I was tagged by Mariz at Reflections by Mariz to help promote June as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was flabbergasted when I read one news story that said 1 in 4 women get breast cancer. Is this true? That’s horrible! Why are the numbers so high?!

Clicking the button below generates interest in the Breast Cancer site. For every 8 million hits, $10,000 is raised for women to get a free screening. Go ahead, give it a click. You know you want to!

Thanks, Mariz, for tagging me. :)

I saw this story and got a really good laugh out of it!

It might be a while before they appear on the shelf at Tesco.

But scientists claim adding insects to our diet would be good for us and the environment.

Crunching into crickets or snacking on grilled caterpillar is apparently a means to a nutrient-rich diet that also helps reduce pests and puts less strain on the planet than eating conventional meat.

Mmmmmm, yummy yummy. Click on the picture for a bigger photo of all that yummy goodness.

In Thailand when pesticides failed to control locusts, the government urged locals to eat them and distributed recipes.

Chef Paul Cook, who supplies exotic and unusual food through his Bristol-based business Osgrow, has sold a range of insects including locusts.

He said: ‘You have to get past your feeling when you look at a whole locust or cricket. They are very clean and nutritious.

I just picked a billion nasty larvae from my pine trees over the weekend. There is NO WAY I’m ever going to find these things tasty.

I have just one thing to say to these “scientists” who say we should eat bugs: YOU GO FIRST!

All this talk about identity theft and credit card insecurity has me wondering about that service called Lifelock. It’s no secret that credit card companies and banks are NOT securing our data. It is time to take matters into our own hands! I’ve heard plenty about Lifelock on the radio. They have their own website and it has amazing– and infuriating– stories about people who have had their information stolen. They are grateful they had Lifelock. Lifelock guarantees identity theft protection, up to a million dollars! I know that’s more than I’m worth, lol! But they also help out by reducing all those credit card offers and other junk mail that fill up our mailboxes, and they monitor credit scores for fraud, and more. It’s only $10 a month! It sounds like a terrific insurance protection service. Do you or anyone you know have Lifelock?

What ever happened to doing something right because it was, well, right?

A few years ago A long, long time ago, I saw a Sesame Street television show that had Elmo and a friend fighting over a toy. One of the “humans” (don’t remember her name) entered the scene and encouraged the two bickererers to share because sharing makes you “feel good inside.” What the h@%&*????? What kind of la-la land was this TV show promoting?! Sharing makes you feel like crap! Who wants to share? The truth should have been told– we should share because it is the right thing to do, because sometimes our selfish needs are nasty and destructive to others. My kids have never seen a Sesame Street show, and that’s why, right there.

It is with the same “what the?!” reaction that I read a news article from my local online news source, which proclaimed, “Stay-at-home moms: Benefits outweigh sacrifices, local mothers say.”

Benefits to whom outweigh sacrifices to whom?

The story goes on about how wonderful staying at home is– how wonderful it is for the mothers, that is. What drivel and rot.

The choice for Streeter, Downie and Bayly to stay at home with their children is a decision that they do not regret _ stating that the positives far outweigh the negative.

“The unpredictability of what will happen each day is one of the best parts of being a stay-at-home mom” Bayly said. “Today, for example, I built sand castles all morning.”

Sand castles. Big whoop.

Don’t get me wrong, staying at home with the kids has it blessings, sure. But moms, why do we really stay at home? So we can build sand castles and wipe snot all day? No! We stay at home for the sake of others, not ourselves– for, namely, our children. Pardon me while I rant, but I hate stories that propagandize such drivel, as if mothers need to be spoon-fed the glories of incessant diaper-changing and play dates.

Staying at home is very, very hard work. It’s why few men do it, and opt to work outside the home, lol. Staying at home, raising children and managing the household, is a heck of a lot harder than playing with the kids all day and cooking a meal or two. I very much dislike these stories that make husbandry sound like a merry-go-round of play all day. And I dislike it even more that society sneers on SAHM moms; if anything, society should be kissing our unpedicured, peanut-butter-and-jelly-stained feet, because, as Phyllis Schlafly once said, we SAHM mothers should be applauded for raising responsible citizens who will grow up to work hard to contribute to a healthy society and to the social security system.

