How far can you get?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
My how the mighty have fallen
I remember watching this on Saturday mornings. Seriously though, to go from having your own cartoon to getting sued for millions would suck.
Only the French!
Anyone remember this? And in related news, apparently his Dad took all his money and he was left with a couple thousand dollars.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Somewhere around 25 Bizarre becomes Immature: A List
The following is a list of activities that, although fun or amusing when you're 19-24, are not socially acceptable when you're 25:
- Talking about donkey punching, turkey slapping, and anything related to hitting, punching, etc. to the other person during sex. It may have been funny to think about at the time, but at 25 you should be gettting sex regularly, so entertaining thoughts of weird sex acts because you're not getting any should not be necessary.
- Alcohol Consumption and Alcohol Related Activities:
- Body shots. By the time you're 25 you should be drinking good liquor and pouring it all over somebody's body only to lick it off of them is a waste of good liquor.
- Shots. Again, related to the fact that you should be drinking good liquor. If you are a guy you should not be ordering anything less than whiskey or tequilla. That means the following shots are unacceptable: vodka, rum, any shot that includes anything that is not alcohol (i.e., grenadine, sour mix, juice, etc.--purple hooters, lemon drops, red headed sluts, etc. are all in this category), and anything that has whipped cream on it or in it (e.g., a blow job shot). Girls, if a guy you are with orders any of these shots you should a) question why you're with him or b) go home with the next nearest guy that is taking a real shot. Furthermore, short of a bachelorette party, there is no reason for a girl to take any of these shots either.
- Wine. Try it. There is far more alcohol out there besides beer and by now you should be smart enough to realize that wine has a higher percentage of alcohol and tastes better, especailly when paired with the right food.
- If you are 25 and still can't control your drinking and/or know when to cut yourself off you should not be drinking, so the following behaviors are no longer acceptable: punching, kicking, fighting, biting, or any other ridiculous physical behavior; one night stands or random hook-ups solely because you are 'drunk' and you 'don't know what you're doing'; passing out at bars or public places; boot 'n rally, puking and rallying, etc.; waking up with a stamp or mark on your face from the night before; going to work with a wrist band on; reaking of alcohol past noon the next day; smoking cigarettes only because you are drinking; uncontrollable emotional outbursts (i.e., getting angry for no reason, crying for no reason, etc.)
- Tricking out your car. Just because Vin Diesel and Paul Walker were in their 30s in Fast and the Furious, does not make it cool to 'mod', 'trick out', or 'pimp out' your ride. Instead of wasting thousands of dollars on an exhaust and some neon lighting, spend the money and buy a big person car because, let's be honest, what are the changes you're going to race a quarter mile with someone? If you are street racing, you should probably jerk the wheel into on coming traffic the next time you race.
- This brings up the point that racing people from red lights or stops signs should never ever be done after your 25th birthday.
- Dungeons and Dragons, Magic, and any sort of fantasy role-playing. At 25 you should be on your way to establishing some form of career and/or life, you should not need to find solace in pretending you're a wizard, troll, or whatever it is your weirdos pretend to be.
- Anal Sex. See explanation for #1. Furthermore, at this point you should have had the opportunity to have atleast tried it. If you chose not to then that was your choice, but if you have then you should have realized that it's really not that great and if you still think it is and you're a guy you should probably spend some time at a turkish bath house... you know... "to just see what it's all about and maybe experiment" because chances are that you have some deep rooted issues that are preventing you from truly 'being yourself'.
- Rollercoaster Relationships. Breaking up, getting back together again, and doing it all over again is something we do when we're in high school and college because we're learning about the dynamics of relationships. By this time, you should have at least one serious relationship under your belt and the period to learn how to break-up should be long past.
- When breaking up, things that should be avoided (and ultimately never enter your mind): seeking revenge (i.e., contacting your ex's family members, hooking up with friends of your ex, etc.). and name calling (break-ups happen, be a big boy and get over it).
- Racism, sexism, and any other form of ignorance. You have now been alive a quarter of a centrury and have spent enough time in this world to hopefully be exposed to all walks of life, if you still have prejudices based on ignorance, get out more, go meet some people and start being an adult.
