What’s wrong with entertainment? Life is too short to be stuck up. Bring on the cartoons!

I often feel the need to relax, let go of daily stress and tension. Sometimes I just don’t feel like thinking. I heard once, from where I forget, that intelligent minds seek simple pleasures. I think it may have been Star Trek, but I think there is truth in it. Simple pleasures, things that can make you smile, forget about your worries, anything that can make you laugh and giggle, can’t be all bad.

Movies, music, TV, books, games; they have a multitude of genres and audiences, something for everyone. People have stuck up their noses at comedy, kids’ stuff, cartoons, games, etc. Why? What’s wrong with mindless entertainment once in awhile? Why is it necessary for some to berate others on their choices when they pick out things that aren’t literary or cutting edge, thought provoking? Why is it that people just can’t get along and respect other’s choices? Is it a requirement of the elite to pick on everyone else that seems not to fit the bill of the in-crowd of the day?

I ask questions that will receive no answer; on the other hand, I could get a lecture like no other. Big deal! If I want to read “crap” like Goodkind, I will damn well do it. Why? Because I like adventure stories, they are fun, and the writing is decent. If I am constantly distracted by an author’s attempt to squeeze some weird style into his writing, (i.e. Greg Bear’s Queen of Angels) I lose interest in the story. The fun escape is pretty much lost. It is the story that counts in entertainment reading, not so much the writing style. What I like is the kind of writing where I get totally lost in the story and forget I’m reading words on a page. Not to say that this is all I will read. If I find anything half as good as Stover’s works, I am happy. Since I’ve read Heroes Die, Blade of Tyshalle, Traitor, Shatterpoint, my standards have gone way up. But I will still read the pap fantasies once in awhile because I enjoy the escape from reality and the adventure, sometimes even the cheesy romance they throw in. (Elizabeth Hayden’s Symphony of Ages Series) However, I absolutely refuse to read romance novels. That, I purely cannot stand. It’s the equivalent of country music in my mind. Bleh, makes me cringe and roll my eyes just thinking about it. I guess that is my own little elitism coming to the surface.

On to cartoons. Yes, I am 31 years old, and I love cartoons! No, I’m not insane. Cartoons are the ultimate in mindless giggles. Shows like the Simpsons and Futurama, two of my personal favorites, may seem mindless on the surface, but if you pay attention, you will see the subtle jokes, the morality, and the lessons on life. So, it’s not all roadrunner chase scenes, but those are great, too. Toy Story, Monsters Inc., wonderful animated movies like these are truly the best. They make you laugh, cry and giggle ‘til the cat comes home, afterward, leaving you with a good, sunny feeling. Then, there are your typical violent cat and mouse cartoons, Tom and Jerry, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner being the trend-setters. Great for the laughs and mental shut down. Who wants to worry about the world’s problems when Tom and Jerry are chasing each other through a house trashing everything in sight? The one time, I forget the name of the cartoon, but where the kid scientist leaves a record player strapped to his head over night to learn French, only to have it stick on the same phrase all night, and once he wakes up, that is all he can say. “Omelette du fromage?”

Entertainment, must, however be balanced with the good stuff, otherwise your mind wilts and you forget how to think.

Balance in all things.