Why I Hate Disney & Teen Nick

This isn't anything new and I've actually blogged about this before, but sitcom kids have got it made.  I'm watching (not by choice) some Disney movie called "Girl vs. Monster" and this girl is talking to her parents like she's "running things."  She's calling her mom "ridiculous" and telling her parents that they're "ruining her life."

I think this type of action has been rubbing off on kids for a decade or two now.  Kids absolutely do not respect adults like they should, especially their parents.  I've seen parents literally go without so that their kids can enjoy themselves, yet it's never enough for the children.

Now, it's unfair of me to completely blame Disney or Teen Nick because they're just trying to make a buck.  They have no interest in raising your kids and I get that.  Sure, they may act like they care or they may market themselves towards kids, but they just want to be a successful business.  I blame parents for allowing them to watch these channels ad nauseam.  

Parents sit their children down in front of television for hours at a time without a clue to what they're watching. They think that the Cartoon Network is showing harmless cartoons, but instead they're showing adult cartoons. They think Disney is all Mickey Mouse Club, but instead, it's a intermittent display of disrespect being shown to grown ups. They think that Teen Nick is actually benefiting teens when all I tend to see is an inspiration to rebel against parents.

I find it hard to watch some of the shows on these channels because I grew up actually respecting my parents.  Imagine that.  It doesn't mean that at some point of my teen life I didn't rebel.  However, it was few and far between and still tactful when it occurred.  I never referred to my parents as "ridiculous" or said that they "were ruining my life" because I knew the sacrifices they made for me and my brother.  I also knew the consequences for showing disrespect.  Not just to them, but to any adult.  Consequences are a thing of the past now.

I knew that my father would rather be hunting instead of watching me at soccer practice.  I knew that my mom would have rather been fishing instead of working overtime to insure my brother and I got what we wanted for Christmas.  Because of this perspective, I never lost sight on who was in charge and I never ever intentionally disrespected either of them.

I'm so thankful to have wonderful god kids and I'm also glad that my lady has very respectful children.  It's very refreshing to be in their presence and feel the level of respect that they have for me.  To not have to go back and forth with them to get them to respond to the task at hand.

If you want to teach your kid to be worth something in society, then truly monitor what they watch.  If they watch something that isn't conducive for a young mind, then explain to them that Hollywood is make-believe. You may assume that they know this already, but trust me, many don't.

Do you think that today's kids are disrespectful because of unmonitored TV viewing?

Dead Beat Dads Can Suck It

First of all, let me say that I grew up in a two parent household, so "dead beat" doesn't apply to me.  And although I'm a childless man, I do love children.  Watching my god kids grow up over the past decade has been amazing to me.  Seeing how they learn to think and develop is awesome, to say the least.  However (in my best Yosemite Sam voice), "I hates a dead beat dad!"

There is nothing more pathetic than a dude who won't take care of his child(ren).  Wait.  I take that back.  There is something more pathetic: a guy who won't take care of his child(ren) and then goes out and gets someone else pregnant.  Notice that I've yet to use the term "man."  That's not an accident.

Now, I've heard horror stories of females using the child as a pawn in an emotional game with some guys.  But, those stories are few and far between.  A lot of guys want to act like that's the norm, but I'm old enough to know better.  There are very few women who wouldn't want their child to see their father.  Very few!  And even if she doesn't, then that's what the courts are for.  It may be difficult to get sole custody of a child, but it's usually not difficult to get visitation.  There aren't too many courts that would discourage a man visiting his child every other weekend.

Are there some bad chicks out there who play games with the child?  Of course.  But, that doesn't excuse a guy to stoop down to her level at the expense of the child.  Regardless of how much you hate her, handle your business.  Your kid needs your money and your time.  Even if she's constantly telling your kid that you're no good, your actions will make her into a liar every single time if you do the right thing.  At some point, that child will grow old enough to see the real deal.

Some guy recently made the news for not being able to pay child support on 22 kids by 14 different women.  First of all, I'm pretty sure that a majority of these women knew that this guy had more kids than an orphanage when they laid down with him.  So, I don't feel completely sorry for them, but the children didn't ask to be born into a family full of idiots.  Mandatory vasectomies will never be legal here in the U.S., but if they were, then this is the perfect case for it.  I would have snipped this dude at six kids.