- Not owning any dress clothes and/or the general inability to get dressed up. At this stage in the game, you and/or several people you know should be getting married. It is not acceptable to wear a clean pair of jeans or khakis and your Saturday golf polo to a wedding. Along these lines, it is no where near acceptable to wear a similar outfit to a job interview unless you are interviewing for a blue-collar job. Don't go drinking one weekend, take the money you saved, and buy yourself a respectable outfit.
- Sagging your pants. Why? No really, why? Why would you still be sagging your pants?
- Not knowing how to cook and/or do laundry. Although you could get away with eating McDonalds and wearing the same clothes for weeks on end in college, this behavior is no longer acceptable. I'm not saying everyone needs to know how to cook a 3 course meal but you should at least know how to boil some vegetables, cook a chicken and grill a steak. As for laundry: whites go with whites, colors go with colors, don't use bleach except for whites, and stick to using cold water (it's easier).
- Smoking Weed. This is something most people have at least tried and although there's no scientific evidence, I'm still convinced the majority of chronic pot smokers smoke to ease their anxiety of human interaction. If you are one of these people, they offer legal prescriptions to cure this. Smoking weed is something people do in high school and college because it is cheap and they don't know any better. And not that I condone drug use, but if you are 25 and still feel the need to experience some altered state of mind, then grow up and do some real drugs like coke.
- Okay, as much as it pains me to admit, dating a member of the opposite sex that is under the age of 21. The general rule is half your age plus 8 years (e.g., 25/2 = 12.5 + 8 = 20.5). Take it from someone who's been there before, dating people that cannot legally drink really limits the activities that you can partake in (thank god, mine had a fake I.D.). Aside from the whole limited social calendar is the issue of maturity and the heart of this entire list. There is a certain level of maturity you develop between 19 and 25, and as someone of relative maturity the activities that one would partake in at 19 should seem ridiculous at this point. Stay away from it. Find someone that you can do more than just sleep with.
- Decorating with Blacklights, Lava Lamps, and Glow-in-the Dark Anything. Sure this stuff was fascinating when you were a kid and it was trippy when you were drunk or stoned in college but if you're using any of these things to decorate your abode, you might as well just buy inflatable furniture (and no this is NOT cool)!!
Special thanks to Maggie, Manda, Sarah, Laura, and Moo for adding their 2 cents.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Emma's First Blog
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
An E-Mail from Obama
Five years ago today, President George W. Bush launched a war that should never have been authorized based on faulty premises and bad intelligence.
This war has now lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the Civil War.
Nearly four thousand Americans have given their lives. Thousands more have been wounded. Even under the best-case scenarios, this war will cost American taxpayers well over a trillion dollars.
And where are we for all of this sacrifice?
We are less safe and less able to shape events abroad. We are divided at home, and our alliances around the world have been strained. The threats of a new century have roiled the waters of peace and stability, and yet America remains anchored in Iraq.
I am running for President because it's time to turn the page on a failed ideology and a fundamentally flawed political strategy, so that we can make pragmatic judgments to keep our country safe.
That's what I did when I stood up and opposed this war from the start and said that we needed to finish the fight against al Qaeda. And that's what I'll do as President of the United States.
Please take a few minutes to read my strategy for ending the war in Iraq and making America safer. I hope you will sign on and show your support:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsE/
Senator Clinton says that she and Senator McCain have passed a "Commander-in-Chief test" -- not because of the judgments they've made, but because of the years they've spent in Washington.
She made a similar argument when she said her vote for war was based on her experience at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
But here is the stark reality: there is a security gap in this country -- a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions.
It is time to have a debate with Senator McCain about the future of our national security. And the way to win that debate and keep America safe is to offer a clear contrast -- a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past.
Nowhere is that break more badly needed than in Iraq.
Join me in supporting an end to this war and a plan for a safer America:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsF/
The judgment that matters most on Iraq -- and on any decision to deploy military force -- is the judgment made first.
If you believe we are fighting the right war, then the problems we face are purely tactical in nature. That is what Senator McCain wants to discuss -- tactics. What he and the Administration have failed to present is an overarching strategy: how the war in Iraq enhances our long-term security, or will in the future.
That's why this Administration cannot answer the simple question posed by Senator John Warner in hearings last year: Are we safer because of this war? And that is why Senator McCain can argue -- as he did last year -- that we couldn't leave Iraq because violence was up, and then argue this year that we can't leave Iraq because violence is down.
