Could you do this?
Posted by: dateacher on: June 13, 2009
Could you do this? 1 dress, 365 days… http://www.theuniformproject.com/
The premise is she owns this one black dress, wears it everyday, “dolls” it up here and there, and is documenting it with a photo everyday on a blog.
It’s the minimalist wardrobe at its ultimate. Not sure I could do this; I’d really have to like the ONE thing to wear it everyday for a year.
22 years ago today…
Posted by: dateacher on: June 9, 2009
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…I graduated high school. It was literally the best day of my teenage life!
I had many great friends during high school, and I still keep in touch with many of them. But, I was not a fan of high school. The division of the classes (and I’m not talking freshman, sophomore, etc) was rampant in my school. The cliques were terrible. You always hear people say “this is the best time of your life” to kids in high school – HA! I’ll tell you – college was much better than high school for me, and as I’ve gotten older, my life has gotten better and better.
If I could give a speech to high school kids today – I’d tell them to build upon the relationships of high school but to not limit themselves only to those people. There are many people in this world that can enrich your life, get out into the world, make your own way, be your own person, forge your own way.
I would end this speech with the following good advice: “Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”
Where do your children play?
Posted by: dateacher on: June 9, 2009
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I will admit this is not something I have to worry about from the viewpoint of a parent, but I live on a street where a lot of children live. There are days I wonder when it became “fashionable” for kids to play in the street? I’m not talking about riding bikes – I’m talking about actually playing in the street.
I do not remember playing in the street. I remember riding my bike – and not being obnoxious about it. We didn’t need to wear helments – we’ll we probably should have, but we didn’t, and I attribute that to the fact that we were safe on our bikes, and there were less cars on the streets when I was a kid. We were taught that the cars on the roads of our neighborhood were given the right of way over us kids riding bikes.
Should we blame developers for this phenomenon of kids playing in the street, because I’m sure parents are telling their kids they shouldn’t be doing this? Why blame parents – we all know they only have their children’s best interest at heart. So it has to be a problem attributed to the developers of this country. Those groups purchasing land to build more and more houses on, and not just a few houses but 50+ per development putting a McMansion on a postage stamp sized lot.
The house I grew up in was on at least an acre of land. It was also a corner lot. It was also a modest 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom ranch-style house. My parents still live in this house. I had what would now be considered a HUGE backyard, heck, a huge yard period. So we had no need to play in the street…we played in our yard – in our back yard and we didn’t need a fence to keep us there either. This us would be my older brother and me.
So why, now, do you see so many kids playing in the street? Is it the smaller lot size and the amount of yard implements you see? Is it that parents don’t want their yards torn up by kids playing? Or is it that parents aren’t paying attention or just don’t care?
It cannot be the last thing, parents in my neighborhood seem to be paying attention and do care. How do I know this? Well, in the last few days, I’ve seen these little plastic signs popping up on the streets of my neighborhood that say something like “Slow, Children at Play,” and yesterday there was a cop sitting on my street waiting to catch someone speeding – and he did (No, it wasn’t me, Mom. I promise!). However, I have also seen the parents in the street playing with their kids – so they seem to be encouraging it too.
The thing that burns my hide is this…many of those parents complaining about speeding cars need to be certain they aren’t breaking their own rules. Just because the child is in the car with you and not “At Play” doesn’t mean that you get to go however fast you want to go on the very same streets you are complaining about other people driving too fast. “Pot, this is the kettle, you’re black!”
Save Our History
Posted by: dateacher on: June 7, 2009
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Or at the very least, save our history education.
This weekend, actually on Saturday, June 6, 2009, my husband was at the home improvement center getting mulch for our garden. He noticed a woman a little younger than our mothers, pushing an older gentleman in a wheelchair. He had lost his legs from the knees down. As he was standing in line to pay, the woman and gentleman ended up in line behind him. Also in line were a woman and her 4 year old child. As my husband said “as only a 4 year old could ask” the child asked the wheelchair bound gentlemen what happened to his legs. At first my husband was appauled that the mother hadn’t taught the child some tact in this type of situation, which I had to remind him that 4 year old children are curious and ask/say things generally without much thought. The older gentleman, according to my husband, graciously answered the child’s question with the following response: “I lost my legs 65 years ago today.”
As my husband is relaying this story to me, tears welled up in my eyes. This man had fought for the world’s freedom and was there that fateful day 65 years ago storming the beaches of Normandy. What my husband told me next outraged me, after the gentleman told the child he lost his legs 65 years ago “today,” the child’s mother asked “Doing what?” (My husband, calmly bent down to the older man, took his hand, shook it, and said “Thank you.”
