My latest drawing:

And my latest rant:

Ok, so my bestest friend and I went to THE toy store... Toys R Us. We were looking for the old fashion Tinker toys. You know the kind. Simple, but kids can build anything. Even a simple Lego set... I mean COME ON!!
Anyway, so they did not have any. Nice person told us that but that is not really relevant. No tinker toys in THE toy store. Now if we think about this for a bit... I mean just think about it for a minute, we will see that if there is no Tinker toys in the store then, logically, there must needs be other toys in the store right? Right.
What do they sell in a toy store with no tinker toys? I'll tell you. And I'll tell you a secret. They fill the store and stock the shelves with "educational" laptops for children aged 6 to 8, they stack racks full of flashing lights for infants, the Lego set shelves contain those Lego set already set up to reflect the castle of Hogwarts, or the design of the Lord of the Rings tower etc... And everything sings... Now here is what I realized about these toys:

1. The educational toys such as the leapfrog books that talk to the children teach the children, yes. But they do not teach the children about interacting with other children. It took an entire wall to cover the toys that teach children French and Spanish and early mathematics. Why would there be a need for so much educational products? Do parents simply take little or no time teaching their children anymore? Is it too time consuming? Now why do you suppose children are so angered towards their parents as they grow up? Could it be that parents just do not invest time or sufficient energy into teaching, enjoying time with, and growing with their children? I think so.

2. I believe that the flashing lights on those items that are meant to entertain babies still in their infancy coincided with the constant sounds as they twist or pull bobbles contributes immensely to children's ADD and Hyperactive disorders.

3. The third thing is that after seeing the options for Lego sets, I am forced to conclude that this will influence addictions in the children when they grow older. What a child sees on TV, is now reinforced from the stores into their brains. They find that they like a movie and merchandise comes out to support that and turn it into an addiction, but perhaps only a small addiction. Our whole society is addicted, whether it be to TV, sports, drugs and alcohol, habits, gambling, work etc... The list grows constantly. They are loosing their imagination because castles are shoved at them and they are to make the castle that is portrayed on the box it came in. I am disgusted where this is going.
And that is my rant of the day….