When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of success.
Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.
When I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden -- as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.
Show your support for a clear strategy to end the war in Iraq and focus our national security efforts on making America safer:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsC/
Here are the core elements of my strategy to address our critical national security challenges in the 21st century:
End the war in Iraq, removing our troops at a pace of 1 to 2 combat brigades per month;
Finally finish the fight against the Taliban, root out al Qaeda and invest in the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while making aid to the Pakistani government conditional;
Act aggressively to stop nuclear proliferation and to secure all loose nuclear materials around the world;
Double our foreign assistance to cut extreme poverty in half;
Invest in a clean energy future to wean the U.S. off of foreign oil and to lead the world against the threat of global climate change;
Rebuild our military capability by increasing the number of soldiers, marines, and special forces troops, and insist on adequate training and time off between deployments;
Renew American diplomacy by talking to our adversaries as well as our friends; increasing the size of the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps; and creating an America's Voice Corps.
Please take a minute to show your support for this plan:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsD/
We are at a defining moment in our history.
This must be the election when America comes together behind a common purpose on behalf of our security and our values.
That is what we do as Americans. It's how we founded a republic based on freedom, and faced down fascism. It's how we defended democracy through a Cold War, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the darkest corners of the world.
When America leads with principle and pragmatism, hope can triumph over fear. It is time, once again, for America to lead.
Thank you,
Barack Obama
This war has now lasted longer than World War I, World War II, or the Civil War.
Nearly four thousand Americans have given their lives. Thousands more have been wounded. Even under the best-case scenarios, this war will cost American taxpayers well over a trillion dollars.
And where are we for all of this sacrifice?
We are less safe and less able to shape events abroad. We are divided at home, and our alliances around the world have been strained. The threats of a new century have roiled the waters of peace and stability, and yet America remains anchored in Iraq.
I am running for President because it's time to turn the page on a failed ideology and a fundamentally flawed political strategy, so that we can make pragmatic judgments to keep our country safe.
That's what I did when I stood up and opposed this war from the start and said that we needed to finish the fight against al Qaeda. And that's what I'll do as President of the United States.
Please take a few minutes to read my strategy for ending the war in Iraq and making America safer. I hope you will sign on and show your support:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsE/
Senator Clinton says that she and Senator McCain have passed a "Commander-in-Chief test" -- not because of the judgments they've made, but because of the years they've spent in Washington.
She made a similar argument when she said her vote for war was based on her experience at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.
But here is the stark reality: there is a security gap in this country -- a gap between the rhetoric of those who claim to be tough on national security, and the reality of growing insecurity caused by their decisions.
It is time to have a debate with Senator McCain about the future of our national security. And the way to win that debate and keep America safe is to offer a clear contrast -- a clean break from the failed policies and politics of the past.
Nowhere is that break more badly needed than in Iraq.
Join me in supporting an end to this war and a plan for a safer America:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsF/
The judgment that matters most on Iraq -- and on any decision to deploy military force -- is the judgment made first.
If you believe we are fighting the right war, then the problems we face are purely tactical in nature. That is what Senator McCain wants to discuss -- tactics. What he and the Administration have failed to present is an overarching strategy: how the war in Iraq enhances our long-term security, or will in the future.
That's why this Administration cannot answer the simple question posed by Senator John Warner in hearings last year: Are we safer because of this war? And that is why Senator McCain can argue -- as he did last year -- that we couldn't leave Iraq because violence was up, and then argue this year that we can't leave Iraq because violence is down.
When you have no overarching strategy, there is no clear definition of success.
Success comes to be defined as the ability to maintain a flawed policy indefinitely. Here is the truth: fighting a war without end will not force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future. And fighting in a war without end will not make the American people safer.
When I am Commander-in-Chief, I will set a new goal on Day One: I will end this war. Not because politics compels it. Not because our troops cannot bear the burden -- as heavy as it is. But because it is the right thing to do for our national security, and it will ultimately make us safer.
