Day 4- And Mars Needs Moms: a Diatribe

I told my sister (and fellow user) Sue that I was into day 4 of laying off digital games, and she was amazed. "Are you giving it up for Lent?" she asked. Damn, it is that time of the year. I was just going to see how long I could manage it, but here before me is a ready-made milestone. Lent is, what?—40 days? Can I abstain that long? What the hell, let's give it a go.

I don't think I've been at all more productive without games; there isn't heaps of time laying about now for me to use, but there isn't the crutch for procrastination that I used to rely on. I did read a magazine. Planted some parsley. And I feel like the little chunks of time I used to spend flinging Angry Birds has in some measure accumulated into a larger piece of time; I have cleared away space and gotten things taken care of whereas before they might start to pile up...

Oh shit, I've drifted into Tetris metaphor. 

It's going to be a long 40 days.




Okay, can we talk about this?

Why does this movie title piss the hell out of me? I find myself giving the finger to the billboard every time I pass it by in my car.  Yes, yes, I know it's based on a book of the same name (by Berkley Breathed, no less) but I just find it infuriatingly outdated. What, Mars needs moms because only moms can be nurturing parents? No one but moms are fit to raise children? Was this movie produced by the National Organization for Marriage?

Mars, please take this Mom....

Is it just me? Have I just become Old Cranky Gay Dad ("Hey you kids, keep off my lawn!") or is anyone else offended by its implications?

Maybe it's a symptom of withdrawal.