April 3, 2010 While media reports often churn out attention-getting stereotypes of spring break scenes of rowdy youth antics under the auspices of ‘what sells,’ to feed the money machine, we all too often don’t see the coverage of ‘alternate spring breaks’ and a major shift that’s taking hold in the cultural zeitgeist of service learning and youth. As I head out on spring … [Read more...]
Spring Break 2010: Service Learning from Teens Turning Green
Deconstructing Gaga: Through the Lens of 100 Youth
Mar. 29, 2010 Whether you’re Gaga for Gaga or your emotions run toward dropping the last letter (ahem, cough) there’s no doubt her one billion online video views ascending her from bland to brand have given this top selling recording artist much to celebrate beyond LadyGaga's 24th birthday yesterday. Mea culpa on missing the mark for a full-fledged youth roundup of “lil’ … [Read more...]
USC Media Student Bryn Kressin & Packaging Boyhood Book Winners!
Jan.1, 2010 Happy New Year! This joyous photo of youthful exuberance is Bryn Kressin, at left; one of our Shaping Youth winners of yesterday’s Packaging Boyhood book drawing where we pulled names from those who commented or tweeted about our weekly posts about boys, manhood and media messages impacting the males we love. The other two winners were author/educator Dr. Liz … [Read more...]
Flash Animation & Viral KidVid? Give Pause
Nov. 3, 2009 Here's a marketing campaign kids LOVE (me too!) No secret I’m a huge Fido fan…Flash animation? Not so much. It often freezes my Firefox and fouls up the works more often than not on a business site but here in this 'oldie but goodie' ('06-'07ish?) this viral video making the rounds again proves to be pure gold. Give that ad agency a biscuit for its viral … [Read more...]
Obama’s Speech to Kids: Controversy or Common Sense?
Sept. 8, 2009 As a nonpartisan, nonprofit, non-religious based entity, I’m having a hard time seeing the logic of pulling kids out of school to avoid a Presidential speech about kids staying in school in protest to the potential for “liberal propaganda and socialist thinking.” Wouldn’t a media literacy lesson using a living lab of live chat be a better EducationWeek-forum … [Read more...]