"You watch that?! It's a kiddy cartoon!"

[lordlundar]

Of course, that's now bringing up the mental image of a vampire Spidey feeding on the crooks like an actual spider instead of leaving them for the cops to arrest. I don't know whether that would be an awesome comic book or a horrifying one.

Well, there was the man spider story. That came pretty close.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

One of the things that I've noticed is that we are living in a series of generations that have learned that just because we grow up and take on more and more responsibilities in our adult lives, we DO NOT have to give up childish things.

Take a look at the stereotype of the father figure from the 1950's. This is a stereotype that lasted on sitcoms as far as the early 1980's and possibly the '90's in some rare occasions.

But you have this stereotype of the father coming home, sitting down with the news paper and a pipe, eating dinner. maybe playing catch with his male child and/or ignoring his female child (since as a man he obviously can not relate and therefore passes her off to the mother), spouts off some parental advice and then goes to bed.

This is an image that many people grew up with and this is how they thought their lives should be. These are often times the people who look at us and say "That's something a child does. A grown adult doing that. For shame!"

But they are also the people who are unhappy with their lives since as far as they are programmed, the only joy in life is to work their asses off at a job they barely tolerate until they're old enough to retire, spend a few years fishing, and end up in God's Waiting room hoping their children remember to visit once before they snuff it and that the nursing staff doesn't put too many cigarette burns in their arms out of spite.

Well maybe not that bad, but you get the point.

But more and more you're finding people born in the '60's and later (with a number of more enlightened people born earlier on also included) that managed to realize that we DON'T HAVE to give up the things that gave us joy simply because we're adults.

Yes we have families to support. Yes we have jobs we must do to earn money. Yes we have to pay taxes. But we have realized that there is nothing that is stopping us from having fun. We can still watch cartoons. We can still futz around with Lego's. We can still invite friends over and watch bad movies and poke fun at them ala MST3K style. We can still whip out the gaming console du jour and play games. We can invite over the nerd herd and play Dungeons and Dragons.

Yes we have our responsibilities as adults, but gorramit we don't have to drive ourselves into drinking or prescriptions of valium. We can still PLAY.

And that is no bad thing.

[firecat88]

....Mongo...I think I love you. Is that weird to say?

[Andara Bledin]

....Mongo...I think I love you. Is that weird to say?

Not at all. That was a brilliant post.

My mother was one of the older generation that never stopped playing. She watches cartoons, plays video games, and enjoys toys just as much as my brother and I do, and as a result, neither of us were raised with the expectation that being an "adult" meant that you had to have some pointless bias against anything that was enjoyed when one wasn't.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

This seems appropriate here:

Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.

[Miss_Maple_Leaf]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZLd_tSRIBE

"You can't prove anything!"

That was brilliant. I'll have to check out some of their other videos.

And Ipecac Drano, I think I have to agree with you. That Spider-Man comic would be awesome. If you do decide to give it a shot, I'd like to check it out.

[Racket_Man]

IHer: *in the snottiest tone possible* Uh...you realize that book's for kids, right?
Me: Yeah, and?
Her: It's for children.
Me: I like it, so I'm reading it.
Her: *looks at me like I've got three heads and retreats to her table*
Me: *keeps reading until class starts*

I got that one whilst reading the earlyHarry Potter books in public.

Take a look at the stereotype of the father figure from the 1950's. This is a stereotype that lasted on sitcoms as far as the early 1980's and possibly the '90's in some rare occasions.

I grew up with that stereotype but my Father's exception was he actually DID do things with my sisters (like swim team, volleyball team)

with my DD I used to play with her, take her to the park, blow soap bubbles, taught her how to ride a 2 wheel bike (and rode said bike myself to "prove" it could be done), took her to the park, potty trained her, fixed up more cuts and scrapes than I care to remember (some of them pretty bad not stitch worthy but close)

But more and more you're finding people born in the '60's and later (with a number of more enlightened people born earlier on also included) that managed to realize that we DON'T HAVE to give up the things that gave us joy simply because we're adults.

<snipo>

Yes we have our responsibilities as adults, but gorramit we don't have to drive ourselves into drinking or prescriptions of valium. We can still PLAY.

And that is no bad thing.

THIS times 1 million. why do I have to "grow up"????? can someone please provide me a non-1950's era answer to that question????? yeah I have become domesticated over the years.......

[Cazzi]

THIS times 1 million. why do I have to "grow up"????? can someone please provide me a non-1950's era answer to that question????? yeah I have become domesticated over the years.......

Growing OLDER is obligatory
Growing UP isn't

My "on the autistic spectrum" daughter had a lot of trouble & tantrums before her 18th birthday as she didn't want to grow up to be an adult.
I explained the above to her... she was all for that, tantrums stopped & she stopped fretting about it

I love my cartoons, & one of my favourite books was written for kids. I still drag it out for a read every so often

[aurelemsrealm]

I have no-nonsense adult moments, and I have silly childish moments. It all depends on my mood at the time. I like cartoons as much as I like documentaries. It just depends on what I want to watch at the time. About the only programs I don't watch on TV are sports and reality shows. When those types of shows are all that's on TV, I turn it off and find something else to do. I don't worry about anyone thinking I'm weird for some of the stuff I watch on TV. I take being "weird" as a compliment when I consider what most people consider "normal." As I often say of my family, we put the "fun" in "dysfunctional."

