I find out through reading posts in a running community I frequent that the President’s Challenge has a new website, and that they are targeting all ages now; not just making kids in school do physical tests to see how “fit” they are. I figured I’d take a look to see what it looked like.

It only takes a small change. Instead of telling yourself you can’t, tell yourself you can.

The President’s Challenge is a program that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives. No matter what your activity and fitness level, the President’s Challenge can help motivate you to improve.

Ok, that’s something I can’t bash too much. Granted it is very general, and won’t fit everyone (like those who are very limited with what they can do because of illness or physical imitations) but the basic idea of promoting some kind of physical activity is good. It all changes though, after going to the age group you fall into. There is a page called “Tools to Help“, and the first tool? A BMI calculator.

Great. Instead of promoting just being healthy, the site is pushing a crappy “tool” that reinforces the idea that being fat is unhealthy in itself. Which is complete and total bullshit.

This topic isn’t my blogging forte, but this irked me enough that I had to rant. Because according to the BMI calculator, I’m overweight, which tells me that I’ve got to lose weight or I’ll get some horrible disease. Oh, and I’m fat. You know what? Yeah, I may be fat, compared to societies definition of beauty. But what I care more about is if I’m healthy. I exercise 6 days a week and limit my crappy food intake much more than when I was younger. I’m training for a half-marathon. My blood pressure and cholesterol are also great. You seriously can’t tell me that someone who happens to weigh 20 pounds less than me but can’t list those things is somehow healthier.

The worst part of this is that the tool is listed for every age category. It’s bad enough to apply the weight standards to adults, but saying that children and teenagers, who struggle with body image enough, need to have a weight goal over just being active and eating healthy is just wrong.

If someone thinks I’m too fat, I don’t care. I’ve grown up and have gone beyond basing my self worth on what other people think. But way too many people still feel like they are a rhino, and if they try hard enough, they’ll turn into that unicorn. What could have been a small step in refocusing on what is considered healthy and unhealthy, instead just used the crappy BMI and devolved into the adage that you’ve gotta be thin, even if you are healthy and happen to have some fat.

Most, if not all, states give incentives to bring production companies to their state to film, and Oklahoma is no exception. There is now a bill introduced, SB644, that will expand the rebate program to include video games, which is cool. Well, except that the State Senate wants to limit what kind of video games are eligible for the rebate. Only games rated T (13+) and under….none rated M.

This really doesn’t make sense. The obvious is that those same equivalent restrictions aren’t proposed for other media that do qualify for the rebate. Music and television shows targeted to adults and movies rated R are just fine. While there is the argument that video games are different from movies due to the interactive nature of video games, M rated games are targeted towards adults.

But before we totally blame Senator Anthony Sykes, who proposed the legislation change, take a look at what he had to say:

[Sen. Sykes]… would rather not include the ratings restriction. Unfortunately, as he went around to his fellow senators asking for their support, the first question out of their mouths was whether there would be ratings restrictions.

He is well aware of the [failed] game legislation of [2006] and many of the people who voted for that bill are still in office and were some of the people who demanded the restriction…

He also raised some concerns about [possible] lobbying against the bill… His final concern was whether he could get enough support during such economic turmoil. Oklahoma is facing a budget shortfall this year and that may not make such a tax break very appealing to many people.

Sigh. Just another politician.

Now, I can kind of understand not wanting give the tax break to M-rated games. Imagine the outcry in this all-McCain-voting, conservative, ultra-Christian state if it was known that tax dollars were given to develop something like Grand Theft Auto IV? But unfortunately I don’t think that’s the case here. Like usual, these people in office want to legislate their morality and THINK OF TEH CHILDREN!!!!1! Combined with being out-of-touch with technology and what exactly video games are and aren’t, the voters here in Oklahoma get idiotic bills introduced that later get deemed unconstitutional.

While this isn’t direct censorship, this bill would limit the options a game developer would have if they came here. If I were a game dev and saw the restrictions? I’d just go to another state that didn’t have them.

For those who live here, email Sen Sykes and let him know that you oppose the restrictions. Old fashion contact info:

Senator Anthony Sykes
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 426
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 521-5569

Technorati tags: video games, oklahoma, ratings, think of the children

I’ll say right off that this will not be my greatest Full of Fun Fridays! post, but at least there is one this week!

As a geek, cool t-shirts are a must. I’ve got several from lots of different places, and it’s always hard to resist buying even more. So here’s a run down of a few of my favorite sites.

J!NX has gaming and general geek shirts.
Think Geek
Threadless doesn’t have a huge geek selection, but you’ll find some good ones if you look
Retropolis Transit Authority

I know there are more out there. Tell me where you get your favorite geek shirts!

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, geek, t-shirts

Tuesday was a great day in our history, to be sure. But today is pretty good, too. What happened on this day besides the Roe v. Wade decision?