But, REALLY, young mother! I couldn’t believe that someone wouldn’t know this. Looking at this man, figuring his age, seeing his condition, could you not figure out he lost his legs in the war. Had this woman been living under a rock…is the only thing she ever has on her TV children’s programming…during high school, did she not learn that June 6 is one of the most important days in World History? REALLY!
I realize that there are many things from which to choose on the TV, but as adults we have to preserve self (not be selfish) but preserve things that keep us informed about world events. On Saturday June 6, how could anyone miss that it was the 65th anniversary of D-Day? There are just a few days in history that mean so much to this world – that we must remember, even when the generations who created the history of those days are gone, we must preserve the history of those days.
What Brad and Angelina did last week or last month or last year, that the new Star Trek movie was a huge hit this summer, or which team wins the 2009 NBA Finals will make no difference in another 65 years, but in the year 2074 D-Day will still matter.
This was one of those things that begs for this quote: If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.
My Favorite Childhood Toys
Posted by: dateacher on: May 29, 2009
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Part 2 in a series
Ah, toys of childhood, who doesn’t remember the toys of childhood. I had this one group of toys that I played with nearly every day, and I still have this group of toys, that’s how much I loved them. When going through the attic with my mom, many things got tossed aside, but my Fisher Price Little People survived the cut.
I always wanted the family house, but never got it – my brother and I did have the garage and the school house play sets – looking back, how gender specific were those. He got the garage; I got the school house…and we got them from Santa the same Christmas.
If I ever want more, I can just go here: http://www.zindo.com/fisherprice/vintagefisherprice/index.html
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- The one play set I never had but always wanted!
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- The Little People of my childhood were small and either wooden or plastic.
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- The school house came with magnetic letters/numbers and a bell that really rang!
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- The elevator took the cars to the parking deck…and when it was time to leave the cars slid down the ramp!
Toys – the store experience
Posted by: dateacher on: May 28, 2009
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Part 1 in a series of posts
When I got up this morning I knew that my blog was waiting for a post today. However, I didn’t know what the post would cover, and then there it was “Toys R Us acquires high-end retailer FAO Schwarz.” I must say for a minute, before reading the article, my heart sank.
I don’t spend a lot of time in toy stores. There are not a lot of toys laying around my house. The toys that are in the toy basket or on the floor right now are dog toys, not kid toys. That said, every Toys R Us I’ve ever been in has not impressed me. I’ve been in FAO Schwarz NYC, and it is a wonderland of toys. The displays make you want to look at the toys; they make you want to buy the toys. FAO Schwarz is more than toys lined on shelves; FAO Schwarz is a toy experience. The last time I was at the NYC store, I was greeted by a real live toy soldier (even had my picture taken with him – this was before my digital days!). If you haven’t seen the 1988 Tom Hanks movie “BIG,” there’s a scene filmed in the NYC FAO Schwarz – the scene with the giant piano that Tom Hanks’s “Josh” and Robert Loggia’s “MacMillian” play with the feet – chopsticks!
I hope, as the article I read states, that the Toys R Us people are going to work to keep the “distinctiveness and integrity of the FAO Schwarz stores and brand.” It would be a shame to walk into the NYC store and see toy-lined shelves, a store with no personality.
The 80s
Posted by: dateacher on: May 27, 2009
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So on this summer break so far I’ve had the TV on during some of my projects. There’s really not much on “daytime” television. I knew this because during the academic year I have Fridays off.
In the last couple years, I’ve tried hard to steer clear of the morning news programs and the daytime talk shows for various reasons. This leaves very little to choose from on the tube. I have taken to leaving the television on one of the following channels: HGTV, FoodTV, DIY, Fine Living Network, VH1 Classic, any of a number of Music Choice channels, or Game Show Network.
Ah, GSN…How I love a good retro game show! From Match Game to Password Plus with Alan Ludden to Dick Clark’s Pyramid (25K or 100K) to Super Password with Bert Convy, how did this genre of TV go away? Well, yes, there are still technically game shows on TV – but the game shows of the 70s and 80s were less about greed and more about the game, or so it seems looking back now. Yes, a person won what was considered big sums of money for that time. But now, in 2009, if a person can’t go on a show and win a million dollars then it seems mediocre.
