Man Down? Girl Up, Rihanna. Own Your Influence.

June 6, 2011 We interrupt our positive picks programming to hand over a pail and a scrub brush so parents can prep for the latest mop up of "young and the RECKLESS"... This week in Rihanna Redux, she's once again baiting outrage by splattering revenge fantasies around the interwebs with ambient buzz in Rihanna's new "Man Down" video about a woman who shoots and kills her … [Read more...]

Quaking Kids and Headline News: How Much is Too Much?

Oct. 29, 2012 Update: Nice reminder on talking tips to quell anxiety about Hurricane Sandy, from the Child Mind Institute.  Mar. 14, 2011 When I was a child living in Japan through the 8.0 Tokachi-oki earthquake, I remember coming out of hiding to find my pet goldfish had vanished (found across the room under my dollbed weeks later, having sloshed out of the bowl from the … [Read more...]

Media Vamping: Twilight Talking Points, Bite Me Brouhaha

July 9, 2010 “There’s an obsession among many teens today for all things vampire, and it looks like the craze is now leaving a mark…literally.” So goes the opener for CBS News Early Morning Show this week titled “Teen Twilight Trend: Love Bites”…Coupla things here: First, in our media-hyped culture of ‘three makes a trend’ I’d like to lob the powerball question into the “who … [Read more...]