.  I worry about her.  I wish the best for her.  I can relate a tiny bit with what she might be going through, and I pray that the gap between her being aware of her crap and getting over her crap decreases exponentially day by day!

The Go-To Mom
Aug 3 2007

Kimberly recently reached out to me to tell me about her new venture TheGoToMom TV where she publishes a series of videos for parents.  She has some great stuff on her site.  We chatted on the phone for a while and we discussed each of our business goals.  I will be checking out her site from time to time to learn new things about parenting.

I found that the most compelling reason to visit her site came from my phone experience with her.  The entire time she was on the phone I barely heard her baby in the background.  She told me that she has her baby with her all the time and most people don’t even know it because he is so quiet and keeps himself preoccupied.  Wow!  I think his great behavior might have something to do with his personality because I know that if I’m on the phone or trying to do something on the computer, my kids find every excuse to come ask me things and whine about something.  OK…do I have to admit that I might have something to do with that?!?  But just in case she has some advice on how to accomplish that feat, I’ll be sure to watch her videos.   She even has a video called Stop the Whining! 🙂

About The Go To Mom:

www.TheGoToMom.TV is a How to show for families with young children (newborn to 6). The ‘Go To Mom’ addresses parenting issues, discipline strategies, development activities and much more. The show also presents cutting edge research about the development of the young child’s brain. Call into the Talk Show and get your parenting questions answered live!  Various specialists will be featured periodically. Los Angeles based, former preschool teacher and licensed child development therapist, Kimberley Clayton Blaine, is the Go To Mom. Kimberley is dedicated to teaching parents how to adopt a positive child-rearing stance and to use their authentic self in deciding what type of parent they would like to be. This last decade, Kimberley’s main research efforts have been focused around the Impact of Trauma and Aggressive Child Rearing on Childhood Brain Development. Kimberley currently teaches Early Childhood Brain Development and Positive Discipline Strategies at UCLA Extension Education Department.

Kimberley is well known for her warmth, ingenuity and willingness to reach out to families in need of state of the art child rearing resources. In her own words, “I am here for children, every time I try to branch out I end up back in the preschool classroom – that is were I’m destined to be.”

Kimberley Clayton Blaine, MA, MFT
www.TheGoToMom.TV

Baby Manager on TV!
May 24 2007

On Wednesday, May 23, 2007 Baby Manager was the featured Cover Story on KEYE-42, the local CBS news station’s 5:00 pm news.  Originally they were scheduled to do the interview on Thursday, May 17 but as luck would have it, they had to reschedule.  Thank goodness, because as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, my son was home sick Tuesday-Thursday of last week.  They ended up coming out Monday, May 21 which gave us time to clean up the house and make sure everyone was reasonably in good health. 

It felt good to be back in the limelight again even if for a few minutes and it felt even better that the reporter, Elizabeth Dannheim,  did such a great job producing the story!  For not being a parent or a PDA/Smartphone user, she asked very relevant questions. She and her team did a wonderful job at pulling the whole story together.  Maybe by the time she decides she wants a baby we will have convinced her to get a Smartphone. 😀

To me the most amazing thing about the interview was that our kids behaved nearly perfectly.  They wanted some shots of me playing with the kids and the kids cooperated wonderfully.  They were polite and took turns playing with the toys….often it’s a grab fest with each of them shouting ‘it’s my turn!’  Their good behavior (for me) was the highlight of the interview.  I was thankful for the exposure for Babble Soft and Baby Manager but I was even more thankful for looking like a ‘mom whose kids listened to her’ (i.e., a good mom) for a little while (on TV no less) and that feeling was priceless!  Maybe we should have a TV crew in our house all of the time. 😀

Needless to say, I gave them a bunch of hugs & kisses and promised them some ice cream after dinner.  When dinner time came around, our son reminded me that I had told him he could have ice cream and my daughter started getting the illness that our son had last week so she was home sick two days this week.  The wonderful ups and downs of parenthood…. 😉