Guest Blogger, Jennifer Forbes: When we’re young we’re always looking up to someone…..

I come from a really large Irish Catholic family. One of my earliest memories is me standing in the middle of a bunch of really loud people who were much bigger than me and looking up……

We live in a world of instant information, news 24/7, smart phones, texting, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogging....seriously I could go on and on.

Imagine being a kid today being inundated with all types of faces, personalities, athletes, the lure of money, having all types of people to emulate and all of them perspective role models. It really must be difficult to be a kid growing up today. Now imagine having to turn away from all that glitz and glimmer and see your own parent, grandparent, godparent or teacher/coach or pastor and really “get” that they have value to your life and future as a role model; not easy I imagine.

It must be even harder to be that parent keeping your child in check, keeping him or her grounded with all that distraction. Do you find this a challenge as a parent?

When I was a kid Mom would go to the front door and yell out…. Jeeeenifer and I'd know it was time to stop whatever I was doing with my friends and head home for lunch/ dinner or for the day. I'd be outside with my friends all the time TV was something I rarely watched. Maybe in the evenings I’d catch a bit of tube with my Nana. TV and radio and records were basically the extent of media and entertainment back in my day.  I don't recall actually ever considering any one actor, athlete or musician as a role model. I realize now I was lucky that I didn’t have the temptations kids have today so I didn’t have to make those difficult choices.

I actually was blessed in life to have three very special role models, my Mom, my Nana and my Godmother my Aunt Frances; three strong and steady presences in my life throughout my life. I was the only girl one of three children so my relationship with my Mom always solid, never wavering. Even now we share a special bond; she's the person I speak to every day about everything and anything, my confidant, my next door neighbor and closest female friend. Then there was my Nana.  We went to Mass together, we baked together, sewed together, crocheted and knitted together, we took walks, and there is hardly a memory of my childhood that she isn't in. And then my Godmother my Aunt Frances, she had a way of making a person (namely me!) feel special, and when you're a kid there is nothing more important than that. Heck, she made me feel that way as an adult too, she really was an amazing woman.

Now a day, we communicate by "throwing” texts, since most every kid has a cell phone, at least most kids I know do. I text with my grandchildren and nieces and nephews, seriously! Now we communicate by using e-mail or twitter because it's more convenient we rarely even pick up the phone anymore. Let’s not lose our sense of family in all that technology please!

And that gets me back to my original point regarding role models for our kids.

I'm afraid that many kids today are losing those traditional role models [parents, grandparents, godparents, teachers, coaches, and clergy] and are choosing role models who are movie stars, musicians and athletes. While some may be worthy as role models many are poised to fall off the pedestal kids tend to put them on. Many have amazing talent and they wow our children and even us with those abilities. What concerns me is this...what happens when they fall off that pedestal I mentioned due to general bad behavior, excessive drug or alcohol use, criminal behavior and the like. What about our children then?

So tell me folks, is this a matter of concern for you? Who are your children's role models or if you don't have kids who were your role models when you were a young?

Till next time Jen

jenfbs@gmail.com

http://werelivingafulllife.blotspot.com

Alphabet Remix - Juggling Jennifers in April

These A to Z Challenge blogging ideas are brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

Just because several other bloggers have written about the same topic, for the same letter during the Blogging from A to Z Challenge does not mean you cannot blog about this same subject too. There are many ways to avoid looking like you just jumped on the bandwagon of A to Z participants who chose a common or popular topic that is now being blogged into the ground because everyone is talking about the same thing in the same way. Instead of choosing a different subject, especially if the popular or common topic interests you, try putting a spin on it by writing posts that are related to the subject but has enough variety to stand out among the crowd.

If you are a comic book, film, Robert Downey Jr. or superhero fan and notice that many, if not most A to Z Challenge bloggers wrote a movie review for The Avengers as their Letter A post, then don’t just dismiss the idea of using The Avengers as your subject of choice. Instead, try writing a comparison of all of The Avengers, pitting them against each other in a hypothetical battle. Write about who you think would win in a fight between Iron Man and Captain America.

Still stumped for ideas? Here are some examples, based on Actresses named Jennifer, that you can use to get your blogging juices flowing for the 2013 A to Z Challenge -- and turn this common name into unexpected blog post ideas.

Jennifer Garner Jokes
Post a joke about the actress and then ask your readers if they think it’s funny or not. Don’t have time to go searching for celebrity humor? That’s fine. Here is one from Daily Comedy:

Jennifer Garner recently filed a restraining order against a man who’s been following her around.

The man...Ben Affleck!

