Have you all seen the headlines of the News of the World today? Am I missing something here - how can this be “world” news? Why is this even in the paper at all? Why am I bothering to write about it if that’ how I feel, you may well ask! I will tell you - fat people in public life get picked on for being all sorts of things, lazy, slow, stupid, greedy, and I for one am fed up to the back teeth of the assumption that only slim people are worthy of having a successful life - and fat people are there to be scorned.
I feel sorry for Fern. So, she has succumbed to the lure of being slim - and despite her protestations over the years that she was happy being fat, that was obviously not the case - and she has gone down the surgical route. Big deal! Countless people have this operation every year, and it is unfair of anyone to pick on her for making this decision.
From what i have read about gastric banding - you do have to make the effort yourself too - so its not like she is lying when she said about eating less and exercising. I hope this coverage does not set her back in any way.
I think the press should remember that just because tv stars put themselves out there, does not mean that they lose entitlement to any sort of a private life.
Keep up the good work Fern
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Posted by Suzanne - June 1st, 2008
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“Millions of girls using Facebook, Bebo and Myspace ‘at risk’ from paedophiles and bullies”
This is the front page headline from today’s Daily Mail. I am a parent of one of these “millions of girls” who use Bebo, MSN etc, and it is fair to say the content on these sites that pass between users can be shocking to say the least. I won’t go into details here. This is not a scare-mongering article! As parents, we know we have a duty to supervise our children, both in the real and the “cyber” worlds. However, that duty also comes with the realisation that as much as we would like to keep our kids safe from the nasty things that go on, we cannot protect them entirely.
In passing, a couple of years, back I asked my software developer hubby if he could write something which would enable us to monitor our Daughter. This led him to create a programme called ICU (I see you!, clever eh!). This was installed on her machine, and throughout our network, so whenever she was on any computer he would get a “snapshot” of whatever she was looking at, saying, doing or playing. It did not take long to realise that whilst our daughter is still the sweet little innocent we hoped – the same could not be said for the “friends” that send her things and link to her profile from theirs!
This made us think. Do these other parents even know what their kids are doing? Our daughter is lucky because my husband is savvy enough to set up something to look after her. Most parents are not as computer literate. It was this that made him decide to roll out “ICU” and offer it as a tool for all parents to help keep their kids safe online. There are of course, lots of these types of things around, but generally they are complicated – and the parent has to run reports and all that sort of carry on. ICU is dead easy, you don’t have to “do” anything……It is also about a tenth of the price of the others. (Ideally, it would be free, but anyone even running a small website knows there are costs involved.)
It is also a fact that if your kids know you are watching them, they are much more likely to monitor themselves and what they do! They are more likely to act like they would if you were stood over their shoulder!
Like I say, there are others around. But from one parent to another I want to let as many people as possible know that we are NOT fighting a losing battle on this, and there are things we can do. Here are some links for you to have a look at. See if they would work for you. One is my hubby’s, the other is a similar type of thing. One of them might be just what you are looking for.
www.icu-software.co.uk
www.spectorsoft.com
Regards, Suzanne
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Posted by Suzanne - April 2nd, 2008
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Hi readers
I bet you have been wondering why i have had nothing to say about this programme? I thought I would let it “bed in” a bit first before forming any opinion. So, here we go!
I am not going to bother writing about everyone (who is who, and who is with who) etc - you can find that out from anywhere - but the ones that stand out so far for me are:-
The Bad
Julie Anne/Adam Corolla I think it is fair to say she wont be winning the treble! I didnt like him much last week, thought he was a bit cocky, but this week he didnt seem to be quite as full of himself, so thats a start! Foxtrot was dire, Mambo - better! -loved her green dress!
Kim/Penn Poor Kim. The best bet was when he broke the bar in the training room! I didnt like his voodoo doll thing, i thought he was rude to the judges and I didnt like at the end when he would not dance properly and kim had to walk away from him! I think to be fair though, he was always going to find it tough - big tall people always do!
Steve - he is a darling, but he dances like my dad!
Monica - Poor girl never stood a chance. She looked wracked with nerves, and was as far removed from what she is used to than she could be.. Good for her though for trying. She will be missed.
I like watching all the people who don’t find dancing comes naturally! It makes it clear just how hard it is to actually dance well!
The good
Kristi Yamaguchi - could win, but probably wont! i think her lifetime of ice skating experiience will count against her, as traditionally people vote for those who dont have an advantage. I am unsure how much she really has, but i know people perceive her in this way.
Shannon Elizabeth - One of my favourites. I loved her cha-cha, and her quickstep was amazing. I dont know if it was good technically, but as a viewer, it was a joy to watch.
None of the others have made much of an impact on me yet.
back soon!
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Posted by Suzanne - April 1st, 2008
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Hi readers
If you were wondering why i havent posted, I have been away in the sunny Canary Island of Tenerife… I won’t bore you all with the details, and I know a dancing forum is not the “right” place to write such a thing, but even if I “save” one person from going through what I did - it would have been worth posting it here!!!!
On the last day of the holiday - like millions of others, we went souvenier shopping. I was in the middle of buying a camera – I had gave the man the money and was waiting for him to wrap it, then with the sleight of hand of a magician, my camera was swapped with one for three times the price – which of course I didn’t want, so I demanded my money back – he insisted I hadn’t gave him any money and he then got threatening up in my face “get out of my shop” that sort of thing. I said I would get the Police and he just laughed at me and said they wouldn’t want to know… then another man came out and tried to grab my mum’s arm so all hell broke loose……………I started shouting about him being a thieving scum, a crowd formed outside the shop so I made sure they knew all about my 50 euro being stolen – and NOT to buy from this shop – I even shouted the name of the shop dead loud so people not nearby would know which shop it was! I thought he was going to stab me….. . After about 20 minutes of this carry on - he snapped, and I got my money back – after my mum, my young daughter and myself were all called a “prostitute bitches”, that is!! I told him he should have his hands chopped off!! I have since found out a lot of these camera places are run by crooks.
So PLEASE be careful… don’t hand over your money until you are sure you are getting what you want, and try to get recommendations of who is reputable in your area. I feel lucky that we got away with our lives and our euros, and I would hate to think what would have happened if i had been on my own, elderly or less gobby.
Ciao!
Suzanne
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Posted by Suzanne - February 20th, 2008
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