Sinner's Alley Happy Hour (Part 1)

Parent Cafe Parent Cafe
2281

<p>"The school's ideal model for a student was female, compliant, and afraid of people in frocks, none of which was our son."</p>

<p>My S went to 5th and 6th grade at a Waldorf school. Female and compliant were the keys. My son the budding stand up comic had some tough days "'it to the man", or should I say "stickin' it to the earth mother."</p>

<p>He told one teacher she needed to "chill out"
He introduced himself to a potential student and her parents as "Senior Funkypants."
Even though he knew no media was allowed on clothing etc, off he would go in his favorite nintendo t shirt, only to return later in the day wearing it inside out.</p>

<p>My D is graduating valedictorian with an unweighted 4.0 expecting a low paying future in the world of fine arts.</p>

<p>S will skate through HS, go somewhere OK for college, have a great social time of it iwhile there, get a job in sales and make a mint....</p>

<p>takes all kinds...</p>

<p>Slugster, how about "Surviror: OTA"? </p>

<p>Kids in a house with nothing but over the air broadcast television. No cable, satellite, dvd, video game or internet...</p>

2282

<p>
[quote]
Kids in a house with nothing but over the air broadcast television. No cable, satellite, dvd, video game or internet...

[/quote]
Starting a betting pool on how long til meltdown for the under 18 males-of-the-species..... Or, will they rise to the occasion and - uh - open a book? Or, clap-of-thunder/strike-of-lightning, look each other straight in the eye and actually, duh, converse? :p</p>

2283

<p>Hahhahaha, m&sdad! :D Senior Funkypants! S</p>

2284

<p>Slugg
I read your post and felt such empathy. How outrageous for a principal to humiliate a child in such a fashion! It stifles all creativity. I do hope you reported this person to shcool board.
It so reminds me of something similar with my son, and an evil principal. To this day, I regret not reporting him to Child Social Services Dept for verbal abuse.</p>

2285

<p>Slugg - you are telling us that SluggS is irreverent, funny, and spontaneous? How could that be:)?</p>

2286

<p>Spooky S similarities...</p>

<p>"it's his sister's fault because she dressed him in a pink dress": </p>

<h2>check! sequins, a giant 80s pink hair bow, rouge and lipstick.</h2>

<p>"seized the opportunity to entertain a large audience, went out on stage, commandeered the microphone, and launched into a Catskills-style, junior comedy schtick"</p>

<h2>check! did stand up comedy in the school talent show. "Two shows nightly! Tip your waitress!"</h2>

<p>"the boy is gifted"</p>

<h2>Check!</h2>

<p>Today he took a camcorder out and ask random people on the street if they would rather be a pirate or a ninja, and why.</p>

<p>Was this something for school? No, just one of life's pressing questions he was looking for the answer for...</p>

<p>After hearing SB's bizarre tales from the HS underground, I am sitting here shaking knowing I have another five years.</p>

2287

<p>Yes, I believe I just heard my intro line...</p>

<p>Well, I spent the evening tonight at a very special film festival with my son. He had a picture in competition. Cannes, you might wonder? No... Tribeca?...Venice...? No. This was a film festival of skateboarder flicks done by a bunch of young Southern California dudes when they should have been studying their SAT words or mowing the lawn.</p>

<p>Let me set the scene for all of you who could not attend.</p>

<p>First the dramatis personae... 94% male, primarily 12-20 years old with a smattering of ultra small fry under 9 (some younger siblings, some skate flick-auteur wanna-bes.)</p>

<p>Here is the basic look: brushy, vaguely chlorinated-looking, streaky blonde, chin-to-shoulder length hair, un-parted, and flopping straight down in longish bangs. Extra points awarded for tinges of last summer's green, and further bonus points if hair has not been brushed other than with fingers in 24 hours. Misc other, head area: hats quite popular, especally a hat worn beneath the hood of a hoodie sweatshirt.</p>

<p>Kids were tanned with many nasty looking scabs about the palms, knees, shins, and elbows. </p>

<p>Interestingly, given the lock-step devotion to the same hairdo, several possibilities existed for clothes: Baggy gangsta wear, groovy faux-old-fart plaid madras shorts, or ultra-skin-tight British punk rocker jeans, circa 1980. </p>

<p>85% of shoes are huge and loosely laced, 14% converse or vans, 1% flip flops or bare feet.</p>

<p>Lots of silver rings worn on fingers other than ring fingers.</p>

<p>Note: extremely difficult to tell sex of some of the 12-13 year olds due to above-mentioned hairdos and very baggy sweatshirts. Assuming girls would have more sense so they must be male with no hormones yet. </p>

<p>It was so quintesentially a "California" scene you thought Spicoli could appear at any moment. And like Spicoli, the kids were very sweet; they clapped for the crappy films, they made over the little kids, etc.</p>

<p>One funny thing was noting that, like me and H, almost every other adult present looked quite standard "taxpaying yuppie"; of course someone has to buy the video camera, the tapes, and Final Cut Pro. ;)</p>

<p>But the good news was he finally finished the film, entered it in the contest and he won a prize! Okay so it is not a Westinghouse, a Moorehead or whatever Mudgette is about to get, but it means more to him right now than any of those would...</p>

