Gardasil In The News -- Sorta

Moron More on Gardasil...

I'm sure you've heard about Michelle Bachmann stepping in it again, this time taking one individual and unverified comment and making the claim that "Gardasil led to mental retardation." I won't jump to Bachmann's defense; but, as usual, I continue to harbor more than reservations about the vaccine -- how can you ignore deaths?

But there's more to the story... Check it out at my other blog: In Which Gardasil & I *Almost* Make The News (Or, Ethics In Medicine & Media).

Brand Ambassador For The View

Last week I became an official View Brand Ambassador, part of the Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime. This means you'll be hearing more from me on The View and while I will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items for &/or to facilitate my commentary &/or reviews, I'm really excited to have the opportunity to participate in the discussion about and promotion of one of my favorite shows -- yup, one of my favorite shoes, not just a daytime favorite. Being an ambassador for the show means I now have a legitimate reason to watch shows, uninterrupted. *wink*

So consider this post a disclaimer -- and warning of things to come, both here and at my other blog, Kitsch Slapped. (Heck, it might even show up at other places, depending upon the topic!)

If you're a fan of The View, right now Mom Central has an exciting contest: The View Sweepstakes. The prize for one lucky winner? A trip to New York City to watch a taping of The View! The sweepstakes is open until February 28th and I encourage you to enter -- but I hope I win!

PS If you join Mom Central, befriend me here!

PPS I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other The View branded items to facilitate my review.

Who Will Guide The Light?

CBS has canceled the 72 year old soap Guiding Light, the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history, because CBS didn't care to face the realities of today's audience and their media viewing habits.

They did try a few things to "save" the show, most notably reducing the quality by switching to hand-held digital cameras, lights and microphones (which was horrid), but they sure didn't give it the old Springfield try.

It's a shame too. Guiding Light wasn't just a show I grew up with, it had produced some quality actors including Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Julianne Moore along the way -- a testament to the production quality it once had.

Sure, I'll admit I've stopped watching it. First I reduced to one or two times a week because I work at home (emphasis on work at home) and my day is not conducive to breaks scheduled around TV shows. Once the digital crap hit, I was less interested in making the effort. And the more time you spend away from soaps, the more effort you need to put into figuring them out. So you resist.

Some would argue that Guiding Light has a smaller audience because it's an older audience; I disagree. I bet the audience is older -- but that's the very reason why it should succeed! If only producers would work to serve the audience.

The number one thing that hurts the show is the time. Why not consider something that people can commit to? Put it on later, when I can sit and watch it -- and that's not right before milk & cookie time. I'm struggling to get my stuff done for when the kids come home. And five days a week? My sister who travels isn't going to come back from Hong Kong and watch 2 - 6 weeks of any TiVo'd shows. But prime time soaps thrive. So why not consider completely different scheduling based on the realities of working families? Hey, that Friday night death slot might just be the ticket... We're home. Nothing else is on... especially if Dollhouse and The Sarah Connor Chronicles will be leaving us.

According to The New York Times:

A spokeswoman for P.&G., Jeannie Tharrington, said the company would seek to place “Guiding Light” elsewhere. “We’re looking at all our options,” she said. “This show started as a 15-minute radio show, and then it was a half-hour television show, so it has adapted over the years.”

I hope P&G at least puts forth effort to really find ways to adopt and adapt the show to today's audiences. We're here; we're just not living the lives our moms or even we ourselves once did.

I'm available for consultation.

Controlling Children's Cell Phone & Media Use

I'll be honest, this post is prompted by a contest sponsored by Kajeet.com (discovered via a RAMBO Alert from TwitterMoms.com). They wanted mom bloggers to give "5 tips for managing cell phone use by your kids."

How do you keep your kids safe from bullying, inappropriate content, and other hazards, and how do you maintain a budget for the use of the phone?

And it hit me that (1) I'd like a phone for my son so that his dad would stop being so cheap about phone calls, but (2) I have no clue as to the answers because (3) we've had horrible luck with Des, who is 4 years older, and her cell phone use to the extent that we've taken it away, and that (4) we are hard-core parental controllers of the media & technology our kids use (which brings me to point 5 which is that ages ago I promised to discuss how we limit our families use of "screens" and passive entertainment).