This was not the direction this post was supposed to take. I didn’t want to address the amount of earnings a person could win on the game show of the 80s as compared to now, I wanted to discuss fashion. In the 80s, in particular, people dressed up when they went on these game shows. You very rarely saw someone in shabby clothing, in jeans and t-shirts, in workout clothing. Granted looking back now, some of the fashions of the 80s aren’t what I’d choose to wear to even do yardwork, but for the time those “treads” were in style.
Do you remember the B-I-G hair, the doorknocker earrings, the ultra-thin ties, the pushed up sport coat sleeves, the shoulder pads, the bright/electric colors (pink, green, blue)? Do you remember that white shoes and stockings were all the rage? Remember leg-warmers and baggy sweatshirts (What a feeling!)?
I think the only thing better than 80s game shows is 80s videos on VH1 classic. Whenever I need to feel the nostalgia I’ll just put it on Channels 179 or 143, GSN or VH1 Classic respectively.
Memorial Day
Posted by: dateacher on: May 25, 2009
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May 30, 1868 – the first time Memorial Day was observed in he USA. So why do we celebrate Memorial Day on the last Monday of May if the first celebration was on May 30, which in my research was the date established by an official order to be Memorial Day. Sometime along the way, the date was changed to an “observance on the last Monday of May. I have not been 100% successful in finding out exactly when except to say sometime before the year 1987, as the research has shown that “since 1987″ Senator Inouye of Hawaii has repeated tried to return Memorial Day to its original May 30 date.
Why May 30? Well, since Decoration Day, as it was originally known, was enacted to honor Union soldiers of the War between the States was celebrated near the date of reunification of the states. Later, the holiday was expanded to honor all American causalties of any war or military action.
So on Memorial Day (observed) 2009, I remember my relatives who served in the following wars or military actions: War between the States, World War I & II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Tooth Whitening
Posted by: dateacher on: May 22, 2009
This blog is supposed to be about the observations of a dental assisting instructor, so today’s post is going to be on-topic.
Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of internet advertisements for tooth whitening. Some of these ads I’ve clicked on – most I have not. I’ve done quite a bit of research on tooth whitening since one of the topics I cover in my classes is tooth whitening materials and procedures. Many of these ads are testimonials from actual patients who have had procedures done. Some of these testimonials can’t be true. Like I said, I’ve done the research. I’ve also seen patients who have undergone tooth whitening procedures. Teeth do not go from as yellow as you see in some pictures in this online ads to as white as they appear in some of these pictures without the help of photo shop type software.
What people may not know or understand is that teeth are not naturally WHITE. Tooth color (or shade) depends strongly on the tone of your skin, color of your eyes, and color of your hair. Teeth range in color depending on these other aspects of you. Because of these other aspects, teeth have varying shades of either a gray tone or a yellow tone. As we age, these tones darken…and, unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to prevent this aging aspect of tooth shade. Also, there are many extrinsic factors that affect tooth color as well. Are you a coffee, tea, soda, or red wine drinker? Do you eat a lot of tomato sauce, soy sauce, mustard? Are you a smoker or tobacco user? If you are, then your chances of getting “white” teeth and keeping them that way are harder.
While it is true that extrinsic stains are easier to remove than intrinsic stains, extrinsic stains are generally more prevelant in daily life than intrinsic stains, so you are combating those regularly. The only way to avoid staining your teeth would be to avoid all types of food and drink with any kind of color. How boring a life that would be!
Being realistic about your teeth and doing the right thing as far as dental care are the ways to ensure your natural teeth stay with you for your life. Over-whitening can lead to tooth sensitivity and who knows what else – I believe there’s still more research to be done to the effects of the whitening agents on overall oral health, as well as systemic health.
I’m not saying don’t whiten your teeth, that would be totally hypocritical as I whiten my teeth. I’m just saying be realistic. Do not expect to get your teeth to as white as a sheet of copy paper. Be realistic when looking at celebrities – many of these people have had professional dental procedures past traditional tooth whitening to get their teeth as “perfect” as you see them.
And whatever you do – parents….don’t let your young children whiten their teeth too soon. Teeth need to be fully developed before applying the harsh agents in tooth whiteners. Dentists recommend being 16 years old or older before using whitening products for the first time. This ensures the enamel is at its hardest and that all teeth have erupted fully.
(The preceeding is only the opinion of this blogger through years of working in dentistry and from reading all kinds of articles on the topic of tooth whitening, and from years of whitening my own teeth.)
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