As I Like it

Thought for the Day

2008-08-17T13:16:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the Chief's curiosity regarding my recently neglected blog, I figured I'd pose this question rather than wonder silently:

Why does "What Not to Wear" only focus on women?

Surely, many men can use the help, too...

Have kids?

2008-08-05T08:03:00.005-05:00

What follows is a press release for So Sexy So Soon:
The New Sexualized Childhood and
What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids, appearing in stores today.

Diane E. Levin, Ph.D. and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D.
www.sosexysosoon.com

In an age of wild girls and bad boys SO SEXY SO SOON: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (Ballantine Books; $25.00) is a powerful antidote to the media's stepped up assault on childhood and its effect on our kids' vulnerable psyches. Written by Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., and Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., internationally recognized experts on the impact of the media on children and teens, it is the first book that helps parents understand how sexualization affects children of all ages and genders and tells them what to do about it.

For children today, learning about sex too soon isn't the issue. The problem is the synthetic and cynical source of a child's information. Since children don't have the emotional sophistication and psychological development needed to understand what they are seeing, images on TV and in advertisements as well as toys and entertainment-linked figures like Bratz dolls and WWE wrestlers deeply influence how they feel about their bodies and their sexuality and how they think about gender and relationships. We are left with little girls wanting to go on diets so they can be “sexy,” little boys getting suspended from school for sexual harassment, and parents in desperate need of guidance. Finally, there is help.

SO SEXY SO SOON, an in-depth analysis of the media's effect on impressionable kids, gives parents the information, skills, and confidence they need to play a proactive role with their children around sexual issues. It includes poignant stories that demonstrate how our kids internalize what they see and hear, guidelines and sample conversations for talking with kids about these sensitive subjects, and offers practical strategies for counteracting the disturbing messages that bombard our children every day.

Praise from Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia, “This book is powerful and profoundly useful. It is packed with great stories and poignant examples of the stress children face in our sex-soaked culture. Best of all, the authors offer sane and practical solutions for all of us who want to make things better for children, parents, schools and the culture at large."

Praise from Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabees: “If you want to make the world safe for both the boys and girls you care about, you must read this book. Kilbourne and Levin show you a way to transform the world for your children--and make you feel empowered in the process.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Diane E. Levin, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education at Wheelock College in Boston. An internationally recognized expert who helps professionals and parents deal with the effects of violence, media and commercial culture on children, Levin is a Senior Advisor to the PBS parent's website for girls, the co-founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment, and the author or co-author of seven other books. She does over 25 major presentations a year and has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” and “Talk of the Nation.” (www.dianeelevin.com)

Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D., is internationally recognized for her pioneering work on alcohol and tobacco advertising and the image of women in advertising and is the author of Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel. She gives over 80 lectures a year-- the New York Times Magazine named her one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses-- and her films (among them the award-winning Killing Us Softly), lectures, and television appearances have been seen by millions internationally. A Senior Scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Women, she has been a guest on many shows including "The Today Show," “20/20,” and "The Oprah Winfrey Show." (www.jeankilbourne.com)

Fabulous!

2008-07-31T15:51:00.003-05:00

"The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, IUDs and the Plan B emergency contraceptive.
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There is also deep concern that the rule could have far-reaching, but less obvious, implications. Because of its wide scope and because it would -- apparently for the first time -- define abortion in a federal regulation as anything that affects a fertilized egg, the regulation could raise questions about a broad spectrum of scientific research and care, critics say."

Link

Ah, paving the road to implementing a definition that equates "birth control" to "abortion."
Lovely.

Uterus ownership should come with a disclaimer from the government informing women our organs are simply on loan. It would save a lot of confusion, and we would be less likely to get all uppity when someone tries to create more and more rules attempting to govern our reproductive systems. We'd at least have been sufficiently warned of our position, see...and we might have long since become resigned.

Good Question.

2008-07-24T18:10:00.006-05:00

This is not about Obama v. McCain - this is simply a good question.

Tell Me Again, Why Is Obama Being Popular With Our Allies a Bad Thing?

Lifetime's "Army Wives" - Desperation Could Kill Lifetime's Cash Cow

2008-07-20T06:42:00.005-05:00

(First published in the Journal Inquirer July 18, 2008)

As Lifetime Network's "Army Wives" is picked up for a third season, hailed for its accurate depictions of the lives of women living on an Army post, it might be unpopular to label the show as one lacking in accuracy and frantically clutching at dramatic straws.

But if the critique fits…

A recent episode of Army Wives contained such a gross inaccuracy for the sake of dramatic action that, had it been true, most Americans would no doubt skipping work to protest the heartless military.

Read the rest at the Journal Inquirer.

New blog entry

2008-07-16T20:13:00.003-05:00

Because I hate it when I visit other people's blogs after about two weeks and it hasn't changed, I thought I'd change mine.