So is it too difficult to admit that we moms sacrifice to stay home for the sake of someone else? Is there some kind of stigma to admit that the personal benefits, while satisfying, are second-place to the welfare and care of children? I’d like to see a news story that highlights this, but I have yet to see one. All I see are the “Sharing is Fun” stories. :-p

OK, to make something perfectly clear– the following is not a criticism!!! It’s an observation. :)

I was dropping Entrecards and visited the entertaining Geek Mom Mashup blog. She has an interesting post about a Japanese-invented gadget (actually, they are stickers that you place on the toilet) that encourages proper “aim” for kids who use the toilet. A common complaint among moms is that the kids whizz all over the place. Yeah, I have kids and I remember those potty-training years, and all I can say is THANK GOD THAT’S OVER. lol. Besides childbirth, potty-training is the worst!

Anyway, I was absolutely stunned at the idea of stickers. Are stickers and such things really necessary?! Back in the old days, a swift little swat on the kid’s backside, or forcing the child to clean up after himself (*GASP*), was enough to solve the problem! What is this new fad where mothers are resigned to be their child’s slave? There is no way on God’s good earth that I would ever spend our hard-earned money on toilet stickers because the durn kid is too lazy to aim correctly! No wonder the youth walk around like they are God’s gift to earth!

Disclaimer *sigh* This post is not intended to criticise, disseminate, or otherwise offend Geek Mom or her devoted readers, or the Japanese, or Moms Against Spanking Kids (MASK), or anyone who happens to use said toilet stickers, or anyone who to this day still cannot aim. However, I am very comfortable offending youth who walk around like they are God’s gift to earth and to their parents who encourage that. :D

Something at the dinner table last night reminded us of a HEE-LAR-EE-US video of Lucille Ball. I can’t remember what that thing was that caused us to remember it anymore, lol. But the video is a clip from the I Love Lucy TV show, one of my favorite shows as a kid. I did so love I Love Lucy!!

The video we saw (on YouTube) was titled “Sour Grapes,” and it showed Lucy caught up in a winemaking skit in Italy. Unfortunately, the original video clip we saw at YouTube is gone now. All I could find was this copy someone did with their camcorder from a television. But an imperfect video of Lucy is better than no video! We loved watching it again. The video is in two parts. Be prepared to hold your sides together!

I was browsing through my media files tonight and discovered an old mp3 file of Ofra Haza singing “Jerusalem of Gold.” I am not Jewish, but I grew up in a semi-Jewish household and I am a “true Jew” because I believe Y’shua Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the scriptures. I love her music.

Ofra Haza was a poor little girl from Tel Aviv, and her story is the classic “discovery” from rags-to-riches story. I have a few of her CDs, and even though I do not speak Hebrew fluently, it is thrilling to hear her vocalize the psalms and many other Hebrew scriptures. She was most popular during the 80s and 90s. Sadly, she died of AIDS at the age of 42. She had gotten the disease from her husband.

I found a few videos of her singing. It sends chills up and down my spine!

I can’t believe it. I am NOT a big “oldies” fan, OK? But I came across this blog with Rick Astley and nostalgia-fever hit me, baby! This was a big hit when I was in high school. Wow. Get a load of those clothes. Talking ’bout the 80’s!

I recently read Newton Minow’s speech, “Television and the Public Interest.” Newton Minow was FCC Chairman, and gave the speech in May 1961. It was renamed “Television and the Vast Wasteland” because that was the most memorable part of the speech. Have you ever read it? Do you read speeches? If you do not, it just may be because you watch television…

Well, the speech is very enlightening. There’s an audio version for people who can’t pay attention long enough to read all 5,417 words (if you watch television, you probably won’t get past the first 300 words). Either way, the message is very illuminating. In the speech, Minow pleads to those involved in television broadcasting to use this means of communication wisely.

Your license lets you use the public’s airwaves as trustees for 180 million Americans. The public is your beneficiary. If you want to stay on as trustees, you must deliver a decent return to the public — not only to your stockholders. So, as a representative of the public, your health and your product are among my chief concerns.

Did you know that we, the public, own our airwaves? NBC, CBS, and the others do not own it. These corporations are licensed to use our own airwaves, and these corporations are expected to use them for decent, informative, and edifying purposes. He stressed that:

1. Media corporations were catering more to their stockholders than to the public.
2. The “public interest” defined was not what the public wants, but what serves the public as a whole.