Deaths:
Queen Victoria
LBJ
Telly Savalas
Heath Ledger (Last year…that sucked)

Births:
Bill Bixby
Steve Perry
Linda Blair
Michael Hutchence (of INXS…died in 1997)
DJ Jazzy Jeff
Diane Lane

Oh….and

ME!

I’m at work today, but tonight hubby is taking me to dinner at The Ranch and I have a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup ice cream cake from Marble Slab in the freezer for after we get home. So yay!

Wow. The nightmare of the past 8 years will finally be over. I’m at work today so may not get to watch the inauguration live. Most streaming video stuff is blocked, but there may be something available for us to watch on our Intranet, but I think that will be sketchy with tons of people trying to watch it. The network is already slowing down.

It’s so great reading all through my RSS feeds and seeing so many people excited and filled with hope that the next 4 years will be a 180 from where we are now. It’s weird to feel this way about a president. Bush made me feel so bitter and resentful, I’ll need to change my knee-jerk reactions about the intentions of Obama and his team.

Let’s get this party started!

Remember about a year ago when MySpace said it would do more to protect its younger users? Part of that agreement was to form a task force to examine online safety with regards to children. The report is now available, so lets look at what the report found:

[W]hen it comes to pornography and nudity, the majority of the exposure occurs offline, through traditional media such as TV and movies. A number of younger individuals do get exposed to images they find disturbing online, but the majority of those who view porn online are older adolescent boys who have actively sought it out.

…

The task force also examined bullying and harassment online, but came to the same conclusion as other recent studies: it happens, but it’s generally happening as an extension of the child’s offline social world, rather than as a distinct Internet phenomenon.

So overall:

“This shows that social networks are not these horribly bad neighborhoods on the Internet,” said John Cardillo, chief executive of Sentinel Tech Holding, which maintains a sex offender database and was part of the task force. “Social networks are very much like real-world communities that are comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.”

Much like real life. But those findings aren’t what Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal (who helped form the task force) wanted. Que his THINK OF TEH CHILDREN!!1!1!! hype:

“Children are solicited every day online,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “Some fall prey, and the results are tragic. That harsh reality defies the statistical academic research underlying the report.”

Really? If there is a “harsh reality” that is contrary to the study, then let’s see it. Give examples and data, not just spew broad generalizations and fear mongering.

You know what his fear mongering reminded me of? People who use their faith as an answer, even when they are provided with evidence to the contrary. “It doesn’t matter what the study or evidence says, I just know I’m right!” (Sounds a lot like the anti-science, ID, creationists, doesn’t it?) It’s dangerous to blindly go with your gut feelings or your beliefs and not take into account any new information or evidence. Should there be more research? You betcha. But don’t go trying to introduce legislation on social networking sites, implement “child protection” technology that doesn’t work, or try to ban anyone who has a criminal record from using online services just because you believe you are right.

One of the participants in the study stated, “the truth is that there is no ‘Internet safety,’ there is simply ’safety.’” Sounds like something I’ve said before.

Technorati tags: think of the children, online safety

Anyone who is a gamer isn’t surprised by the sexism in the video game industry. While there are some advancements in the attitudes about women gamers, it seems that it’s primarily coming from the companies making consoles and games. When it comes to the stores that sell them, their advertisements are par for the course. Take a retailer’s email that BGK received:

The “girls’ section” of the ad curiously features only one platform, the Nintendo DS, a system which, in addition to the distinction of having released a girls’ line with a pink metallic rose option, is a handheld console and therefore does not have the graphics engine of the big seventh generation consoles, making playing something as massive as “Elder Scrolls: Oblivion” impossible on the platform. I know that the Nintendo DS suffers from a dearth of cutting edge games.

However, I’m stunned to find that your company thinks the only games that would qualify for female consumption are games related to fashion design, exercise, child-rearing, and animal care, none of which make the Top Ten Nintendo DS games on your frontpage. With the addition of “Happy Cooking,” you would have created the ultimate sexist Nintendo DS video game collection of all time.

Way to go, Game Crazy/Hollywood Video! You just alienated a chunk of the gaming community. You do realize that women make up about 40 percent of the gamer market, and not all of us want to play just a handheld, and within that stick to stereotypical “girl” themed games, right? Just look at well known female gamer and X-Play host Morgan Webb. Even she did a rant called “Games for Girls“.

Another company is targeting women, but their take is different. GameStop’s has a special promotion “that delivers free 12-month subscriptions to popular female-friendly magazines with the purchase of select fitness titles.”

As a special incentive, shoppers spending $34.99 or more on designated products from now through Feb. 22 will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, O Magazine and more.

“We know that getting in shape is one of the toughest New Year’s resolutions to stick with, especially for busy moms who often don’t have time to spare for exercise,” said Mike Hogan, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GameStop. “Today’s moms are looking for ways to incorporate exercise into their lifestyle. Active video games are a terrific way to reach your fitness goals, and as an added bonus, they can be enjoyed with your whole family.”

