Sheltering the Kids

Bartee and I commonly have disagreements when it comes to the kids and "pop culture" for lack of a better term.  I am usually a little more liberal with what they can get away with in terms of clothes to wear, books to read or TV shows to watch.  That said, I feel most people would consider me a prude when it comes to these things.  I do shelter them from most of network TV because I find it to be inappropriate.  In the same sense, I enjoy watching TV as a family so there are a few shows that are not off limits in my opinion.  Wipe Out, Undercover Boss, The Amazing Race, Biggest Loser and American Idol to name a few.

On Sunday night we again found ourselves among the company of stray dogs.  Turns out, they belonged to a neighbor who was out of town for the evening.  While they were out enjoying the basketball game, the dogs managed to find their way out of the backyard through a hole in the fence.  One of our furry house guests was a pint-sized Lhasa, if I'm not mistaken.  The kids were enamoured with him, primarily because they are used to our larger-than-life beast of a dog.  So naturally they were fighting over who got to hold him and who held him longer and who held him on the couch vs. the dining room chair.  Yes, there was a lot of love for this dog.  So we decided to take turns on the couch for 10 minutes each while watching TV.  I sent them over to turn on Idol while I finished cleaning up from dinner.

Bartee was flabbergasted that I would send them over to watch it alone because it's one of those shows that he finds borderline appropriate for the kids.  I tried making a case... but inevitably ended up going to the couch to watch alongside them.  It was the results show and so the kids lost interest somewhere in the middle.  And it was about that time that I was hit with the Iggy Pop performance that sparked all the fleeting comments I had read on Facebook days before.

My goodness gracious, I see now why Bartee prefers to censor this show.  Now, don't get me wrong... I love me some Iggy Pop (well, I did back in the 80s) but seriously this performance really doesn't belong on primetime TV.  The fact that he's shirtless is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that are wrong with this performance.  To name a few of my favorites:  The gesture with the microphone at the beginning, his awkward approach and singing to Jennifer, the constant out of breath singing talking, and the odd positioning of himself on the edge of the stage to engage the crowd.

In case you missed it, you can find the whole thing right here.  You can thank me later.  :)