So this is not what Kajeet really wanted, but it's what I want to say.

I don't want to kiss a phone goodbye; as a mom who lost her son in an ugly custody battle to her abuser and now lives 10 hours away from him, it would be great to give him a phone (with the wallet system Kajeet has, it would be even cooler!) so that we could talk on my dime anytime.

Saying all that is really ugly. But it's a sad reality for countless numbers of moms in similar situations -- as well as other parents of divorce with children far away. So someone has to say it.

Destiny has not shown the maturity we as parents feel warrants her own personal phone; until she matures enough to handle the responsibility of a phone, she uses our phones. This makes perfect sense to us because responsibilities are earned, so no matter how many of her peers have them.

And her peers have them.

Cell phones, multiple game "stations", iPods, unmonitored internet usage, televisions & DVD players in their rooms...

Don't get me wrong, the kids have plenty of "things" -- including their own individual record players (because they all collect vinyl!), boom boxes, radios, disc-players... That's because music isn't as "dumbing" as visual entertainment. They can listen all they want. But when it comes to "screens," we limit the number of hours a day they may sit in front of them.

"Screens" (or "idiot boxes") are TVs (the programming and electronic devices which display on their screens, including movies and PlayStation or other video games) and computers (unless they are writing or otherwise creating on it; games and "surfing" time count as passive, mindless entertainment).

We limit them to two hours a day on school days; three hours on non-school days. Yes, that includes summer vacation.

And, they are monitored. They are never on the internet without us in the room or within eyesight of the monitor. They are not allowed to watch shows or movies which we have not screened & OK'd or are not present to watch with them.

We do this because we love them.

We do this to encourage their own creativity.

We do this to encourage them to move and play.

We do this to be sure that if/when questionable material arises, we are there to answer questions, point out the inaccuracies Vs facts, quell fears & anxieties, find out what excites & interests them, have conversations with them about what they are absorbing -- and just plain turn it off, if need be.

So I guess if I were try to conform to the contest rules, I would say that the best way to really manage kids' use of cell phones is to do the same thing: limit the amount of time they actually hold it. Or to use a feature like Kajeet's TimeManager, and limit the phone's use for text, pics & calls to times when we are present to monitor them &/or times when calls are warranted ("Come pick me up, please!")

Mean Companies: The CBS Edition

According to the AP, Autism Group Demands Apology From CBS.

As I began to read the article for my husband, I got no further than the headline before he blurted, "Oh, for Boston Legal, huh."

Which surprised me because I am a huge Boston Legal fan and watch it every Tuesday -- which means he has seen nearly every episode as well. So I said, "Really? You'd think of Boston Legal? I find the characters to be treated very warmly, created with integrity. Sure, they have funny quirks, but they are high-functioning & interesting, certainly not treated or created in 'ick'. And, besides, Boston Legal is ABC."

(I'd also like to hereby state that the matter of 'warm, interesting, high-functioning characters created with integrity and warmth' is a problem afflicting many shows, regardless of any connection to Autism.)

Anyway, back to the news story.

The complaint with CBS is over a recent Big Brother episode.

On that episode, a contestant named Adam, who claims to work for an autism foundation, said he would spend his winnings on a hair salon for people with developmental disabilities "so retards can get it together and get their hair done."

His partner, Sheila, told him: "Don't call them that."

Adam responded: "Disabled kids. I can call them whatever I want. I work with them all day, OK?"

Isn't that the fear of any parent, any family member? That some jack-ass is going to take the pay and be snide and heartless as they walk away? I wonder just how Adam does deal with the kids each day...

I doubt that CBS can be held liable for 'contestants' on reality shows... I'd think the whole freedom from a script thing combined with the nature of such games would have some sort of contracts with riders protecting themselves from just such stupidity. But CBS ought to do something in responsible response.

Just not another one of those PSAs which suck. Do something real & meaningful for Pete's sake.

If not, then it makes me wonder if CBS has some sort of impairment which affects their ability to perceive and deal with emotions...

Naw, it's just a sign of being mean, heartless and money-grubbing.