Who is A.J. Jenkins?

One day, I was fiddling with my phone and Jack walked over and said, "Can you play the ABC song on your phone?" I viewed that as a challenge, did a quick search, and soon the boys were enjoying a YouTube version the ABC song on the phone.

Eventually, I wanted my phone back, so I fired up YouTube on the PlayStation 3 and directed them there. I noticed that the same user, "KidsTV123," had uploaded other phonics videos, and that the songs were credited to "A.J. Jenkins".

Being who I am, I did a Google search to see what information I could turn up about either. KidsTV123 has a pretty basic web site where you can buy songs or videos (the videos worked pretty well for keeping the kids distracted on the plane). As for A.J. Jenkins, very little is available about him on-line. A quick search turns up mostly links to his songs or posts wondering who he is.

But Google searching is an art form, and I was able to come up with a few facts through more complicated searches.

1) His name is "Alistair J. Jenkins" and he lives in Japan.

2) There used to be a Wikipedia page for him, but it failed Wikipedia's "General Notability Guidelines" and was deleted, because Wikipedia is run by jerks. Seriously, he has over a billion views on YouTube, and he's not notable enough for you, Wikipedia? Anyway, according to the (former) Wikipedia article, he is French, which seems surprising. There are also some things that seem inconsistent about the article, such as the fact that he started uploading to YouTube in 2012 (it was 2009), and the idea that he was born in 1964, started writing children's music at age 48, and released his first children's song in 2003. I expect higher standards from you, Wikipedia User Raiders696969!

3) As seen in the K Song, he is friends with "EricSurf6", another Westerner living in Japan. I tweeted at EricSurf6, but I have yet to hear back.

Casting Call

Received via e-mail; passed along without endorsement...

Hi, I am wondering if you can share this with your readers.

Thanks

Michelle

Good People Casting

goodpeoplecasting.com

WE NEED TWINS!

NOW CASTING A SAG NATIONAL COMMERCIAL FOR A MAJOR SPORTS APPAREL BRAND!

Good People Casting (http://www.goodpeoplecasting.com) is now casting female IDENTICAL twins for a MAJOR sports apparel commercial. It's a SAG national, which means a potential for a big payday!

We're looking for identical twins who look 15-26 and are cool and athletic.  Would love to see twins with distinct features like lots of freckles, gap teeth, cat eyes, super long hair below the waist. Although not required, if you play sports, let us know!

Can be anywhere in the US!

MUST BE AVAILABLE THESE DATES

CASTING- Now through May 15th (we'll simply need a short interview, depending on where you are, we'll either have you come in to our studio or do a Skype interview)

CALLBACKS- May 17th

FITTING- May 21st

SHOOT DATES- May 22nd

We will contact you with audition/interview time and place!

TO SUBMIT:

Email ALL the information requested below ASAP to:

info.goodpeoplecasting@gmail.com

Be sure to include:

1. Your name(s)

2. Contact phone number(s)

3. At least two photos of you and your twin- must cleanly show your face and body type! (jpg format please)

4. If you have any experience playing sports, let us know here.

5. Please put in the subject of the email: TWINS 

Thanks!

Great Mothers of Twins: Carolyn Hax

Twinpanic.com wishes Happy 10th Birthday to Carolyn Hax's boys.

Petraeus-gate: The Twin Angle

So, like much of America, I'm trying to understand what the heck happened with General Petraeus, the woman in North Carolina he apparently was having an affair with, the woman in Florida he allegedly wasn't, the FBI agent who sent shirtless pictures to the woman in Florida, etc., etc.

So does this picture of Petraeus with his arm around Jill Kelley, the woman in Florida, mean anything? It might, if it were a picture of him and Jill Kelley. Instead, it's a picture of him with his arm around Natalie Khawam, Jill Kelley's identical twin sister.

So there you go. There's always a twin angle. (Except when there's not.)

No, no, no

Someone wrote into Carolyn Hax's chat with the following issue:

My sister has a beautiful 4 year old daughter. She's pregnant again - and about a month ago she found out she was pregnant with twin girls. Meanwhile, our brother and his husband have been talking more seriously about starting a family; years ago my sister told them she would consider being a surrogate or egg donor when they were ready to discuss it. Yesterday, my sister told me that since she found out about the twins, she has had the crazy idea of exploring the possibility of my brother and brother-in-law adopting one of the girls.

Among the responses:

• "Has either of you talked to any twins? I imagine they'd be strongly opposed to the idea. I don't have a twin myself, but two of my kids are, and that leads many of the adults we meet out in the world to point out that they also are twins. Then come the stories of how amazing it is to grow up that way, with your better-than-best friend." (From Hax, a twin mom herself)
• "Um, babies aren't cookies. You don't give your brother one just because you've got two."
• "I have twins also and their bond is incredible, so much so that the "Parent Trap" bothered me because I couldn't imagine parents splitting twins up. I think it would have to be difficult to discover that your cousin is actually your twin."
• "As a twin: NO. Do not encourage this idea. My relationship with my twin sister is by far the defining relationship in my life."
• "I'm a twin with a twin brother and reading this question just gutted me. We've had our ups and we've had our downs, but I would be horrified if someone had split us apart at birth. I can't even contemplate it, no matter how well seeming the idea appears. DON'T DO IT! Please."

Twins in the Media

The new show Political Animals is an interesting, movie-quality series with top stars, from Ellen Burstyn to Sigourney Weaver. This political roman a clef changed enough details to fake it. One detail: the former first lady/Secretary of State/presidential hopeful played by Weaver has twin sons: Bud & TJ, played by unrelated actors, and born "3 minutes apart" according to a scene in episode 2.

Twins Down Under

The Australian state of Victoria had its triennial Twins Plus Festival last weekend, and the Herald Sun newspaper had some interesting interviews with identical twins. I often find the twin perspective to be more enlightening than the twin-parent perspective, so this made some interesting reading. A favorite bit:

Once I went on a date with a girl who had brown hair and we went to this particular restaurant; after that Peter and his blonde girlfriend went there and this waitress threw the meal down on the table. It was not until we went on a double-date there that the waitress realised there were two of us; she thought one of us was dating two and doing the dirty, and she'd taken the woman's perspective - "Here's your bloody spaghetti". She was so apologetic.