If you are a guy and you're not paying your child support, then you are a loser.  I understand that there's an exception to every rule, but 99% of you are losers!

And the celebrities and athletes who cry about the ridiculous amounts of child support that they have to pay can cry me a river.  Boo-freakin'-hoo!  Although I agree that it's ridiculous to hit someone up for $10,000+ month in child support, these celebs/athletes know the deal.  It's not like they're hearing for the first time that child support for famous guys costs a huge amount.  But they love to cry "foul" when they go out and have five babies by six women.  Read that last sentence again and shake your head.  There are way too many examples of guys paying ridiculous amounts of money for someone to act "brand new" when they get taken to court for five digit child support amounts.  Wrap up and keep your cash to yourself.

Idiots.  Oh, by the way... Happy Father's Day!

T.O. cries on and off the field.

Great Customer Service from @AnotherBrokenEgg

People are always quick to bad mouth someone when they receive horrible service.  However, I'm going to do the opposite this time and talk about the great service that I received from a breakfast/lunch spot called "Another Broken Egg."

Well, it wasn't so much of the service as it was the courtesy.  I'm there with my girlfriend's kids and the youngest one is 11.  She orders a mug of hot chocolate and it comes out with the whipped cream on top looking pretty tasty!  Well, she's 11 and she doesn't realize that it's probably not a good idea to keep a mug of hot chocolate on the very edge of the table.  She accidentally bumps it and it goes crashing down to the floor.  Luckily, nothing broke and it didn't spill on anyone.  It just made a huge mess.

Because she's 11, she's terrified that she's going to be chastised by the employees of Another Broken Egg, but the complete opposite happened.  A server ran to our table, kneeled down beside her and asked, "Are you okay?"

I'm 41 years old and I've been in plenty of restaurants where something is spilled and most of the time, people don't say anything.  They just roll their eyes and grab a mop.  This guy's main concern was her well-being and everyone seemed to really appreciate that.  He asked her not to move and said that he would get someone to clean it immediately.  The second guy shows up with a mop and the first thing he does is ask her, "are you okay?"

By this time, I'm stunned.  Two people who know what customer service really means?  He cleans up the mess and by the time he finishes and walks off, the first guy returns with a brand new hot chocolate that looks just as good as the first one.

The 11 year old was relieved that she was not in trouble and also appreciative of the fact that everyone was so nice to her and realized that it was simply an accident.  I also felt appreciation for how well they treated her.  I wish I could remember the gentlemen's names, but it was over a week ago and I've forgotten.  But the ABE was located in Ridgeland, MS in The Renaissance.

I think this goes to show that Another Broken Egg is serious about their hiring process.  They hire people who actually care about their customers.  That is so rare these days and I applaud them for it.  Very few places do that now.  Chick-Fil-A has legendary customer service and if ABE continues doing what they're doing, then they will be synonymous with great service as well!

When is the last time you've gotten great customer service?

@RaceyRules Returns 6/19!

Season 2 starts on June 19th!

YouTube provides quite a few entertaining series to follow.  Some of the shows that I follow regularly are: "Awkward Black Girl," "Mortal Kombat: Legacy," and "How Men Become Dogs."  However, my favorite, by far, is "The Unwritten Rules."

"UR" is a show about a young, black woman named "Racey" who struggles to fit into Corporate America.  Not being allowed to just simply exist within the workplace and do her job, Racey has to put up with white co-workers who are completely uncomfortable around black people.  They question her hair, food items and even her belief in Santa Claus.

And to make matters worse, she also has to deal with black co-workers who think she's somehow abandoned their race to fit into "White World."  Because Racey has a better position in the company than they do, she is treated as if she thinks that she's better than her black peers.

The show is shot in a style similar to "The Office" and is based on a book called "40 Hours and an Unwritten Rule" which was written by Kim Williams.  Kim also writes for the "UR" web series and does a great job sifting through a plot in six to eight minutes for each episode.  On top of it always being an interesting story, there is plenty of comedy to entertain you in the process.  However, what makes the show so addictive on top of the storyline is that the characters are likable.  Each one brings something different to the mix that makes the show unique and worth following.

I can personally relate to the show because I've been in some of the situations Racey experiences.  I've been the solo office black guy who is too white for my own people, but too black for white people to feel completely comfortable around.  I've had the insensitive boss who didn't have a clue when she's offended someone.  And I've had the nosy co-worker who acts like she's my friend yet secretly hates everything about me.  Even for the things I've never experienced personally, I've seen them played out over the course of a couple of decades in the workplace.

