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In the world of well-worn kids’ songs, there’s the good, the bad, and the annoying. Those melodies and lyrics are so hardwired into our psyche, we don’t even know the meaning of what we’re singing.
We say — stop the madness! Here are five songs that should be stricken from the most popular kids’ song lists:
1) Ring Around The Rosy
The meaning of this song is anything but rosy. Sure it has that fun finale “we all fall down,” but unfortunately — since the lyrics are in reference to the Black Plague of 1665 — everyone’s falling because they’re dropping dead. Here’s a breakdown of a few lyrics:
Ring around the rosy
First symptom of the plague was red, rosy cheeks– think about that the next time you brush on your L’Oreal mauve blush.
Pocket full of Posies
In a futile attempt to ward off the “black death,” people would carry posie petals in their pockets–about the equivalent of a glass of Airborne — totally useless.
Ashes, ashes we all fall down
A children’s song that references a standard burial sermon? Hey kids, let’s go to a funeral!
Why this song is considered a lullaby is anyone’s guess. What it is, is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Who was the manufacturer of that cradle? It obviously should be recalled before more unsuspecting babies plummet to the ground. Lulling your child to sleep with a tale of a shoddily constructed bed is like telling them the Big Bad Wolf will be waiting for them in their dreams. Not advised.
3) There’s a Hole in the Bucket
First major problem of this traditional folk song is, it has no end — kind of like housework. It incorporates something known as an infinite-loop motif — which in layman’s terms means singing it will make you go loopy. What’s more, it’s sung in an irritating, monotonous rhythm by two country bumpkins named Henry and Liza. The pair — perhaps a dysfunctional married couple — are trapped in a living hell over a broken bucket. After 17-plus refrains of this never-ending tune you’ll feel like kicking the bucket yourself.

momlogic.com

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liverpoolecho.co.uk

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Gerri Willis answers reader’s questions.
Question 1. If you are currently on a payment plan with the IRS and all payments are current, will the IRS keep your stimulus check?
Yes. The IRS says that if you owe taxes the money will be used to cover you debt.
Even though you’re current on your payments, you still owe money to the government. And if you have delinquent student loan debt, missed child support payments or you owe back taxes, you probably won’t see your stimulus check either if the amount you owe is more than your rebate check.
If you have any questions, or you want more information you can contact the IRS at 1-800-829-1040.
And don’t forget, those checks are going out sooner than expected the President announced today. If you have direct deposit, you could get your check as early as Monday.
Question 2. I just got a small settlement and it will pay off my credit card in full. However my FICO is 734 and I want it to rise! Do I pay it off or just pay some of the balance and put the rest in savings?
If you want to improve your credit score, put the money toward paying off your credit card.
Your credit card interest rate is much higher than what you would make if you put your money into a savings account.
Once you’ve paid off your debt, your next priority should be to boost your savings. To find high yielding bank accounts, go to bankrate.com.
Question 3. How do hydrogen fuel cell cars differ from hybrids?
Hybrids use both an electric motor and a traditional gasoline motor.
On the other hand, hydrogen fuel cell cars use hydrogen as its fuel says Jon Linkov of Consumer Reports. That hydrogen then produces electricity that powers the car.