Show your support for a clear strategy to end the war in Iraq and focus our national security efforts on making America safer:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsC/
Here are the core elements of my strategy to address our critical national security challenges in the 21st century:
End the war in Iraq, removing our troops at a pace of 1 to 2 combat brigades per month;
Finally finish the fight against the Taliban, root out al Qaeda and invest in the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while making aid to the Pakistani government conditional;
Act aggressively to stop nuclear proliferation and to secure all loose nuclear materials around the world;
Double our foreign assistance to cut extreme poverty in half;
Invest in a clean energy future to wean the U.S. off of foreign oil and to lead the world against the threat of global climate change;
Rebuild our military capability by increasing the number of soldiers, marines, and special forces troops, and insist on adequate training and time off between deployments;
Renew American diplomacy by talking to our adversaries as well as our friends; increasing the size of the Foreign Service and the Peace Corps; and creating an America's Voice Corps.
Please take a minute to show your support for this plan:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/m/f16eeee7695e8268/L0D1Fw/VEsD/
We are at a defining moment in our history.
This must be the election when America comes together behind a common purpose on behalf of our security and our values.
That is what we do as Americans. It's how we founded a republic based on freedom, and faced down fascism. It's how we defended democracy through a Cold War, and shined a light of hope bright enough to be seen in the darkest corners of the world.
When America leads with principle and pragmatism, hope can triumph over fear. It is time, once again, for America to lead.
Thank you,
Barack Obama
No good deed goes unpunished...
So, last night I got home from work and went to get my mail. On my way back up to my apartment, I stopped at my new neighbor's door to introduce myself and say hi, if you ever need a cup of sugar, you know where I live. (They moved in a week or so ago.) He answered his door, I gave my little speech but replaced "cup o sugar" with "if my music is ever too loud, feel free to let me know", seeing as how he isn't that cute. He said his name is Chris and thanks, good to meet you, yadda yadda, yadda.
I'm now sitting upstairs with my elastic waist pants on, eating cold mac-n-cheese from last night (gross I know, but I love it)and getting ready for Jeopardy when, all of a sudden, there is a knock at the door. I answer it and surprise! it's Chris. He says, "Sorry for bugging you but I have a weird question for you... does your car ever smell like cat pee when you park it in the garage?" "No", I say, "but I think there is a cat who hangs around there because I've seen paw prints on the hood of my car. That's weird though." He agrees, it gets awkward and I say "Ooookay, so good to meet you." He's like "Yeah" loiter, loiter, loiter... and finally I'm like "Ok so maybe we can grab a drink sometime or something." Well, he loves that idea and says "Great!" and gives me his #. I give him mine. Hey, Jeopardy is starting and I'm missing it because of this moron. I would have given him 5 bucks to go away.
Ok, so I settle back into my niche on the couch and then, oh good, my phone tells me that I have a text message. Guess who? Oh good, it's Chris because you know, it's been SO long since we last spoke. He apologizes if the second meeting was awkward and I say nope, not for me. End. Period. Then he tells me not once but twice that he thinks I'm cute. I start to get nervous right around this time. Then the texting doesn't stop until (which is weird because I'm answering closed-ended very time), and I'm serious, 9:54 pm. I ignore like the last 2 message and go to bed.
I woke up this morning and was getting ready to walk out the door and I happened to glance down at my phone, oh that's right. He texted me this morning at 7:54 to say "have a good day :). Few things annoy me less than men who use the "smiley". I hate it. He's not getting off to a good start here... right dude, the LAST thing that I want to do is get a drink with some freak who texts me before I even have time to put his # in my phone. Dream on, boner, dream on!
I'm now sitting upstairs with my elastic waist pants on, eating cold mac-n-cheese from last night (gross I know, but I love it)and getting ready for Jeopardy when, all of a sudden, there is a knock at the door. I answer it and surprise! it's Chris. He says, "Sorry for bugging you but I have a weird question for you... does your car ever smell like cat pee when you park it in the garage?" "No", I say, "but I think there is a cat who hangs around there because I've seen paw prints on the hood of my car. That's weird though." He agrees, it gets awkward and I say "Ooookay, so good to meet you." He's like "Yeah" loiter, loiter, loiter... and finally I'm like "Ok so maybe we can grab a drink sometime or something." Well, he loves that idea and says "Great!" and gives me his #. I give him mine. Hey, Jeopardy is starting and I'm missing it because of this moron. I would have given him 5 bucks to go away.