<p>Yeah-- I was proud too. Though, if I could, I would certainly prod him in different direction, he refuses to be prodded. He does what he loves, 24/7, and he does it well. He has friends of every age, from every race and economic circumstance, and I actually really like the ones I've met. He navigates the city on public buses. He fills his time with a creative passion instead of video games.</p>

<p>Other than that broken arm (see S.A., page 45 or so?) skateboarding has been pretty good for him.</p>

<p>I'll buy each of you a Harvey Wallbanger if anyone knows how to make one!</p>

2288

<p>That says alot, to make it, finish it and enter it! Bravo! Dreamers have to be doers as well. </p>

<p>Mine had the hardest time getting that concept...lots of starts and no finishes in the film world with the exception of one. But this past week he also has learned as well and got a film done and presented and his 15 minutes of fame so to speak!</p>

<p>: )</p>

2289

<p>
[quote]
Let me set the scene for all of you who could not attend.

[/quote]
SB, thanks to you, I feel as though I was there. I see a future for you in screenplay - or, wait... isn't that already part of your past ;)? SBson has the right genes, so when the day comes.... clue us in on his name so we can say we knew him when.</p>

2290

<p>That's shibby and kewl and all that, SBmom. :cool: Can't get much more Cali than that. This is what the Academy Awards would look like if it were run by 13-year-olds.</p>

<p>I've been pondering m&sSon's pirate or ninja question. Pirates drink grog and sail around marauding and pillaging...Ninjas dress in black and are agents of espionage and assassination. Tough choice. Ninja, I guess. The idea of throwing multiple-pointed blades over the fence at EvilNeighbors appeals to me. We're too far from the ocean to be very good pirates. We have a Jolly Roger flag, but no galleon. It's just not the same driving around in our hybrid Escape. :p</p>

2291

<p>You all know, I take it, that if you take a series of phys ed classes at MIT (sailing, rowing, pistol, fencing, and ropes), you graduate with a "pirate degree" sticker on your diploma?</p>

<p>(PS: joke.)</p>

2292

<p>Rescuing our haven from the middle of page 2. "Endangered" is not the right species for Sinner's Alley. :p</p>

2293

<p>Couldn't agree more. Really missed my sluggbugg fix today.</p>

2294

<p>Sluggy can occasionally be found in a puddle of pee, where several of us hijacked a perfectly good thread and turned it into a perfectly good adjunct Sinner's Alley, leaving the original to slide onto page 2. Oops, our bad.</p>

<p>Quick, what's a good drink when a huge winter storm (rain only, this is the left coast) is crashing around us?</p>

2295

<p>isn't there one called a Hurricane?</p>

2296

<p>Hurricane. Found several recipes, all seem to involve rum and lots of exotic fruit nectars or juices. Yowza.</p>

<p>In honor of citygirlsmom's comments about blond hair on the autism thread:
On the drive home today, TJFH glanced down and noticed a button was undone on his shirt. "Oh man, was that open all day?!" As he buttoned it, he looked over at me and said, "I'm thinking of shaving my chest hair." (??) My look must have been confused, since he made a complicated contortionist face and said, "Oh come on, it's brown. It's UGLY." (He is a blond. His older brother is a platinum blond.) I observed that <em>I</em> have brown hair, and he then decided he would not shave his chest after all.</p>

<p>I have to note that there are approximately 7 hairs on his chest at this time. Big worry, huh.</p>

<p>Maybe I'll have some chocolate tonight instead of booze, whadya think?</p>

2297

<p>chocolate and champagne</p>

<p>my D, a natural blond, whose hair is not as naturally highlighted as it used to be (we live in fog land), and she isn't outdoors as much, well
she told my H she wasn't a virgin anymore...yep, she highlighted her hair, so she wasn't a pure natural blond, of which she had been so proud</p>

<p>after the look of shock on his face wore off, and my dd stopped giggley, he complimanted the very expensive highlight job</p>

<p>good thing he doesn't know how much it cost</p>

2298

<p>Mootmom, and to that all I can say is that if you have chest hair of any color please keep it to yourself and under wraps.</p>

2299

<p>Just to clarify: I have brown hair on my <em>head</em> (which is rapidly turning a lovely grey-streaked heather); I was pointing out to him that brown hair can be quite attractive. (It is TJFH who has a minimal number of brown chest hairs which he appears to be obsessing over.) Check?</p>

2300

<p>LOL, I don't believe! A hygiene topic we've never discussed in Sinner's Alley...body hair! We've spent plenty of time talking about the hair on our heads, as well as the various hair creations our kids have come up with. </p>

<p>I visibly cringed the last time SluggS bleached his beautiful, dark brown, naturally curly locks. It was a real shock! He looked like a white vampire. He might as well have been wearing a pair of white contact lenses to eliminate any chance of being recognized as a human. I think I felt my eyeballs protrude a little bit from their sockets. Then, he cackled and ran out of the room. </p>

<p>But, body hair...not butt body hair...I mean, maybe we should have some rules. Facial hair, okay. Chest hair, albeit sparse or extra furry, fine. I can take it. I don't mean I can take anyone's chest hair by waxing or plucking, 'cause I'd rather not. Hairy legs, no problemo. Pits, okay. Every other place else is off-limits!! We're not a bunch of 20-year old college students who might be entertained by that discussion! Okay, I'm thinking of my D's boyfriend. :D</p>