Sunday, September 27, 2009

Gym Class Bully

Believe it or not the purpose of this ad probes no deeper than a sorry attempt to get you to purchase a gym membership. Look closely, past the scantily clad nuns and the totally inappropriate mockery of the Catholic Church, and you may find yourself lusting after a hotter body… right?

Well, not exactly. In my opinion, the ad does little more than manage to singly handedly piss off a lot of people. For example, people who chose to devote their lives to making the world a better place. In this ad you can see that these nuns are experiencing impure desires, three of them gawk at a fully naked man while flashing a little leg while a fourth nun peeks shamelessly into the room. It is a wide known fact that nuns are celibate and I believe that the ad is extremely controversial because it pokes fun at one of the noblest professions known to mankind.

Furthermore, aren’t we all getting a little tired of making fun of nuns? Honestly, has there ever been a group of people that deserved it least? I feel like this ad has definitely gone too far. I am not catholic, I don’t even consider myself a religious person but I do respect the religious beliefs of others. I am all about a good laugh but not at the cost of shamelessly mocking something that so many people hold dearly.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Practicing safe 'Net: Social Networking Sites and the Blame Game

When it comes to the safety of our children, or sometimes the lack thereof, it seems that we are always looking for someone to blame. If we aren’t blaming television, it’s the movie industry and if not the movies then it’s that darned rap music. Now we are all looking to social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook to make sure our children are well protected. However, I cannot help but wonder: when it comes to protecting our children online, who among us really holds the responsibility?

I won’t attempt to argue with the fact that Myspace is crawling with sexual predators and even I must admit that it is next to impossible to tell simply by looking at a profile if the person you are speaking to really is who they say they are. Furthermore, although I certainly believe that social networking sites should do everything in their power to keep the sites predator free, the real responsibility falls squarely and solely, in my opinion, on the shoulders of parents.

Social networking sites are safer than many, if not all, social settings in the real world. In reality, there is always a possibility of danger, even if you do everything in your power to remain safe, even with adequate supervision. However, online, this possibility can be totally eliminated. I believe this is the point that the Author of “Myspace Not Responsible for Predators,” is trying to stress, parents need to take responsibility for making sure their children are practicing safe net. With adequate supervision and the appropriate safety measures, social networking sites are perfectly safe places to communicate with friends and loved ones.

I was not very sheltered as a child, hoewever, one thing my mother made sure I always had plenty of was common sense. If we teach our children right from wrong, and arm them with the tools they need to protect themselves online and in the real world, we would be able to finally stop this silly blame game.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Make It Work

In my whole life I have never been just handed anything, then again who among us has? When in life are you ever given everything you need to succeed? I believe that Tim Gunn says it best whenever he stands in front of all the wannabe fashion designers clutching their last bit of fabric with only 20 minutes to turn it into something fabulous. "Make it work," he says, and they alsways do. Isn't this exactly the way life works? It certainly is for me.

In life we are always short on one of two things, time and materials, sometimes we are short on both. Either way, you have to make it work. I live on my own and when thee bills are due and the materials are short, the materials being in this case money, you have to make it work!

Whenever life throws obstacles in your path, or presents you with challenges as they do on Project Runway, You've got to make it work.

You just have to because in life there are no second chances or do overs, you simply play the hand that you are given and hope against all odds that you can turn it into something fabulous.

Make it Work!