This is what Minow said 45 years ago, and his words are prophetic (but not surprisingly so):

So I have confidence in your health [the corporations' massive profits], but not in your product. It is with this and much more in mind that I come before you today. Now what do we mean by “the public interest?” Some say the public interest is merely what interests the public. I disagree. And so does your distinguished president, Governor Collins. In a recent speech — and of course as I also told you yesterday — In a recent speech he said,

Broadcasting to serve the public interest, must have a soul and a conscience, a burning desire to excel, as well as to sell; the urge to build the character, citizenship, and intellectual stature of people, as well as to expand the gross national product. …By no means do I imply that broadcasters disregard the public interest. …But a much better job can be done, and should be done.

I could not agree more with Governor Collins. And I would add that in today’s world, with chaos in Laos and the Congo aflame, with Communist tyranny on our Caribbean doorstep, relentless pressures on our Atlantic alliance, with social and economic problems at home of the gravest nature, yes, and with the technological knowledge that makes it possible, as our President has said, not only to destroy our world but to destroy poverty around the world — in a time of peril and opportunity, the old complacent, unbalanced fare of action-adventure and situation comedies is simply not good enough.

When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.

You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly commercials — many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you’ll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it.

Through Entrecards and other means, I’ve come across hundreds of people asking “What’s happening to our society today? It’s a wreck, and no one has any respect for anything anymore!” These things don’t happen without a cause. If you watch television addictively, you probably have no idea what I am talking about.

It used to be said that there were three great influences on a child: home, school, and church. Today, there is a fourth great influence, and you ladies and gentlemen in this room control it.

Has anyone noticed that “home” and “church” are not great influences anymore? These things have been replaced by school (especially public schooling with its emphasis on social engineering), television, and music. If you are wondering “what’s wrong” with our society, it’s because of these influences on our children. Certainly school, television, and music can have positive influences on our children (IF the media and school system decides to do so, which isn’t happening), but they should not be the only influences.

Why do you watch television? To vegetate in front of the screen after work? Is that why television was invented? Are you building a better society by this? One study says a person uses more brain cells to sleep than to watch television. Mindlessly watching the crap on the TV does have repercussions, on an individual and societal basis. Take a good, hard look at your own television habits. What good is television doing in your life?

Have you heard the expression “slaves to be free”? I think it’s been around since the Civil War era. Today, however, I think Americans are slaves to be slaves.

I’d heard a story a few years ago, a true story. It is a poignant picture of the state of the American culture and mind in the world. In this story, Russian and American men were working together on some state-sponsored activities in Russia (if I recall correctly, the storyteller said the two countries were working together during the early 50s, before the Space Race got heated). The men had completed their duties for the morning and had some leisure time before the next assignment. One young man recollects noticing a difference between the Russian men’s leisure activities and the American men’s activities. Overwhelmingly, the Americans were preoccupied with games, sports, and girlie magazines. The Russians were poring over books on complex mathematics and science discoveries. The young man was amazed at the difference and was not surprised when the Russians were the first in space before the Americans. Despite Russia’s crippling communist policies, the Russians are exceptional mathematicians. Look at the progress they have made with computer software, as they are the primary creators of hacker software (and I’m not talking about the “kiddie” pranks that most American teenagers do).

Looking through endless blogs thanks to Entrecards, I have had that story come back to me this week. I’ve been noticing the nationalities of the bloggers, and am starting to discern a pattern, too. What do you think? I’ve have seen that most American bloggers are discussing pornography, celebrities, and sports (or have dedicated large amounts of their content to thinking about it or posting pictures of it) while many Scandinavian bloggers discuss their environment (Scandinavians have the best photo blogs that I have seen). Filipinos discuss family– almost always marriage– or celebrities, and Canadians discuss world events like global warming, etc.

I think this casts a negative and detrimental light on America. Also, it explains why America is such a fat and lazy country. Let’s be honest, now. I love America with all my heart, but America has become so fat and lazy that all she thinks about is sex, sports, and marketing skills. Where are our great literature blogs, history blogs, science blogs? If there is any self-improvement content out there, it’s “fitness” blogging, but even those are geared so that we can look sexier– which really just goes back to the sex obsession.

And look at our politicians. They can’t even keep it zipped, even though it means their disgrace and ruining their families.

It makes me wonder, also, another thing. Why is our culture this way? Why are we in this country pumped with pornography, violence, sports, drugs, and debt until we puke? Here are some things to consider:

Anyone ever read Elders of the Protocols of Zion? Why is our culture this way, and what made it this way? I think if we continue on this path, we will no longer be free, but slaves– slaves bound to our own slavery. And what happens to those kinds of slaves?