Addiction Series Part 3: Media, Medicos, & Critical Thinking

Jan. 15, 2009 Thought I’d wrap up Part Three in this series on digital addiction vs. agency (part one and part two here) with some humorous insights from the medical community that poke fun at some very REAL research dilemmas. Clearly there are quirky flaws in how the  entire DSM process takes shape (DSM V= Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders aka the big … [Read more...]

The Perfect Gift for a Man: Reinventing Manhood (Book)

Dec. 9, 2009 And now for the GOOD news! Yesterday for I wrote about ‘boys being turned into monsters’ with toxic marketing proliferation about what it means to be masculine, rolling out narrowcast perceptions and gender roles thinner than a crepe. Today, meet 30 men who donated their stories, time and talent to author The Perfect Gift for a Man: 30 stories about reinventing … [Read more...]

The Laramie Project: Using Media to Teach Tolerance 10 Years Later

Nov. 13, 2009 It’s fitting that The Laramie Project premiers locally tonight in San Mateo on Friday the 13th, as the theater production resurrects a haunting melancholy on the ‘unlucky’ and fateful day young Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and left to die suffering for six days tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Reason for the hate crime? He … [Read more...]

Gossip Girl November Sweeps Schtick Predictably Trashy

Nov. 10, 2009 No, I didn’t watch the heavily promoted Gossip Girl ‘threesome’ shock schlock last night that sent the Parents Television Council rightfully into a tizzy, but frankly I didn’t need to, as the whole ‘provocative’ ploy is summed in two words, “sweeps week.” The vapid values trotted out in the ‘skankwear’ with stilettos crowd is pretty par for the course on the … [Read more...]

“I’m Not A Prude, But…”

Oct. 23, 2009 How many times have you heard that preface to a conversation about pop culture lately? Tweens? Teens? Okay, I promised NOT to do a Halloween Horrors bit on girls' costumes and tramp vamp cues (been there, done that) BUT the irony in the timing of this post from Australia titled, "Musical Tarts are Infecting Our Children" that referenced us here at Shaping … [Read more...]