Katy Perry Skit: Much Ado About Nothing

If you're the parent of a young child, chances are you heard about the "controversy" over a Katy Perry skit that was filmed for the new season of Sesame Street. After the clip aired on YouTube, several parents complained about Perry's outfit in the skit. So many complained, the skit was pulled.


Perry's outfit was a short dress with cleavage. Parents thought it was overly sexual for a show aimed at toddlers and preschoolers.

While personally, I am not a fan of Perry or her music, I didn't seen anything wrong with the outfit for three reasons.

1. Her chest and legs were covered with flesh covered mesh similar to a figure skaters outfit. If you look closely, her neckline is near the nap of her neck.

2. Children won't view her outfit as sexual because they are too young to know what that even means. They'll be too busy watching Elmo. Actually, I was too busy watching Elmo, too. My daughter, a big Elmo fan, watched with me. She couldn’t have cared less about Perry or the song, she just wanted to watch Elmo.

3. Children can see cleavage and bare legs simple by stepping out their door and going to a public place. Wearing short shorts and a tank top can very revealing, so can a bikini, but we don't hid our children away every summer.

Like with many things in this world, it should be up to each individual parent to decide what is appropriate for their children. The parents who found it inappropriate could have just turned the channel or turned off the TV. But they shouldn't have pressured Sesame Street to remove the skit before the new season had even started.

To read the full article and watch the video: http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/a-line/sesame-street-pulls-controversial-katy-perry-duet/624.

Similiac Recalls Formula

Similiac recalled some of its product line voluntarily after beetle parts were found in some of the powdered formula. The beetle parts aren't life threatening, but can cause stomach or intestinal upset.


I must admit my first thought when I heard this was not about the poor babies would might suffer from diarrhea from ingesting the infected formula. but what the conservative breast feeders would say. You know, the moms I mean. The ones who think breast is best to the point that they will lecture and look down on formula feeders. As I said in a previous post, I did both with my daughter and, therefore, have no strong opinions either way. I was fully expecting to see much debate on this issue online, but to my pleasant surprise, I did not. Kudos, to all the moms for remembering the real issue at hand is the health of the babies.

As far as Similiac goes, I have heard in the past that a small amount of microscopic bug parts ends up in all food products. It's not something we are aware of or really want to think about. But if the beetles in the formula were large enough to be seen, this raises questions about the factory where the formula was produced. Was there a bug infestation? Is it unsanitary? What other problems are there that we don't know about?

Lately, there have been too many recalls of products made specifically for children. Children are precious and innocent and need to be protected. Manufacturers, please care about our children as much as we do.

For more information about the recall, along with which products were recalled visit http://www.similac.com/recall/.

Random Thought of the Day

I'm still confused. Don't long ago I wrote a blog on how the Duggers apparently don't vaccinate because most of their children had chicken pox. Then last night we see baby Josie getting vaccinated. So this either means they selectively vaccinate or, more likely, the chicken pox vaccine isn't required in Arkansas.


You can read my original story here.

Avon: Empowering Women or Taking Advantage of Them?

For perhaps the third or fourth time this year an Avon catalogue has appeared in our mailbox. Apparently, an Avon lady lives in our neighborhood. There are several things I would never buy sight unseen and three of them are in that catalogue -- cosmetics, clothing and shoes.


I see Avon advertised on TV a lot, not so much ads for products but ads to attract sales women. The ads all show happy, productive women who are grateful Avon gave them the opportunity to own their business. In reality, Avon and companies like it take advantage of women's (especially mothers') desire to be able to work from home and make their own hours. You don't own your own business, you own a franchise and there is a difference. In order to make any money, yet alone profit, especially in a saturated market, the women who do direct sales must work hard and be able to effectively market not only the product, but themselves. This means a commitment of both time and money, money not only for the purchase of the start-up package, but to purchase marketing materials. This isn't to say a woman can't become successful doing direct sales, but there is a lot more involved than what is presented on TV commercials and web sites. Most of the women who do direct sales also need to hold down a traditional job.

Unfortunately, there is no get rick quick jobs. There is only hard work and patience. Sometimes I truly feel sorry for the women who do do direct sales. In this economy, it must be even more difficult than it was in the past. I also feel sorry for the women who are so desperate to make money that they fall into the trap of believing that they will make money right away or become financially secure.

