Xpinionated

The 39-year-old rap performer was arrested Thursday night at the couple’s Wellington home in South Florida. Police said his wife called 911, saying he had kicked and hit her during an argument over buying a bedroom set. She later told deputies he had only pushed her.

Again, as seen in some other posts I’ve made (of which I’m too lazy to find) about the media’s tendency to ensure rap is associated with as much negativity as possible, Vanilla Ice who has one successful rap song (which in actual hip hop circles is still debatable — like calling the Super Bowl shuffle rap) is identified as a rap performer in a story about domestic abuse.  It’s sad really.  Vanilla Ice, 18 years removed from a successful rap song and attempts at everything under the sun from heavy metal and acting to reality star(used oh so loosely) and current bull riding contestant on some celebrity (again used oh so loosely) CMT affair, is still considered a rapper. IT would be different if he at least had a current album that someone outside of his immediate family purchased but his current moneymaker is bull-riding on CMT.  So REALLY, the story should say ‘The 39-year-old bullrider. .  . .’.  Alas, that will not happen.  Since Brokeback Mountain’, cowboys have been really sensitive about their image….

A study of World of Warcraft players aged 12 - 83 has found that after some violent gaming, the players were actually more relaxed or tired than aggressive. 

“There were actually higher levels of relaxation before and after playing the game as opposed to experiencing anger but this did very much depend on personality type,” said Jane Barnett, who headed the Middlesex study. Translation: If you’re an aggressive jackass before you play a video game, you’ll still be one after; and video games don’t magically turn peaceful people into violent offenders.

Hopefully, more studies like this one will make it to the mainstream media so every violent outburst doesn’t fall at the feet of gaming.   I dare wager that the same could be proven of music and other forms of media.  Though, these forms of media do effect us, the foundation for violence toward others is built on something more than an album, video game, or shoot ‘em up movie. 

An Australian couple has come forward admitting their incestuous relationship including the birth of two children, one of which died on congenital heart problems.  The other child is now nine months old. 

The 61 year old father/grandfather has been having relations with his 39 year old daughter since they fell in love back in 2000 after 30 years of separation.

A judge has ordered that they stop doing the nasty and also given them a fine for their ‘behavior’. 

Oddly enough, I don’t even have a funny joke for this.   It’s kind of disgusting, well not kind of, it is disgusting.  On the other hand, it’s been eight years since they started so they may ‘love’ each other but I still think there is a huge psychological research project here just waiting for the undertaking. 

Stephen King recently wrote an article at EW.com concerning his take on violence and video games spurred by a Massachusetts’ bill that would ban violent games from being sold to anyone under 18. 

What really makes me insane is how eager politicians are to use the pop culture — not just videogames but TV, movies, even Harry Potter — as a whipping boy. It’s easy for them, even sort of fun, because the pop-cult always hollers nice and loud. Also, it allows legislators to ignore the elephants in the living room. Elephant One is the ever-deepening divide between the haves and have-nots in this country, a situation guys like Fiddy and Snoop have been indirectly rapping about for years. Elephant Two is America’s almost pathological love of guns. It was too easy for critics to claim — falsely, it turned out — that Cho Seung-Hui (the Virginia Tech killer) was a fan of Counter-Strike; I just wish to God that legislators were as eager to point out that this nutball had no problem obtaining a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Cho used it in a rampage that resulted in the murder of 32 people. If he’d been stuck with nothing but a plastic videogame gun, he wouldn’t even have been able to kill himself.

This fatherhood thing truly is amazing.  I can’t see how any man would not want to be around his child.  I can’t see how any man wouldn’t do anything for his child.  My son can bring me out of a funk with a simple smile or shout, both of which are just as likely to occur at any random moment. 

This morning he introduced a new game showing his mischievous side.  When I’m in the closet searching for another extraordinary Xpinionated outfit, lil Man will either come in there with me or close the door.  He used to close the door and just wait outside.  This morning though he closed the door and all I heard was the pitter patter of little feet off to do something they inevitably weren’t supposed to be doing.  So I turn the handle to let myself out and those some pitter patters come back in a blaze.  He peeks around the door, smiles, and shuts it.  And again, pitter patter.  Back and forth we go, shut and run, run and smile and shut.  Until finally, he opens the door and I throw a shirt of his head making him giggle but also giving me time to get out of the closet (the Logo channel would be so proud!).  Things like this can make any ordinary day something a bit more special. 

For the last three nights, he has decided he is ready for bed.  He lets us know by grabbing one of our fingers to take us on a journey.  We say, ‘Devin do you want to go up up?’  Meaning are you ready for bed and he leads us to the stairs.  Now this isn’t to say that he doesn’t still fight the sleepies but the fact that between 8 and 9, he knows it’s getting close to counting sheep time.  He probably thinks since he has more freedom upstairs since we let him rummage in a couple more rooms than we do downstairs, that if he can just get to the cusp of freedom things will be just as he likes them:  just out of sight of us but not so far that he doesn’t know where we are.  But we think, if we can just get him to sleep……..we usually win……for now.