Parks and Rec!

Parks and Recreation is FINALLY back on tonight with an all new episode with Will Arnett! This show is the story of my life. I am such a Leslie Knope. We lead the same life--esp. at work. I don't know who writes for this show, but they must have worked for local government. They just have too much insight into how it all goes down at city halls around America. Still working on getting my own framed copies of Hilary and Condoleezza in my cube...

Telling the World Your Bra Color is Doing NOTHING for Breast Cancer Research.

Last Wednesday, I received the following message from a CO-WORKER on Facebook:

"We are playing a game...... silly, but fun! Right the color of your bra as your status, just the color, nothing else!! Copy this and pass it on to all girls/Females ...... NO MEN!! This will be fun to see how it spreads, and we are leaving the men wondering why all females just have a color as their status!! LOL!
And to confuse them even more, write down the size of bed you prefer, small or big! LOL! pass the word"

First, I have to issue this disclaimer--this post in no way reflects on my opinion of this co-worker. In fact, she is pretty much awesome, but I have to make my feelings known on this Facebook outbreak.

Grammatical errors aside, I was a bit astounded when I read this message. Obviously, everyone is going to know what these colors mean if every female starts posting a color as their status. And, why do I want all of my friends on Facebook to know what color bra I am wearing? If I wanted them to know, I would wear my bra on the outside of my shirt. When some Facebook posts ensued from a friend telling everyone to stop posting their bra colors, people began claiming that the status updates were supporting breast cancer awarenss. My first thought was that if that was so, what does the size of the bed you sleep in have to do with breast cancer awareness? I'd like to see someone explain that for me.


The next day, I decided to do some research. It turns out that the origin of this Facebook message is still undetermined (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/color-status-facebook-raises-curiosity-money-viral-internet/story?id=9513986&page=1curiosity-money-viral-internet/story?id=9513986&page=1). Agencies in Detroit seem to be taking credit for the release of the Facebook message, even though they have no legitimate claim to its origin. If the message did originate in Detroit, that would make complete sense! Obviously, all of America and the western world want to follow in Detroit's footsteps--they are a leader in so many other arenas of public interest (insert sarcasm here).

One article I read on Friday described the message as promoting breast cancer awareness because, as you look in your shirt to see what bra color you are wearing, you will perform a breast self-exam. I HIGHLY doubt that is happening. I know that if I have to look to see what color bra I have on, I am NOT going to perform a breast self-exam in the middle of my cubicle, living room, etc.

Additionally, this message is being spread among only females, supposedly. Do people not understand that males can have breast cancer, too? Noted, most do not wear bras, but shouldn't they be allowed to participate in the status updating?

My point here is: posting your bra color does nothing to prevent breast cancer from occuring in the future. No one would have ever thought that posting your bra color had anything to do with breast cancer awarenss until this silly rumor was (most likely) fabricated as a valid excuse for women to post their bra colors in a public forum. Agencies supporting breast cancer research and awareness are basking in the glory of this Facebook phenomenon and its side effects that had nothing to do with their mission to make the public aware of breast cancer and methods of prevention.

Happy Birthday, Elvis!

Elvis is (would be) 75 years old today. Let's be honest--Elvis never really died because his glorious tunes remain with us always!

In honor of his 75th birthday, the City of Memphis and Graceland have lined up a 3-day celebration fit for a king (no pun intended, haha, ok, well maybe). It all started yesterday with a bus trip to Elvis's birthplace, Tupelo, MS, for some trivia and a visit to his boyhood church. Today's activities include a gospel tribute, an Elvis-themed NBA game (complete with blue suede shoes for the bball players), and a late night dance party. Tomorrow wraps it all up with a Elvis 75th Birthday Bash on Beale and a performance of Elvis's popular tunes by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Elvis, you are greatly missed. Wish you were here to partake in your own b-day celebration! Long live the King!

Here is one of my favorite Elvis performances--the American Trilogy. This was a few years before he died :(

Precious!

