August 2009

Weird Toys: Pole Dancer Doll

by MomGrind

Reader and friend Dan Miller of Artiphys tipped me off this morning to a somewhat weird toy for little girls.

While the USB Pole Dancer is marketed as “the perfect gift for a friend in the office, a bachelor’s party gag or the gadget loving guy”:

usb-pole-dancer

 

The Pole Dancer Doll is apparently marketed to kids and, I must admit, is fairly innocent-looking:

pole-dancer-doll

 

Assuming this doll is for real, it raises some interesting questions. No doubt, pole dancing is no longer just a sleazy-strip-club thing. It is marketed more and more as a highly effective, and legitimate, exercise routine for women.

However, even when it’s promoted as a fitness program, the sexual aspects are still there: pole dancing is considered a “feminine,” “sexually empowering” workout.

How does all this fit into a toy for children? I’m not sure. But if this doll is for real, I can tell you right here and now that I have absolutely no plans of adding it to this year’s holiday shopping list.

Fad Diets Don’t Work

by MomGrind

Recently it seems as if most of the spam email I get promotes some kind of an acai berry product. Maybe it’s summer, or maybe it’s the Oprah perceived endorsement.

Acai Berry, a Brazilian fruit, has been recently promoted and marketed as a highly beneficial dietary supplement.

But the Center For Science In The Public Interest (CSPI) recently issued a statement saying that “There’s no evidence whatsoever to suggest that acai berry pills will help shed pounds, flatten tummies, cleanse colon, enhance sexual desire, or perform any of the other commonly advertised functions.”

The CSPI also warned that customers who provide acai berry internet sellers with their credit card info may have trouble later on stopping unauthorized charges to their credit cards from these companies.

It’s not just acai berry. Many fad diets promise a quick-fix type solution of a fast and easy weight loss.

This outrageous tweet is a good example:

tweet

Fad diets often promote a single “miracle food” or “miracle ingredient.” Many of them eliminate, or severely restrict, one or more of the five food groups and treat foods as either “good” or “bad.” Many fad diets also lack major nutrients such as dietary fiber, carbohydrates or healthy fats, as well as important vitamins and minerals. If you follow them for extended periods, or repeatedly, you may develop serious health problems later in life.

Acai Berry diets are relatively new, but the phenomenon of fad diets is hardly new. Classic examples of fad diets are the grapefruit diet, and the cabbage soup diet.

The Grapefruit Diet claims that there are magical ingredients in grapefruit and that when eaten with protein, it triggers fat burning and causes weight loss. In reality, according to most experts, people lose weight on this diet simply because they severely restrict their caloric intake.

The Cabbage soup diet is a radical weight loss diet designed around heavy consumption of low-calorie cabbage soup for seven days. The goal is to lose 10 pounds in a week, but nutritional experts say it is nearly impossible to lose that much fat within a week, so most of the weight lost on this diet is water weight.

So why do people fall for fad diets and quick-weight-loss scams? Because we don’t like to hear that we need to work hard to achieve real results. “Fast and easy weight loss” sounds so much better then “slow and gradual weight loss.”

Indeed, achieving healthy, long-lasting weight loss is quite boring. You need to eat less (but not so much less that you’re constantly hungry); exercise more (but – for most people – no more than a few hours of moderate exercise each week); fill your plate with colorful fruit and veggies and whole grains, then add a little lean protein and healthy oil such as olive oil; limit intake of saturated fat, sweets, salty snacks and alcohol; drink plenty of water; and get plenty of sleep.

It’s boring, but it’s the only thing that works.

Stop Showing Me Your Post Baby Body!

by MomGrind

maxim-cover

Actress Milla Jovovich is featured on the September issue of Maxim, wearing very little, of course. The actress announced that she wanted to do the Maxim photo shoot specifically to “show off” her post-baby body and that she wanted to give the readers exactly what they wanted – seeing as much of her body as possible.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of celebrities showing off their post-baby bodies. I can’t even begin to imagine the emotional damage these images are causing to new moms, and the pressure they put on them to lose weight and to go back to looking like they did pre-baby, even though they are now busy mothers, and most likely cannot afford a personal trainer and a chef.

