It appears as if the children of America (at least some of them) are about to be demoted to second rate citizens just as Pluto was last week. Tivo has announced that it is getting in bed with religious leaders to promote its new “KidZone” feature. This feature will allow parents to block certain media content from their children’s eyes.
“We know that kids are going to be exposed to the media, so why don’t we take the media on our own terms?” Tivo Inc. Vice President Joe Miller told a group of about 50 leaders in Atlanta.
The new free service will have a menu of recommended shows by nonprofit organizations focused on children (with no doubt religious undertones.) I think this is a horrible idea. Not only will this aid in closing the minds of children by pounding the right wing Christian message down their throats, but it also disguises the reality of the mess our world is truly in. We wouldn’t want to show them pictures or news broadcasts about children getting blown up in Iraq by US Military, now would we? That might make them ask questions that we as adults wouldn’t know how to answer. (Because the only true answer would lead us to explaining to them the greed and corruption of our very own government.)
Perhaps instead of putting our children in front of a padlocked TV while we sip martinis by the pool, we should sit with our children and watch appropriate content together. Teach them right and wrong, explain to them what is truly going on in the world, that way we won’t have to worry about padlocking the TV and they’ll gain a better understanding of why there is so much violence on TV.
August 26th, 2006
Have you ever caught yourself in a situation where you’re completely surrounded by absolute beauty? You think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, I have to take a picture.” You dig into your bag and pull out your camera. Click. Upon reviewing the picture on the camera, you think to yourself, “Oh my gosh, that’s not what I see.” You’re a little disappointed, because you know you had the camera set to the best setting and did everything in your power to get “the perfect shot.” You quickly realize that there is nothing else you could possibly do to savor the moment except stand there in complete awe, eyes wide open, jaw somewhat dropped as you slightly lick your bottom lip.
That happened to me tonight. I was fortunate enough to spend the evening with my friend Rob. Rob and I met at Apple about a year and a half ago. Since the two of us both share similar interests, we quickly became pals. Tonight we had a wonderful dinner at South Beach Cafe. If you are ever looking or find yourself with a craving for the best pizza in town, this is hands down, no arguing, without a doubt the place to go. It’s run by two Italian guys who are super friendly and really service their customers passionately. Might I recommend the Chicken Pesto. Yum with a capital Y! After dinner, we drove down the Embarcadero to a new pier. I was able to take a few snapshots, but without a tri-pod it was semi useless, since most of the pictures would turn out blurry.
We decided to act upon his recommendation to drive across the bridge to Treasure Island to take a few shots looking back at the city. It was at this point, as Rob drove off in my car and as I stood illegally atop the tunnel, that I viewed the most spectacular view of San Francisco that I have ever seen. The sound of speeding cars below alongside the faint echo of sirens in the city left me breathless. The shimmering lights of the bridge and city gracefully reflected off the quiet water of the San Francisco Bay. It didn’t take me long to realize that no camera in the world could capture the beauty and magnificence that both man and nature had presented before my eyes. Our eyes are, in my opinion, flat out amazing. We see what cameras only wish they could see. When I got home, I immediately loaded the pictures onto my computer. I’ll admit, it was somewhat of a let down. I knew it was coming, though. So I wasn’t the least bit upset. I was happy that I had the opportunity to experience what I had just, well experienced, first hand.
I read a quote written on a wall tonight that went like this: “I dreamt I got to heaven, looked around, and thought to myself, ‘this isn’t too bad, but it isn’t San Francisco.’” I’m thankful that I live in one of the most amazing places on Earth. Good night.
August 26th, 2006
