Thoughts on Thanksgiving

Ah Thanksgiving, a time to sit with family and give thanks to the important things in life. This Thanksgiving I enjoyed 3 different meals with all of my family, it was a busy day but it was a fun day. I couldn’t help but think about how horrible it was this year for more stores to be open on Thanksgiving Day. Places like Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic were open for business.

One radio commercial I heard for Walgreen’s was a woman asking what another woman was doing for Thanksgiving. The woman said that she was going to the in-laws with a voice that you could tell she wasn’t looking forward too it. The first lady then said that instead of sitting at the in-laws doing nothing she should go to Walgreen’s and shop. Not only is it a bad idea to be open but then to have an ad making people feel like eating with family is a waste of time is horrible.

Most families do not even eat at the table together anymore expect for on the Holidays. The value of family has been forgotten and to make people feel like visiting with them on the Holidays are unimportant makes the business look bad. I think that these places instead should not be open and then send an ad that shares how they feel Thanksgiving is a time for family and not for shopping.

 

Dancing Non-Traditionally

There has been talk about ABC’s Dancing with the Stars including a same sex couple on the show for next season. If she agrees to, Portia De Rossi will be on the show as the first all girl couple. This year Israel’s version of the show already featured an all girl couple. The star is an openly lesbian sports broadcaster and the dancer is a heterosexual woman. They feel like they are doing a great thing by being on the show. If ABC does decide to go with Portia, do you think that this will affect the shows ratings? I feel like it would make me more likely to watch the show with the all girl couple but unfortunately I feel that this will negatively affect the ratings. There are still people out there that do not want to accept an alternative life style. There are also the people out there, whether they are dancers or not, feel like ballroom dancing should only be danced traditionally. This issue also makes me wonder, if the show was taking about having an all male couple would people be more or less opposed? It seems like this country has a harder time accepting gay men. So maybe the network already thought this through and figured it would be better to ease into it with a woman couple.

 

Shouldn’t This Be a Part of Some Ethical Code?

On Friday November 11, MSNBC political host Keith Olbermann received suspension without pay due to violating a network rule of not making contributions to candidates without obtaining prior approval from superiors.  Olbermann has been the host of Countdown for a while now, and I feel he has attracted new viewers to the network.

Since this story broke out there has been a lot of criticism from other reporters and pundits. Fellow MSNBC host Rachael Maddow took the last moments on her program to show a difference between MSNBC and Fox News. Many Fox News pundits have held political rallies to raise money for particular candidates. They have even openly endorsed particulars on air. That is apart of their jobs for Fox News, but hosts on MSNBC are not allowed to do so.

Political views aside, I wonder if this hurts credibility to either news station. I don’t watch Fox News, but if I did I think this would make me think about their overall goal to the public. I feel that all pundits and news broadcasters should have to follow this rule. I like my news given to me, and then allow me to make my own opinions about things. What do you think? Is this a good rule for people delivering news or not? Do you think there is a level or standard of ethics that is not being met?

Unconventional Tricks and Treats

The Alton Square, for those of you whom are not familiar, is a mall located in the city of Alton. This mall for some time now has not been able to keep a consistent shopping base. While I was passing the mall the other day, I notice that all of the stores were participating in a mall-wide trick-or-treating event for Halloween.  Parents can bring their children to each store and trick-or-treat as if the mall was its own neighborhood. I think that this is a wonderful idea, not only for the stores participating but also for families that are not living in a traditional place for going door to door. This is a safe place for kids to be for the holiday and store might even profit from it. I am not sure if this is the first time that the Alton Square has held this event or if it is something that has been going on, but this will really bring in business, and my mall can use all the help it can get. Happy Halloween every one!

 

 

One Step at a Time

A lot of us have either been personally affected by bullying or we know of someone that has. This issue, it seems, has always been a problem in the schools. Bullying happens to everyone but one particular group of kids that have been, and will continue to be bullyed until it ends, is the openly gay and lesbian youth. One organization that was established to help the youth prevail through their difficult times is the “It Gets Better Project”. This project was founded by Dan Savage just last month.  According to their website, It Gets Better Project is so, “young people who are gay, lesbian, bi or transgendered can see with their own eyes how love and happiness can be a reality in their future.” The website allows people to upload their own personal videos to share stories and thoughts. With in the one month of existing, there have been several celebrities share his or her words for the youth. The latest star figure to make a video was President Obama. On Oct. 21, President Obama shared a video telling these kids that they are not alone. In the 3 min video President Obama stated that, “We’ve got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, that it’s some inevitable part of growing up. It’s not.” He also reassures the youth that they did not do anything wrong and that they are not alone. He reassures them that our nation was founded on the premise that all of us are created equal.

This organization has been up and running for only a month and it is already successful. The power to allow anyone to upload videos and share personal stories is great. I believe that one of things that make this successful is the celebrity spokespeople that put videos up. They stop caring so much in their popularity and start caring more about the young kids that need our help.

I think that the need for this organization has been long over due. To those families that have had a family member fallen due to bullying, know that their death has not been overlooked. Because of those young children that couldn’t push through any further, there will be a voice to help and make the LGBT youth feel a little less alone.

It Gets Better Project Website- Take the pledge like I did

The Kayne Comeback

It has been about a year since the MTV video awards and the Kayne West outbreak. What I have noticed is that because of the back lash that he received right after his comments, he was no where to be seen. Now, however, he has been all over the place promoting his new album. He was on Ellen and SNL, just to name a few, and this tour of promotion has forced him to talk about his words that we all witnessed. On Ellen, West said that as soon as the incident occurred he was advised to leave to get out of the media’s eye. He lived in Japan and other places in Europe, then when he moved back to America he lived in Hawaii. This made him focus on his thoughts and made him deal with the death of his mother healthier. When he moved back home he became an intern with in the fashion industry, sharing ideas and even getting coffee. He said that he could never imagine seeing his world crash from sincerity and alcohol and loose everything. He also referred to himself as a soldier of culture and that he speaks the truth for those who are unable to. He was getting choked up when talking about the incidents that have happen in the past couple years and said that he will never sit in the audience at an award show again.

