....though not necessarily in that order. I'm going to get my rant out of the way first, since I'd rather get the small annoying bad stuff out of the way and end on a good note.

***Rant Ahead***

So my wife and I were coming back from lunch out together that we really enjoyed. We were stopping home to grab coats, since it was raining, and then head to a movie. As we got close to our house, there was a car parked in front of our driveway with a man getting into it. Since Ashley's dad was home, we thought it must be someone for him, especially since they got in the car and backed away. It was pouring hard, and I ran out of the car, not noticing the man getting out of the car and hurrying to talk to me.

Now, I need to give a bit of background here. We have a total of four cars at the house. My wife's that I drive since she doesn't have a license, the two trucks my father-in-law owns (one for construction and one for personal use so he has one that isn't damaged by the construction work), and Ashley's sister Autumn's car which she isn't using since she's out at school in San Francisco. That car is always parked at our home.

So, back to my story, the guy approaches me as I'm trying to unlock the door and asks if Autumn's car is for sale. I tell him it's not, trying to hurry since we want to make the movie. I would think that's the end of it, but he stubbornly insists on quoting prices for it to me. I tell him it's not for sale, it belongs to another family member, and basically do everything I can to get him to buzz off.

Thankfully he wasn't more persistent or I'd have been severely pissed off before the movie, but it really irks me anyway. We constantly get people asking about Autumn's car or one of the two trucks to see if they are for sale. I really am to the point of getting rude the next time I'm asked. Common sense would dictate that if there's no For Sale sign on it of any kind, then it's not for sale. And no, telling me prices is not changing my mind. So get lost!

***End Rant***

But the rant was not my main reason for writing a journal. The movie was. We went to go see Pixar's Up, and I must say I enjoyed it a great deal. I'm not going to go into any kind of review of it, but I felt the movie was more in depth than I was expecting. It deals with some things that kids, especially younger ones, may not truly understand, but won't be so upset about since the rest of the movie is wonderfully cute and fun.

After the movie, however, I got to thinking while out in the halls. In my opinion, Pixar does animation the 'right' way, if there is such a thing. It's fun, colorful, funny... and intelligent. There are things that adults can watch with kids and walk out in a thoughtful mood. It's not full of gross humor, fart jokes, and dumbing down. It's the type of animation I loved growing up as a kid.

There are so many TV shows that are listed as "for kids" that my wife and I refuse to subject Nicolai to. Things like Spongebob and Camp Lazlo that seem to cater to that lowball humor, and frankly, I don't like that trend. It's gross and sometimes mean spirited. I miss the older way of doing cartoons when things were meant to entertain without being...generally stupid.

When did things change? That's what I want to know. When did TV cartoons that had good stories, even if they were episodic, get replaced by this waste of airspace? And can we change it back?

Maybe Pixar can help change it back. Everything I've watched of theirs is something I'd sit and watch with my son. There are some that I have watched over and over on my own too, like The Incredibles. I'd be really happy to see original TV shows by them, because I'm sure the stories they'd tell with it would be more than worth the time.