Okay, yes. I realize I’m a little — maybe even a lot — late to the party, but I just went and saw Disney’s The Princess and the Frog with Zippy the Monkey Boy, Speed Racer and two nephews. It was actually pretty fantastic.

I went into this movie, Disney’s first movie done with traditional [...]]]> by Richard

Okay, yes. I realize I’m a little — maybe even a lot — late to the party, but I just went and saw Disney’s The Princess and the Frog with Zippy the Monkey Boy, Speed Racer and two nephews. It was actually pretty fantastic.

I went into this movie, Disney’s first movie done with traditional pen-and-ink animation rather than computer animation, with a little bit of trepidation. They kept trumpeting how this was their first African-American princess and I was worried that burden would bring with it a heavy handed helping of moral lessons that would drag down any possibility of a good story.

Dude, was I wrong. This thing was great.

For starters, the racism of the 1920s South is shown with subtlety, rather than a sledgehammer. The film shows the luxury of the white citizens, while the black citizens live in a more run-down manner. And not because they don’t work hard. The princess, Tiana, is first shown as a young girl, bonding with a young, rich white girl while Tiana’s mother does sewing for the rich girl. Tiana and her mother take a long ride home to their small house, where they meet Tiana’s father, a renowned chef who wants to open his own restaurant, a goal Tiana shares.

Being a Disney movie, one of the main character’s parents have to either be dead or die in the movie and, this time, it’s the father. He’s passed on a powerful legacy to his daughter, which is also the theme or meta-message of the movie. Wishing on a star is full of baloney. If you want to get anywhere, you have to work hard and be better than the next guy. A fantastic message, and a surprising one, coming from a company that tells little dudes to “wish upon a star.”

And, of course, being a Disney movie, it wouldn’t work without some talking animals, a funny sidekick (in this case a firefly) and a mustache-twirling, cackling bad guy. Oh, and Tiana and the titular frog have some adventures in the swamp and also witness great beauty, as well as falling in love. It’s all right. Tiana is a frog at the time.

Dig a little deeper. Work a little harder. Not bad lessons to learn. And it doesn’t hurt that this one is actually pretty funny as well. For the moral alone, I’m giving this one five (5) dudes out of five. Nice work, Disney.

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Here in North Carolina, today is a virtual holiday. It’s the day all three of my little dudes go back to school following the Christmas Winter Break. It was two weeks of fun, frolicking and fast food. It was also two weeks of a crowded house, cranky dudes and just a tiny bit of [...]]]> by Richard

Here in North Carolina, today is a virtual holiday. It’s the day all three of my little dudes go back to school following the Christmas Winter Break. It was two weeks of fun, frolicking and fast food. It was also two weeks of a crowded house, cranky dudes and just a tiny bit of crushing pressure.

Either way, I think I need a vacation from my vacation.

Actually, it was pretty nice. We were in Dallas to visit with my dad’s side of the family, we had my wife’s, known to me as She Who Really Enjoys A Gift, family over at our house a lot, and even a visit from my brother-in-law and his family. The only thing missing was a visit with my mom and she’s coming up this month to see the little dudes play sports.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a couple of weeks. The only issue is that I like, no, need, to have a little alone time now and then. Not something I was likely to get around this many family members. In fact, other than the toilet, I can’t think of any time I wasn’t in eyeshot of a family member. Yeah, I spent a lot of time in the toilet.

Following this vacation, I think I can recommend for all us dudes that, when this sort of thing happens, we need to schedule out some time to renew our vigor and vim. That is, some time alone.

Which is something I’ll finally get today. With the little dudes off to school, or back to the salt mines as they like to say, and my better half back to work, I’ll have time to myself. Time to, well, work. Oh, and join the flood of moms and dads who hurl themselves into the gym this time of year to start resolutions they’ll have forgotten about by April. I’m telling you, it’s tough to get a spot on a elliptical machine during the winter/early spring months.

Still, it’s something I’m willing to go through. And so should you. Exercise is a great idea any time, but especially so when you need to get rid of a little stress, a certain tightness in your shoulder muscles from hunching your shoulder up around your ears in anticipation of the next scream, shout or squeal.

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So, everyone knows it’s flu season. And, of course, you all know that the end of the world is coming, courtesy of H1N1, the villain also known as swine flu. I mean, it’s got to be the plague to end all plagues. We’ve got people walking around wearing surgical masks on their faces out [...]]]> by Richard

So, everyone knows it’s flu season. And, of course, you all know that the end of the world is coming, courtesy of H1N1, the villain also known as swine flu. I mean, it’s got to be the plague to end all plagues. We’ve got people walking around wearing surgical masks on their faces out in public. And we all know that those cotton masks will filter our any bad thing that attempts to get in. (That last, just in case you’re terminally insensitive, was sarcasm.)

Still, it might be a good idea to try not to get the swine flu. I hear it really can give you a bad make over.

or not.

Anyway, the H1N1 virus is, in fact, a real disease thing. Basically, what it means is that, if you’re healthy and don’t have a compromised immune system, you’ll get a fever and one or more of the following symptoms: cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, runny nose or tiredness. Also, as an added bonus, you might also start throwing up or getting diarrhea.

Sounds like fun, no. Well, there are some simple ways you dudes and your little dudes can defend yourself from the virus. The easiest and best way to keep the virus away is to simply wash your hands with antibacterial soap as often as you can. If you wash your hands during the day, you’ll help slough off the germs that want to make you sick.

Additionally, you should try to avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, since those are areas through which germs can get into the body. You should also try to avoid being around people who have a fever. (Can’t we dump them in some sort of containment camp somewhere? No? Oh, well. Let’s just shun them.) Finally, and sort of obviously, don’t drink out of the same cup or bowl, or use the same utensils as other people.

If, even with all these precautions, and the magic facemask, your little dude still contracts the flu, the most important thing you can do is to keep the little dude home from school. Anyone with a fever should stay away from school or work for at least 24 hours after the fever breaks. That way, it will be harder to spread the germs.

And, finally, if you can find it anywhere, you should probably get a vaccine against the seasonal flu or the H1N1 flu. They are two different vaccines and each only works on one flu bug. They both come in either a mist you snort through your nose or a needle-type shot.

So, please, go ahead and follow these suggestions. I mean, I really don’t want to be around you when you get sick. So, let’s keep me healthy, shall we? It is all about me, right?

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