In her defense, Ms. Jovovich gave birth 20 months ago, which makes a real, lasting weight loss more likely – and doable. Celebrity moms often tend to “show off” their skinny post-baby body just weeks after their baby was born.

PS. No, it’s not jealousy. My own post-baby body is fabulous, thank you very much. I really am concerned about the pressure this type of media coverage is putting on women in general, and on moms in particular.

Visiting Vancouver

by MomGrind

view-from-airplane-1

view-from-airplane-2

Visiting Vancouver is something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time now. So, despite promising to focus on staycations, I recently took a flight to Vancouver and stayed there for a long weekend.

Yes, I hate flying, but the flight to Vancouver was uneventful, and I loved the views from the airplane so much, that I had to snap the above photos.

I always thought about Vancouver, which is a short 2-hour flight from San Francisco, as beautiful, diverse, just as laid back as my beloved San Francisco, but different enough to make the travel worth the hassle.

I wasn’t disappointed.

Our Vancouver vacation was simple and relaxing. We stayed in downtown Vancouver, at the Four Seasons Hotel. Yes, it’s not exactly a cheap hotel, but we got a great discount, and the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver is a lot cheaper than Four Seasons Hotels in the US. I’m not sure why – it was great in every way. Obviously, there are many excellent hotels in Vancouver that are far more affordable.

We went to many of the Vancouver tourist attractions, including the gorgeous totem poles in Stanley Park:

totem-pole-vancouver

We also visited Granville Island (which we thought was too touristy), Canada Place, Gastown, the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the UBC Museum of Anthropology, which we found boring to the point of tears.

Weather cooperated beautifully – we were lucky. We enjoyed the typical Vancouver mild temperatures without paying the price of enduring bucket loads of rain. We were dressed in short sleeves and tank tops most of the time.

stanley-park-vancouver

Vancouver is very gay-friendly, which was apparent from these ads. The fact that there are two (possibly three – I haven’t seen a lesbian version) versions of the same ad seems to demonstrate a natural, healthy approach towards sexual orientation:

gay-ad

straight-ad

An older local lady that stood next to me as I was taking one of these photos (the ads were placed on a bus station) commented that she doesn’t feel comfortable when her grandchildren visit and are exposed to such explicit sexual messages, whether gay or straight.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. What do you think? Would you feel uncomfortable seeing these ads? Would it make a difference if your kids were with you?

Visiting Vancouver reminded me that sometimes, enduring a flight is absolutely worth it. I can’t wait for our next trip.

Back To School Blues

by MomGrind

school-suppliesI should be happy that the kids are going back to school.

After two and a half months of chaos, I will finally get my alone time back. Six glorious daily hours of peace and quiet!

Plus, our family desperately needs structure, which seems to have dissolved in the summer heat. A structured school day, with a well-defined beginning and an end, and of course homework to occupy the kids when they’re home, sounds pretty good right now, with all the “I’m bored!” and “what should I do now?” whining going on.

But I’m not happy. You see, each year when the school year ends, I dread summer break. I dread the lack of “me” time and privacy, the lack of structure, the constant need to come up with activities for kids.

But then we comfortably settle into our summer break routine, or lack thereof, and when it’s time to go back to school, I really dread the rushed mornings, the tight schedule, and the lack of quality time with my kids.

Going back to school doesn’t have to be painful, though. Here are a few tips to make going back to school easier – on your kids and on yourself:

 

Plan in advance: ease the family into a school-year routine

It’s a good idea to re-establish the bedtime and mealtime routines at least a week before school starts. Your kids should go to bed on time, and wake up on time. You can do this gradually over the week, in half-hour increments. You should also go back to your regular meal routine: serve a healthy snack in the afternoon and, if possible, sit together for a family dinner.

It’s also a good idea to avoid morning television during this week. If your child reads, writes or does puzzles in the morning, it will be easier for him to go back to a routine of learning in the morning.

To make sure your kids cooperate, talk with them about the importance of these routines, and explain why it’s a good idea to re-establish them gradually.

 

Prevent crazy mornings

Once the kids are back to school, the best way to avoid rushed mornings is to wake up your child on time. Try to give her plenty of time to get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and get to school.

