08 May 2013: Crickett: My First Chainsaw!
06 May 2013: My First BBQ!
Crickett, makers of toys that celebrate American traditions, introduces My First BBQ. It's never too young to start your children on the path of patriotic family values! Don't let the government take away your right to choose how to amuse your kids. Let your gut be your guide.
It seems that Kentucky is a place where children are given guns before they can read. An action that is common or traditional does not make it acceptable or wise. Listening to the victim's grandmother, the little girl's death shouldn't be seen as an indictment of children having access to guns, but instead proof that God works in mysterious ways.
"It was God's will. It was her time to go I guess. I know she's in Heaven right now and she's in good hands with the Lord."
So the family comforts themselves with the belief that Caroline is in a better place. I can't argue with them there.
"It was God's will. It was her time to go I guess. I know she's in Heaven right now and she's in good hands with the Lord."
So the family comforts themselves with the belief that Caroline is in a better place. I can't argue with them there.
24 Apr 2013: Reality, It's All in Your Head
24 Apr 2013: If God Exists, He's a Sadist
24 Apr 2013: Is there a class to learn class?
24 Apr 2013: Real Beauty for Men
18 Apr 2013: Perceived Beauty vs. Mirrors and Bad Lighting
It's difficult being a first world woman. I don't worry about where my next meal will come from, but I am concerned about it's probable effect on my waistline. I don't worry about dying at 60, but I dread what I may look like when I get there. We pick ourselves apart from the inside out, with an insatiable insecurity that marketing companies force feel like a foie gras goose. The boys of That Mitchell and Webb Look summed it up nicely.
So I appreciate any counter balance to our culture's constant, insidious criticism. Remember when Jamie Lee Curtis did that photo shoot for More magazine? Seeing her with no make-up, no airbrushing and looking like an average woman was refreshing. It made me feel better about myself for about three minutes.
Dove®, purveyor of hygiene and beauty necessities, has been trying to lift its head out of the advertising swill of by appealing to women's self-esteem; not by crushing it, but by bolstering it. Their Campaign for Real Beauty is aimed at the same market of dissatisfied women, but tries to curry favor with compliments rather than implied disappointment. Unfortunately, I am far too cynical to believe this manoeuvre isn't a bit disingenuous; like every other advertiser, Dove is still using kind lighting and probably a little photoshopping. What we end up with are Illusions of empowerment that manipulate even as they encourage.
Regardless, having been slowly crushed by advertising since I was a child (remember those Breck girls?), Dove's approach does make me feel better. So when I read about Dove's most recent attempt to rescue the alienated consumer, I was intrigued.
Impressive, right? Not really. First of all, the women seem to have been hand-picked from a Build Your Self-esteem workshop. This could just as easily have been an ad for antidepressants.
Then there's the "objective" opinions of strangers. No decent person is going to chat with a newly introduced, amiable person and then, immediately afterwards on camera, describe that person's appearance in anything but a kind light. I can only imagine that the entire process of choosing subjects and observers was carried out much like a jury selection.
Dove's tactics, while still somewhat Machiavellian, are at least not so subtly disparaging as their competitors and that's a good thing. When it comes to a woman's self-image, even lip-service is comforting.
My real problem with the whole thing is the terrible police sketches. It's no wonder rapists and murderers so often elude capture.
So I appreciate any counter balance to our culture's constant, insidious criticism. Remember when Jamie Lee Curtis did that photo shoot for More magazine? Seeing her with no make-up, no airbrushing and looking like an average woman was refreshing. It made me feel better about myself for about three minutes.
Dove®, purveyor of hygiene and beauty necessities, has been trying to lift its head out of the advertising swill of by appealing to women's self-esteem; not by crushing it, but by bolstering it. Their Campaign for Real Beauty is aimed at the same market of dissatisfied women, but tries to curry favor with compliments rather than implied disappointment. Unfortunately, I am far too cynical to believe this manoeuvre isn't a bit disingenuous; like every other advertiser, Dove is still using kind lighting and probably a little photoshopping. What we end up with are Illusions of empowerment that manipulate even as they encourage.
Regardless, having been slowly crushed by advertising since I was a child (remember those Breck girls?), Dove's approach does make me feel better. So when I read about Dove's most recent attempt to rescue the alienated consumer, I was intrigued.
Dove is on a mission. Ever since their Real Beauty campaign launched in 2004, the personal care brand has been saying one thing loud and clear: Women are fine just the way we are.
If you're one of the people who struggles to believe them, the latest addition to the series just might convince you that you may need to rethink your approach.
Dove hired an FBI-trained police sketch artist to draw women – first, based on the women's descriptions of themselves, then based on how others described them.
In nearly every instance, the pictures were starkly different – the women describing themselves had been notable [sic] harsh and the resulting image often not appealing. When another person described the very same face, however, the differences were positively dramatic.
If you're one of the people who struggles to believe them, the latest addition to the series just might convince you that you may need to rethink your approach.
Dove hired an FBI-trained police sketch artist to draw women – first, based on the women's descriptions of themselves, then based on how others described them.
In nearly every instance, the pictures were starkly different – the women describing themselves had been notable [sic] harsh and the resulting image often not appealing. When another person described the very same face, however, the differences were positively dramatic.
Impressive, right? Not really. First of all, the women seem to have been hand-picked from a Build Your Self-esteem workshop. This could just as easily have been an ad for antidepressants.
Then there's the "objective" opinions of strangers. No decent person is going to chat with a newly introduced, amiable person and then, immediately afterwards on camera, describe that person's appearance in anything but a kind light. I can only imagine that the entire process of choosing subjects and observers was carried out much like a jury selection.
Dove's tactics, while still somewhat Machiavellian, are at least not so subtly disparaging as their competitors and that's a good thing. When it comes to a woman's self-image, even lip-service is comforting.
My real problem with the whole thing is the terrible police sketches. It's no wonder rapists and murderers so often elude capture.
15 Apr 2013: Glocks for Tots
Steve Stockman is a funny guy, but I am still compelled to go all pedant on his ass. A "fetus" with a gun could shoot it's way out. After which it would be taken to a lab where it would be studied, very carefully.However, Stockman's droll theory is inaccurate. A baby with a gun can't abort an abortion any more than it could use it to protect the right to have a gun fetish - a constitutional right that, despite mass paranoia, is in no danger of being taken away from (hardly) anyone.
On the other hand, a child with a gun can accomplish a lot. Accidental suicide and murder for example. Children have an uncanny ability to shoot people right in the head. They're like freakin' Navy Seals.
Of course not everyone has access to weaponry at such a young age, so by the time they can get their hands on a gun they often turn to semi-automatics. When lacking the skill for accuracy, go for quantity.
So if you can't legally abort a fetus, just wait until it's a toddler and then leave a gun lying around. You'll have a 50/50 chance that the kid will self-deport himself, but if he misses and shoots someone else, he'll be taken off your hands before you can say, "I only looked away for a minute".
15 Apr 2013: WTF
Found this on the Doonesbury site:"Our campaign bumper sticker: If babies had guns, they wouldn't be aborted." —Rep. Steve Stockman
My thoughts on this later.
