Blogging...an open diary

Blogging has become a MAJOR part of todays history. Blogging connects peoples ideas and opinions to every inch of the technological world. Blogging has esentially changed our lives. It's like publishing an open diary. Everyone from the Barenaked Ladies (BNL) to Brittney Spears blogs. You can find a link of blogger blogs of famous people here.

Blogging has turned people in stalkers, like the most recnet stalker of America's Next Top Models host Tyra Banks. Her stalker, Brady Green, was convicted by the Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke, who heard the case without a jury, of stalking, harassment, criminal trespass and attempted aggravated harassment. People find stars, like Tyra Banks to be interesting, as Brady Green did. They tune into th eir blogs on a daily basis and learn everything about the super star. It is a little scray don't you think.

Blogging has become such a big pop cultre love that everyone seems to be doing it and seems to be leaving more and more personal information on the WWW. Which is proving a problem. You don't want crazy stalkers, right! Stop leaving your diary open, blog only about the issues and your personal opinions. Don't include your full name, where you live, your age or even a photo of yourself. There are crazy people in this world.

Cigarette Advertising BANNED!

France has a HUGE population of smokers, but is there habit in public may be short lived. French remain a nation of dedicated smokers, and according to the latest government figures 32.2% of all 26 to 75 year olds are regular smokers. The figures rise to 36.7% in the 12 to 25 age group. On Feburary 1, 2007 the French Governement announced that a smoking will be banned in public places including all schools, train stations, airports, shops, offices and other public buildings, but not streets, private homes or hotel rooms. There was an adjustment period that ended over a year ago in January 2008 for cafes, restaurants and discos. The law seems to come out of a need for public health. According to a recent report, 66,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses each year in France and another 2,500 and 5,800 people die as a result from passive smoking. It is said that more than 13 deaths a day caused by smoking is unacceptable.

Paris, France is currently "fumed" ove a Movie poster featuring well known actress Audrey Tautou. The upcoming movie Coco Avant Chanel is advertised with a poster of the main actress, Audrey, holding a lit cigarette. In accordance with this French cigarette ban and move towards good health, the poster has been banned by Paris' bus and train advertising giant Metrobus. The depiction of smoking in advertising is illegial because it is deemed unhealthy and inappropriate. Coco herself is famous for being a 50, yes 50, cigarette per day girl. The advertisers responsible for the image have swapped it out for a more lung-friendly shot.

So, my question is, why hasn't the United States made a law about smoking? Should we not be moving towards a more healthy enviroment and population. America's children are being constanly bombarded with images of cigarettes, young adults smoking cigarettes and believeing that the image of cigarettes in so unconscioulsy "normal". Children are more and more desensitized with the image of cigarettes and are moving towards smoking themselves. If we do not take action, then we will most certainly see an increase in the number of smokers and an increase of dealths because of smoking!

Take action America! Stop this horrible cycle now!

The Duggers-18 kids, 1 grandkid

The oh so famous Dugger clan....18 kids. Can you imagine!?!?! Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are the proud parents of 18, yes 18 biological children. Jim Bob and Michelle firmly believe that every child is a gift to be cherished, and this family has 10 boys and 8 girls to cherish. Michelle has carried all 18 kids, been pregnant for 12 years of her life and had only 2 sets of twins. From oldest to youngest, Joshua, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jeremiah, Jedidiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer and Jordyn-Grace.

So what is it with this family?? The Duggars are Independent Baptists, they do not watch much TV if any at all, they very closely monitor their children's internet and computer use and home school the kids. After Michelle experienced a miscarriage after her first pregnancy from taking the birth control pill, they decided to allow God to bless them with as many children as he desired.

Joshua, is their oldes son at age 21. Jordyn-Grace is the youngest at less than 1 year old. Some fun facts about this family:

-If the family had the Honda Piolot, 3 vehicles would be needed to transport everyone.
-Even with 14 passenger vans, two are needed to transport everyone!
-The Duggars use a bus to move the whole family, even to the grocery store!
-If they decided to take a bus trip, you know with other families, they would take up 40% of the bus!
-At an estimate of $200,000 to raise a child, which may be high and may be low, it will cost the Duggar parents $3.6 million to raise all 18 kids to the age of 18. They have already gotten three kids to that magical age of 18 so only 15 more to go.

