May 08, 2008

Graduation Thoughts

In about two weeks, dear daughter and her friends graduate from high school. DD has always been a good student, and will be attending a university to study foreign language translation and political science. I know that I am lucky to have a kid who likes going to school, and lucky to have been able to provide her an upbringing that includes a house, two parents, and stability in all areas of her life.

I was thinking about the upcoming graduation the other day, and about a few of her friends who won't be there, because they dropped out over the past couple of years. One was from another country and just could never seem to overcome the language barrier; one dropped out because she came from an abusive home and made the choices she felt she needed to make to survive; and a third wanted to work full-time to help his struggling family.

According to this msnbc article, Cities cited for low high school graduation rates, 70 percent of high school students in the U.S. graduate with a diploma on time. But more than a million drop out each year. And there have been plenty of articles published online and in print lately about the drop-out epidemic (as some call it).

How do we fix this problem? Here's a good place to start: Solutions for America offers some ideas on Dropout Prevention.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Parenting

April 17, 2008

An Important Announcement...

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

April 09, 2008

In the News--Focus on Kids

I haven't done an In the News roundup lately, so I thought it was about time. As I searched the starred items in my Google Reader, I noticed several had something to do with children, so here there are, news stories that focus on kids:

  • For Little Children, Grown-Up Labels As Sexual Harassers--Washington Post: Children as young as four years old are being labeled as sexual harassers in some states.
  • Toddlers can no longer get hitched in Arkansas--msnbc.com: No matter how in love they may be, toddlers are no longer permitted to marry in a U.S. state.
  • Miss Bimbo game--CNN: Lots of people are up in arms about a Web site targeting young girls with some unhealthy (or at least unbecoming) behaviors.
  • Marching into the mommy wars--Salon: YES I HAVE been on both sides of the fence (WAHM and WOHM at different times) and YES I DO GET IT. So I am dying to see how talented novelist Meg Wolitzer tackles this touchy topic.
  • My beautiful, drug-addicted boy--Salon: RIght after I finish Wolitzer's book, I am running out to get this one. A journalist chronicles his struggle as the father of an addict. It sounds heartbreaking and brilliant.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Parenting

March 25, 2008

Poopy Talk

Okay, this has me a little freaked out. Salon recently published an article titled The bowel movement. Am I just too prissy for all this talk about poo? When my kids were in diapers, dh and I, and even my friends and I (all young moms at the time), used to chat about poo (which we lovingly called "poopy" when emitted from our precious babies' bottoms). Like "oh my goodness, that antibiotic gave my little princess such runny poopy!" Or "my little angel hasn't pooped in two days! I wonder if he's sick?" You know how young parents can be. But now, apparently, the business of our bowels is creeping into everyday conversation, and is even the topic of a popular book. Hmm. 'Nuf said.

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Filed under: General 40ish | Health | Meaningless Gab | News/Media/Studies | Parenting

March 21, 2008

Starting Over

When I was a college student in my late teens and early twenties, I used to drive five hours back to my parents' house in South Florida for holidays and long weekends. Although my life was relatively happy in those days, it was also stressful, as the pressure of keeping up good grades, holding down a demanding internship, and searching for a job in a recession-riddled country faced me. In addition, my parents split in those years, and the bitter divorce added even more stress for all of us. On the long drives back home from college and my horrible, first post-college job in Georgia, I would pass the exits for tiny little beach towns, and wonder..."What would it be like to just exit here and start over? To just chuck it all and go somewhere new and start over?"

Of course, these were just fantasies--fleeting, unrealistic fantasies that I never planned to follow through with, even if I could have. But I think most people, at one time or another, have wished to just go somewhere new and start over fresh, minus the baggage that adulthood inevitably brings.

Those days more than 20 years ago came rushing back today when I read this article, Man Auctions His Life, on Reuters Oddly Enough site. It seems a bit extreme, but hey, it's his life. (But not for long...)

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Filed under: General 40ish | Meaningless Gab | News/Media/Studies

October 19, 2007

In the News

I've gathered up some interesting news items for you to check out:

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

July 22, 2007

What Kind of Future Do Teens Want?

I was reading a review on Salon.com the other day, about Daniel Brook's new book, "The Trap".
According to Salon,

Daniel Brook's new book argues that 20-somethings are forced to choose between living by their ideals or making a living.