First of all, now that the limelight of this incident has faded we can evaluate how he handled it. I think that for him to leave and find himself again was the best thing he could have done. I also think that now that he is talking about his feelings towards what happened makes him seem less of a monster in the public’s eyes.  I never turned my back on West, I always will be a fan and I actually agreed with his comments a year ago. I feel that since West is a huge public figure, we witnessed his darkest time after his mother died.  I think that he has done the best thing for himself by not following the media afterwards and also has done the best thing for his career. It is like he started all over again.

 

 

 

 

Watch all of West\’s comments on Ellen about incident

Halloween Tradition Massacre

Halloween keeps getting closer and closer, and I could not be any happier. I love Halloween and so does Alton, my home town. Every year, Alton holds a Halloween parade for the festivities and it is always very successful. People from surrounding towns join in. Even traditional trick or treat night does not stand a chance next to the Alton parade. This year however, the people that are in charge of putting on the parade have left me a little stunned.

Anyone can enter in a float but this year some regulations have been changed that, in my opinion, should not have. Usually floats would have to put down a $200 deposit that they would get back at the end of the parade. This year’s participants will not be receiving that money back, it is now a fee. This particularly surprises me because I was under the impression that the committee was all volunteers. I do not think that the expenses to put on the parade are big enough to charge each float $200. Also everyone must be in costume, even the people that are walking next to the float to keep kids out of the way of the wheels. Wouldn’t this harm your mobility? What if a kid was about to get hit? Another change is that every float must go along with the overall parade theme, fall harvest, or it must be decked out with black and orange. Now this might not seem as bad as the others but every year the theme of the individual floats have always been up to the peoples or groups entering the float. I have always thought that this is what makes the parade great, the unique and different themes. A new policy this year is that no pets can walk with you.

Now there is one new policy that changed for the better. If there is a child under the age of 12, the person responsible for picking that child up must make arrangements with police department or the child cannot participate. This way the people in charge of the parade will not be responsible for babysitting after the festivities. The biggest change for me is the date. Every year the parade was on the 31^st, this year it was moved to 30^th. This is a huge deal to the residents of Alton. Although kids can trick or treat either one of these nights, the night that was not conflicting with the parade was always the busier night. I’m worried that the word about the date change is not getting out enough. Are people going to be aware that the nights were switched or has my Alton Halloween tradition just ended?!

Don’t Mess With the J. Stew

Stewart poking fun at Sanchez

Just like millions of other people, I tune in to Comedy Central every night to enjoy some comedic political commentary. Jon Stewart has filled our televisions with “The Daily Show” for 11 years now. Many people respect his very opinionated remarks, and view them as great ways to laugh about the seriousness of politics. As you can imagine with the daily jabs at other political commentaries, Jon has made some enemies over the years.

One of the enemy feuds has been put to rest recently. On Sep. 30, 2010, CNN political commentary Rick Sanchez uttered demeaning comments of the XM Sirius radio program “Stand-Up with Pete Dominick.” Sanchez called Stewart “a bigot” and also said that the media is controlled by Jewish people. One day after his remarks he abruptly left the network, as reported my CNN. This remark makes it seem as though he left voluntarily however Sanchez was indeed fired.

Stewart did get his chance to get back on Sat. Oct. 2 while hosting Comedy Central’s “Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert for Autism Education.” Stewart was reported saying to Sanchez, “If you went on radio and said the Jews control the media…..you may want to hold on to your money.”

Hey Sanchez, just because you have the right to say what you want in America, does not mean that you should use that right all the time. Use common sense when you are going on the record, because if you don’t you might just get yourself into trouble with you employer.

CNN Coverage

Fox News Coverage- also note how they misspell autism in the article

Where Did These Bodies Come From?

Photo from Bodies: The Exhibition

Science is becoming more advanced each day. As many of you know there has been an exhibit visiting the St. Louis Science Center, called, Bodies: The Exhibition. If you are not familiar with this exhibit, it is a display of human bodies skinned to the muscle. The displays are in various positions and they seem to be a useful learning tool. There has been some talk about where these bodies come from. According to the exhibit’s website states,

“The full body specimens are persons who lived in China and died from natural causes. After the bodies were unclaimed at death, pursuant to Chinese law, they were ultimately delivered to a medical school for education and research. Where known, information about the identities, medical histories and causes of death is kept strictly confidential.”

To some this statement is a little vague. There has been talk that the bodies that are used in exhibit were victims of Chinese torture and did not reveal any type of consent. The exhibit is popular; I have attended it myself, and it seems to be doing great but from a PR standpoint I wonder if this question will leave people to not attend the event when it comes into town. I seen some articles that said that there was consent and there were some that disagree. I wonder since the area of topic is sensitive, that the people making a big deal about it, where people that were not fans of the exhibit from the beginning and are looking for a way to shut it down. I want to know where the bodies came from and if they were obtained humanly. If not, I would no longer attend anymore. If I were the exhibit’s reps I would release a statement that would put the rumors to rest once and for all.

There will be another exhibit in the Galleria Mall on Oct. 2 through Jan. 31. Unlike the exhibit in the St. Louis Science Center, these bodies did not give consent. The presenters agreed to include a disclaimer stating that they can not verify that the bodies were not executed while being in Chinese prisons. Maybe the rest of the nation should take a lesson from Hawaii and make it illegal to display dead bodies for commercial purpose.

Read more about this issue here

The Bodies Exhibit Homepage