Another helpful tip is to do as much as you can the night before. For example, setting up the breakfast table, packing lunchboxes, and laying out your kids’ clothes the night before should shave about fifteen minutes off your morning routine.

 

Buy school supplies early, but delay clothes shopping

Try to get school supplies as early as possible – aim to fill those backpacks at least two weeks before school resumes. However, you can probably delay buying fall clothes. School starts in August – you probably have several more weeks before your child really needs warmer clothes. Going back to school does not necessarily have to turn into a spend-fest.

 

Establish a streamlined afternoon routine right from the start

Serve a healthy snack as soon as the kids get back from school. This is a great time for you to sit down with your children and chat about their day.

Establish a firm rule of “homework first, play and television later.” Your kids should also be responsible for emptying their backpack and giving you any notices or info that was sent by their teachers. Each child should have a designated place to do homework.

Can you share any more tips for making going back to school easier?

Photo credit: Claudia Snell

Sin City Pictures

by MomGrind

I took these Sin City pictures during my last visit to Vegas. Looking at them makes me a little sad.

You see, I used to love Vegas.

I always thought Las Vegas was a great place because of the high energy, the glitz, the tackiness that is so loud and in-your-face, it somehow turns into something pulled together and very stylish.

I’m not sure what happened, but on my last visit to Sin City, a few weeks ago, I decided that I don’t really like Vegas at all. Perhaps it was the heat – we arrived during a heat wave that brought the temperatures to a sweltering 110 degrees.

Or maybe it was my feminism. I had a very hard time watching all the women displaying their bodies in very short, very tight, very revealing outfits while the men, fully dressed, were ogling them and pretty much treating them as pieces of meat.

One evening in particular, as we were entering the hotel, there were several groups of scantily clad women and fully clothed men. The men were looking at the women with those terrible eyes that view women not as people but as objects; the heat was unbearable; people were carrying drinks while walking around; everyone was really loud; and all I wanted to do was go hide in my hotel room.

And don’t get me started on the gambling and on how awful it is to see a hollow-eyed 70 year old woman wasting her life savings away at the Blackjack table.

Interestingly, as we were walking along The Strip one evening on our way to a Jay Leno performance (he was excellent, by the way), we came across a group of religious activists that were trying really hard to get the attention of the sinners around them, without much success. The contrast between the loud, cheerful, drunk party goers surrounded by neon signs featuring half-naked women, and the solemn activists, was quite striking.

 

Sin City pictures – the nakedness:

vegas-prive

 

vegas-peepshow

 

vegas-jubilee

 

Sin City pictures – the warnings:

las-vegas-sign

 

vegas-sign

 

vegas-sign

The Value of Social Networking

by MomGrind

The value of social networking has nothing to do with how many “friends,” “fans” or “followers” you have. If I see one more Tweet about “how I got 3000 new followers overnight,” I am going to scream. Who cares about these followers? Why should you care about them, when they obviously don’t care about you?

Sometimes, a client asks me, “how many Twitter followers can you get us?” This question immediately raises a red flag. A very big one. How MANY did you ask? Who cares how many? Instead of getting sucked into this foolish numbers game, why don’t you ask me, WHO are the followers you are going after, how are you going to get them to follow back, and how are they going to be useful to our business? Now THAT’S a question I am happy to answer. Or at least try to answer.

Seth Godin recently said, “Networking is always important when it’s real, and it’s always a useless distraction when it’s fake. What the Internet has allowed is an enormous amount of fake networking to take place, and it’s so easy to be seduced by it… and it’s nonsense.”

Mr. Godin is correct, of course (he always is, isn’t he?) The value of social networking, especially for businesses, is in the opportunity to form real, genuine relationships with people and organizations who are relevant to your business, and who may be far less approachable in real life than they are on the Web.

The next time you fret about being “unpopular,” or about having less followers than others you see around you, stop and think for a moment: if you have formed real connections with a handful of people through social networking, you are using this tool correctly. But if you have thousands of followers, who are at best a collection of meaningless faces and broken sentences, and often place an overwhelming demand on your time, you are simply allowing fake networking to seduce you. There’s absolutely no value in that, business or personal.

Read more on the business value of social networking here: Social Network Types, Motivations, and the Future.