Costume Nuance

Spooky season is upon us again. That means it is time to go get a costume, whether that be making it yourself or shelling out a chunk of money for a mass produced one. Either way, let’s all agree to do a little fortune telling for the night of our apparel. What I mean is, it is perfectly okay to wear your piece of lingerie as a costume, but only if it is an adult’s only occasion. Every year, inevitably, I will see someone that did not understand the word “sexy” on their costume they bought, wearing it to some school function or a family Halloween party. I am not trying to be a prude here. In fact, if I am honest, I like to look at the costume and everything it holds, but my wondering eye does not need to be able to do that at the yearly office gathering. I am sure the spouse of said persons is overjoyed at the prospect of their partner wearing something so revealing. However, everyone else should not have the opportunity. Although, I cannot only blame the people who cannot read a 4 letter word. I also have to cast shade on the industry of costume making. The “sexy” section of costumes has gotten larger and larger while the fabric contained within that cellophane package has gotten smaller and smaller. Amazon is full of different costumes made sexy. I personally would not give that much money for such a small costume, no matter what it would eventually be used for. This year, let’s all agree to kill two birds with one stone. We will make our own costumes, forcing the costume industry to bleed a little, while also making sure that our costumes are fit for any occasion so we are not literally caught with our pants down. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Cartoons Teach Lessons

 I am a full-grown adult. As such, I bet it is not on anyone’s bingo card for me that I enjoy cartoons. If they still showed them on local networks, my Saturday mornings would probably still be full of cereal and animated fun. However, as an adult, I also see things in reruns of cartoons and even some newer cartoons that I did not care about as a child. It is the fact that cartoons can be a learning device, not just random colorful television shows. They show us friendship, sharing, perseverance, strength, and even history, science, and general knowledge lessons. I am not just talking about children’s cartoons designed to do this. I personally learned what a didgeridoo was by watching Spongebob. I mean don’t get me wrong, I am not saying every cartoon, or even every episode of every cartoon, is this type of entertainment, but there are many episodes of many cartoons that fit this bill. One would be very surprised at how much we can learn from the names of the Pokemon, silly as some of them may sound. However, this is the point. It is not that we should never enjoy something just because. It is also not the case where just because something is nonsensical that it should be avoided because kids will not gain anything from it but a little mindless brainrot. Instead, we should take every opportunity to learn from anything we see, even if it is an odd television program about a walking, talking kitchen sponge and all of his friends. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.

Reading Because I Want To

This past year, I started reading for fun again. I felt the need to read books instead of just watching the movies. Mostly because I think the movies leave a lot to be desired in the art of storytelling. I have to admit, it took me a while to get back into a habit of reading as an extracurricular activity. Most of the time, reading is something that I only do for my job or to read the ingredient label on a new food, when I have to watch out for some allergen. So is the way of society as we live. We do not get to read for fun. Picking out books of interest with stories that we can get behind; or reading documentaries about people in history that we want to learn about. In our fast-paced, don’t-get-left-behind race to our inevitable finish line, we read what we must to get through and move on. Which I feel is why most people have no urge to read. They don’t think about reading something to enjoy, it is all about reading because we have to. There are also those people that think listening to books via audio is the same as reading, but I won’t get into that since it is probably another ramble where I talk about if it actually compares. No for me, I have to actually read it, slowly as I may do, since I am clearly out of practice. It is not so much speed reading as reading at an even pace without missing story plot. I have gotten quicker throughout the year though. My goal was 10 books by the end of it. I am at 7, and quicker at reading, so hopefully, the next few months will be smooth sailing (with slightly shorter books to meet my goal). However, if I am reading to get to a goal of a certain number of books, does that mean I am then reading because I have to? It is probably a question for someone else to answer. Moreover, I don’t want to discuss that question in this post because then I will be making you read because you have to get to the end of my rambling. It is more words than sense. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.