Ok, so I settle back into my niche on the couch and then, oh good, my phone tells me that I have a text message. Guess who? Oh good, it's Chris because you know, it's been SO long since we last spoke. He apologizes if the second meeting was awkward and I say nope, not for me. End. Period. Then he tells me not once but twice that he thinks I'm cute. I start to get nervous right around this time. Then the texting doesn't stop until (which is weird because I'm answering closed-ended very time), and I'm serious, 9:54 pm. I ignore like the last 2 message and go to bed.
I woke up this morning and was getting ready to walk out the door and I happened to glance down at my phone, oh that's right. He texted me this morning at 7:54 to say "have a good day :). Few things annoy me less than men who use the "smiley". I hate it. He's not getting off to a good start here... right dude, the LAST thing that I want to do is get a drink with some freak who texts me before I even have time to put his # in my phone. Dream on, boner, dream on!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Day for Stupid Articles on MSN.com
Here are 2 more:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23578747 - Hazing is Prevalent in Colleges
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23579662 - 17% of 6th Graders have Tried Alcohol
Article 1: According to the researchers, we'll refer to them as Butch and Butcher (their picture was on the U. of Maine homepage, and I really did go look), hazing is prevalent on college campuses. Of course hazing, according to Butch and Butcher, hazing is anything that includes: atendance at a skit or roast where team members are humiliated; wearing clothing that is embarrassing; being yelled, screamed, or cursed at; acting as a personal servant; enduring harsh weather; drinking large amounts of a non-alcoholic beverage; drinking a large amount of alcohol to the point of passing out or getting sick; and watching live sex acts. Finally, their 'huge' surprising conclusion was that 9 of 10 people that reported experiencing one or more of these activities said they didn't feel like it was hazing. Butch and Butcher like to think that these results show that hazing is widespread and a serious concern that all universities should be concerned with. Moreover, they think that stricter laws and rules be implemented to combat this horrible act. Perhaps, if they would have put away their femi-nazi agendas and stopped to consider their results for a moment, they would realize that 9 out of 10 people didn't consider these activities to be hazing because they were, dare I say, having fun!! Obviously, some hazing does go too far, but singing and chanting... wearing embarrassing clothing... playing drinking games... It's college, and just because you spent your 4 years trying to come to grips with the fact that you like eating Snizz and getting fisted by a chick that looks like a dude, does not mean that the rest of the world is not allowed to experience anything 'fun' in college. Furthermore, people join a fraternity, sorority, sports team, club, etc. so they feel like a part of something. It is a proven psychological fact that things mean more when people have to work for them. When people go out to join these groups, most go in assuming that they will have to work in some way to get accepted. Those that don't are just naive. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Yes, hazing in which people die is something we should be concerned about but to define hazing to include singing, wearing clothes, having to associate with specific people as hazing is insane. The last time I checked no one died from singing or chanting in public, no one died from wearing embarrassing clothes, and no one died from hanging out with specific people. Articles like this really make me wonder just how many lines of research are started to find an answer to why bad things happen to certain people. Like the article I wrote about in which a researched found that teenage girls that hangout with boys are more likely to drink. Could this research simply exist because Butch and Butcher were embarrassed or made to feel bad in college and now they have some vendetta against anyone else feeling this way. Just because you had a poor experience in college doesn't mean you should ruin it for everyone else!! It's like if I were in a car accident and now I want to ban everyone from driving. People die in car accidents all the time, in fact the likelihood of dying in a car accident is much higher than dying from a hazing incident, does this mean we should work to ban driving? Maybe I should make that a dissertation topic.
