Sunday, February 21, 2010
And the winner is...
The winner of the Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls gift pack courtesy of Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark is... Cassie W!!
Stay tuned for the next giveaway!!
Stay tuned for the next giveaway!!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
A plea to parents and so-called experts
In an article called "Sext Ed" in the February issue of Family Circle, mothers are instructed to have their child give the following speech if s/he becomes the victim of the fallout from stupid sexting and is being teased:
"I made a big mistake. By bringing it up you're making me feel bad. I wouldn't do that to you if you were in my situation."
AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!
Listen to me, LISTEN: it never, ever, EVER works to a child's benefit if they give a speech to teasers or bullies. NEVER. No matter what the speech is, other kids see it as an attempt by the targeted child to act like an adult talking down to them, and this will always aggravate them and make them ESCALATE the teasing. ALWAYS.
No child who's having fun teasing or bullying will be reasoned into choosing to stop, not by an adult and certainly not by another child; even adults, who are usually more amenable to being reasoned with than children, don't change their preferred behaviors because someone ran their mouth... witness every time you've ever tried to talk anyone into changing a behavior you disliked, from leaving the toilet seat up to forgetting to put the milk back into the fridge, and failed.
No teasing/bullying child reacts with contrition upon hearing that they made the victim feel bad; the entire POINT of teasing and bullying is to make the victim feel bad, and saying so just gratifies the bully with a feeling of success. The bully will respond with laughter, grind his fists in his eyes while feigning loud crying, and rub his fingers together while chanting the old line about how "this is the world's smallest violin."
And, no teasing/bullying child would ever believe that any other child would refrain from teasing/bullying if they themselves were the ones who had "made a mistake"... and to tell them otherwise just makes them feel that the victim is lying and trying to portray themselves as superior, which, again, will aggravate them and make them ESCALATE the teasing.
Unless the victim is able to produce a blistering put-down that turns the tide of teasing against the ringleader, only the intervention of an adult with the authority to punish will stop teasing, this kind or any other.
What would *I* tell a girl who was stupid enough to send out a pic of her boobs that got passed around as described in the article? If the tease-leader is male, I'd tell her to look at him with icy contempt and say, "Why are you so excited by a photo of breasts... won't anyone let you look at any REAL ones?" Everyone will turn on a dime and start ragging HIM. For a female tease-leader, she can say, "What's the matter, jealous that no one likes YOUR breasts enough to ask for a photo of them?" Same effect.
If I were a parent, this overall issue would be a no-brainer for me; I wouldn't give a cell phone to a child until they got old enough to be dating and might need emergency help... and then, it'd be a phone with no camera or texting ability. Problem solved.
"I made a big mistake. By bringing it up you're making me feel bad. I wouldn't do that to you if you were in my situation."
AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!
Listen to me, LISTEN: it never, ever, EVER works to a child's benefit if they give a speech to teasers or bullies. NEVER. No matter what the speech is, other kids see it as an attempt by the targeted child to act like an adult talking down to them, and this will always aggravate them and make them ESCALATE the teasing. ALWAYS.
No child who's having fun teasing or bullying will be reasoned into choosing to stop, not by an adult and certainly not by another child; even adults, who are usually more amenable to being reasoned with than children, don't change their preferred behaviors because someone ran their mouth... witness every time you've ever tried to talk anyone into changing a behavior you disliked, from leaving the toilet seat up to forgetting to put the milk back into the fridge, and failed.
No teasing/bullying child reacts with contrition upon hearing that they made the victim feel bad; the entire POINT of teasing and bullying is to make the victim feel bad, and saying so just gratifies the bully with a feeling of success. The bully will respond with laughter, grind his fists in his eyes while feigning loud crying, and rub his fingers together while chanting the old line about how "this is the world's smallest violin."
And, no teasing/bullying child would ever believe that any other child would refrain from teasing/bullying if they themselves were the ones who had "made a mistake"... and to tell them otherwise just makes them feel that the victim is lying and trying to portray themselves as superior, which, again, will aggravate them and make them ESCALATE the teasing.
Unless the victim is able to produce a blistering put-down that turns the tide of teasing against the ringleader, only the intervention of an adult with the authority to punish will stop teasing, this kind or any other.
What would *I* tell a girl who was stupid enough to send out a pic of her boobs that got passed around as described in the article? If the tease-leader is male, I'd tell her to look at him with icy contempt and say, "Why are you so excited by a photo of breasts... won't anyone let you look at any REAL ones?" Everyone will turn on a dime and start ragging HIM. For a female tease-leader, she can say, "What's the matter, jealous that no one likes YOUR breasts enough to ask for a photo of them?" Same effect.
