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Mean Girls….in real life

10/26/2010 By JulieOrdonez 4 Comments

Lindsay Lohan may be one of the biggest hot messes I’ve seen in a long time, but one of the best movies she ever did was definitely Mean Girls. Tina Fey’s spin on the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman takes a look at high school cliques, and also at the way that girls tear each other down. The movie cleverly depicts the typical cliques in high school (the jocks, the nerds, the “cool” ethnic group, and of course, the popular kids), and exemplifies how everyone, in particular teenage girls, ruin friendships and value popularity and rumors over friendship and being an individual.

In real life, once high school is over and we start really growing up, we realize that in back then we were all trying hard to blend in and be the same, whereas as adults we value our individual strengths, and all the popular kids we worked so hard to impress before aren’t even on our radar anymore. But what is it about some women that makes them never quite outgrow that “high school” mentality, that even into adulthood makes them carry the same cat-iness , that same need to gossip about one another, that disloyalty, that artificial sincerity that makes them act like your best friend in front of you, and talk behind your back like your worst enemy? Cliques go from the lunchroom to the break room, as can be seen via office gossip, and that juicy workplace rumor mill, where trash talk and the pointing out of one another’s flaws is like an arm’s race.

Then there’s the new way women have decided to compete against each other: marraige and motherhood. Who’s got the biggest house, best car, best looking husband, tightest abs after baby (note: celebs get PAID to stay in shape, ladies, we don’t), or smartest kids? Stay at home moms, working moms, or those who decide not to even be moms. A SAHM may guilt a working mom into feeling bad about leaving her kids, a working mom may guilt the SAHM for not working and or having a back-up plan in case she needs to support her kids, and the “non-mom” gets guilt for not wanting to complete her “role” as a woman and even be a mom.

What is this incessant need, girls, to tear each other down? Perhaps it’s the pressure of the unattainable standards we think we have to reach as women. We compare ourselves to one another, we critique ourselves against this unattainable ideal we set for ourselves, we wish we had her skin, her butt, her job, her boyfriend, etc., etc. Women may see a girl they don’t like, (or think they won’t like) and want to start rumors about her, for what, just so they can see her cry? What is it about hearing juicy gossip that makes some women almost relish it, because it makes them feel better about themselves? Though I’d like to think this is just a high school thing, I’ve found out that the world can be a giant extension of high school sometimes.

Girls, wake up. We’re all different, unique, and beautiful, and have different things to bring to the table. We need to support each other as women, understand that being a true friend means being loyal and honest, genuine and truly being there, try to understand her, because maybe you don’t really know all of what’s going on. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not, if you don’t like me, that’s okay, you won’t hurt my feelings, just don’t pretend you do. Women have enough to worry about, what with competing with men, raising kids, work outside home maybe, and fitting in time for ourselves to waste time tearing each other down in the process.

Photo courtesy of: shrinkingsisters.com

Filed Under: Entertainment, Humor, Opinion, Parenting

Doodle Jump Meets a Grown Up

09/04/2010 By Ridgely Johnson 11 Comments

I thought I made it. I was certain I would go to my grave without succumbing to the seemingly addictive nature of video games. I blame my addiction on Katie Couric. To know she is my age makes this admission even more painful.

Two weeks ago, as is our nightly habit, we watched as Katie wrapped up the CBS nightly news. She described a iPhone application/game that has been sweeping the nation for months, Doodle Jump. In June, sales of Doodle Jump surpassed the 5 million mark.

The name in itself is fun to say, Doodle Jump. Flashes of this darling little creature bounced on LT’s flatscreen TV, bouncing up green ledges attempting to get to the top of ?

I cannot describe life at the top of the platforms as I have not landed there, yet; I sure have had fun in my attempts. For you pros reading, please leave me a comment, and tell me what is up there, pretty please.

Katie interviewed one of the creators of Doodle Jump, Igor Pusenjak. He and his brother, Marko, described the nation’s craze with the little creature, sharing stories of marriage proposals and tons of fan mail. Igor showed Katie showed a common rookie mistake in playing the game: aggressive tilting side to side.

The story then splashed on different players, from the darling 9-year old giving us his highest score to the college student admitting, although somewhat embarassed, how addicting the game is.