While this is better than the first advertisement I mentioned, I still have a couple of problems. Like why target only women, and only moms for that matter, instead of anyone who wants to get into shape? And on top of that, only offer magazines that reinforce the gender stereotypes, our cultures emphasis on “thin is pretty” and “fat isn’t healthy”, and promote “treatments” like homeopathy, herbs, and the like that aren’t science based medicine.

A better solution? Forgo the magazines and the mention of moms, and instead focus on using the Wii, which many people already own, as a way to exercise to become healthy for the whole family. And for the first advert, I agree with BGK and send out another email focusing on different games women would enjoy…some of which have cool female characters! Like Portal!

Technorati tags: women and video games, sexism

I was going to put the title the other way around, but I feel that since my feminism came first (not to mention it took a long time before I even decided to become a parent), it is about how motherhood affects being a feminist. After seeing Wired For Noise this morning, I’ve got some thoughts of my own on 10 questions on being a feminist mother.

1. How would you describe your feminism in one sentence? When did you become a feminist? Was it before or after you became a mother?

My feminism is all about making sure Baby Grrl knows she is not inferior just because she was born, or identifies as, a girl, while using teaspoons (or tablespoons if needed) to fight against discrimination, violence, etc in all aspects of life to better not only women, but all people. (I didn’t capture it all…one sentence is hard.) It’s hard to point to one time and say “That’s when I became a feminist” since it’s developed over time, but it’s been recently that I’ve become more vocal about it. With age comes wisdom and the confidence to just speak out. It was waaaay before I became a mother. I waited a long time since I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be one for a while.

2. What has surprised you most about motherhood?

How I’m willing to do stuff I would really hate, just because it’s for Baby Grrl. Like get up when I’m really tired, or clean up puke & crap. Literally…crap. That didn’t really surprise me too much, but it’s just that I’ll jump to it without hesitation. Without thinking gross until after the fact.

3. How has your feminism changed over time? What is the impact of motherhood on your feminism?

Feminism has so much to it, and I’m learning and thinking about things differently all the time, so of course it has changed. I’d be afraid of someone who thinks the exact same way after over 20 years. The impact has kept me on my toes. It’s amazing how ingrained in our culture and into me so much about the traditional roles of women and how people are “supposed” to act and think about kids. I’m super lucky that I’ve got a feminist hubby. He does so much with Baby Grrl, like giving her a bath, changing her diapers, playing with her. He doesn’t think just because I’m the mom that means I’m the primary caretaker. Motherhood, and fatherhood, have been great to show just how important being a feminist means.

4. What makes your mothering feminist? How does your approach differ from a non-feminist mother’s? How does feminism impact upon your parenting?

It’s difficult for me to answer this without including my hubby because I don’t parent by myself. What makes us feminist parents is that we strive to make Baby Grrl know that she isn’t limited by her gender. We try to empower her and demonstrate that there isn’t anything wrong with “girl” things, or that “boy” things aren’t better. How this differs? Well, I’ve often read or heard other parents not wanting their kids doing something or playing with a toy because it’s “for a girl” or “for a boy”. Related is pushing kids into stereotypes, which we don’t do either. All that stuff is a result of feminism impacting our parenting.

5. Do you ever feel compromised as a feminist mother? Do you ever feel you’ve failed as a feminist mother?

Fuck yeah I feel compromised. From the media to the toy industry to people saying Baby Grrl shouldn’t like comic books and superheros (because she’ll end up gay…don’t get me started on that one), it’s super hard to keep out sexist, homophobic, misogynistic, racist, whatever. I don’t want her to grow up in a void, but we want her to know that isn’t the way to treat other people. Failed? Well, I think every mother can say she has felt like she failed at least once. All I can do is try my best.

6. Has identifying as a feminist mother ever been difficult? Why?

Not in the way you’d think. When you think of a mother, it’s often the stereotypical mom-is-primary-caregiver or “soccer mom” type that I see around Oklahoma. As a result, I don’t hang around other moms. I tried going to a couple of functions when Baby Grrl was younger, but I couldn’t continue. While I do miss the company sometimes, hanging out with my childless by choice friends and my hubby is much more rewarding.

7. Motherhood involves sacrifice, how do you reconcile that with being a feminist?

I don’t see anything I do for Baby Grrl as a sacrifice. Hubby & I didn’t take the decision to become a parent lightly, and knew there would be work involved. Besides, she needs both hubby and I to teach her how to be a good human being; aside from the basics like how to read.

8. If you have a partner, how does your partner feel about your feminist motherhood? What is the impact of your feminism on your partner?