Well the book seems to be more about activism, but I started pondering the idea of teens and their future plans. I am the mother of a 17-year-old, and I have many friends who also have kids who are either in late high school or in college or trade school. For a few years, my daughter has been considering a career in education. Since she is now a senior in high school, many people ask about her future plans, and when she tells them she might like to be a teacher, she often is met with this: "Oh, there's just NO MONEY in being a teacher!" Usually she doesn't respond, but sometimes me and my big mouth will chime in "I imagine a career in education is rewarding in other ways" or sometimes even "well we just want her to be happy. How happy are you in your job?" if I don't like the person very much.

The truth is, I can't even count how many people I know, around my age or older, who are absolutely miserable in their jobs. And many of these folks, by society's standards, are quite financially successful. Not that you can't be both happy and successful, but I think many people in my generation--remember yuppies and D.I.N.K.s?--went for the big money jobs, and some let their dreams slip away because they were just too damn scared they couldn't pay the rent. At my old job at a very large corporation, the big joke was that everyone was well-paid but was also either in therapy or divorced or both. But it really wasn't a joke, it was the truth. And in quiet conversations, some of my co-workers would reveal that their jobs were killing them, but they couldn't quit because they had a mortgage/kids in college/needed the health insurance/etc.

I've been talking to lots of teens lately, because there are usually a few at my house every day, and life-after-high-school is on all their minds. And what I'm hearing from them is that they want to be happy--not like their parents, not necessarily driving Hummers, but happy. What a lovely sentiment.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Parenting

July 13, 2007

A Threat to School Security?

I support my local public school system, and I have two kids currently attending my local high school and middle school. Let me just put that out there before I say this: sometimes I wonder what kind of idiots are running some of the public schools in this country, especially when I read something like this:
‘I Love Alex’ earns girl 4-month suspension.

My question is, what ever happened to common sense? Should policy overrule that EVERYTIME? I say this out of sheer frustration, and I bring my own baggage to the table. I still can't help but wonder.

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Filed under: Meaningless Gab | News/Media/Studies | Parenting

July 03, 2007

Should Insulting Someone Be...A Crime?

The other day, my daughter was having a wee bit of an argument with a boy she knows, via text messaging. Well, it wasn't exactly an argument. He had texted her that day to let her know what he thought of her decision not to date him, as he had hoped she might. He proceeded to tell her she was wrong to have lead him on, and that she was...a dummy.

My daughter is 17, the boy is 19, and she burst out laughing when she read the message. "A dummy? He thinks I'm a dummy? I don't think anyone has called me that since I was eight years old." This scathing insult was the end of the conversation, and we all got back to our regularly scheduled lives. But what if calling someone a dummy or any other such name was more than just a little mean? What if it was a crime? In some countries it is. Check out this article from a CBS blog to see how these types of laws aren't just strange, they can be downright scary.

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Filed under: General 40ish | News/Media/Studies

May 18, 2007

How weird is this...?

Check out this article, about what a college in Beijing is doing: College forces pregnancy tests on students.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

April 02, 2007

In the News

Here are a few articles that have caught my eye this week:

  • Cruisers Overboard Again?: I've been on several cruises, and wondering if people can fall, or even jump off a ship is a topic of conversation that comes up at least once per trip. But now it has happened twice in one month? Check out these stories: Cruise Line Probing Overboard Fall and Coast Guard finds man who jumped off ship.

  • The Number of People Affected by Alzheimer's is Growing: Report: 5M Live With Alzheimer's. My mother is one of them, and we pray everyday for advances in healthcare so other families won't have to suffer the pain we have lived with for three years.

  • Are You Kidding Me? A Pre-Abortion Ultrasound Requirement?: Abortion ultrasound-viewing advances in S.C. Regardless of my personal views on abortion, this article (well not the article, but the S.C. government really) made me pretty angry.

  • Colleges Tackle Suicide: New statistics on college students committing or attempting suicide have lead some colleges to address the problem. Check out The suicide test.

  • More Devastation From Mother Nature: Reports of Solomons tsunami devastation grow.

  • Fuel for Both Sides of the Mommy Wars: Day Care Debate Continues and Will you regret staying home with your baby? I have been both a working and a stay-at-home mom, but I found the second article particularly offensive. I thought through my decision to stay home for a few years very carefully, but I had respect for those who made different choices. 'Nuf said.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

November 17, 2006

What's in the News?