As mentioned earlier, I have never played video games. I grew up before video games. Yes, we played tag, hide and go seek, hop scotch, those nerd games you see on Family Vacation movies.

LT and I do not have a Wii or a Xbox or 360 or a 240 (gotcha). We are just out of the video game loop. Not any more.

If I had to name a reason why this game has taken control of my life ;-), I believe it is because little Doodle Bug is so cute. Besides the fact, I love saying Doodle Bug. Saying Doodle Bug reminds me of the kick I get out of saying Curly q ice cream cones.

After seeing Doodle Bug, I became engaged emotionally to the game, ok, to the Doodle Bug. For you unmarketing types, this is precisely where the creators of Doodle Jump want customers. No questions remain, I wanted my own Doodle Bug, NOW.

I went to the application site on my iPhone and searched for Doodle Bug. OMG, this little fella is even more adorable up close and personal. Without a thought to the price tag of .99, I logged into iTunes and downloaded Doodle Jump. For the record, I am very selective about what I download, even more selective when money is involved.

No instructions come with Doodle Jump. I cannot tell you if this is the norm. Remember who you are talking to. This game is fun from the first second. I believe this is why so many have embraced it and have succumbed to its addictive nature.

One note, without looking up I heard LT, in his Watch Commander voice, threatening me with life as a Doodle Bug if I did not turn off the sound. Doodle Bug makes a thumping sound as he hops up the platforms: a pummeling sound echoes as he falls to the ground. Thank goodness I was able mute DB’s maneuvers.

As I zipped along with my score getting higher and higher, I told myself I may have found my true calling in life. I wondered what the “pros” scored. I was scoring near 16,000 which seemed on the professional level.

So, what do we do when we want information? We go to the Internet. I looked up Doodle Jump . Well, to make a long story short, I am fortunate to have a back up opportunity at stardom with my humor writing as the pros in doodle jumping are into the 400,000′s.

I look forward to the mindless pleasure it gives me.

Thank you Katie.

*note: I do not know if I heard Katie refer to the little guy as Doodle Bug, but that is what I call him. I feel certain, as with most close to me, I will name him soon. Will keep you posted.

Photos courtesy of Doodle Jump Creators, Lima, Sky, Inc.

Visit Ridgely’s personal site here

Filed Under: Entertainment, Tech

And that’s the way it is

08/30/2010 By Rob LaGrone 4 Comments

Some NPR news program was interviewing a Canadian stand-up comic about his recently being offered a job at a brand-new conservative news network being created in our neighbor to the north. Officially it will be Sun TV News, but people are informally referring to it as “Fox News North.”

I was struck not so much by the comic’s obvious sense of “us” and “them” (and his surprise at being invited to work with “them”) as I was about his apparent wonder at who in the world (or at least in Canada) will be consumers of that kind of network. It got me thinking about the varying perspectives of different news outlets, and I imagined how those networks might report on current events in, say, Afghanistan:

“Next on CNN: two more U.S. troops were killed today in Afghanistan, bringing this month’s total to 14. Anderson Cooper will take you live to the homes of the families, with some extreme closeups of women crying, and Anderson will debut his new theme music.”

“Later on Fox News: Bill O’Reilly interviews three different heads of state about the political situation in Afghanistan, and tells them why he is right and they are all idiots.”

“Next up on MSNBC: a small earthen dam breaks in Helmand Province, killing two farmers. We’ll tell you why it’s all Dick Cheney’s fault.”

“Next on Al Jazeera: courageous American journalist Helen Thomas, speaking for President Obama, admits that the slaughter of innocent young Muslim men in Afghanistan is all the fault of Jewish U.S. troops.”

“Tomorrow on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’: we learn about a young man from Kandahar and the daily challenges he faces as a gay poet in this conservative society.”

Yikes. I wonder what the new Canadian news network would report: “Next on Sun TV News: Prime Minister Steven Harper appeared, along with two other heads of state, on the Fox News show ‘The O’Reilly Factor.’ The PM explained to his host that although the new Canadian network is informally called ‘Fox News North,’ we’ll have difficulty publicly comparing our programmes to O’Reilly’s because in Canada you still can’t say the word ‘ass’ on the air.”

