Looking up

Can't say much after that, except that there really is hope no matter how bleak things may look.

This other video clip (a TV commercial which was, by the way, rejected for airing during the last Superbowl) drives home that point yet again.






I must admit, the first time I saw this video, I was a bit confused as to the message it tried to convey. It made the US president look as if he advocated the recognition of human rights for the unborn! I hope he has seen the video. He of all people should realize that anybody can strive to be anything he wants if given the opportunity -- first of all, the opportunity to live and pursue his dreams.

Then here's a video I like for the positive and practical way it explained the elements surrounding an issue that was hotly debated on in some parts of the US a few months ago. No doubt, this same issue will need to be dealt with on our own shores in a year or two. Remember, when the US sneezes, practically the whole world catches a cold. Unfortunately, many unthinking Filipinos welcome anything that comes from the US with open arms and no filtering whatsoever.


 

Talking about caffeine...

I'm trying to lay off the caffeine for a while (not that my body is anywhere close to being addicted to it). Who knows if the one cup of coffee a day has something to do with the headaches I've been experiencing lately? So, the MD advised that we go for the process of elimination.

Looks like now I'll see how much of a difference there is between real coffee and decaf :-)

Meanwhile, cola (and other addictives) commercials continue to outdo one another. Here are two I particularly like. Enjoy!

Pushing our kids to the marketing sharks

Several months ago, I was visiting some websites -- the online versions of local monthly magazines. Boy, was I astonished to realize that "pester power" was being pushed explicitly by a publication as something for marketers to take advantage of in order to sell their products. In other words, do everything you can to make kids pester their parents to buy, buy and buy what the little ones ask for. (I checked back at the publication's website -- the "pester power" angle had been taken out)

Bottom line: everything about childhood and childcare is being commercialized to the hilt. I wonder if parents are aware of this or are eating it all up and turning their preschoolers into consumers as well...

Here's some food for thought:

In the past, the major influences in children's lives were their parents, family and playmates - local children also influenced by the adults in their lives.

No matter what these adults' personal value systems, we can assume the vast majority cared about the long-term well-being of the infants they were rearing.

But in our brave new global village, parents and family are being pushed out of the picture.

According to a new Childwise survey, today's children spend up to six hours a day staring at a screen. So market forces increasingly influence their tastes and habits.

And marketing executives don't have children's welfare at heart - they just want to sell more stuff.

Little girls should be outside in the sunshine, laughing with their friends, playing imaginatively with whatever comes to hand - making dens, dressing up in old clothes and scraps of material, choosing the roles they play for themselves.

They shouldn't be glued to a screen, learning how to pester their parents for the latest must-have toy and being groomed for a lifetime of consumption.

Full article at Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

Pink, pink and more pink

This has got to be the "pinkest" issue we've produced. And I'm only thinking about the inside pages.

And it's not everyday you get a charmingly demure smile like what 12-month-old Sian Illey Fernandez broke into and photographer Ralph Alejandrino captured during that fine morning amid the tree-lined grassy field at the University of the Philippines campus.

How do you like the cover? We tried something different this time, and so far we've gotten positive comments.

Not much time for writing today so head on over to Petrufied for more about Baby's February issue.

Words of wisdom for these hard times...

... or if you find yourself turning into a green-eyed monster as other people look like things are going their way while you're down in the dumps --

If the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,
imagine how high
their water bill must be.

Beyond the numbers

Whether 4,200 or 42 million lives are lost to abortion...

... 1 is the number we need to keep in mind.

Because each life counts.

Here's a powerful pro-life video by Jason French.






H/T: Barbara Curtis of Mommy Life