Vogue article by mom about 7-year-old daughter’s weight sparks heavy backlash

 Dara-Lynn Weiss recently did an article in Vogue about helping her young daughter fight obesity. Many people thought her treatment of her daughter's problem at such a young age seemed insensitive. In the article Weiss released all the details of her daughter's struggle while saying things like "Bea, you have to stop eating crap like that, you're getting too heavy" or "that fat girl is a thing of the past" . Critics of the article agree that this was no way to treat an overweight seven year old and this is the type of attitude that could cause eating disorders in the future. I am all for raising healthy children, but this seemed extreme. Helping your children lose weight is a really sensitive issue and not something to publish so detailed in such a huge magazine, especially the way Weiss did it. I just wished she had realized that this was not just her struggle, but her daughter's struggle as well and so she should be more sensitive to what her daughter may have been going through.



Stableford, Dylan. "Vogue Article by Mom about 7-year-old Daughter's Weight Sparks Heavy Backlash." Yahoo! News. Yahoo! Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/vogue-article-mom-7-old-daughter-weight-sparks-175546979.html>.

How to Spot a Lie

Pamela Meyer is the author of the book "Liespotting" and spoke at the TED Global conference on lying in our everyday lives and how to spot lies in other people. Studies show that on an average day you are lied to 10 to 200 hundred times. Strangers lie on average three times in the first ten minutes of meeting each other. Some of the lying myths she talks about are that liars don't look you in the eyes and will fidget or stammer. The opposite actually tends to be true. With practice someone will be able to tell what is a lie from statement structure, facial micro-expressions, question formation and timing. Some subtle signs of lying are tense or abnormal posture, using distancing or qualifying language, or signs of post-interview relief.

This was an extremely interesting article. I thought it was crazy that you could be lied to 200 times in one day. But I thought a little more about it and I decided I don't really want to always be able to tell if someone is lying. Sure it would be helpful in some scenarios like if you're a lawyer or a poker player, but most of the time you would just know someone is lying to you but not know what to do about it. Most lies are small, so if you confronted someone it would seem like you were overreacting yet you're still curious why they would be lying to you. It would mostly make life more complicated. The way I look at it I will try to be honest and hope others are honest towards me and that's all I can really ask for.

 "How to Spot a Lie - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/13/opinion/meyer-lie-spotting/index.html>.

Lost cellphones added up fast in 2011

 We've all had friends use the old "I lost my phone" excuse when they don't call or text you back.  A recent study shows that American lost $30 billion worth of mobile phones in 2011. The cities with the most lost phones were Philadelphia, Seattle, Oakland, Long Beach and Newark. It is also found that Americans lose their phones on average once per year. This adds up fast considering phones tend to cost a couple hundred dollars. Only about half of these phones are returned to their owner, leaving the owner paranoid and searching for a more secure phone. In response companies have had an increased emphasis on security.

Okay, is it really that hard to keep track of your phone? I don't really get how people can ever justify losing a $200 item annually.  No wonder there has been an increase in waste from old technology recently. $30 billion or approximately 300 million lost phones in one year is way too much. Put it in your pocket or your purse and double check on it before you leave, is that so incredibly hard?

Yu, Roger. "Lost Cellphones Added up Fast in 2011." USA Today. Gannett, 23 Mar. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2012. <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-03-22/lost-phones/53707448/1>.

Boy Allergic to Food

 Joshua, a nine year old boy, is allergic to the taste and smell of nearly all foods.  The boy has a disease called eosinophilic esophagitis and gets most his nutrients from a formula prescribed by his doctor. Joshua is home schooled by his parents and lives a very protected life because of his condition. If he did eat food he would be in severe pain and possibly even die.

My goodness, the stuff that happens in our world today. . . After I got over the initial shock that this boy cannot in fact, eat, I felt really bad for him. No pasta, no cheese, and no caramel brulee. I don't know if you guys have noticed but food is delicious...Then feeling bad turned into a kind of thankfulness for the world we live in. Not to long along this boy would not have made it. The fact that someone can live a relatively normal life without be able to eat shows how far medicine has come and all the good it's been doing. I wish Joshua the best as he learns to navigate life with his condition.