Everything I Need to Know I Learned from What Not to Wear

Everything I know about women I learned from watching TLC's What Not to Wear.


1. Women wear their hair the way they think men like it.

2. Women loss their sense of identity when they become mothers.

3. Women think they stop being sexy after they become mothers.

4. Women hate their bodies no matter how gorgeous they are.

5. Women like to dress the same way they did when they were going through a happy period in their life, even if that was decades ago.

6. Women find it hard to break out of their comfort zone and change their image.

7. Tom boys think wearing a dress and being "girly" makes them weak.

8. Women hid behind their clothes.

9. Women either love their breasts or are ashamed of them.

10. If a woman was told as a girl she was ugly or fat, it affects her body image as an adult.

Amish Mother Dies

Last week, I wrote about an Amish family who had been hit, while in their buggy, by an SUV. One of family members who had been ejected from the buggy was a pregnant mother. Sadly, she passed away Sept. 12. Her baby and her other children, who had also been ejected from the buggy, remain hospitalized.


The Amish community is now hoping motorists will be more careful on the road. They met with Highway Patrol to discuss safety. In the county where the accident took place, there have been over 140 accidents involving vehicles and buggies since 2004.

A Cleveland reporter rode with an Amish man in his buggy so he could see first hand what sort of dangers they face. You can view the video here:



You can read the original story here.

Unfortunately, accidents like this are the result of our modern society. We're always in the hurry to get where we're going, even if that means throwing caution into the wind. Drivers really need to slow down and watch where they are going, especially around slower vehicles. It's OK to pass, just watch what you're doing.


Accidents such as this one only prove that live is fragile and short and can change in an instant. Never take your life for granted.

Grammar Still Matters

"Why do I need to learn grammar?" That was the question posed to me a few months ago by, of all people, an education major. She didn't think she needed to learn how to speak or write proper English in order to do her job. She thought learning it would make her a snob and thought that I was automatically a snob because my B.A. is in English. I told her that learning properly English meant she could speak that way when appropriate or use slang when it was appropriate. I told her I can turn it on and off depending on my audience. I left the explanation at that and I think she understood.


Since that time, I have seen a lot of online posts from women (although I'm sure men do the same) who don't even have a simple understanding of the English language. These are not women learning English as a second language either; English is their first language. These women do not punctuate or capitalize sentences. They also misspell very easy words.

Here are some examples: "Does" is often misspelled "dose". "That," "these" and "those" are spelt as "dat," "des" and "dos". "You" is spelt "U". "Your" is spelt "ur". I've even seen "days" misspelled as "dayes". I thought that spelling went out with the Renaissance.

So why is grammar important, especially in this day and age of text messages, instant messaging and Twitter?

Because the way your write or speak determines how people look at you. If you don't capitalize or punctuate and misspell elementary-school words, people are going to assume that you are unintelligent and uneducated. No one is going to take you seriously. They might not even both to read or listen to what you have to say.

Learning proper grammar means a better life for yourself, especially if you want a career. And a better life for yourself means a better life for your children.

Accident in Amish Country

A preventable tragedy occurred in the Amish community on Sept. 1. A SUV hit the back of a buggy carrying a pregnant woman and her family. The pregnant woman and two of her children were ejected and seriously injured.


The Amish mother, who was 8 months pregnant, had her baby, a boy at the hospital. She is in critical condition. The baby and the two children are in stable condition.

The driver of the SUV has been changed with failing to keep a safe distance and for being under the influence. She had both drugs and alcohol in her system. Her toddler was in the car with her at the time of the accident.

This isn't the first time a vehicle has had an accident with an Amish buggy. Drivers have caused accidents by following buggies too closely, by passing buggies on the road, by pulling out in front of them. Basically accidents caused by carelessness. Buggies are not cars. Why do drivers forget this? You can't expect a buggy to travel as quickly as a car. You can't expect a horse to react like a driver would on the road.

Because of carelessness, two mothers lives are changed forever. One faces jail time and the other faces a long recovery time. Next time you're on the road, remember the old adage "the life you save may be your own" and remember that your actions can affect others, possibly forever.

Source: http://www.fox8.com/