Naturally I observe all of the little man’s behavior with great interest. Lately I’ve noticed his food choices in particular, and how they’ve been unduly influenced by the DVDs he watches.
Like many kids he is a little picky, and prefers to stick with a routine (like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch every day, no matter what). But a Caillou video compelled him to request Chinese vegetables and noodles for dinner. After watching Pee Wee’s Playhouse he’s been eating more raw carrots. And the other day a Pee Wee episode prompted him to try a vegan grilled cheese sammich for the first time (he loved it, and claims that Pee Wee is vegan, and won’t listen to anything to the contrary). I can’t complain. These are relatively healthy foods. I just wonder what he’d be asking for if we watched broadcast television, with all those fast food commercials. He seems to have some understanding of what it means to be vegan…in his own words, animals aren’t for eating. But he’s starting to make connections. Branding is so pervasive and invasive these days, even without television. In my pre-motherhood days logo spoofs started to become a popular way to mitigate the effects of branding. In that spirit I slapped a McVegan sticker on my microwave years ago without giving it much thought. I never foresaw having it backfire on me. The little man is starting to spell now, and he recognized the M and logo when driving past a McDonald’s. Naturally we haven’t taken him inside one, but the one nearest to our house has a “Playland”, with giant brightly colored slides visible from the street. Several times now he’s asked to go in, and I’ve tried to explain that it’s not a vegan-friendly place…but he the poor kid just wants to play. Thankfully we have other places to go for that, where food isn’t a factor.
Speaking of food…game maker Namco plans Ramen-Noodle Theme Park in Japan. Coming across this now is especially funny, since we just purchased their Katamari Damacy online this very morning. We’re opting for in-store pickup, and are leaving shortly to retrieve it…along with our copy of The Return of the King extended edition. Yay! I don’t think I’ll be leaving the house for a few days. Too much extra footage to take in.
Bonus: The trailer is now online for the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake. There was no sign of the dreaded Oompa Loompas. Those little fuckers have always creeped me out.
Update: Stupid Best Buy. When we went to Customer Service to pick up our purchases, our game was nowhere to be found. But the husband did get an email, giving him a number to call if he still wants it. Thankfully our copy of RoTK was there, which I got a good start on this morning while the little man was at school. I’ll be squeezing the extras in after his bedtime every night. I suspect I’ll be getting even less sleep than usual, until I’ve seen it all. Yeah.