If I were a parent, this overall issue would be a no-brainer for me; I wouldn't give a cell phone to a child until they got old enough to be dating and might need emergency help... and then, it'd be a phone with no camera or texting ability. Problem solved.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls
The fine folks at Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark sent me the following info:
"Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls are warm, fresh, and ready to serve in just minutes. With an ooey-gooey texture and a delicious orange icing, Orange Sweet Rolls have a mouth watering aroma that is sure to bring your family together like no other breakfast! Packed with the love and flavor of a treat made from scratch, but without the time and cleanup, Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect addition to your family's Sunday morning traditions."
And they don't lie; those Orange Sweet Rolls are TAAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!! And, easy enough to make that even my husband can make 'em, which is a big plus in my book. I'll never lose my lust for the cinnamon ones, but orange is right up there... and after all, there are TWO days to the weekend, right?
They also sent me a Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls gift pack that includes a VIP coupon for Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls as well as a very nice hanging photo album... and they're letting me give one away!! Whoever submits the best essay about how their family spends Sunday mornings will win it!!
I'll post the winner by the end of the weekend.
"Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls are warm, fresh, and ready to serve in just minutes. With an ooey-gooey texture and a delicious orange icing, Orange Sweet Rolls have a mouth watering aroma that is sure to bring your family together like no other breakfast! Packed with the love and flavor of a treat made from scratch, but without the time and cleanup, Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect addition to your family's Sunday morning traditions."
And they don't lie; those Orange Sweet Rolls are TAAAAAAAAAAAAASTY!! And, easy enough to make that even my husband can make 'em, which is a big plus in my book. I'll never lose my lust for the cinnamon ones, but orange is right up there... and after all, there are TWO days to the weekend, right?
They also sent me a Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls gift pack that includes a VIP coupon for Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls as well as a very nice hanging photo album... and they're letting me give one away!! Whoever submits the best essay about how their family spends Sunday mornings will win it!!
I'll post the winner by the end of the weekend.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Reincarnation revisited
A friend said in an email today that he didn't see how reincarnation could work; I'd never figured that out myself, but in replying to him I came up with this:
Because of my experiences with ghosts, I know that there are souls, and that they survive the death of the body. Since they get into houses, spirits can probably pass through matter; I can't say definitely, because they might be hovering around the doors like dogs waiting for them to be opened so they can get through, or they might also be squeezing through the same cracks that allow even pretty big spiders and such to get into every room... I can't even imagine how to create a sealed room and get a person in there for a ghost to interact with without the ghost being able to enter when the person does, so even when science learns how to detect them we may never know the answer to that one.
Anyways; if we assume that ghosts can pass through matter, what's to keep them from STAYING inside, say, a wall if they chose? If a wall, why not a fetal brain? And if a spirit gets back into a brain, is it so hard to imagine it'd attach itself and settle in, assuming that said brain was complex enough to host it, and didn't already have a soul in it, or at least not a fully-formed one? (I've always assumed that souls formed gradually as the energy from the fetal brain thinking and feeling built up; now, I guess I also have to consider the idea that God creates the basic soul and puts it in, which would have the benefit of explaining how the soul has a cohesive and lasting structure... although I still dislike the idea of explaining every confusing thing with "God did it.")
The idea of an old soul DISPLACING a fetal one is chilling, pretty much horror movie material given the trouble-making type of soul that one might assume would be willing to do such a thing, and there's no solid reason to deny the possibility of it happening from a purely logical standpoint... but, one of the nice things about accepting the existence of a loving God is that I think He probably wouldn't allow it.
I'm not saying that souls DO move on to new bodies, regularly or EVER, but it's not too hard to make a case that they COULD.
Because of my experiences with ghosts, I know that there are souls, and that they survive the death of the body. Since they get into houses, spirits can probably pass through matter; I can't say definitely, because they might be hovering around the doors like dogs waiting for them to be opened so they can get through, or they might also be squeezing through the same cracks that allow even pretty big spiders and such to get into every room... I can't even imagine how to create a sealed room and get a person in there for a ghost to interact with without the ghost being able to enter when the person does, so even when science learns how to detect them we may never know the answer to that one.
Anyways; if we assume that ghosts can pass through matter, what's to keep them from STAYING inside, say, a wall if they chose? If a wall, why not a fetal brain? And if a spirit gets back into a brain, is it so hard to imagine it'd attach itself and settle in, assuming that said brain was complex enough to host it, and didn't already have a soul in it, or at least not a fully-formed one? (I've always assumed that souls formed gradually as the energy from the fetal brain thinking and feeling built up; now, I guess I also have to consider the idea that God creates the basic soul and puts it in, which would have the benefit of explaining how the soul has a cohesive and lasting structure... although I still dislike the idea of explaining every confusing thing with "God did it.")