Is this family going to keep having children, or are they done at number 18?

Survey say's....

Josh Duggar is going to welcome his first child into the world with wife Anna, 20. Jim Bob and Michelle are going to be grandparents with the youngest Aunt being Jordyn-Grace, at age 4 months currently!

What do you think about this family? Are they wrong for having so many children even though they can afford them all? How is this family influencing other families, like the lady who had 8 babies at once, and she already had 6 kids or something crazy like that! I think that this family can have as many children as they please, but the show should stress that they have ZERO debt, are happily married, and can afford all of their children! This way crazy people don't think, 'hey I can have 18 kids!'

Celebrity Adoptions

Celebrities have taken to adoption children. Sounds harmless and like a wonderful thing to do to help out our nation, right? However, the rich and famous are not adopting from the US, they are not helping their own home land, they are going overseas to adopt children. Why not adopt US children? They are just as helpless and in need of a loving family as children overseas.

With the public seeing celebrities adopting from other countries, the normal and everyday people are more likely to also adopt from outside of the US instead of inside of the US. This year has brought us Madonna’s adoption of one year old David Banda of Malawi, Meg Ryan’s adoption of Daisy from China, and many others some being the most famous going to the family of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. These children are said to be adopted because they are in extreme poverty. But, hey, so are the American orphans!! I am one to wonder if these people have ever gone to an American orphanage.

Celebrities have the money to hire lawyers to find and sought out the birth parents of American orphans. This way the adopters do not have the problem of finding out that their birth child was adopted by a rich person and exploiting them in order to get money, or take away the child after the adoption has been finalized. Since in American, the birth parent if not found can step in at ANY time and take back the child unless parental rights have been given up.

So what should celebrities do? In my opinion they should adopt from their home land and help the children who need help right here in their homeland. If celebrities were to begin to adopt here, in the US, then others would also follow their lead.

CBS guides "Guiding Light" into the light

CBS announced on Wednesday that "Guiding Light" will not return to CBS after September. The soap is the longest running show in broadcast history, the beginning of Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart, Allison Janney, and Hayden Panettiere. The last episode will air in September and after that will look for a new home, according to Brain T. Cahill, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of TeleNext Media.

Soap Operas got their beginning on radio, and "Guiding Light" is no different. It predates television itself, and now will end. Fans are up in arms across the nation and many message boards reflect the tension. Message boards are only recently a big part of soap operas and the way they operate, and they have truly caught on. On this particular feed, fans are writing in about how DEVASTATED by the cancellation news they are. Many women are saying they have watched this show their entire life, with their mothers and grandmothers and some even say it was the first show that they ever watched on TV. So what are the implications of canceling the longest running show, the only soap still on the air that was once on the radio?

Not only fans, but common people, are going to forget of the beginnings of these television changing shows. Without soap operas, prime time television would have never made the switch to include feminine views into their programs. And obviously something right has been done since “Guiding Light” is the longest running network show. A combination of lowered ratings, maybe due to a decrease in NEW watchers and an increase of other soaps, and economical hardships will make the show cancel.

Let’s see how the long running soap does, and if it will find a home on another network and uphold the longest running show in broadcast history.

When is it OKAY to Hit?

Okay so I'm sure everyone has heard the recent news about the Rihanna and Chris Brown incident. It has been all over the news, Photo of Rihanna's Beaten Face Leaked to Media, Shocking Pictures of Rihanna, Beaten by Chris Brown and many more. Kids everywhere see these headlines and of course read the articles and look at the pictures because they like Rihanna and Chris Brown’s music. Kids all around the world look up to both of these entertainers, and the media surrounding them both only negatively affects how children think about abuse.

There was a study done in Boston that says, “Half of Boston teens blame Rihanna for Chris Brown beating”.

