A Few Random Rants
Jan. 23rd, 2006 03:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lls_mutantToby is napping, and while I probably should be cleaning a toilet or mopping a floor or at least working on some real writing, I'm in the mood to rant. I like ranting. :)
Okay. So I was reading the cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer as I ate my lunch, and there was an article on kiddie gyms. Like, actual gym memberships for kids, to help combat obesity. My rant is two-fold:
1.) This is minor, but one of the quotes was something along the lines of "we're not just an activity, like a karate studio. We promote a lifestyle." Dude, have you ever been to a karate studio? At least, a good one? This black belt is ready to kick your ass for that little remark. Sheesh.
2.) Is it just me, or is it really sad that we as a society have gotten to the point where we need kiddie gyms?
Okay, I totally understand that childhood obesity- or any sort of obesity- is not a good thing. And perhaps it might seem like I'm not one to talk, given that I need to lose weight myself. But exercise isn't my problem. Exercise has never been my problem. I mean, I gained weight while I ran varsity cross-country. My problem is food, and that I have multiple food issues. So that's all beside the point. The point is that while I don't look forward to becoming a soccer mom or a swim mom or whatever, I will do it and do it happily. (Although I hope I can get a word in edgewise for martial arts. I've already told Howard that Dad can get Toby all his sports equipment except his first boxing gloves. Mom gets to get those!)
But it's not just soccer or swimming or team sports. I guess our kids just don't play anymore. When I was young enough that my parents were able to regulate what I ate really closely, I didn't have a weight issue at all, even though I was not an athletic child. I might not have been athletic, but I played hide and seek. I played on our jungle gym. We made obstacle courses and rode bikes and dug holes and made a fort out of the old dog pen. We'd rake leaves into piles and run and jump into them. We went sledding. It's not the activity level I have so much an issue with (although that's part of it), but the fact so many kids don't know how to play. My mom says half her fifth grade class doesn't know how to play kickball. That's just wrong.
I guess kiddie gyms are a good thing- it just makes me sad we need them at all.
And totally changing topics...
I haven't done one of these in a while and I feel like it.
1.) Remus doesn't play Quidditch, or even have much interest. Sure, I can TOTALLY understand that he might not have been on the House team, because that would draw attention to his absences. Plus, he is constantly described as rather sickly, although I bet he was in better health in Hogwarts because he got enough to eat. But the guy can likely play well enough for fun. He sits a broom just fine in OotP, and in PoA he quite enthusiastically roots for Gryffindor. In fact, there's a good chance that he was better at it than Sirius. We've never met the parents in canon, but even in my universe, where Damien Lupin is an emotionally inaccessable hard-ass a lot of times, who do you think would actually play Quidditch with their son: Mr. Lupin or Mr. Black? Yeah. I thought so too.
2.) During his Hogwarts years, Remus was very mindful of the rules and didn't want to break them. Pshw. Remus didn't want to get caught, not he didn't want to break them. Remus being upset in Snape's Worst Memory isn't about him being mad his friends are breaking the rules, it's about him being mad his friends are humiliating someone and being bullies. If it was a "victimless crime" (like sneaking around the castle after hours or out to Hogsmeade or whatever), Remus is right there with them.
3.) Moony the wolf, Padfoot the dog, Prongs the stag, and Wormtail the rat. No. Remus is Moony, Sirius is Padfoot, James is Prongs, and Peter is Wormtail. The boys refer to themselves by those nicknames. They may refer to their animal forms by that as well (excepting Remus), but I kind of doubt it. Sirius always says "when I become a dog" in canon, not "when I become Padfoot." Plus, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs wrote the map. Wolves, rats, dogs, and stags would find that very difficult as they don't have opposible thumbs.
4.) Remus the bookworm, Sirius the illiterate. I can totally understand the idea that Remus is a consummate reader. When you're cut off from other kids during your childhood (canon), it's likely. But whose passion is that freaking crossword puzzle? Who is acknowledged as one of the brightest boys ever to go through Hogwarts? Hint: it ain't Moony. (I will admit I've been seeing less of this cliche of late. I am also very, VERY pleased when I do see a fic where one of them reads and it's not Lord of the Rings. As far as I'm concerned, Tolkien could spin quite a tale, but he bored the pants off you while doing it. God, that man was a dry writer.)
5.) Remus drowning in chocolate. You know, I remember reading this article about women and chocolate, and how if you asked women to comment on chocolate their responses would be "essential to life as we know it" or "the only real food group". Men, if asked to comment on chocolate, would come up with "it tastes good" or "it's, um, brown?" Now, I love me my chocolate as much as the next girl, but Remus ain't the next girl. I don't mind him liking it, but some fics turn him into a slave for chocolate. Don't bother with Imperius on Remus- just offer him chocolate and he'll do anything you want. I think it was![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jlarinda who said there needs to be a fic out there where Remus is a diabetic. She's so right.
There's lots more, but I have limited time and a Charlie gen-fic on my desktop begging for my attention. (And a copy of Game of Thrones which might win out, except I did already go and read all of Dany's chapters. I gotta stop doing that. Plus I peeked ahead into Clash of Kings to see if Arya lives.)
Okay. Writing. Reading. Toilet-cleaning. So much to do before a little 11 pound bundle wakes up from his nap. And for some bizarre reason, I'm going to torture myself and watch Ishtar tonight. The things I do for Mutantdom. Plus I need to make a site or an archive or something so I can participate in the Remix- now that I actually have some oneshots to be remixed. Hmmm. I wonder what I'll chose as my safe story. Suggestions?
