Commercially Viable.

When I was little, I was obsessed with the idea that there were other, more beautiful children in the world who wore brightly colored clothing, smiled all the time, smelled like laundry, and were more loved by their parents than I was. The real kicker for me? I would never be one of those children. There probably were/are kids in the world that fit the above description, but it seems like a ridiculous thing for a little girl to spend time thinking about.

I'm pretty sure that this belief system was founded upon the following things:

1) The Clorox 2 commercial that ran in the early '90s that featured such children skipping around in Converse high tops, wearing various blinding colors (which had very very clearly been washed 1 million times without fading), while someone with a Jamaican accent sang a song that went "Jackie's whites are whiter, Bucky's blues are brighter, and Nikki is pretty as a rainbow!"

2) The Cotton Commercials. They still make me weepy.

3) Hanna Andersson pajamas. I have no idea how this line of clothing even entered my consciousness, since I never had any of them (they're just a little pricey), and it's not like there were commercials for them (I obviously watched a lot of TV when I was a kid).

C'mon though. How could you be a bad person when you're wearing these?


What were your totally unfounded beliefs when you were little?

YA

To get the ball rolling I am posting two times.

I thought that this question might generate some interest:

What are your favorite YA books? Also, what qualifies as YA as opposed to a long kids' book? Is there a difference? What I really want to know is if Brian Jacques' Redwall books count, because if so, those are definitely my favorite.

Girl, Don't Do It

And by "it" I mean see "Changeling"-- it was so bad, you guys. Emily and I were truly shocked and devastated by its awfulness. There were many things wrong with this movie, but I think the single thing that bothered us the most was a long, gratuitous death scene. It verged on emotional pornography. It didn't do anything for the movie, and it was really upsetting. Ugh. So this made me think-- what movies have I seen that depict death (as in, an actual scene of someone/something dying) in a thoughtful, compelling way? What movies make watching the death feel necessary, if not completely pleasant?

Laugh if you will, but I think my #1 favorite death scene of all time is in "Terms of Endearment". I cry my life away every single time I watch it, but it isn't sappy or pat. It's abrupt and pedestrian, just like most people's deaths, and I love it. I'm sorry if I just ruined that movie for anyone. This post could lead to a lot of movie ruining.