Article 2: Read the article, a study that claims 17% of 6th graders have tried alcohol is trying to convince people that alcohol education should take place in elementary school. There are 3 issues I have with this article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23578747 - Hazing is Prevalent in Colleges
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23579662 - 17% of 6th Graders have Tried Alcohol
Article 1: According to the researchers, we'll refer to them as Butch and Butcher (their picture was on the U. of Maine homepage, and I really did go look), hazing is prevalent on college campuses. Of course hazing, according to Butch and Butcher, hazing is anything that includes: atendance at a skit or roast where team members are humiliated; wearing clothing that is embarrassing; being yelled, screamed, or cursed at; acting as a personal servant; enduring harsh weather; drinking large amounts of a non-alcoholic beverage; drinking a large amount of alcohol to the point of passing out or getting sick; and watching live sex acts. Finally, their 'huge' surprising conclusion was that 9 of 10 people that reported experiencing one or more of these activities said they didn't feel like it was hazing. Butch and Butcher like to think that these results show that hazing is widespread and a serious concern that all universities should be concerned with. Moreover, they think that stricter laws and rules be implemented to combat this horrible act. Perhaps, if they would have put away their femi-nazi agendas and stopped to consider their results for a moment, they would realize that 9 out of 10 people didn't consider these activities to be hazing because they were, dare I say, having fun!! Obviously, some hazing does go too far, but singing and chanting... wearing embarrassing clothing... playing drinking games... It's college, and just because you spent your 4 years trying to come to grips with the fact that you like eating Snizz and getting fisted by a chick that looks like a dude, does not mean that the rest of the world is not allowed to experience anything 'fun' in college. Furthermore, people join a fraternity, sorority, sports team, club, etc. so they feel like a part of something. It is a proven psychological fact that things mean more when people have to work for them. When people go out to join these groups, most go in assuming that they will have to work in some way to get accepted. Those that don't are just naive. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Yes, hazing in which people die is something we should be concerned about but to define hazing to include singing, wearing clothes, having to associate with specific people as hazing is insane. The last time I checked no one died from singing or chanting in public, no one died from wearing embarrassing clothes, and no one died from hanging out with specific people. Articles like this really make me wonder just how many lines of research are started to find an answer to why bad things happen to certain people. Like the article I wrote about in which a researched found that teenage girls that hangout with boys are more likely to drink. Could this research simply exist because Butch and Butcher were embarrassed or made to feel bad in college and now they have some vendetta against anyone else feeling this way. Just because you had a poor experience in college doesn't mean you should ruin it for everyone else!! It's like if I were in a car accident and now I want to ban everyone from driving. People die in car accidents all the time, in fact the likelihood of dying in a car accident is much higher than dying from a hazing incident, does this mean we should work to ban driving? Maybe I should make that a dissertation topic.
Article 2: Read the article, a study that claims 17% of 6th graders have tried alcohol is trying to convince people that alcohol education should take place in elementary school. There are 3 issues I have with this article:
- The sample is 4000 6th graders in Chicago, IL. I understand that most research studies are based on samples of college freshman and these are generalized to a larger population, however, 6th grade in 1 city is a little hard to generalize to all middle schoolers. My point is that college freshman from around the world is a much more homogenous group than 6th graders from around the world. Especially when the sample is from middle schools in a very large urban area. What about middle schoolers in rural areas? The south? All I'm saying is, it is a stretch to survey 4000 6th graders in 1 of the largest cities in the world and try to generalize it to all middle schoolers everywhere.
- The key term here is 'tried'. 'Tried'... at this point take A.I. rant about practice but replace 'practice' with 'tried'. Growing up, how many peoples' parents let them have a sip of their wine or beer. Better yet, how many people had that little thimble of wine at church? 'Tried' constitutes a sip or a taste. For all we know, they tried alcohol with their parent. Once again, trying to make a huge conclusion from a relatively meaningless result... something researchers do all the time to try and make a name for themselves.
- Introduce alcohol education in elementary school... I think that the older we get the more we forget how we thought as children or maybe these researchers don't have children or have little experience with children because from my experience, the more you tell a kid to not do something that millions of adults do, the more inclined they will be to want to try it. When I was in elementary school, alcohol was just something Dad drank. I spent as much time thinking about alcohol as I did thinking about a 401k. By introducing the idea of alcohol and that it's something kids should avoid, the more they will think about it and the more they think about it, the more likely they will be tempted to try it.
Here's a fascinating idea, don't introduce alcohol education classes to elementary students and don't try to create a big conclusion from a small sample, and more importantly a small sip. Instead, go home to your kids and be a mailto:F@$%5E&ing PARENT!!!!! It shouldn't be up to a 5th grade teacher to educate your son or daughter on why alcohol is bad, but it is your responsibility as a parent to know what the eff your kid is doing and be involved in their life. Middle schoolers can't drive and they can't hold jobs, so where and how are they acquiring alcohol? That is the question we should be answering. If more parents parented instead of point a finger at everyone and everything besides themselves for their kids' behavior, perhaps all these kids might grow up with some commonsense and be able to make good, informed decisions.
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