Remember this album cover? Well, Spencer Elden, the former baby who has kindly recreated the photo, is now seventeen!

Feeling a bit old, are we? I know that flannel shirts are trendy again, but please, let’s keep them where they belong, wadded up at the bottom of a closet along with our college sweatshirt.

To be honest, I never liked the grunge movement or Nirvana. Although I really dig the Foo Fighters, so go figure. But, this cover meant nothing to me as a result of my Nirvana dislike.

And a tidbit from EW says:

Elden’s babe-baiting repertoire is apparently fairly limited: He is quoted in the article as saying that he has to use “stupid pickup lines like, ‘You want to see my penis … again?”

Kurt would be proud.

There’s a new storyteller in town, and her name is Mrs. P.

She’s got her own website, a fabulous library, and she wears Fluevogs. She leads a fantastic, interesting life. What more could you ask for in a narrator other than a slightly lilting brogue? Which she’s got!

This brand new site is dedicated to the dramatic telling of classic children’s literature, from Peter Rabbit to The Emperor’s New Clothes. It has some cool interactive features and games, but those are simply the appetizers leading up to the main course. It was founded on the idea that adults nowadays are very busy, and may not have the time to read to their kids, which we all know to be an extremely important thing.

Mrs. P is played by Kathy Kinney, best known for her portrayal of Mimi on the Drew Carey Show. She and her co-founders consider the site to be a true a labor of love. It is completely underwritten, so there are no annoying ad banners or pop-ups to disturb the kiddies, which I think is great.

I have to give some serious props to them. There is no way that I can criticize a site whose sole purpose is to encourage kids to read and use their imaginations. I wish them the best of luck, and am pleased that they care about children and literacy.

Yet I have to admit that another part of me is pissed. Angry that a website had to be developed to do something that every single parent should be doing, and doing happily. It really bursts Glinda’s bubbles, if you know what I mean. Some of the best times with your child are spent snuggling, reading together and talking about stories. Kids love stories. Watch their faces as someone is reading to them, and you can almost see those little cogs and wheels turning inside their heads. It is a thing of beauty to behold.

But if you as a parent cannot be bothered or do not have the time to read to your own children, then you should seriously think about re-prioritizing your life. And if you don’t, be prepared to face the wrath of Glinda!

At first I thought, well, this is completely unnecessary. And then I thought, but wait, there are some really, really dumb people in this world. But then I thought, well, how many of them can read anyway?

And then I realized that journalists are paid by the word, not by the nugget of eternal wisdom, and it all made sense.

An article on how to read to your child. To be fair, it does come from Florida.

For what it’s worth, and for those who can’t be bothered to mouth their ways through the entire article, here is a quick summary:

1. Use funny voices. Hey, it made Peter Sellers a star, how hard can it be?
2. Read more than one book [editorial TeenyManolo note: this requires having more than one book in the first place]
3. Make a game of it. Presumably because straight-up reading books is hard, yo.
4. Read picture books to young children, and books with big words or maybe only black-and-white pictures to older children, who presumably are too brainwashed to fight back.

[editorial license may or may not have been taken in the above summary. Your mileage may vary. Use at own risk. TeenyManolo will not be responsible for literacy ensuing from use of the above tips]