Saturday, May 19, 2012
Much of the reaction to the magazine's oh-so-controversial cover last week, which showed a woman nursing a 3-year-old, proves that we, as image-consumers, are getting a whole lot better at not taking the bait.
Today, we are surrounded by images from the time we wake-up until we close our eyes at night and those who make these images, image-producers, provide the public with a majority of our information. Just look at the field of news, where television and photography have strangled the written word almost completely. Sometimes I think we’re turning the book of life into a picture book. This week, the image du jour is that oh-so controversial Time cover of a woman breastfeeding a 3-year-old standing on a chair next to her. I can only imagine how much the buzz surrounding this image is profiting Time-Warner, the owners of Time, even if most of the people buzzing about it will never actually read the story inside. A picture is now worth more than…
Friday, May 18, 2012
Social media continue to harvest our personal likes for sake of advertising and marketing.
Every time you turn around, you’re being followed. Google, Facebook and now Twitter. We learn from Huffington Post: “Twitter announced Thursday that it will use information it collects about users' browsing habits across all sites with Twitter “share” buttons to recommend accounts to follow. By tracking individuals during their visits to websites in what the social media site calls the Twitter ecosystem (which includes any page with an embedded Twitter widget), Twitter can monitor what stories or topics each user visits most, and use that data to suggest accounts that match their interests.” So has privacy gone out the window?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Chairman/CEO of one of the nation’s biggest banks is under fire by investors, faces FBI probe.
When a bank is robbed, the FBI swoops in. When a major bank loses $2 billion, other agencies take the lead. But in the case of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase, the FBI is investigating there as well in the wake of its stunning loss, which has triggered investor lawsuits. Bank regulation remains a contentious issue, but what about criminal liability? Should CEO and Chairman of the Board Dimon be brought up on charges? Should he and other bank executives face jail terms?
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Gov. Jerry Brown again calls for support of November initiatives to ease California budget deficit.
Gov. Jerry Brown says K-12 schools and both state university systems will suffer even more cuts and force tuition increases if California voters don’t approve a quarter-cent bump in the state’s sales tax rate to 7.5 percent and boost the income tax rate for people making more than $250,000 a year. His critics say the projected $16 billion state budget deficit can be erased without voter-approved tax hikes in November. Whose arguments do you buy?
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Some on Wall Street think Facebook’s initial public offering of stock is latest dot-com hysteria.
No doubt Facebook has changed lives—more than 900 million, in fact. But with its initial public offering of stock on Friday, the social network founded by Mark Zuckerberg in his Harvard dorm room has raised stratospheric expectations. The 8-year-old company’s valuation would top $100 billion, according to Wall Street. Is this an omen of wild profits to come or the latest Sign of the Apocalypse? Remember the dot-com bust?
Monday, May 14, 2012
Time magazine cover photo of boy nearly 4 feeding on his mother has sparked debate and outcry.
Mothers, we hope you got the rest and recognition your deserved Sunday. Now back to work—deciding whether the latest media-sparked debate is worth your attention. We refer, of course, to extreme breast-feeding, the “attachment parenting” practice pictured on the cover of Time magazine. That’s the one where a boy nearly 4 is standing on a small chair, feeding on his mother’s left breast. Advocates like Dr. Bill Sears say moms should breast-feed as late as age 7. What’s your age of weaning? (And see what Valerie Brown has to say in her column Confessions of the Evil Mother Lady on Rancho Bernardo Patch.)
Friday, May 11, 2012
Funeral procession for Coronado-based Navy officer raises hard questions about American role.
Coronado is home to many military families—including about 75 percent of students at Strand Elementary. So Thursday’s funeral procession for Lt. Christopher Mosko was especially meaningful. A charter plane brought Mosko, who was killed last month in Afghanistan, to North Island Naval Air Station. But a larger question looms: What does Mosko’s ultimate sacrifice mean? One poll says only 27 percent of Americans back the Afghanistan war. Osama bin Laden once launched attacks from that country. Now he is gone. Should U.S. troops be, too?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
In 2008, Californians backed amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Have you changed?
President Barack Obama came out of his “evolving” views closet Wednesday by concluding, in an ABC News interview, that “for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has a lesbian daughter, said he applauded the president: “I know it’s a difficult political position, but he’s on the right side—and history will judge him that way.” Yet California voters—along with a 4-0 vote by the Grossmont Union High School District board—turned thumbs down on gay marriage via Proposition 8 in 2008. Have your views evolved?
The President’s Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition (PCFSN) is celebrating its 29th year of promoting health and fitness.
I remember being in elementary school and my teachers talking about the Presidential Fitness Award and practicing each of the tests in preparation for the day when my classmates and I all held each other’s feet and did sit-ups. If you were wondering if that same test still exists, the answer is … yes. In an effort to track the fitness level of our students, each year 5th, 7th, and 9th graders all perform the same five physical fitness tests, which are the sit and reach, shuttle run, pull-ups, sit-ups, and the endurance walk/run. The goal of the Presidential Fitness Test is to help educators help their students be at their best. Since we know that exercise and a healthy body helps with learning, it’s understandable that we would want to …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Only one team in Major League Baseball has a worse record than the local professional ballclub.
The San Diego Padres are on a roll—having won two games in a row. Better yet, the 11-20 Friars are no longer the worst team in baseball. (Thank you, 8-21 Twins!) But mired in last place in the National League West, the Padres are 8 1/2 games behind the division-leading Dodgers. (The horrors!) It could be worse. We could have paid $240 million for a player only to end up last, like the Angels. The question remains: Is the season over for the Padres? Or does hope remain for a May Miracle and pennant race?
Things I Learned
11:00 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
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