And that’s the way it is - or at least the way it seems sometimes. But at least the U.S. television news networks have the good sense to hire supermodels instead of comedians.

Filed Under: Biz, Entertainment

The list

08/26/2010 By JulieOrdonez 3 Comments

Julie and Julia. Last Holiday. The Pursuit of Happyness. Many movies revolve around the concept of determination and the pursuit of our dreams, and as we watch the main characters fight to accomplish their innermost dreams we leave practically screaming at the screen, saying, “Yes! Yes, you can do it! Don’t let them stop you!”. They leave us with the sense that maybe, just maybe, if we put the pedal to the metal in our own lives, we can actually get the job/lose the weight/start the business/ or conquer the fear.

I was left with just this feeling after watching “Julie and Julia” the other day. Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, a woman lost in a meaningless job, who “finds herself” through accomplishing the task of cooking all the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook in one year while writing a blog about it. Eventually, after overcoming some obstacles, arguments, and the occasional meltdown, she completes the task, gains a massive blog following, and becomes a writer, her dream job. All the while the story of how Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) became a groundbreaking chef parallels Powell’s story. In the end Powell becomes an author, Julia Child overcomes the odds to become the culinary icon she is today, and we are all empowered to pursue our dreams, if at least for the next week or so.

I asked myself, as I was watching all of this, if this movie was written for me. One line in particular from the movie struck me, where Powell herself admits she is afraid to start the blog, because,“let’s face it, I never really finish anything I start.” With that, I pull out The List. You know. The List. We all have one. The list we usually make every January 1^st, which ends up lost in a pile of junk mail by February 1^st. The one with goals to reach, dreams to make reality, the one where you said to yourself as you wrote things down, THIS is what my life is supposed to be like!

I’ve had the same list for some time now. Lose weight, be more appreciative, take my parents on their dream vacation someday, travel the world, and, of course, become a writer/editor for a major publication. Some things, if not all, continue to make the list year after year, and as I scan this list again I think to myself, what the hell is the point of making these lists when I never check anything off of them? Is it the fear of failure? Mmm, yeah, probably. That has to be the biggest factor in why we don’t all go out and become what we imagined we’d be when we were 10 years old. The fear of going for something, failing at it, or being laughed at by others can be paralyzing. The thought of people ridiculing us and the doubt people can place in our minds just by making comments like, “Are you kidding? YOU wanna do WHAT?” can be enough to keep us from becoming what we really want to be.

Maybe that voice of ridicule or doubt is our own. We say to ourselves, Yeah right! I’m not pretty enough/smart enough/funny enough/whatever enough to be what we want. In reviewing The List, a sense of empowerment came over me. I am NOT going to review this list in 10 years, with the same wants, dreams, and desires and wish I had done/said/ did. I spend WAY too much time: 1. Not enjoying and/or appreciating what I already have in my life and 2. Daydreaming about the life I want instead of doing the damn thing and LIVING the life that I want. And that stops NOW. Because when I watch another feel-good-about-yourself movie a few years from now, I want to pull out that same list. Except then, there’ll be check marks next to the items on it.

You can read more from Julie here.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Motivate, Nostalgia, Opinion

Show a broad a fisherman…

07/16/2010 By Awesome 9 Comments

Show a broad a fisherman, and she’ll sob uncontrollably into the wee hours of the night.

Pop culture is a driving force these days. Especially amongst women. Something pulls on our heart strings and sucks us in to every word, every movement, every breath. It’s pretty much like the creators of network television knew that all along. Crafty you are, you bastards. We’ve all swooned all gushy-like over the romantic comedy and laughed our asses off at the daily-mundane-gone-overly-dramatized sitcom, but crab fisherman? survivalists? reality tv stars?

Spending week after week, year after year, following a storyline and the ebbs and flows (pun fully intended) in drama, there’s nothing that appropriately prepares you for the inexplicable attachment you develop to the characters. Oh, the emotion! The humanity! The…the…waterworks.

I suppose we can feel better knowing we’re not crying over sparkly things with pointy teeth, but more over a real man and real loss. Perhaps, that right there, is The Pull. Put real people on television and women will lose their marbles and, in turn, inherit lifetime prescriptions for Lexapro.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Humor