Frog In Boiling Water

There was a time when the news of the day was monitored by professional editors who decided what was factual based on research and what was not, what was worthwhile sharing with the public and what would cause unnecessary panic, what was reporting and what was editorial opinion.

And then came ratings. And those decisions moved to producers.

And then came tabloids and "A Current Affair". And gossip became news.

And then came radio talk shows and cable news programs. And the opinion of a single individual could reach millions and confuse celebrity with journalism.

And then came the Internet and blogging. And innuendo and untruths were afforded legitimacy by hacks with personal and/or malicious motivations.

I'm not suggesting that the truth isn't out there, but the filters are most definitely off, and with the death of newspapers around the corner, I cringe at the possible future of what we call "news".

"Where's Elvis?"

A few weeks back we were out at a Chili's for lunch and to keep Connor occupied we were having him point out things in the ubiquitous photos that cover their walls. "Where's the doggie?", "Where's the airplane?", etc.

Then, just for fun, while looking at one of the photos of a couple in Elvis wigs & glasses wearing Elvis T-Shirts, I asked Connor, "Where's Elvis?"

And, *BAM*, his hand shoots right to the picture of Elvis on the T-Shirt.

Shocked expressions followed by raucous laughter. Thinking this might be a fluke, I asked him to point out a few other things and then came back to the Elvis question and *BAM* right back to Elvis.

Now Misha and I have never taught him "Elvis". To our knowledge he's never seen Elvis and has no idea who Elvis is. He has a "Ten Little Elvi" book that was a gift, but since it's not a board book we haven't given it to him yet, so that can't be it.

So this begs the question...

Did someone teach our son Elvis without our knowledge... or is Elvis just something we're all born with.

Sounds like a great "In Search Of" episode to me.

Mulch

Misha and I (ok, mostly Misha) spread pine bark nuggets around the planters in the yard yesterday. Took 45 bags just to do the few spots in the front. Another 35 just to cover up the areas immediately around the plants in the back to protect them from the snow that everyone's saying we're going to get on Saturday. We're estimating another 50-80 to cover the rest of the beds in the backyard. I took a preventive dose of Motrin before going to bed. but still had a stiff back this morning (told Misha we need to start working out).

Days like this I really miss my old townhouse's 15x20 concrete pad.