South Park Gets Me

The other day I was sitting in front of the television and flipping channels trying to find an NBA game to watch, when my significant other complained to me about having to watch another basketball game! The irony is that basketball has always been a big part of her life, but for me it is pure entertainment. However, what dawned on me at the moment of her complaint, was not how much basketball I really do watch, but what other television programming I watch on a regular basis. When I added it all up, I watch House and The Dog Whisperer when they are on, and I occasionally pause for a few minutes on The Girls Next Door, but pretty much I watch South Park all week long. There is something unique about how Matt Stone and Trey Parker poke fun at everything and how they absolutely connect with people who grew up in the 80’s. While I fondly remember my teenage heavy metal music, the emotional aches of childhood, and the heartbreaks of many girls I thought I loved, only South Park lets me revisit them and make me laugh at the same time. When Stan broke up with Wendy and became all depressed, I too remember that moment when I started dressing in black and writing poems about how evil life was.

Even more shockingly true are all those little life lessons that South Park so easily answers like: what age is the right age for sex? why are drugs bad? and why is toilet humor funny? Because it is! I would have to say that no other show on television keeps me as honest as South Park. Every time I get a little too full of myself, I watch an episode and am reminded that the worse thing you could be as an adult is a hypocrite.

No McDonalds

Here’s a helpful parenting tip I wanted to pass along to young parents. Every time we were about to eat out as a family, my four year old kept insisting on going to McDonald’s. Not because the food is incredibly delicious, but because McDonald’s has the market cornered on kids. Their Happy Meal toys are a great incentive for kids and a terrible curse on parents who deny their kids the privilege of McDonald’s fast food. As an adult, let me just say that the McDonald’s menu is not entirely suited to our dietary needs. After constantly being the bad guy for telling my kid no, I decided to just tell him that McDonald’s was closed for the winter season and that they would reopen in the Spring. For a few months, my kids never asked for McDonald’s and they even started to like other restaurants that served a more adult menu.

Now I’m sure some people are saying that lying to your kids is just plain wrong, but I would argue that all that advertising on television aimed at kids is not entirely trustworthy. My kids eventually realized that McDonald’s wasn’t closed, and at that time I told them why I did not want them eating McDonald’s all the time and by this time they were older and understood my intentions.

Youthful Intentions

Diego came home from school yesterday and insisted we could start a band and play guitar. He has been somewhat intrigued with music since we saw Jack Black’s movie (Tenacious D in \’The Pick of Destiny\’). As for me I picked up Camille (a black Fender Squier that I bought in college) and started jamming a few power chords. The guitar needs some fixing, but it’s custom Carvin pickups still sound great after all these years. Both kids have been showing an interest since I started strumming every now and then. In fact, I ordered a new Valve combo amp and it should be getting here today, so it will be interesting to see how good Camille sounds on a moderately good amp. My new guitar is still backordered and won’t be arriving any time soon. It’s going to be a Gibson Les Paul Studio, the same one from my wishlist actually. I’m pretty stoked about it.

The whole guitar thing has made me feel a little rebellious at times. I haven’t really listened to music in a long time, and I think it is about time I make more accommodations in my life to enjoy music, and I’m not just talking about buying an iPod, but really record some notes and create something. The artist in me isn’t dead yet. Life can’t be about computers and politics, it has to be about something better than ourselves.

On another sidenote, I’d like to welcome Kevin, who posted his first web blog post here on Olaguez.net. Kevin is a good friend and I look forward to reading his take on things. Until next time, Keep On Rocking In The U.S.A.