Like I’ve mentioned, hubby is a feminist already. I wouldn’t have been with him otherwise. I feel we both use feminism in our parenting by showing Baby Grrl what a respectful, equal, and loving relationship looks like. Plus the added bonus of hearing him tell her she can be anything she wants to be. Like she can get a PhD and break the stereotype of what people think of when they hear the title “Dr” or “Professor”. Or she could be an astronaut. See, when other feminists tell their stories, they often mention a male role model in their life who was a feminist instead of, or in addition to a strong female. It’s difficult to believe you are an equal if you don’t see it exemplified in your own life, so having a feminist father is a great start for her.

9. If you’re an attachment parenting mother, what challenges if any does this pose for your feminism and how have you resolved them?

This doesn’t apply to me.

10. Do you feel feminism has failed mothers and if so how? Personally, what do you think feminism has given mothers?

I sure hope it hasn’t. I would think it has given mothers a better life. By fighting to get decent health care, maternity/paternity leave, affordable child care, etc. It has given us hope that there one day might be a female president, marriage equality, true power over their own bodies. I may not see all of that in my lifetime, but I’ll work toward Baby Grrl getting to see it.

Technorati tags: motherhood, parenting, feminism

Last week I was cruising the podcast section of iTunes to find some mid-length stuff to listen to on my drive to and from work. I saw that the top podcast that week was “Stuff You Should Know“, which is one of the podcasts done from the How Stuff Works website. I’ve often found myself there, usually as a result of going “Hu?” at something I saw on TV or online, and if you don’t know about this site…well, it’s pretty nifty.

Think of anything off the top of your head and there’s probably an article there on it. From something like How Vespas Work to How do spacecraft re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere to How Lotteries work; there is a wide variety of topics to learn.

But what hooked me to their podcast is the discussions about weird topics. Like “Is there a worst way to die?” or “Where’s the best place on your body to get shot?” (No mention of the ass, which was my first guess!) The two guys who do the podcast talk in a way like you’re just listening to a conversation you’d have at a party. But with lots of facts and trivia.

Oh, and of course I can’t forget to mention they also have a TV show on Discovery Channel. Thursdays at 8 p.m. Eastern. I’ve not checked out the show much, we’ve got way too much to keep up with already thanks to Netflix, but their podcast is now one of my regulars.

Technorati tags: full of fun fridays, how stuff works, stuff you should know

Oklahoma didn’t waste any time. Already there has been an anti-science, anti-evolution bill introduced in the Senate. SB 320 (document) was introduced by Randy Brogdon (R-District 34), and is titled the “Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act”. Let’s take a look at it.

[T]he teaching of some scientific subjects, such as biological evolution, the chemical origins of life, global warming, and human cloning, can cause controversy, and that some teachers may be unsure of the expectations concerning how they should present information on such subjects.

Wait…what? Teachers may be unsure of how they should teach science subjects in a public school? Then maybe they need to find either a new profession or another subject. But that’s not even the real fun part of the bill. Moving on.

Neither the State Board of Education, nor any district board of education, district superintendent or administrator, or public school principal or administrator shall prohibit any teacher in a school district in this state from helping students understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories pertinent to the course being taught.

Students may be evaluated based upon their understanding of course materials, but no student in any public school or institution shall be penalized in any way because the student may subscribe to a particular position on scientific theories.

This act only protects the teaching of scientific information, and this act shall not be construed to promote any religious or non-religious doctrine, promote discrimination for or against a particular set of religious beliefs or non-beliefs, or promote discrimination for or against religion or non-religion. On the contrary, the intent is to create an environment in which both the teacher and students can openly and objectively discuss the facts and observations of science, and the assumptions that underlie their interpretation.

(Emphasis mine.) Now we see the meat of it. Under the guise of “freedom”, our Senators are trying to introduce a bill that will let students use something like…oh, I don’t know…intelligent design or creationism, in a science class and not be marked incorrectly for it. Sounds very much like Sally Kern’s HB 2633, which was rightly vetoed by Governor Henry. If this passes, I can’t him signing this, even if the supporters say “But…but…FREEDOM!”

Get used to seeing “academic freedom” and “teach the weaknesses” legislation all over the place. There was a lot of it last year, and you know the anti-science, anti-evolution people won’t just give up. They may claim it’s nothing to do with religion, but I don’t buy it. You don’t see pro-science and pro-evolution supporters trying to introduce bills wanting to teach the controversy about religion.

Oklahomans, contact your Senators now. The first reading will be on February 2nd. We need to let them know that allowing students and/or teachers to allow someones beliefs to rule over science is wrong. I don’t want to go to a doctor who uses his or her belief to treat me. We’ve already got enough troubles with pseudoscience peddlers and anti-vaccine crap, imagine if we started seeing scientists who use faith to find cures instead of the scientific method.

Technorati tags: anti-science, oklahoma, scientific education and academic freedom act