Inquiring Photographer Gets With Harley Ice
Inquiring Photographer: Thanksgiving Thoughts
Nine year old Harley Ayala, (aka Harley Ice) was in the Norwood News - Thanks Giving edition, with a general comment about his plans for the holiday. You can read all of the comments in the original article by clicking on the link to the online version. This is Harley's first time in a local paper. He said: "Grandpa was in the newspaper a few months ago, so I thought, why not!" You don't see many kids giving commentaries unless it's about video games, some new sick or trending product, or something way less productive. It's easy for kids to get caught up in a sweeping fad. We did in our time. I started collecting baseball cards as a kid, didn't really know their future value, and to this day I have no idea where that box in the attic went? No worries. It's only baseball cards that cost a nickel and you got gum! So we already won with the gum I suppose. Today it's not just PS4 is PS$4 their online account which is tied to your credit card. What? 24 hours of kids playing live with other kids encouraging each other to buy more stuff for the game. "It's easier!" Harley said, when I asked him why he just wants a gift card to Game Stop for Christmas? "I can buy my stuff, and you don't have to wrap it grandpa!" So, since 'stuff' is a vague term for a kid to describe why he needs a $100.00 card and not a $25.00 card, I said: "Grandpa will buy you some clothes, and perhaps a toy as gifts, and a greeting card. You can buy your 'stuff' with your own money you get from your chores, or from what you get from your videos." That's pretty much it.
If you are a parent, and have bought 'stuff' for online gaming for your kids, you know what I mean. If not, consider yourself lucky that your kids are not caught up in this extreme spending. The worst part of this blog entry is that after the interview, I took Harley to Game Stop to get a new controller and discovered something that made me choke on my saliva. Harley brings the controller to the clerk and does his usually thing with he account info and as I pay, I asked a question to the young man at the register. "How long should a kid be playing these online games before taking a break?" My intention was to have Harley hear something useful that would be more like the clerk saying play for an hour after you do your homework, or something positive to that effect. No. Here's the exact words he heard instead: "We recommend 2 hours on, 20 minutes off." I was like wow, that was not helpful at all. I waited for Harley to move out of sonic hearing range and asked for a little clarification. I was told that is not the Game Stop Official Policy, but it's pretty much what the staff is trained to say, 'unofficially'.
So, here's what I suggested to Harley on the way home. When you are at my place, you can play after your homework is done, and for every hour you log online, you give me one hour of either: arts & crafts, martial arts, or producing your videos, or a combination of the three. It's still a choice, but a better one. The alternatives are: don't give them a choice and monitor them, limit them, and rip them off the game when their time is up, or leave them alone with your new digital babysitter? Ah, free will is going to be a joke in 20 years. It's going to be all about mind control, inculcation and manipulation of our kids via, you guessed it: PS$4, Game Stop and the Japanese animators who are literally Hell bent on their productions. Enough said for now. Frankie D., the President of my record label always says: "That's just the tip of the iceberg!"
Check out Harley Ice in his first video production: The Domino Effect. We sent it to Domino when it was done, and they sent a nice email back to him. The liked his work and gave him permission to use their logo. It's not an endorsement deal or contract. It's just Harley and Domino interactions live and via email, which is already a victory for him and I. How? More time in reality and less engaged in PS$4's VMC (Virtual Mind Control).
Iggy Ice
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