“The survey of 200 Boston youths age 12 to 19 found that 51% said Brown bore responsibility, 46% said Rihanna was responsible, and 52% said both were to blame for the incident. In addition, 52% said the media were treating Brown unfairly, and ‘a significant number of males and females’ surveyed said Rihanna was destroying Brown's career.”

If kids think that this beating is okay and Rihanna deserved it, how do they feel about other cases of abuse? What do these kids think if they are to get abused? Are kids around the world being abused and believing that they deserved the abuse? No one ever deserves abuse, ever. How do these kids learn to feel that Rihanna deserved her beating?

Media, plain and simple. The violence that is portrayed through media is the sole reason for children violence. Video games show the abuse of women, the abuse of animals, and the abuse of people from every walk of life. These video games such as “Grand Theft Auto” and “True Crime: New York City”. Both of these games teach children how to kill and that it is okay to just walk up to someone hit them in the face and walk away like everything is okay. Children learn from what they see and what they do, and they are essentially doing these video games.

It is never okay to beat someone, ever. Rihanna, you did nothing wrong. Chris Brown, you did. People have no right to hit anyone anytime. Children need to be taught this simple fact, and it is the parent’s job to teach it. The media needs to rewrite what games children are allowed to play, the rating system and even the issues that are brought up in these games.

HOT Summer Bod

With summer right around the corner, people all across the world are working towards being able to fit in that itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini. So many women and men are looking for the quick fix, the fad diet, the new exercise program, foods that burn belly fat, and ways to better their apperance in anticipation for summer. There has been an increase in the advertisments you hear for tanning salons. Hollywood Tans advertises their Tan Adviser, and how to get the perfect tan to show off the perfect body. Everyone is aiming for the perfect body, of course, and the tan sets it off according to Hollywood Tans.

According to Yahoo! Health, you can even "Get a Summer Bod in 4 Weeks". This article gives you 4, yes only 4, steps to getting a summer ready body in as little as 4 weeks! All you have to do is walk, and exercies. It says nothing about changing your eating habits! Wish we could lose weight like this lady obviously can!

By women and men reading this article and you can tell by the comments that have been left, they are seeing real hope in a quick fix. No way will a 4 week exercise regim work to lose weight and keep it off. If diet and exercise companies were actually conserned with the growing obesity problem in America, they would want people to be able to keep the weight off. It is not healthy to have a very flunctuant weight. Dieting and exercise programs lead to this fluctuant weight in most cases.

Women and men are out spending money to buy tanning salon memberships, hot bathing suits, and gym memberships. The public is so obsessed with how everyone looks, especially in a season about skimpy clothing and beaches. The American population is in economical turmoil, but non-the-less, we see the flocks heading for the expensive quick fixes that in the end do not work, and money is just thrown down the drain. Magazines, television, movies, music videos and just about every source of popular culture points to the perfect summer body, one that is almost unachievable. We need to refrain reteach values, tell young girls and men that you don’t have to be tanned with well defined abs to be pretty and sexy. Hopefully together we can change the way advertisers affect future generations.

Defining the College Persona

What kind of person do you think of when you think of College Student? The media has lead us to believe that college students are promiscuous, alcohol and drug loving young adults aged 18-24. What stereotypes does this lead us to? How does it affect the students who do go off to college and do not want to partake in the heavy drinking and promiscuity?

A new song by Asher Roth called "I Love College" is now #7 on the iTunes most downloaded charts. On Tuesday, March 3rd, it was #9, so its move on the charts is fast and it's direct download into homes is vast and fast!



This song defines what a college student is suppose to do. They are suppose to always have a drink, party, dance, and have sex. But there are also standards, like not falling asleep with your shoes on, don't leave the house until you have started to get drunk, don't have sex if she is too gone, wear 2 condoms and tomorrow night find a new place to party. And look at that video! It depicts a college student, a male, who is part of a frat. He goes to the frat party and you watch him hook up with many random girls, telling male college students that it is okay to be promiscuous. It shows them playing the ever so popular beer pong game, which by the way many young children have found entertaining on Wii, and playing strip poker. It talks about how these kids go to bed at 3, wake up at 10, and then party again! How could they live this life? Does this contribute to the many freshmen that fail out after the first semester because of excess partying?