Looking for some interesting stories to read? Here are my latest picks:

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

October 02, 2006

Are We Media-Numb?

About two weeks ago, my teenage daughter, her boyfriend, and I went out to lunch to my daughter's favorite restaurant. We promptly ordered our favorite appetizer: spinach and artichoke dip. But the waiter informed us that the restaurant was currently not serving this dish, or any other containing spinach, due to the E-coli-infected spinach that has been found in 26 states across the U.S., and has already killed one person and made 187 others sick.

I'd heard about the whole spinach E-coli scare, of course, because like a good little citizen, I try to read the newspaper, scan news items on the Internet, and watch a television news broadcast at least a few times a week. But I started thinking about how although I knew eating spinach was not the greatest idea, I ordered it anyway. And I decided that I do not have a death wish, I'm just one of the many Americans who gets so much news on a daily basis that not all of it sticks. To be perfectly honest, I began to wonder if the amount of media I am exposed to has made me a bit numb.

I feel particularly strange about this revelation because I am, by trade and by education, a journalist. Although I ditched news journalism for the fluffier, much-more-fun lifestyle stuff more than a decade ago, I do remember my hard news days well, covering the city and police beat in a South Florida town, spending my days staying on top of whatever news the residents of my community needed to know. When I was an eager journalism student, I could not imagine a time when important news stories would just float through me, when much of the news would have little-to-no affect on my day-to-day life. I never imagined that there would be a day when I would hear about deaths and armed robberies and even war without so much as looking up from the dinner I was cooking at the time. But that day has come.

Has the news become just another backdrop of our lives, like the music being emitted from our iPods? I'd like to think that isn't the case. Perhaps as I get older, my brain is just a little lower on bandwidth. Whatever the case may be, I'm just glad that alert waiters and the CDC are looking out for me. Every little bit helps.

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Filed under: Health | News/Media/Studies

September 25, 2006

Stories of Interest (probably to noone but me...)

They may not all be hard news, but these are still some pretty interesting articles--at least for me they are! Check them out:

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

August 15, 2006

Newshound--Interesting Stories to Check Out

Now that school is back in session (can I hear a collective "Yay!"), I've been searching for interesting news stories to bring to you. Let me know what you think of these:

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Reviews

July 11, 2006

I...Have Become...Comfortably Numb

Sad news today in the music world--Pink Floyd Co-Founder Barrett Dies at 60. Yes, he split from the band long before I'd ever heard of it because I was just so young, but I couldn't help but be sad when I heard the news. Sixty seems young too die doesn't it? It makes me face my own mortality, just for a moment.

As a child of the 1970s (although I was born in the mid-sixties), Pink Floyd provided the backdrop for much of my youth. I remember when my older sister brought home "Dark Side of the Moon." I was young--very young. But for years, I can remember the sounds of this music, floating through our house. And in 1979, the year I started high school, Pink Floyd released "The Wall." I remember being mesmerized, falling into a near-daze when I would hear the song "Comfortably Numb". The pain, the angst. Teenage years, in a nutshell.

R.I.P. Roger Keith Barrett.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hear your feeling down
I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

June 23, 2006

I Feel So Lonely Baby. . .

Have you ever had something really wonderful, or perhaps even something really awful happen in your life, and feel like you just don't have anyone to turn and share it with? If so, you're not really alone after all. Because a recent study reveals that 25% of Americans are in the same position.

USA Today's article "Study: 25% of Americans have no one to confide in" discusses the American Sociological Review study, which revealed that compared to two decades ago, many Americans have fewer people to confide in. And one in four Americans report they have no one at all to confide in. The decline of close contacts in Americans' lives can mean many are leading lives of increasing isolation, which, research indicates, may be associated with physical and mental illness.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

June 19, 2006

Newhound Stories of Interest

Some interesting stories I wanted to share:

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

May 24, 2006

Why Women Outlive Men

capoteMost people know that the average life expectancy for a woman today is several years more than the life expectancy for a man. But why exactly is this true?

