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8:32 PM, Thursday, June 16th, 2016:   Goddamnit. Was so excited about finally having an unlocked entry and now I need to rework what I WANT to say because I just happened to sign with a production company who is famous for the hit show "Dance Moms".   And I fucking hate dance moms. Not the SHOW mind you, I've only seen clips and have zero interest, but the concept that is dance moms or theater moms... dude, don't get me started. So GUESS WHAT I got to run into Sunday?   Fuck dude. Thankfully I got to look one of those crazy fuckers in the eye and say NO as they tried to drag a crying Cameron onstage taking him from my arms. Oh FUCK these people. Fuck them, fuck them, fuck them...   ...not the wonderful people at Collins Avenue mind you. Love them. Good people.   See, here's my issue: if Chasing Heroes gets sold and does well, I'm part of the Collins Avenue family. And I honest to fuck don't know how to act like I don't think parents that do that shit to kids aren't fucking awful. I can't. I mean, I just can't. As for the show, Dance Moms? At least there's a skill involved, the kids clearly are ambitious, talented, skillful athletes/artists and at a certain age, I get it. Some kids have such extreme talent that as parents we help them achieve what might go into their adulthood even if it adversely affects their childhood. It's a tough call, but when it involves an exceptional talent, I try and reserve judgment.   And that's my issue with ALL of this. Childhood is extreeeeeeeeeemely precious. Pushing adult things on children upsets me, greatly. Your job is to protect them and help guide them. They look to you for that protection and guidance. Establishing that is a full-time job. These early years of their lives will dictate THE REST of their lives and if you fuck-up your role as a parent to be a COACH or an AGENT or a MANAGER - you're greying that role and/or totally obliterating it. Unless they show an extarordinary talent in one of those fields (not your opinion, an unbiased opinion) then absolutely not. Just, absolutely not. You can teach life skills without becoming obsessed. I think sports are important for boys AND girls and am not against ballet/dance, etc. but if they don't want to be there... they shouldn't be there. Case, in fucking, point:   So apparently this recital wasn't for the 2 and 3 year olds like we thought. It was for EVERYONE Preteen and under. It was also a full out - BALLS TO THE WALL DANCE RECITAL. They turned the music on so loud, Vienna nearly pissed herself and was DONE. Right then. It was loud as fuck, it was a bunch of screaming 11 year old girls like a goddamned cheerleading competition and they ALL had on more make-up than I've ever seen in my life. Not on children mind you, just, ever. And I did theater. What, the fuck.   So I was angry, immediately. Here's all Vienna and Cameron knew prior to this moment: A small quiet room, with 4 toddlers, their teacher, a mirror and music played off of a lap-top. They learned some moves. Learned how to listen. It was pretty simple.  I asked Talya repeatedly: are they going to be able to SEE this stage before they go on it? 'Cause that's gonna freak them the fuck out. She couldn't get a straight answer... and it ended up? No. They just come 30 minutes early. Fine I thought, just gonna be a bunch of toddlers and parents, they'll get used to it pretty quickly.   WRONG. Chaos. We took them onstage and they stood there with their jaws dropped clutching our legs. The stage was FILLED with all the older kids screaming and yelling while the music played. It was beyond stupid. Vienna & Cam's group was halfway through the show... so hopefully they would get used to everything and be cool...   ...of course I wasn't after I watched a mother PUSH her scared toddler BACK onstage as she tried to come off holding her hands up for her mom to pick her up. People. Motherfucker. YOUR JOB IS TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN. Especially when they're frightened. And THEY'RE THREE. Thuh-REEEEEE. The mother dragged her kid up there, the kid was crying and scared, she walked to the side and the mother PUSHED her back on stage with one hand and ran back. It was all I could do to not involve myself in THAT scene. It actually happened twice. I have to ask: WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? What is your concern? That the child looks... like a child? Why is this important to a THREE YEAR OLD? If they don't want to perform in front of a huge audience at THREE, isn't that OK? Were there fucking talent scouts there? I mean, what is going through these parents' head? Are they embarassed their kid isn't perfect already? Does the performance matter THAT much? Well apparently it DOES because here WE GO...   So Cam falls asleep. It's his nap time, and he was out COLD. I tried to wake him up, but the bottom line is: he's young for the class anyway and this was way too overwhelming even for Vienna, let alone Cam. So I was gonna let him sleep. Talya was with Vienna and I made it clear that we do NOT take her up, if she's willing to go with her friends and the teacher, fine. If she's too scared, no problem. Again, they've only been in a small room with just their teacher this entire time. Why they never prepared them (or us) for what this was is insane... of course we paid EXTRA for this loveliness, so maybe that's why. Ugh.   So it's time for them to go up and some lady who was part of the group but not Cam's teacher takes him from me (it's in the video). I sheepishly let go and stand behind her when he wakes up, looks terrified and reaches for me. She keeps GOING! The FUCK? So I immediately take him back (from a lady who was shocked like I WAS THE FUCKING ASSHOLE) and I look her in the eye and say:  "NO." Then she tells me I NEED to take him up there anyway. What I NEED to do, I can't say, because preschool toys are present. MOTHER FUCK.   Vienna holds hands with the other girls and walked up by herself. Very brave and the three of them kind of just stood there waving their hands as the teacher did the moves with them. One girl actually smiled and had the "hammy" gene, which is cool for her, I'm not against all performances for kids (clearly, I was a theater kid) but they have to show SOME talent for it. The smiley girl might have a fighter's chance to enjoy it. Vienna was scared but she did say later that it was "ok" once she got up there. She loves the class... maybe now that she's seen what the performance is like, she'll be OK. Whatever, I'm just so aggrivated by the whole surprise of it all. The kids that were at least 5 or 6 did a great job and I guess you have to start somewhere, but it's really fucking traumatic to do this to 2 and 3 year olds in my opinion and those GODDAMN PARENTS pushing the toddlers BACK onstage? Oh fuck them...   I ended up holding Cam at the steps and he watched. They got a trophy. I want to destroy it. Just looking at the logo pisses me off. Anyway, I went back and forth on even MAKING a video of this because... it's not a happy memory. In the least. But, The Journey is about documenting meaningful moments - and that's all this video does: documents what happened.     That actually wasn't even the song she was dancing to, but the words kind of matched my thoughts and feelings so I kept it on. That precious little girl means so goddamn much to me. Can you imagine her running off to the side because she's scared and instead of hugging her and saying it's ok... you PUSH HER BACK ONSTAGE? I cannot fathom what that does to a child. I mean, if the kid is 8 and you're trying to teach responsibility or a "the show must go on" mentality... I can appreciate that. Not 2 and 3 or even 4 and 5. Not when it's clearly their first time and they're terrified. You work up to "the show must go on", you don't fucking start there.   Anyway, I'm gonna end this now and promise you all that the NEXT video and entry will be sweet and unlocked.   FERFUCKSAKE.   Adam