Should Kids Say the Pledge of Allegiance?

Mornings in the classroom start very similar across the United States. Students unpack their backpacks, say hello to their friends, listen to school announcements, and say the The Pledge of Allegiance with their peers...

Wait, what about that last one. Yes, The Pledge of Allegiance. Do you think kids should say The Pledge of Allegiance everyday? Do you believe in what the pledge states? 

The Dreamer’s Brigade thinks that school children should say The Pledge of Allegiance every morning, because it is proudly proclaiming that the American dream is alive and well. The purpose of the pledge is to remind children that others have fought and died for their freedom more so than actually pledging allegiance to their country. And, it reminds them that they can be anything they dream because they live in the United States of America. It also creates an alliance between the children and something greater than themselves and provides them a way to belong. The Pledge of Allegiance is the binding force that keeps us Americans, regardless of personal religious beliefs.

What do you think?

The Dreamer’s Brigade 10 All Time Favorite Cartoons

The Dreamer’s Brigade are huge cartoon fans and remember every fall when the television stations launched the new Saturday morning line up on Friday night. And, then, there are the special cartoons that show up for the holidays. In fact, any of the Peanut’s specials start our list at number ten.

At number nine is Space Ghost. He was one of many versions of heroes that brought justice to the universe. Bugs Bunny is our eighth favorite, not only for the rabbit’s classic sarcasm, but for the magic that Mel Blanc brought to all the voices of this Warner Brother’s classic. Spider Man is our seventh favorite cartoon hero, if for nothing else, the theme music was incredible!

Who can forget everybody’s favorite prehistoric neighbors, the Flintstones? We can’t, and that’s why we put them at number six. We still wonder how a tiny waitress can carry a rack of ribs that topple over the car that’s made out of rocks. Then again, it was a cartoon. Anything was possible in the cartoon world. Just look at our fifth pick – Popeye. All it takes is a little spinach and usually some jealously or protectiveness to elicit some superhuman powers.

Our fourth favorite is Scooby-Doo. Did you ever notice that Scooby and Shaggy always had the munchies? I wonder why? And, the adventures of the “Gang” in the Mystery Machine were always

Adventure was the reason we chose Johnny Quest to start our top three picks. Dr. Quest, with his intelligence and Race with his brawn solved all sorts of problems while the boys and Bandit had adventures and inadvertently helped the bigger cause. Our second favorite is Super Man as the classic powerful hero with a mild mannered nerd alter ego. None of the caped crusaders are a cool as Super

And, finally, the Dreamer’s Brigade’s all-time favorite cartoon is Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was like a variety show of cartoons. Who can forget Mr. Peabody, Sherman and the Way Back Time Machine? What about our favorite evil Russian spies, Boris and Natasha? Snidely Whiplash always used to tie Nell to the railroad tracks and Dudley Do-Right of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, incompetently saved the damsel in distress every time. Fractured Fairy Tales brought fables to life with a twist each week. Can they get any better? The formula of a little satire, some pun-laden humor, political commentary and a little something for adults as well as children put the Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle at the

The Dreamer’s Brigade debated for a long time over this list and wants to include some honorable mentions: Mickey Mouse, who started the Disney empire, Road Runner who is still out there somewhere outsmarting Wylie Coyote, Josie and the Pussy Cats, the sexiest cat band that ever had cartoon adventures and Sponge Bob – need we say more.

We expect a lot of commentary about your favorites to add to this list. Who can stop at 10 when cartoons are so great? What’s on your list?

Top 10 Pick: Favorite Actors

Actors are a true inspiration to many people.  They work hard, they continually follow their dreams, and they dedicate a great deal of their time to entertaining us.  In light of the Oscars recently given, we wanted to share a list of our top ten favorite Actors…

10.  Clint Eastwood – a strong, powerful personality

9.  Paul Newman – has inspirational, old blue eyes, and is so smooth

8.  Dustin Hoffman – is tenacious and truly gifted

7.  Sidney Poitier – ground-breaking realist

6.  Denzel Washington – makes characters his own

5.  John Wayne – a true American icon

4.  Al Pacino – has an amazing breadth of skill

3.  Jack Nicholson – a real Actor’s actor

2.  Brad Pitt – is our generation’s Jack Nicholson

1.  Nicholas Cage. . .

Nick Cage is our number one choice because he rises to the challenge of every role and doesn’t shy away from difficult and demanding roles.

Who makes your list?

Top 10 Pick: Favorite Rock Singers

The Dreamer’s Brigade ten favorite rock singers were never pop singers; they were always legitimately ROCK singers.  

We start our top ten with Steven Tyler – the United States’ equivalent of Britain’s Mick Jaggar.  Next on our list at number nine (9) is Pat Benetar.  Pat is a power-packed little stick of dynamite that can deliver a song beautifully and intensely at the same time.  Very few female artists use their instrument (voice) like Pat Benetar.  Steve Perry is our 8^th favorite singer because his vocals gave Journey passion and longevity.  His signature croon was so important to the band that they found a sound-alike as his replacement.  Ann Wilson, the female version of Robert Plant is our number seven (7) pick.  With Ann, it’s not just her powerful vocal chords, it’s the charisma that makes her a complete package.  Next, is Roger Daltery at six (6).  Roger was punk before we knew what punk was and interpreted Pete Townsend’s lyrics with his own brand of tough English translation. 