As more of my friends' fathers than mothers have been passing away lately, I began to wonder why women are outliving men. (The female life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.9, while for men it's 72.7.) I found this article--Why Do Women Live Longer? - CBS News--which outlined some of the factors that make this statistic true. They include:

  • Men engage in riskier behavior that may result in death. This includes, for instance, driving at higher speeds. More men than women are killed in car accidents.
  • Men also engage in more violent behavior than women. This includes homicide and suicide.
  • Safer childbirths mean less birth-related deaths for women. Maternal mortality was fairly common in the early 20th century.

I, however, prefer my mother's theory on why women live longer than men: because we're just better : ) (My mom is a poor old lady with Alzheimer's Disease--please don't diss her!)

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Filed under: General 40ish | News/Media/Studies

May 18, 2006

More News--What the Heck? Version

I just can't seem to get enough news lately. Check out these unusual stories:

1. When it comes to older women with younger men, I'm usually all for it. Like when Demi married Ashton, I was like "well he's not my type, but you go girl!" But when I read Couple, 33 and 104, reportedly marry, I must admit, I was a little freaked out.

2. I like zoos, I really do. But I don't think I'll be checking out the latest exhibit at this Chinese zoo, which you can read about in Shanghai Preparing for 'Human Zoo'. Can we just call this performance art instead of a Human Zoo? That would make me feel so much better.

3. A Missouri teacher got into some hot water over a writing assignment this week. I usually support innovative teaching, but when I read Reading, 'Riting — And Murder?, even I was a little shocked, and wondering what the hell was he thinking?.

4. Does anyone remember the movie Heathers? Because when I read this article--Teen Gets 12 Years for Poisoning Milk--that was all I could think about.

5. Okay, maybe the thought has crossed your mind. Your kid has a clueless, mean, or just plain awful teacher, and you fantasize about giving that teacher just a little flick on the head or a wedgie or something. Thank goodness most of us stop at the fantasy. Apparently the mom in this article--Woman jailed for beating daughter’s teacher--didn't stop at merely the thought of it. She assaulted her child's teacher in front of a class, and is now serving jail time.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

May 17, 2006

Newshound, at Your Service

Some interesting topics are in the news these days, so I thought I'd share some of the stories that have caught my eye:

1. Raising kids can be expensive? Really? You're kidding! USA Today reports that Parents of Teens Ride Waves of Expenses. So much for the idea of saving for retirement. Or perhaps, we could all just start saying "no" to some of the stuff society and the media tell us, and our kids, we simply can't do without.

2. You know how we were all kids once, and our parents took care of us? It's payback time. USA Today reports on the trend of parents moving in with their kids in this article: When Mom (or Dad) Moves In.

3. In my commuting-to-downtown-from-the-burbs days in metro Atlanta, I saw several incidents of road rage on the highways. But apparently, I should count myself as one of the lucky ones. This Yahoo News article, Miami Tops Auto Club List for Rude Drivers, says Atlantans are among the country's most courteous drivers.

4. We know blogs are important, and now the government knows too. ABC News recently reported, in The CIA Discovers the Blogosphere, that the government is keeping on eye on blogs to get "social perspectives" on important issues.

5. First our girls were falling behind in education. Recently, we heard our sons were falling behind, in all areas except technology. Now, we're hearing that our girls are pulling out ahead of the boys in technology, as well. In ABC New's Tech Revolution -- Girls Rule!, we hear that although boys were the early adopters when it came to techno-gizmos, girls have surpassed these early results in all technology areas other than computer and console games.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

May 10, 2006

Feeling Old? This Might Change Your Mind

Check out this article: World’s oldest person turns 128, from MSNBC. The El Salvadorian woman was born in 1878, has 13 children, 60 grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren, and 25 great-great-grandchildren. And I thought being 41 and having two kids was tough sometimes. Talk about being humbled.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies

May 08, 2006

Teens Don't Get Enough Sleep? Who Knew?

Until about a month ago, it never failed. Almost every night after I'd go to bed, I'd hear a little tap, tap, tapping coming from the next room. I would get out of bed and swing open my teenager's bedroom door, and catch her red-handed, text messaging her boyfriend, or best friend, or both.

"It's time to go to bed. NOW," I'd say. "Oh right. Yeah. I was just...finishing...this one...message."

Enter, the 10:30 p.m. rule: no talking on the phone or text messaging after 10:30 p.m. on weeknights. She thought it sounded harsh, but dh and I thought it sounded lenient. So we've been giving it a try, and so far, so good. If she gets caught breaking the rule, I take the phone. For as long as I'd like. Bwahahaha. Mean mommy.