College kids need to be told the real side of college before they go, and not have songs like Asher Roth’s “I Love College” negatively affect their view of what college really is. Kids go into college thinking it’s going to be all fun and games, and parties, since for once and their lives they are away from their parents. Alcohol Poising kills over 4,000 people a year, and 50,000 cases are reported each year. The Wii game originally titled "Beer Pong", now changes to "Pong Toss" also contributes to this culture. The game is rated "T" for Teen, meaning ages 13-up. Wow! We are selling 13-year-old's games about beer and playing beer games. When they do get older, and more than likely by the time they are 16, they will have trying alcohol and playing these games that they originally saw on oh so innocent Wii.

What if a college student does not want to partake in these activities? More times than most, these students are the ones that either go home every weekend to get away and not have to deal with the peer pressure, or if they live to far away from the college they chose, they soon realize how home sick they do become. College students come in all kinds of ways. Some are yes the straight out of High School students that are thought of when you think College Student. Some are middle ages people looking to go back to school to better their career. Many are much older, and looking to get a new job. Especially in the hard economy, where jobs are few, we see older people coming back to college in order to get a job.

The media overshadows a large group of college students, and creates a stereotype that is being lived up to in many University and College settings. Through music, music videos, television shows, and movies the media needs to include the older college student, and the college student that does not partake in excessive drinking and partying.

"If I Were A Boy" by Beyonce

Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy" is a very different song. It takes you through the life of a women who wishes she was a boy, and describes what her life what be like if she was a boy. She could just "roll out of bed in the morning, and throw on what" she wanted, and then go. She would not have to worry about dressing up and looking nice, like women have to do. She plays a police officer in the music video, which a symbol of masculine work. She speaks of drinking beer with the guys, giving the listener a feeling that men have more time on their hands to just hang out with their friends and have a good time. Women would be expected to be caring for the children, cooking and cleaning during this time. The woman in the song says that if she were a boy, “I think I could understand How it feels to love a girl”. This indicates that the girl feels that boys don’t understand girls, and if she were a boy she would correct the wrong and understand girls. If she were a boy, she would “turn off her phone [and] tell everyone it’s broken, so they’d think that I was sleeping alone.” If a girl was to turn off her phone, and tell people it was broken, they would not believe her. Boy’s have more privileges and can do just about anything they want, and be believed about any lie that they make up, just because they are a boy.

This song addresses a lot of the issues that are present in society still today. Like men still being above women, but this song brings up a lot of new problems, like women wanting to be men. Women should be able to feel comfortable in their body and this society. If women are going to ever be seen as equal, we need to break down the rest of these barriers and be strong. We need to embrace our womanhood and what makes us women.

Hopefully this song empowers women to be better, not to feel overpowered by men.

The Great Gender Gap

Car commercials have always been very powerful. They seem to really lull people into buying certain cars and tell people which type of car they should buy. Gender is portrayed very distinctly in these commercials.



This Toyota VENZA commercial shows one example of this gender divide. Here two women are talking of the VENZA and all it has to offer. It has lots of "cargo space" for all their stuff, it's affordable so these women have "more money for shopping" and it is marketed towards women. Women who are primary seen as mothers, mothers who go car shopping and need tons of cargo space, and want more money to buy things. If women are constantly portrayed as the mothering ones, the one's that need the minivan and not the sports car, then women will always be put in this same group. They will always been seen as the ones that need to care for the children and who don't need to go to work. Women will constantly be downgraded and will never gain the power that they deserve in society; they will always be second to men. Now let's look at a sports car commercial:



This Audi Supercharged A6 commercial is a man going through time driving a multitude of cars popular during the certain time frame, and of course he is driving fast and recklessly. The male is portrayed as the character that does not have a worry in his life. He is not the one who needs extra cargo space, but he needs a Supercharged car, one that can go ridiculous speeds, maybe inferring that he needs to hurry in order to get to work on time. He jumps through hoops (and windows) to get to his car. He needs a beautiful car, just like beautiful women, huh? So if the man is always in the fast car does that mean he is always on the fast track in life? The one that has all of the power in society, the controller of all women and all other cars.

