Wednesday, July 7, 2010

I am both tickled and a trifle disturbed.

Harley has his first cartoon crush....

(For those of you who like to sing along...)


Word up. It’s Wordgirl.

Word up. It’s Wordgirl.

Flying at the speed of sound, Vocabulary that astounds, From the planet Lexicon, Watch out villiains…….. here she comes!
When faced with a catastrophy We need a living dictionary, Her superior intellect Keeps the crime world in check. Go girl!
Huggy Face is by her side, Vocabulary a mile wide. She'll make sure that crime won’t pay And throw some mighty words your way.
Word up. It’s Wordgirl.
Word up! From the planet Lexicon, watch out villains, here she comes!

Yea, I know, I think too much, but the level of his obsession with this character is right up there with full blown addiction!  And believe me, as an ex bartender, I know from addiction ya'll.   

Then there is the idea that if you are going to be addicted to something, to my way of thinking, an educational show that revolves around words and their usage and that features great music and contains good quality life lessons.... is healthier than any addiction I've been known to have.  

One thing I'm not sure about yet, is it sometimes catches me off guard with the hidden humor... like one of the titles:  "A Hero, a Thief, a Store and It's Owner"  ... if you've ever watched "The Cook, the Thief, his wife and her Lover", you'd understand that while this is hilarious on the one hand... it has a very darkly slanted origin for a kid show title!  However, in order to have even heard of the movie, you have to be a certain kind of seeker/questioner and lover of film... and that appeals to me.    

Here is brief synopsis of the movie:The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is a 1989 French/British romantic crime drama written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard BohringerMichael GambonHelen Mirren, and Alan Howard in the titular roles. The film's graphic scatologicalviolent andnude scenes, as well as its lavish cinematography and formalism were noted at the time of its release.

Anyway, I'm mostly just babbling now.  I feel I just have to purge these things once in a while because I am sort of a secondary obsesser once removed.  Not by choice, but by the mere fact that I live under the same roof with a full fledged WG addict.  I have to find a way to live with our new affliction...

  • to get the damn song OUT of my head, ( it's what I hear all day because Harley sings it!), 
  • to try to be patient with the obsessive asking if it's "4 o'clock yet" beginning at oh, 10am... 
  • to deal with the frustration of having to make a WG action figure for him because they don't sell the damn things ANYWHERE!  (Ah Jojo, HELP!)  I don't know NOTHIN bout makin' no damn action figures!
  • to gently tell him for the 900th time to "step away from the screen or you'll hurt your eyes".
  • to allow his affliction without it becoming mine... (NO enabling please!)
So, does anyone know if there exists a 12 step program for the addictions of the sons? :-)

8 comments:

JoJo said...

Well, as you said he could have worse obsessions.....and learning new words is always a great thing!

Sorry about the theme song though. Here, let me help with a new earworm: "You'll look better in the clothes you wash in Woolite!" ;p

Not sure what to tell you about the action figure though. I haven't learned how to make those! hahaha Can you try the website? I bet they have all kinds of DVDs and CDs you can get.

Ms. Moon said...

I think you need an alanon type program for that.

Rebecca said...

My daughter watches that show, but it's not a favorite. I think it's lots more tolerable than some of the other cartoons they try to pawn off on kids these days.

Petit fleur said...

Hey Jojo,

Thanks for the Woolite jingle! I hadn't heard that one in years!!! I have a whole album of old jingles. It's so cool and I can't believe how many of them I remember and find comforting.

I checked several sites including schoolastic AND PBS and there is no such animal yet. They have DVDs a go go, but no action figures. I must be the only parent of a male child who wants a Word Girl action figure! He's something! I like that his favorite hero is a woman.

Petit fleur said...

M. Moon,

I believe you are right.

Petit fleur said...

Rebecca,

The more I watch it, it's sort of irritating. Too much like real life... The grown ups are all imbeciles!

I've realized too late that while it is kind of cute in some ways, it sends many mixed messages which I feel are not age appropriate for 4 y/o set. Oh well.

white rabbit said...

A crush on a cartoon character seems harmless to me. It's all about imagination! As are crushes generally. (I fessed up to my crush on Victoria Coren as you may recall)

All This Trouble... said...

I have a crush on Helen Mirren! I will still love her when she's 90!

Word Girl is a big hit at our house too. My kids fixate on the diapered monkey. Not sure which obsession is worse...