Also, is anyone watching The Baby Borrowers? What these kids are doing should be a required experience for all high schoolers.

On second thought, scratch that. It should be a required experience for any couple, any age, considering procreation.

What vacation looks like.

2008-06-27T07:34:00.005-05:00

It may have been Axl Rose driving near Southampton, and it may not. We're saying it was, because that's what it says on the license plate.

Long Island shoreline.

Seen from the ferry.
Provincetown:

An Avid Reader Reviews "Homefront"

2008-06-23T16:02:00.002-05:00

"Every once in a while I will start a book and never want it to end. It's very rare. I usually enjoy finishing a book so I can get started on a new one. But with Kristen Tsetsi's 'Homefront', I wish it was a never ending serial novel, with new chapters appearing magically every day."

Read the rest at OCD Man's blog (and check out his other reviews, too, if you're in the market for something new to read. Even if you're not.)

Word clothing.

2008-06-20T14:07:00.004-05:00

I really don't like the T-shirts and pants that draw attention to boobs and butts ("Juicy"? Ech.), but I couldn't resist designing these. (If they're already out there somewhere, they just weren't immediately available on google images...)

Anyway, consider these copyrighted, stealers of brilliant designs! (Unless they're already out there somewhere, that is.)

Homefront Reviewed in The Fifteen Project

2008-06-17T16:16:00.005-05:00

An excerpt from the review:

"Homefront is a skillfully-constructed narrative about the psychological strife-bordering on, but not quite becoming, devastation-suffered by those with loved ones fighting overseas. In this respect, it neither overstates nor undervalues this aspect of war's effects. Due largely to the tone and technique of the text, the travails of its protagonist are seen as individual rather than simplistically universal or over-generalized. For the most part it stays away from un-self-conscious cliché and avoids the temptation to cast the war at home as somehow more harrowing, more moving, or more intense than the war abroad."

The rest is here.

Editor Pat Lawrence supplied the review for his publication, which includes more reviews, poetry, art, and fiction - definitely worth keeping up with the journal. In his own words, the Fifteen Project is "a digital magazine dedicated to literature and art. since july, 2004, 15p has tried to expose emerging voices, catch particles of discourse from established artists, put together an enjoyable, thought-provoking experience dedicated to quality work of any genre."

But it's also more. To find out what, visit www.fifteenproject.com.

RIP, Tim Russert.

2008-06-13T20:38:00.007-05:00

(Image taken from MSNBC article on Russert.)

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On the way to work this morning...

2008-06-03T11:23:00.002-05:00

...I saw this guy and had to get a picture.

New York

2008-05-29T05:27:00.004-05:00

Simple sign of crumbles in society

2008-05-20T16:40:00.006-05:00

Maybe I'm overdramatizing. Or maybe it really is the little things.

This picture is not of a one-time event. Every week, residents of my apartment complex leave their bags of trash just underneath the trash chute, and drop their cardboard instead of bringing it downstairs to the recycling bins.

That silver door in the wall? The one right over the bag of trash? That's the chute.

Unless it's the same lazy teenager doing this every time, I can't imagine what the losers leaving their trash on the floor are thinking, or how they respond to everyday life. What kind of person just drops garbage and expects someone else to pick it up? (Except, as I said, for a lazy teenager? I'm not saying all teens are lazy, of course - but we've all known or been the kid who would drop the bag after being told by an annoying parent to take out the trash.)

If those doing it are adults, how embarrassing for the rest of us. (And how much of a pain for the crew that has to clean it - I wonder if they're tempted to install cameras so they can track the trash, let themselves into the culprit's apartment, and dump it all over their floor.)

blog break

2008-05-13T17:45:00.002-05:00

It's just one of those times.

It's also time to start sending out queries again, which is always a joyful and encouraging experience.

HAHAHAHAH!

But seriously - wish me luck.

'til later...

Creepy Reality

2008-05-11T09:01:00.007-05:00

Confession: I watch reality TV. I don't DVR it, or anything, but if I'm looking for mindless entertainment, I'll flip through until I find something like The Girls Next Door. (Kendra is really funny.)

But I never thought about how creepy reality TV is until seeing the preview for Denise Richards' reality show, due to start next week or the week after. (Soon, at any rate.) A few minutes later I saw an ad for Lindsay Lohan's mom's reality show.

Richards, who once acted in movies, is now marketing herself as T&A while her voiceover claims the show aims to set the record straight about who she is, which she says is anything but what she's been called in the press.

Lohan appears to have a camera following her and her equally spoiled daughter around while both scrape and claw at the doors to the entertainment industry for the fame they probably believe they deserve. (Lindsay can't be the only one who gets to have it, damn it!)