But you see, I'm not really mean, because I'm doing this because my daughter simply doesn't get enough sleep. And the other day, I found an article that was no surprise to me at all, about this very topic. According to this MSNBC article, titled: Drowsy teens dozing off at school, on the road:

America is raising a nation of sleep-deprived kids, with only 20 percent getting the recommended nine hours of shuteye on school nights and more than one in four reporting dozing off in class.

But what scared me even more than that was this line:

Many are arriving late to school because of oversleeping and others are driving drowsy, according to a poll released Tuesday by the National Sleep Foundation.

Where I live, there are TONS of teenagers driving--driving to school, driving to work, driving everywhere. So this trend pretty much terrifies me. And to make matters worse, my own teenager began driving by herself last month. So now, I have a whole new driving-related thing to freak out about.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Parenting

April 24, 2006

Study Shows Women 45+ Are Happier

There was a time, not long ago, when most of the women I knew dreaded the big 4-0. But according to a recent study by AARP, many women in their forties are experiencing more happiness and freedom than ever.

Some of the study's findings show:

  • Many women find growing older has been a more positive experience than they anticipated
  • 61% feel financially prepared for their later years
  • 81% consider themselves to be in good health

You can download the full report here, on the AARP Web site.

And don't forget to visit my renter--she has just a day or so left!

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Filed under: General 40ish | News/Media/Studies

April 21, 2006

Almost Another Teenage Tragedy

According to this article on MSNBC:

"Five high school students were expected in court Friday on charges that they fully intended to go on a shooting spree at their high school — a plot officials said was foiled when one of them discussed it on a Web site."

Apparently, the Kansas high school students, aged 16 to 18, planned for the attack to occur on the anniversary of the deadly, 1999 Columbine shooting spree. Authorities were tipped off to the planned attack when a woman who found threats on a MySpace site contacted them. Perhaps this is one case where the existence of the much-maligned MySpace social networking site may well have helped prevent a horrible tragedy.

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Filed under: News/Media/Studies | Parenting

March 24, 2006

Friday Fab Five: News Stories

For this week's Friday Fab list, I'm featuring five news stories that caught my eye this week:

1. "Kinda weird, yet kinda cool" story of the week: Slow going! Tortoise dies after 250 years--What is believed to be the world's oldest living tortoise died in India this week.

2. "Happy ending" story of the week: Final hurricane-displaced child, family reunited--A four-year-old girl is finally reunited with her family, after being separated from them by Hurricane Katrina.

3. "Sometimes prayers are answered" story of the week: U.S., British troops rescue Iraq hostages--Three Christian peace activists are rescued by American and British troops in Iraq, after being held hostage for four months.

4. "Like teens don't have enough stress in their lives" story of the week--College Board Finds More SAT Score Errors--More errors on SAT scores are found, causing headaches and nightmares for college admissions reps, parents, and college-bound teens.

5. "But he was kinda cute" story of the week: Another 'Idol' Contestant Gets Booted--12-year-old girls and little old ladies everywhere may be weeping this week, as Chicken Little gets the boot from American Idol.

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Filed under: Friday Fab Five | News/Media/Studies

March 17, 2006

Friday Fab Five: Movies I Could Watch Over and Over Again

Thinking of just five movies for the dubious honor of my Friday Fab Five--now that's tough. I can easily think of 10 off the top of my head. But I'll give it a try:

1. Ordinary People - (1980) I first saw it when I was 16, and I was enthralled. Timothy Hutton is a teenager who's family is falling apart after his brother's accidental death.

2. In the Name of the Father - (1993) The story of a man (Daniel Day-Lewis) falsely convicted and imprisoned for 15 years for a pub bombing. But the plot is far more complicated and, incredibly, it's a true story.

3. My Left Foot - (1989) The autobiographical tale of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who only has use of his left foot.

4. The Year of Living Dangerously - (1982) A journalist (Mel Gibson) falls in love with a diplomat (Sigourney Weaver) in Indonesia during a political upheaval, set in the 1960s.

5. Raising Arizona - (1987) I laugh, on average, every 60 seconds when I'm watching this film. A cult film with a huge following by the brilliant Coen brothers, who gave us another fantastic work high up on my favorites list--Fargo (1996).

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Filed under: Friday Fab Five | News/Media/Studies | Reviews