Check out this clip of Gabby Sidibe with Jimmy Fallon. Don't you just want to be her bff and go around to the awards shows with her like she is your life-long friend and talk about all the celebs?!?! Ok, sorry for that long run-on sentence, but she is precious--and one great actress! I think she is hysterical here:

http://jezebel.com/5442791/someone-give-gabby-sidibe-a-comedic-role-stat

Retro Royale

I just LOVE this look on J.Lo--the simple hair, the sihouette, the belt, the neckline, the print in Miami NFL colors! Perfection at the Miami Dolphin's game last Sunday. Just had to share.

Baby Sitters Club: Republished 2.0!

I had a MAJOR obsession with the Baby Sitters Club series when I was young! Those were the best books ever (along with Sweet Valley High, of course)!! What a coincidence I ended up going to a college with the initials, BSC!?! Well, the author of the BSC books is writing a prequel to the series and revising some of the classic books from the series to make them a bit more modern. Scholastic seems to think there is quite a niche in the market for wholesome young adult series fiction, but that young girls can't relate to the technology discussed in the 1980-1990s genre of YA fiction. Whatever, that is up to them....even though I think it mars the original context of the series. Nonetheless, this is all very exciting for young readers, if you ask me. You can read about the 2010 releases here in the NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/books/31babysitters.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hpw).

Also, jezzy discusses a few little things that got old after a while in the original series. Check it out here: http://jezebel.com/5438760/explanations-breaks-and-personality-makeovers-a-baby+sitters-club-revamp-wish-list/gallery/?skyline=true&s=x.

For extra fun, you can take a quiz to see which BSC character you are (http://quizilla.teennick.com/quizzes/749047/which-baby-sitters-club-member-are-you). I always thought I would be a mix between Mary Anne and Stacey....quiz says I am a Stacey. Check it out!

Which Baby-Sitters Club Member Are You?
Your Result

You are Stacey McGill. Pretty, intelligent, boy-crazy and a true city girl at heart. And why not? You did grow up in New York City. But you are far from being a snob. you are a loyal and caring friend who is very gracious with helping out your best friend Claudia with her math classes. Shopping is the greatest stress reliever, especially when there's a sale at Bloomingdales!

First Ladies Follow-up.

I am writing this post to follow-up on some previous comments I made in an earlier post about Hilary and Michelle (http://21stcenturyaccordingtoemily.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-ladies.html). I read this article in the Washington Post that made me reflect further on the last year of the First Lady's reign. The article, found here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/31/AR2009123103000.html?wprss=rss_print/style, points out that Mrs. Obama has not chosen one particular cause to push or advacate for, unlike many of her predecessors.

"She announced the high school mentoring program but did not introduce any of the young women participating. She talked about the need for health-care reform and highlighted the importance of community-based medical centers -- but only in person to people who already believe all of that to be true. She has been an advocate for supporting military families and increasing volunteerism, which is a bit like coming out in favor of doing unto others as you'd have them do unto you. She has used her position to draw attention to a broad range of topics. But so far, she has not been an advocate."

"She's brought star power to a lot of different settings," says Myra Gutin, a historian and author of "The President's Partner: The First Lady in the Twentieth Century." "Anything she does is going to be a positive for that organization."

"An advocate, to me, means picking one sustained project and bringing all your focus and force to an issue," Gutin says. "When Lady Bird Johnson decided to advocate environmentalism -- or what she called beautification -- she was all over the country with it. That's what I think of as really advocating."

"The advocacy followed her out of the White House. The same thing happened with Barbara Bush," who supported literacy.

Based on my earlier post, I am sure it would seem that I would agree with Givhan, but it actually brings up one of those age-old questions--Is it better to spread ourselves over a variety of interests or dedicate all of our time to a singular passion? I don't know the answer to that one. While Michelle Obama could do wonders for one great cause, what could she have done for many other organizations if she just spent a little time working with each of them? It all goes back to that economic term we all learn about in school--opportunity cost. In fact this issue stems out to all branches of your personal lives, too. Is it better to spend all your time building one friendship, or having a large group of acquaintances? Should you cultivate one hobby or interest to the level of expert or be decent at a bunch of things you like? Who is to say which path is the better one? Maybe Mrs. Obama has it right. I guess the world will never truly know.