Car commercials have always had this gender divide, so when some of the car commercials that challenge this gap came out, everyone questioned the car maker. Why would this particular car company make a commercial that challenged this gender gap? Are women in greater control in this company, or are the men just more progressive?

Perfect, is it possible?

The world has come up with standards for women, and those standards are not only seen on the TV, in commercials, in magazines, in newspapers, on the runway, in movies, and every other place in the media. Women are constantly trying to be this perfect girl, and so I decided to do a little experiment, I goggled "How to be the Perfect Girl" and the first article that came up was a guide entitled "How to be A Perfect Girl." This article talks about how girls need to brush their teeth every day, promoting a perfectly white smile, just like in all of those toothpaste commercials. For instance, Crest toothpaste often airs commercials where a girl gets boys because of her shiny smile! They talk about how you have to sit lady like, and use a good screen name. It's like the article is generalizing the girl, and taking out the individuality of each one of them.

The media describes the perfect girl as not too short, but not too tall. They cannot be too thin, like the Stars of the new 90210, where many of the actresses are being harassed for being "too thin for TV" or Jessica Simpson, who is being called fat.

Certainly, she does not look fat to me! If young girls are being told that Jessica Simpson is fat, how do they feel about themselves?

Young girls, starting at the age of 5 and 6 are having eating disorders. Does anyone remember the 2 young girls who were in the media not too long ago? One appeared on Good Morning America, where she stated "I think sweatpants make my legs look fat," [Even though she is thin, the little girl said she runs to keep her weight down.] "I don't want the fat to spread all over my body." (http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/disorders_start_early.shtml) The other young girl ate paper, yes paper instead of food because she thought that she was chubby like in her baby pictures! A lot of people say that not only is the media, in forms of television and movies, but in the toys that many young girls are playing with. Take for instance, Barbie. What does she look like?

Barbie has a very unporportional waist line, a busty breasts and butt and thin legs and arms. She is a body that is unachievable to most all women! So if a little girl looks at herself and sees that her hips and waist are the same size, she immediately thinks she is chubby.

Hopefully, this idea of a perfect girl will soon disappear or at least be changed to included real women, like in the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. Perfect in unachievable by all, now why can the media not see that?

Lifetime, Downgrading Women

Lifetime, the Network for Women, regularly and continually downgrades women. The shows that Lifetime airs are continuously showing women that they need to rely on men, need to dress a certain way, or can't go on in life if they are not married. I decided to browse the Lifetime homepage, and found many downgrading links. Women can get on the Network's Internet site that is suppose to make women feel that they do not need to focus on beauty or men or money to be happy or successful in life, and see the "Top Headlines" of Get the Look: Ethnic Hair Celeb Style, a Recipe for Chicken Cacciatore Over Pasta that "won't pack on the pounds" and a Game to Get a Total Makeover Now. If only the headlines would say things like Real Women's Stories about how they are successful without a man, or why they don't need the newest fashion to be beautiful or why makeup does not make you how you are!

So why would Lifetime call themselves the Women's Network if they are only adding to the problem that is Women in media. I think that it has to do something with who Lifetime is owned by, "The Walt Disney Company." The Disney Company continually makes movies and television shows usually present women as needing to be saved and hopeless. For example, in Cinderella. Cinderella is first saved by her fairy god mother and then wisped off by her "Prince Charming." She is changed from a maid into a Princess. I think that Lifetime's way of making women feel has to deal with who are the "big wigs" at The Walt Disney Company. 3 out of 12 of the people on the Board of Directors are female, and they do not hold even the largest roles, or have been on the board the longest.

Media Conglomeration has become a huge problem in the world of television, Internet, movies, board games, action figures, and even more. Since the media is being controlled by only a few certain people, and is so horizontally integrated, that no matter what television station you are watching you are being feed the ideas of these few people that control all of the media.

How do you think Lifetime would be different if it was controlled by say Viacom, Time Warner, NBC, News Corporation, or was independently owned?