Okay. So I was reading the cover of the Philadelphia Inquirer as I ate my lunch, and there was an article on kiddie gyms. Like, actual gym memberships for kids, to help combat obesity. My rant is two-fold:
1.) This is minor, but one of the quotes was something along the lines of "we're not just an activity, like a karate studio. We promote a lifestyle." Dude, have you ever been to a karate studio? At least, a good one? This black belt is ready to kick your ass for that little remark. Sheesh.
2.) Is it just me, or is it really sad that we as a society have gotten to the point where we need kiddie gyms?
Okay, I totally understand that childhood obesity- or any sort of obesity- is not a good thing. And perhaps it might seem like I'm not one to talk, given that I need to lose weight myself. But exercise isn't my problem. Exercise has never been my problem. I mean, I gained weight while I ran varsity cross-country. My problem is food, and that I have multiple food issues. So that's all beside the point. The point is that while I don't look forward to becoming a soccer mom or a swim mom or whatever, I will do it and do it happily. (Although I hope I can get a word in edgewise for martial arts. I've already told Howard that Dad can get Toby all his sports equipment except his first boxing gloves. Mom gets to get those!)
But it's not just soccer or swimming or team sports. I guess our kids just don't play anymore. When I was young enough that my parents were able to regulate what I ate really closely, I didn't have a weight issue at all, even though I was not an athletic child. I might not have been athletic, but I played hide and seek. I played on our jungle gym. We made obstacle courses and rode bikes and dug holes and made a fort out of the old dog pen. We'd rake leaves into piles and run and jump into them. We went sledding. It's not the activity level I have so much an issue with (although that's part of it), but the fact so many kids don't know how to play. My mom says half her fifth grade class doesn't know how to play kickball. That's just wrong.
I guess kiddie gyms are a good thing- it just makes me sad we need them at all.
And totally changing topics...
I haven't done one of these in a while and I feel like it.
1.) Remus doesn't play Quidditch, or even have much interest. Sure, I can TOTALLY understand that he might not have been on the House team, because that would draw attention to his absences. Plus, he is constantly described as rather sickly, although I bet he was in better health in Hogwarts because he got enough to eat. But the guy can likely play well enough for fun. He sits a broom just fine in OotP, and in PoA he quite enthusiastically roots for Gryffindor. In fact, there's a good chance that he was better at it than Sirius. We've never met the parents in canon, but even in my universe, where Damien Lupin is an emotionally inaccessable hard-ass a lot of times, who do you think would actually play Quidditch with their son: Mr. Lupin or Mr. Black? Yeah. I thought so too.
2.) During his Hogwarts years, Remus was very mindful of the rules and didn't want to break them. Pshw. Remus didn't want to get caught, not he didn't want to break them. Remus being upset in Snape's Worst Memory isn't about him being mad his friends are breaking the rules, it's about him being mad his friends are humiliating someone and being bullies. If it was a "victimless crime" (like sneaking around the castle after hours or out to Hogsmeade or whatever), Remus is right there with them.
3.) Moony the wolf, Padfoot the dog, Prongs the stag, and Wormtail the rat. No. Remus is Moony, Sirius is Padfoot, James is Prongs, and Peter is Wormtail. The boys refer to themselves by those nicknames. They may refer to their animal forms by that as well (excepting Remus), but I kind of doubt it. Sirius always says "when I become a dog" in canon, not "when I become Padfoot." Plus, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs wrote the map. Wolves, rats, dogs, and stags would find that very difficult as they don't have opposible thumbs.
4.) Remus the bookworm, Sirius the illiterate. I can totally understand the idea that Remus is a consummate reader. When you're cut off from other kids during your childhood (canon), it's likely. But whose passion is that freaking crossword puzzle? Who is acknowledged as one of the brightest boys ever to go through Hogwarts? Hint: it ain't Moony. (I will admit I've been seeing less of this cliche of late. I am also very, VERY pleased when I do see a fic where one of them reads and it's not Lord of the Rings. As far as I'm concerned, Tolkien could spin quite a tale, but he bored the pants off you while doing it. God, that man was a dry writer.)
5.) Remus drowning in chocolate. You know, I remember reading this article about women and chocolate, and how if you asked women to comment on chocolate their responses would be "essential to life as we know it" or "the only real food group". Men, if asked to comment on chocolate, would come up with "it tastes good" or "it's, um, brown?" Now, I love me my chocolate as much as the next girl, but Remus ain't the next girl. I don't mind him liking it, but some fics turn him into a slave for chocolate. Don't bother with Imperius on Remus- just offer him chocolate and he'll do anything you want. I think it was
jlarinda who said there needs to be a fic out there where Remus is a diabetic. She's so right.There's lots more, but I have limited time and a Charlie gen-fic on my desktop begging for my attention. (And a copy of Game of Thrones which might win out, except I did already go and read all of Dany's chapters. I gotta stop doing that. Plus I peeked ahead into Clash of Kings to see if Arya lives.)
Okay. Writing. Reading. Toilet-cleaning. So much to do before a little 11 pound bundle wakes up from his nap. And for some bizarre reason, I'm going to torture myself and watch Ishtar tonight. The things I do for Mutantdom. Plus I need to make a site or an archive or something so I can participate in the Remix- now that I actually have some oneshots to be remixed. Hmmm. I wonder what I'll chose as my safe story. Suggestions?