The idea of an old soul DISPLACING a fetal one is chilling, pretty much horror movie material given the trouble-making type of soul that one might assume would be willing to do such a thing, and there's no solid reason to deny the possibility of it happening from a purely logical standpoint... but, one of the nice things about accepting the existence of a loving God is that I think He probably wouldn't allow it.
I'm not saying that souls DO move on to new bodies, regularly or EVER, but it's not too hard to make a case that they COULD.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
And the winner is...
The winner of the $50 Safeway gift card (also good at Dominick´s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi´s) provided by Safeway, Fiber One and MyBlogSpark is... Donna V.!!
Don't feel bad if you didn't win... another contest is coming VERY soon!!
Don't feel bad if you didn't win... another contest is coming VERY soon!!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Caprica
This is the new show on SyFy (I know, I hate the new name too, lol) that takes place in the Battlestar Galactica universe, but decades earlier. There's a boy in it called William Adama who's supposed to be the chid version of Commander Adama; given the apparent ages of the boy and the Commander, and that there's supposed to be 58 years between Caprica and Battelstar, I think they're not quite accurate in their chronology. Edward James Olmos was only 57 when BG started airing, and did NOT look as old as he'd have to be to make it all work... it's not THAT far off, but why not make it RIGHT rather than just CLOSE? (Probably because they're not as anal as ME, but then again most hard-core fans pick those nits just as hard.)
Anyways, the plot is a pretty cool one; a brilliant teenaged girl has created a true-to-life avatar of herself that, after her tragic death, her equally brilliant father merges with a robot... creating the first Cylon, although thus far he doesn't realize that Zoe is still in there and there's no hint of anything Cylon-esque other than the form of the robot. And there's religion and politics and violence and secret stuff amd cop stuff and different ethnic groups mixing uneasily... just like the modern day, in other words, but with more advanced technology and cooler architecture.
Pretty much all aspects of the show have been enjoyable so far, but what I think the creators deserve the most kudos for is the character Sam Adama, who's a serious bad@ss, a tattooed killer and beater-up of those who cross the Taurons... and openly GAY, with a husband, and the total acceptance of his conservative family, with nothing to indicate that gayness is anything other than normal and acceptable... as it SHOULD BE.
It comes on on Friday nights; check it out.
Anyways, the plot is a pretty cool one; a brilliant teenaged girl has created a true-to-life avatar of herself that, after her tragic death, her equally brilliant father merges with a robot... creating the first Cylon, although thus far he doesn't realize that Zoe is still in there and there's no hint of anything Cylon-esque other than the form of the robot. And there's religion and politics and violence and secret stuff amd cop stuff and different ethnic groups mixing uneasily... just like the modern day, in other words, but with more advanced technology and cooler architecture.
Pretty much all aspects of the show have been enjoyable so far, but what I think the creators deserve the most kudos for is the character Sam Adama, who's a serious bad@ss, a tattooed killer and beater-up of those who cross the Taurons... and openly GAY, with a husband, and the total acceptance of his conservative family, with nothing to indicate that gayness is anything other than normal and acceptable... as it SHOULD BE.
It comes on on Friday nights; check it out.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
A new giveway from Safeway, Fiber One and MyBlogSpark
The fine folks of Safeway (aka Dominick´s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi´s) and Fiber One have, via MyBlogSpark, sent me a Fiber One gift bag that includes a Fiber One yogurt VIP coupon (good for a free 4-pack of Fiber One yogurt) and a $50 Safeway gift card!! This will let me get a TON of groceries (including yogurt, of course, which we chug daily around here), some of which will be my Safeway brand faves, which include: the rotisserie chicken, the fresh mac and cheese, the bakery bagels, and the tastiest soup EVER, their loaded baked potato flavor with cheddar and BACON. If you've been turning your nose up at store brand stuff even in this economy, check some of those out; you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Safeway, Fiber One and MyBlogSpark are also allowing me to give away a $50 Safeway gift card (also good at Dominick´s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi´s) to one of YOU!! Whoever submits the best essay on what groceries they'd buy with $50 and why will win!! I'll post the winner at the end of the weekend.
In the meantime; you can go here
http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=61655&ci=1&c=GM&p=Iy7eG8wO
to save $0.95 on one package of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. And why have I brought up Sweet Rolls, aside from their outrageous tastiness? Stay tuned and find out!!
Safeway, Fiber One and MyBlogSpark are also allowing me to give away a $50 Safeway gift card (also good at Dominick´s, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, Genuardi´s) to one of YOU!! Whoever submits the best essay on what groceries they'd buy with $50 and why will win!! I'll post the winner at the end of the weekend.
In the meantime; you can go here
http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=61655&ci=1&c=GM&p=Iy7eG8wO
to save $0.95 on one package of Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. And why have I brought up Sweet Rolls, aside from their outrageous tastiness? Stay tuned and find out!!