Geddy Lee fills the top five (5) spot with his unique, high-range vocal style as the lead singer for the rock band Rush.  Geddy’s sound is another that defined the band as iconic.  Our fourth (4) favorite is Mick Jaggar, who as an expectant great-grandfather, is in his 70s, and is still going strong.  We chose him because he is the original rock entertainer.  In third place is Elvis.  If Mick is the original entertainer, Elvis was the original Rock ‘n Roll voice.  In fact, rock had not been named when Elvis earned his first award for ‘Country and Western’ music.  Elvis started it all.  Freddie Mercury turned rock music into theater.  In fact, Freddie once said that Queen to be the ‘Cecil B. Demille of rock music’.  Freddie’s operatic voice and flamboyant personality brought it all to life. 

Number one (1) on our list is Robert Plant.  He is the ultimate rock singer and vocally led the Hammer of the Gods.  And, over the years, Robert continues to push his sound into new genres giving voice to music that we haven’t heard before.

Long story short:

10. Steven Tyler

9. Pat Benetar

8. Steve Perry

7. Ann Wilson

6. Roger Daltery

5. Geddy Lee

4. Mick Jaggar

3. Elvis

2. Freddie Mercury

1. Robert Plant

Who are your favorite rock singers? Why?

Top 10 Pick: Best Guitarists

10. Lindsay Buckingham (Tasteful and simple)

9. Alex Lifeson (Electronic affects expert)

8. Pete Townsend (Power-chord master)

7. Keith Richards (Overall style and ability to play all styles)

6. Jeff Beck (Jazzy precision)

5. Brian May (Extremely melodic)

4. Slash (Genuine enthusiasm)

3. Eric Clapton (Slow hand and can say more with one note than most guitarists can say in a verse)

2. Jimmy Page (Great riff master)

1. David Gilmour (Ethereal and eclectic)

Each of the players on our best guitarists list is an expert in their own style of music.  We included them because many musicians borrowed playing styles of others and adapted them to create new styles of play; they serve as an inspiration to fellow musicians. Lindsay Buckingham made the list at number ten (10) because of his tasteful yet simple style.  We chose Alex Lifeson to be number nine (9) because he’s an expert at electronic effects like no one else on our list.  Pete Townsend comes in at eight (8) as the power chord master.  This style of play is probably what makes The Who such a great “guys” band.

Some guitarists seem to have the ability to play all styles of music.  The best at this is Keith Richards coming in at number seven (7).  Jazzy precision is how we would describe the play of Jeff Beck making him our number six (6) pick.  Brian May’s extremely melodic play was more than just note playing.  His counter melodies to Freddie Mercury’s melodic genius created a partnership like no other placing him at five (5) on our list.  Genuine enthusiasm garnered Slash the number four (4) spot on our top 10.   

Eric Clapton holds the number three (3) spot because of his ability to say more with one note than many guitarists can cay in an entire verse.  Jimmy Page, although not precise, is the greatest riff master and brought lead guitar showmanship to a new level putting him at number two (2) on our list.  Finally, The Dreamer’s Brigade chose David Gilmour as the best guitarist because his style is ethereal and eclectic.  His playing takes you places outside of the song structure.

There are a lot of guitarists that were left off this list as experts in their own sound.  We give honorable mention to Joe Satrioni, Buddy Guy, BB King, Eddie Van Halen, Ingve Melonstein and Joe Perry to name a few. 

Do you have a favorite guitar virtuoso?  Why would you choose him or her?

Call the Cops….to Say Thank you!

Members of The Dreamer’s Brigade recently saw the movie The Purge.  In this movie, all law is suspended for 12 hours, essentially creating all sorts of horrors.  This reminded us that in addition to military men and women, The Dreamer’s Brigade has also forever been supporters of local law enforcement; they are first line of defense protecting us from domestic hostilities, and are the first responders to any situation that we encounter on an everyday basis here at home.  Like our military, they are very well trained, very well equipped, and educated to assess the situations they encounter and then respond with appropriate actions.

Essentially, local law enforcement makes it possible for us to achieve our dreams by upholding the laws meant to prevent chaos.  As in The Purge, we’d be so focused on survival that we wouldn’t be able to pursue our aspirations without them.  

Say “thank you” to a city police officer, sheriff or highway patrol the next time you see one.  They deserve recognition for their service too.

Dream On

According to Webster’s dictionary, dreams are most often defined as a ‘visionary creation of the imagination’.

As the Dreamer’s Brigade, we naturally are very passionate about dreaming.  We believe that dreams are a blueprint by which our creative lives are directed.  With dreams, one’s abilities are endless.  As humans, we first dreamed of sailing across the ocean and created the boat.  We wanted to fly, so we created an airplane.  We wanted speed, so we invented a fast car.  We wanted a community of others and so built great cities.  All these wonders started with a simple dream!  A dream can be a simple vision, a big picture, an ordinary thought, or a revolutionary idea – your dreams are just that, YOURS.

I wanted to be in a band, so I created the Dreamer’s Brigade.  I dreamed of making music, so I wrote songs and learned to play instruments.  Then, I put it all together and created, Born in America.  The blueprint of Born in America was that of our forefathers.  Freedom here, freedom now and freedom forever!

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”  Dream on readers, and never lose sight of how powerful your dreams can be.