As a reality-show watcher, I understand my role and that there'd be no reality TV if people like me weren't watching. I'll admit curiosity had me catching a few episodes of Paula Abdul's follow-my-life show, and then regretting it (how to take her seriously as a judge on AI after watching her very public and unapologetic displays of immaturity and petulance?).

I am part of the problem. Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't wonder what it is that makes a person a) believe her life is so utterly fascinating the world will want to watch [is that not the height of arrogance?], and b) so desperate to be looked at.

Richards wasn't in too many movies, but she could at least, before now, be respected as a film actress. Now she's just a reality show diva. Period. She went from the career many in her profession aspire to to the lowest level on the totem, the entry-level job people take because they hope it will some day get them into the movies. It's much like when an actress you admire for her skills or a certain role in a TV show eventually ends up barely-dressed in Maxim. Respectability drops by about 105%.

I can't decide if Richards' move is creepy (not only because it seems weird to me to want to be watched like that, but because her decision strikes me as the height of selling out) or just unfortunate (was she in such a tough spot she needed the money?)

The Lohans are just parasites. Little else to say about them. They had nowhere to fall.

[P.S. And is having a blog equally arrogant in that it assumes people actually care about what you have to say? Hmm...]
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In operation, finally!

2008-05-07T17:00:00.003-05:00

Okay. Tuesday Shorts, the dot com, is up with new pieces posted.

Tell someone. Tell anyone. Write 100 words (or fewer) and send them to tuesdayshorts@yahoo.com sometime between noon Sat. and noon Sun., EST.

Not just any 100 words, obviously. We're looking for thought-provoking, unusual, or funny 100 words. (or fewer.)

TUESDAYSHORTS.COM.

Appearing soon in a spread in Opium #6.

(I just noticed this new ratings gadget at the bottom of the post. When did that show up?)

A Tip

2008-04-30T14:50:00.003-05:00

If you feel someone can help you, and you ask for their help, don't preface the request with a lie, even if it's designed to be flattering. It's obvious, and it's insulting.

Honesty usually works best.
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Drunk Monkeys

2008-04-26T07:56:00.001-05:00

This video is too much. Happy weekend, monkeys!

yay! officially a story up in 2008, and it's only almost halfway through the year.

2008-04-24T19:52:00.003-05:00

To be fair, though, I haven't been very actively submitting.

Anyway, "Things You Do for Love," a story six sentences long, is up at Six Sentences.

If you haven't checked Six Sentences out, yet, you should. Stories six sentences long, the sentences from one word to as many lines long as they need to be (assuming the punctuation is correct, of course). Really. There's some fun stuff to read, there.
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The Chief and Books

2008-04-17T12:25:00.006-05:00

I was honored this morning to read a review - written by a man I know only as The Chief - of Homefront. I found his blog, "The Chief's Forum," the way people find blogs (through other people's blogs) a while ago and was immediately drawn to its diversity. The Chief talks sports (and, okay, those posts I admit I don't read), movies (who doesn't love to talk movies?), politics (but not in a "my candidate rules and yours is stupid" way), and books (enough said).

I've seen a list of the stuff he reads. It's the same stuff I would read, were I reading right now. So for him to review my book was not only damn nice of him (because it's nice of anyone to take the time if they're not getting paid by some magazine), but something I'd been anticipating. What he had to say - because of what he likes to read, and because of the things he likes to write about - made me that much more curious to know what he thought.

Here's a teaser Chief-thought from the review: "Donny is not simply a drunk veteran."

What else is he? you wonder.

The rest can be found at The Chief's Forum, which should be visited frequently simply because there's always something new going on over there.
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new listing

2008-04-11T14:11:00.003-05:00

Another novel entry in the True Fiction genre.

busy pause

2008-04-08T15:31:00.002-05:00

Preview of upcoming blog tomorroworthenextday:

"It's like a guide book on how to date rape!" a friend said.

Celebrity in America

2008-04-05T07:34:00.003-05:00

"Heather Mills soon will be back in front of the cameras. The former Mrs. Paul McCartney, who recently wrapped up a very public divorce from the ex-Beatle, is among the celebrity judges just announced for the upcoming Miss USA Pageant." (link to the rest)

If all you have to do in America to be a "celebrity" is engage in contemptible behavior, there's hope for a lot of people who want their fifteen minutes, yet!

People watching

2008-03-29T14:22:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, when I was at the police station to look at some booking sheets, a teenage boy walked in and went up to the desk and asked the officer behind the glass to check for any recent accident reports.

His girlfriend was missing, he said. He'd expected to see her a few hours before, but he hadn't heard from her.

The officer found nothing, and the boy thanked him and left.

As the boy was waiting, an adult couple came in and went up to the glass and said they were there to pick up their son.

I used to think airports were the place to be, but now I'd like to sit in a police station lobby for a day.