[Skunkle]

Mongo, LOVE the post. But ya forgot one thing: plenty of people don't even get any love out of their job at all. I KNOW people who believe that ALL jobs suck, by nature of being a job; even if something is your life's passion, the instant you begin to be paid daily to do it, it will instantly and irrevocably lose all love and heart for you. No exceptions.

ExRetailDrone, "Care Bears in Wonderland" is currently on YouTube. It gets deleted every so often but, like most such movies, reappears eventually.

El Pollo, I, too, find wrestling entertaining. I don't follow the drama and plotlines, who's angry at who this week etc. and I know it's fake. But the fakeness is what makes it funny, it's so over-the-top.

Me, I love me some old Disney movies, animated and otherwise (Candleshoe! Must see!) but I also like a few modern TV toons. Most of 'em I find a bit vapid - most of what's on the Disney channel seems almost flat in its lack of substance (I won't call down anyone who enjoys "Wizards of Waverly Place" etc. though) but I like a few obscure things. I love watching "The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog" and "Peep & the Big Wide World". And I'm 30. I also love the first few Care Bears movies. They're fluffy and cute.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Mongo, LOVE the post. But ya forgot one thing: plenty of people don't even get any love out of their job at all.

You missed my point.

...since as far as they are programmed, the only joy in life is to work their asses off at a job they barely tolerate until they're old enough to retire

Because it's all about how society has programmed people. That they are told that working at a job and being a productive member of society is the only joy in life they are allowed and if/when they don't feel that joy, then they feel that something is wrong with them.

Which causes more stress in their lives. Stress that they have no outlet for since they have been programmed that "play" is something innocent and sweet for a child but is damn near a hell-worthy trespass as adults.

the instant you begin to be paid daily to do it, it will instantly and irrevocably lose all love and heart for you. No exceptions.

Here I disagree. I am doing what I love (futzing with technology) on a daily basis and getting paid for it. I still love my job and I still love my passion for Computer crap. I get frustrated at some points (usually when dealing with technophobic doctors or nurses who can't seem to remember a password for longer than 48 hours), but all in all I enjoy my job and my passion.

I do see your point however. A dickhead boss can crush all the joy out of a job and turn your passion into a soul-crushing hellish grind, but not everyone has that situation.

[Racket_Man]

Here I disagree. I am doing what I love (futzing with technology) on a daily basis and getting paid for it. I still love my job and I still love my passion for Computer crap. I get frustrated at some points (usually when dealing with technophobic doctors or nurses who can't seem to remember a password for longer than 48 hours), but all in all I enjoy my job and my passion.

I do see your point however. A dickhead boss can crush all the joy out of a job and turn your passion into a soul-crushing hellish grind, but not everyone has that situation.

Mongo, that is how I used to feel about my computer type jobs (programming and tech support) . I used to express it as "DAMN they pay me to do something I love and have fun at."

unfortuneately your second point is why I no longer am in that field. over more than a few jobs the dickhead factor, the stupid factor, the "Sorry nothing personal just business" factor, the office politics, the power trips, the WTF factor, etc. killed my passion and my "fun" factor.

being a peon again without the factors I mentioned above suits me fine for the moment.

[Lace Neil Singer]

"Care Bears in Wonderland" is currently on YouTube. It gets deleted every so often but, like most such movies, reappears eventually.

Like many of the old classics; I found the original Sonic movie on there recently, in ten parts. XD I had to watch it; forgot how much I loved it and wish it was on DVD!

[Amanita]

I'm sure some people would call me childish for cosplaying, but screw them, thank you very much!
Designing and creating costumes is one hell of a creative outlet for me, and I've picked up a lot of skills as a result. Sewing, leathercraft, and now even the beginnings of chain mail!

But isn't dressing up for kids? I'm sorry, but all the effort that goes into my costumes would be wasted on most kids. They would probably outgrow or destroy the things in a matter of months. Children don't have the budget that adults do, or the skills. And most kids don't truly understand good craftsmanship.
Many adults only allow themselves to dress up on Halloween, or some other occasion when some external force gives them permission, such as a "recognized" costume event.
You know what? I don't need anyone's recognition or permission to bring my handiwork out of the closet. Now, I don't live my entire life in Jedi robes or fairy wings, I don't hang a lightsaber or wizard's wand from the belt of my work uniform.
But when my friends and I feel like it, we dress up and attend various fun, civic events such as the annual bridge walk or buskerfest. We don't do it for attention, we don't "freak the normals", we do it for our own enjoyment. Maybe if more people had creative outlets like that, there would be fewer miserable people in the world.

[guywithashovel]

Several years ago, I was an avid watcher of "Degrassi: The Next Generation." Granted, that show was aimed at teenagers, and at the time, I was in my early to mid twenties, so I wasn't too far off the mark for that.

Every now and then I'll go on Youtube and watch episodes of "Ghostwriter." I enjoyed watching that as a kid, so it brings back memories.