Posted on June 18, 2008 at 8:00 am
This week we have something that does not happen very often — two huge movies in the same genre opening on the same day: “Get Smart” with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway and “The Love Guru” with Mike Myers. One is based on a 1960’s television series
Posted on June 12, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I have always disliked the terms “Baby Mama” and “Baby Daddy.” Originally they were used only to describe unmarried parents and the implication was that their connection through the baby or children was all that remained of their relationship. The implication is derisive and distancing. As often happens with slang, the expressions originally from one segment of the culture (Jamaican terms adapted by African-Americans) appeared in popular song lyrics and were then picked up by the mainstream. Salon’s Alex Koppelman noted that Fox News used the term “Obama’s Baby Mama” in a graphic for a story about criticism of Michelle Obama and Fox is now responding to criticism that the term was inaccurate, inappropriate, offensive, and racist by saying that its producer used poor judgment.
Families should talk about how words used in different contexts can have different meanings and how slang terms move from the fringes to the mainstream and yet still be seen different ways by different people in different circumstances.
Posted on June 10, 2008 at 5:00 pm
“American children get too little sleep, with major adverse implications for their cognitive ability, judgment, behavior and physical health,” according to new study from the Kaiser foundation. There are many factors, but one of them is media. Children and adults often watch television or DVDs before going to sleep. But media use — computers, television, DVDs, cell phones, iPods, etc. — all of which have sharply increased, can disrupt sleep. 
The report notes that children, especially very young children, have much more access to technology than even in the recent past. Some believe that media use has directly displaced sleep. Children stay up later and get up earlier to use media. Many teens and even younger children take their cell phones to bed and stay up late sending text messages. The amount of television time correlates to irregular bedtimes and naptimes. Media use also displaces physical activity which is important for sleep quality. The exciting and dramatic content of programs, even those intended for children, can be disturbing and lead to increase in sleeplessness and nightmares. Surprisingly, passive viewing (having the television on in the background while they do other things) can correlate even more highly to sleep disturbance than active viewing (watching without other distractions).
This result may have arisen because the passive viewing to which the children were exposed was more stressful than the content that they were watching actively, which was presumably children’s fare. This result clearly warrants further research, particularly given the
amount of adult viewing that happens in the presence of children.
Kaiser recommends more research on this important topic.
Posted on June 3, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Mike Myers’ upcoming movie, “The Love Guru” has sparked protests from Hindu groups even before its scheduled opening on June 20.
Hindus have urged Viacom and its brand Paramount Pictures to post a study-guide about Hinduism and guru tradition on their websites and place it in movie theaters worldwide to undo the damage done by their upcoming Hollywood movie “The Love Guru.”
But spiritual leader Deepak Chopra, a friend of Myers’ who reviewed the script before it was filmed and appears briefly onscreen, says that it is not insulting. The Meyers character espouses a made-up philosophy that satirizes people like Chopra.
“He said, ‘Listen, it’s kind of a satire. It’s a lampoon,'” Chopra said, recalling Myers’ words. “He said on the surface it’s like that, but on a deeper level, it’s a tribute.”
Myers “has the most profound understanding of Eastern wisdom, traditions and spirituality,” Chopra said. “In the end, the movie is about self-esteem and love. It is about, in fact, love being the ultimate truth. He goes about it in a very silly, humorous way, but that’s his style.”
Like Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” movie opening this week, “The Love Guru” uses humor to explore topics that are too sensitive to explore directly. But one person’s gentle satire is another’s insult.
Posted on May 29, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Maybe it’s just too much exposure to commercials for Bridezilla, a sort of WWE with smackdowns between maniacal brides and their wedding planners, families, and bridesmaids, but I was horrified to read a press release today from MyKidsRegistry.com, a new “social networking” website that allows children to register for the gifts they want for their birthdays and holidays.
When planning her son’s 3rd birthday it went from being a project of joy to a “project”, Segal began to think of ways to simplify the process. She didn’t like telling people exactly what to buy for her son and the idea of people trekking to the nearest toy store and standing in line for something her son may already have in his toy box, was something that Segal wanted to avoid as well.
First, if Segal’s son’s 3rd birthday party was a “project,” it was too big and expensive. No 3 year old needs anything more than some balloons, a couple of games lasting about an hour, and 3-4 other children to sing “Happy Birthday” and help blow out candles. What is truly disturbing here is the way this promotes a “gimmee” culture that turns the entire idea of giving upside down. Instead of teaching children to accept what they are given graciously and that it is the thought that counts, it teaches them to think of their milestones as delivery systems for an endless conveyor belt of goodies.
The press release defensively asserts that
MyKidsRegistry.com is not about an over the top party or a “buy my kids this” mentality, but it is about saving time and money for everyone. Its free membership is designed assist parents in planning and shopping for the perfect party.
Baloney.
The next sentence is (literally) where the money is:
MyKidsRegistry.com is affiliated with birthdayinabox.com, Amazon.com, Kbtoys.com, etoys.com, ebeanstalk.com, Kazootoys.com, littletikes.com, babyuniverse.com, Upromise.com, netflix.com, snapfish.com, giggle.com, uncommongoods.com, MiniBoden.com, and LandofNod.com.