"A Boy Allergic to Food." Yahoo! Shine. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. <http://shine.yahoo.com/anderson-cooper/boy-allergic-food-203300932.html>.

How Many Facebook Friends Do You Have? Study Links Narcissism and Facebook Activity

Surprise, surprise, a new study links Facebook activity with narcissism. The study was done by a professor named Christopher Carpenter. Carpenter defined narcissism as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration and an exaggerated sense of self-importance. Using a Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the study involved monitoring young people's "self promoting" Facebook activities like status updates and adding and tagging pictures, as well as "anti-social behavior" such as seeking a lot of social support or getting mad when others don't comment or when they leave negative comments. People that scored higher on the Inventory tended to promote themselves more and have more friends on Facebook.Self-esteem is also negatively related to these self-promoting activities. Carpenter says this dark side of Facebook needs more research to better understand the benefits as well the harm and how to fix the problem.


Like I said earlier this does not surprise me. I see the self-promoted activities whenever I'm on Facebook and I often wonder why these people feel the need to let their 500 "friends" know what exactly they're feeling or doing. I find it more sad that anything else. What is going on in their lives to need to go to Facebook to find their self-worth? How can they find a more constructive outlet than this? I'm not sure what the answers are but I really hope this pattern of increasing anti-social "social" activities doesn't continue. People need real relationships, with getting to know each other and talking in person; a friendship needs to be so much more than liking someone status on Facebook.

Clarke, Suzan. "How Many Facebook Friends Do You Have? Study Links Narcissism and Facebook Activity." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 13 Mar. 0000. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/many-facebook-friends-study-links-narcissism-facebook-activity-120546746--abc-news.html>.

Israel’s skinny model ban: New law requires body mass index of 18.5 or a doctor’s note

The issue of ultra thin models and how they relate to girl's body image has been controversial for a long time. Lawmakers in Israel are trying to ban ultra thin models by requiring a body mass index of 18.5 or a doctor's note. These means a six foot model would have to weigh 136.5 pounds. This will hopefully encourage a better body image among teens, especially in a country where two percent of 14 to 18 year old girls have some type of eating disorder. One of the lawmakers is quoted saying "Beautiful is not underweight; beautiful should not be anorexic."

The way I see it this law could possible really help young girls while taking the pressure off models to be super skinny. The issues of the modeling industry definitely need to be addressed and soon. Although it's possible that a law like this and ones like would only change the issue instead of fix it. What if the tables turn and suddenly natural skinny girls cannot get modeling jobs unless they gain weight. An industry where average to overweight people have been discriminated against for years could suddenly start discriminated everyone who doesn't have a body mass index of 18.5. I'm not saying this law isn't a good idea, I'm just saying that there is more to the issue than a body mass index. It has to do with how girls see themselves and others, what is considered beautiful and what isn't. I just hope that some of the overlying problems are addressed along with this law.

Stableford, Dylan. "Israel's Skinny Model Ban: New Law Requires Body Mass Index of 18.5 or a Doctor's Note." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 18 Jan. 0000. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cutline/israel-skinny-model-ban-law-requires-body-mass-160408015.html>.

‘The Hunger Games’ Movie Inspires Good Early Reviews

 Okay, so Hunger Games opens on Friday and I just had to do at least one blog about it. Probably to curb my excitement a little bit. It looks like so far so good. One reviewer calls "The Hunger Games" "thrilling, intelligent, deeply felt blockbuster filmmaking." Others have just as good reviews, my favorite being "The makers of 'The Hunger Games' have managed the difficult feat of crafting a film that feels both epic and intimate at once.". The main actress Jennifer Lawrence gets high praise for her portrayal of Katniss Everdeen. Some reviewers say there are some slight changes from the book, but nothing of consequence. I don't mind a few changes, if you were watching a movie that was word for word from the book there would be no surprises and what would be the fun of that? It's a relief knowing that this movie is going to be good, so I don't have to worry about another "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (which I left in the middle of). Now I just have to wait the few more days we have until it comes out. sigh..

"'The Hunger Games' Movie Inspires Good Early Reviews." Yahoo! Movies. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/hunger-games-movie-inspires-good-early-reviews-223152800.html>.