Check out a sample of the show to get a feel for it and I'm sure you'll like it enough to follow.  Take a few minutes and give this show a chance and I guarantee that you'll be a fan. It's less than six minutes long.  Here's the first episode:



Some of the cast from "UR," Aasha Davis (Racey), Sara Finley (Kathy) and David Lowe (Peter) will be my guests on the Talk 2 Q Radio Show for a special edition on Tuesday, June 18th at 8 PM EDT / 5 PM PDT.  Be sure to join the chat room and interact with some of talent Hollywood has to offer!

Unwritten Rules, Season 2 Premieres Wednesday, June 19th at 12pm EST / 9am PST

Twitter: @RaceyRules

Facebook: facebook.com/theunwrittenrules

Website: theunwrittenrulesseries.com

Understand Teen-Aged Girls

This is their life: Instagram.  LOL!

Okay, so here's my response if you were to ask me the best way to understand teen-aged girls: don't even try it!  I don't even understand adult women, so there's absolutely no way that I can figure out a teen-aged girl.  Let me start from the beginning...

My girlfriend has teen-aged daughters and I hang out with them from time-to-time.  Listening to them talk to one another usually leaves my eyes crossed.  Not that it's difficult to understand what they're saying because they're intelligent kids.  It's just that their conversation is so random that it takes you around the world before you realize what's happening.

The life of a teen-aged girl changes almost every five minutes.  From "she's my best friend" to "I hate her" in less than an hour.  Or "I love my outfit" to "this makes me look lame" in 20 minutes.  Or "that's my song right there" for every single song that plays on the radio.  Posing for Instagram photos over 50 times in a day.  It's just too much for my 41 year old manly mind to grasp!

I grew up with just an older brother, so I never really had to deal with teen-aged girls aside from a few cousins who would visit from out of state every now and then.  And things were much different growing up in the 80's than they are now.  There was no fascination with being a "mean girl," the music on the radio was mostly about love or dancing, no social networking and there was absolutely no reality TV.

Now, each child thinks that she's a movie star thanks to Instagram, Vine, Twitter, etc.  Thanks to reality shows, kids learn how to develop cliques and feel "disrespected" by things that aren't even remotely disrespectful.  Wait.  I know some adults who are like that, too.

Anyhoo, it's very fascinating to talk to them and although I leave scratching my head, I do enjoy it.  It's a brand new element to me and it's captivating to know what goes through the mind of a teen-aged girl.  I thought that I would have to wait another 8-10 years for my god daughter to provide me with this "everything is a crisis" lifestyle, but it appears that I may have inherited it.  So far, I'm loving every minute of it.

Any advice for talking a teen-aged girl "off the ledge" for these modern day manufactured problems that they have?

Ink About It

Join the discussion

I remember in the 80's when the only people you saw with tattoos were gang members and soldiers. They used to represent something, but now, I'm not so sure. Now you see tattoos on kids not even old enough to vote.

Have tattoos lost their meaning? 

Kids are rushing to the tattoo parlor as soon as their old enough to go to get some ink. Why is that? Why is there a need for someone not even capable of making an important decision getting something permanently engraved on their body?

I personally think that the legal age for someone to get a tattoo should at least be 21. Even if you have a parent's consent, 21 should be the age. What makes it so bad is that the people who need jobs the most are the main ones doing it. The governor's son isn't getting tattoos. At least not visible ones. The mayor's daughter doesn't have a rose vine taking up 40% of her back. It's the inner-city and trailer park folks who are yet again separating themselves from success. They're the ones who have to get neck tattoos and ink sleeves.

Look, I'm not saying that tattoos are wrong. I'm just saying that not everyone is making the best decision when it comes to getting them. People need to think about it seriously before they do it.  That includes the people who work for Rapid Realty. Rapid Realty promised a 15% commission increase for those who get the company logo inked on their person. 40 employees did it and got the ink to increase their pay. The tattoos can be any size anywhere on the agent’s body, so it doesn't even have to be visible.

Uh, okay.  15% is a significant raise, but I'm not inking myself for a raise.  What if the company lays you off tomorrow?  I'd have to get some guarantees with my ink!

Have you ever gotten ink on a dare?