money.cnn.com

Daddy Yankee Interview
To most of the listening world, Daddy Yankee is known only as a Reggaeton superstar; in 2008, however, that perception will change forever. With a solidified international presence in music already established, the Puerto Rican-born Ramon Ayala has added philanthropist, entrepreneur and actor to his growing list of job titles.
In addition to continuing his successful career in music, Yankee will star in the summer release of “Talento de Barrio,” a film for which he is also crafting the soundtrack. And if that weren’t enough, D.Y. started a scholarship fund in his native Puerto Rico for teens who’ve been in a juvenile correction center and most recently purchased the rights to a basketball franchise to stimulate the local P.R. economy.
In an exclusive interview with DJBooth‘s DJ “Z,” Daddy Yankee steps inside the booth to talk about the parallel between his life and the character who he plays in “Talento de Barrio,” what he plans to do in order to one day sit next to Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks, and why he plans to go to college once his rap career is over.
DJ Booth: What’s goin’ on y’all? It’s your boy “Z,” doin’ it real big, and joining me inside the DJ Booth is a reggaeton superstar who will be making his acting debut this summer in the major motion picture, Talento de Barrio. Please welcome Daddy Yankee – how you doin’?
Daddy Yankee: What’s up, Z? Everything’s good, poppin’ over here, chillin’ in my studio in Puerto Rico.
DJ Booth: How’s the weather in Puerto Rico? I’m in Chicago – it’s freezing! I hope it’s warmer where you are.
Daddy Yankee: It’s warm, man; I can’t complain. I’m in front of the beach, havin’ a good time, relaxin’ in the studio.

djbooth.net

While Soviet agitprop might not exactly be renowned for its nuanced depiction of human beings, Mikhail Kalatozov’s Soy Cube (I Am Cuba) mixes poetry and polemic in a way that takes it beyond crass indoctrination.
“We saw the film as a kind of poem, as a poetic narrative,” cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky told Iskusstvo Kino magazine in 1965. The director’s strong visual sense is already apparent in the opening scene as the camera pans in from above, showing the glimmering ocean, the forests of slender palms. Over top of these scenes comes the disembodied voice of Cuba, soft-spoken and feminine, self-assured with a clean edge of regret. She addresses Christopher Columbus, quoting how he praised her beauty, and thanking him for the compliment. The voice broaches the contradictions of mid-century Cuba through the metaphor of its major commodity: “A strange thing, sugar. Señor Columbus – it contains so many tears, but it is sweet.”
The camera jumps to scenes of glamour and decadence – bathing beauties in a rooftop pool against the backdrop of the Havana skyline. Kalatozov has an eye for seductive images, and it’s with this fine visual sense that he makes some of his most nuanced statements. The attractions of this colonial paradise are clear, though his quarry is the injustice underneath.
The film follows the four “typical” Cubans, taking us from the streets of Havana to the vast sugar cane fields of the countryside. The stories function more as symbolic tableaux than accounts of actual people; unsurprisingly, the film got a poor reception in Cuba for its use of cultural stereotypes. We see a girl forced to prostitute herself out to the rich foreigners, or a hardworking family man whose land gets sold out from under him to United Fruit. The film’s subjects often come off as caricatures: American men are pigs, American women are glamorous accessories, Cuban men are generous and self-sacrificing, and Cuban women, finally, are noble-hearted damsels in distress.

mcgilldaily.com

One time has been kind of fun, while the second is really becoming a pain.
A couple of weeks ago I predicted that winter would hang on longer than it has recently and we would lose a number of sporting events.
What a pain!
I have been itching to get out and cover sports and so far I have had one event - Niles girls’ tennis against Buchanan.
It was cold and windy, but it was fun to watch.
I also got a chance to spend a few minutes talking with Buchanan coach Cuppy Mace-Smith.
I have known Cuppy for quite a few years, so it was nice talk with her after nearly a year and a half.
While I was excited for the girls to get out and hit the courts, I am feeling bad for our area boys’ golf teams, which have not yet been able to get out on the links and compete.
Like the girls, the golfers have not been competed at the high school level since the fall of 2006.
I know they have to be chomping at the bit to get out there and get their seasons started.
Unfortunately, last Friday’s snowfall probably pushed all the matches back until at least after spring break next week.
If we can get the weather to cooperate and get the ground thawed out and dried out, we can kick off the season.
Unplayable fields have also postponed the start of the baseball, softball and girls’ soccer seasons.
The snowfall over the weekend postponed the VanDenberg Invitational at Buchanan. According to Buchanan athletic director Fred Smith, they are hoping to reschedule the tournament later this spring.
Today is supposed to be somewhat nice with sunshine and warmer temperatures. But with rain still listed in the forecast for this week, the chances of getting the already saturated ground dried out.

dowagiacnews.com