Also, challenge readers to rewrite the joke and see who comes up with the most clever or funniest one.

You could also post a joke that was made by the actress and then share your thoughts on whether you think she was funny or not. When asked if she would post in a bikini, Garner jokingly responded to David Letterman, “Not enough double-sided tape in the world to keep everything in place.”

Judge and Jury: Controversial Remarks by Jennifers of Hollywood
Nope, this ain’t no James Patterson novel that I’m talking about today. The literary great can, however, be used as motivation for you to re-cast one of his Alex Cross movies or write a blog post that lists actors who you think would be the right fit for a film adaptation of Judge and Jury. Now getting back to this alphabet remix, consider blogging about a comment made by one of the famous Jennifers in Hollywood and share your thoughts on it. Also, open the discussion up to your readers.

When talking about juggling work, motherhood and marriage, Jennifer Lopez said “So you are going to be either a bad mom and be a really good career woman and wife; or a good mom and career woman and a bad wife; or a good mom and a good wife and your career is gonna suck. I want to get a T-shirt that says, 'Bullsh--!” -- Do YOU agree or disagree that these are the choices for women?

While discussing her squirrel-skinning scene in “Winter’s Bone,” actress and “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence told Rolling Stone Magazine “I should say it wasn’t real, for PETA. But screw PETA” -- which prompted a response from the animal rights organization. -- Should we concern ourselves with fictional depictions of animal abuse or is PETA out of line?

Jazzy Juice about Jennifer Hudson
While other A to Z Challengers are listing their favorite Jennifer Hudson songs or favorite movies featuring this actress (which is fine to do, by the way), you can take a different approach to the subject matter and teach readers something about her that they didn’t know by sharing trivia facts or related news while also adding your thoughts to make it unique.

Did you know that Jennifer Hudson has her own holiday? That’s right. In 2007, the mayor of Chicago declare March 6th as “Jennifer Hudson Day.” So, write about how you would celebrate this holiday or better yet, if you could give a local celebrity his or her own holiday, who would it be and why?

Did you also know that Jennifer Hudson turned down the leading role of an abused teenager in the drama film “Precious” because she didn’t want to put on anymore weight? -- then later said the character just wasn't meant for her. In her book about weight loss, Hudson said that although she liked the script, she didn’t want another role that had something to do with her weight, after working on “Dreamgirls.” As a result, Hollywood newcomer Gabourey Sidibe was case as the “Precious” lead. That isn’t the only time this Academy Award winning actress turned down a big offer. Hudson also turned down an invitation to perform at President Obama’s inauguration, which would have been her first time in the spotlight following the murder of her mother, brother and nephew.

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Before we wrap today’s A to Z blog post up, join me for some Friday Fun Time housekeeping.
The WINNER of last week’s Alphabet Soup game is...

Tina Downey at Life is Good


Tina’s Alphabet Soup Prize Package Includes: bragging rights, the title of 'Alphabet Wizard,' the option of selecting my next Monday Movie Meme topic* AND most importantly, the authority to choose the letter for the next Alphabet Soup game.
*Must be a topic/theme that has not been previously covered.


Congratulations to Tina for unscrambling all 10 names of actors and actresses whose first name begins with the letter J! I also want to give a special shout out to Delores at The Tormented Scribe for also taking a chance and playing this game by unscrambling at least one of the names on the puzzle. Delores, you are a true sport! For those of you who played and for those of you who missed it, here are the answers to last week’s Alphabet Soup:

1. Jhcaknsooa Jus - Joshua Jackson

2. otkeacaJnsn J - Janet Jackson

3. ernnnH fidoeuJs - Jennifer Hudson

4. nferCylonJen ine - Jennifer Connely

5. tosifei nnAJrnne - Jennifer Aniston

6. errCJy mia - Jim Carrey

7. eeortJtl nuSelm - Jurnee Smollett

8. JrnOCo lelnry - Jerry O’Connell

9. NlckoncJiohas - Jack Nicholson

10. kck acaBJl - Jack Black

Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!

NICOLE
Read The Madlab Post.
Find/Follow/RT @MadlabPost on Twitter.

The Fermi Paradox

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by! My name is Stephen Tremp and I blog over at Breakthrough Blogs, mainly on science, science fiction, writing, promoting, and miscellaneous stuff. In keeping with my current mini-series theme of Aliens, I'd like to re-post an article from last year by Rusty Webb as he discusses a most fascinating subject: The Fermi Paradox. Take it away Rusty ...

To understand the context a bit better we need to think back to when European explorers started exploring the Pacific Ocean in earnest, a most curious thing met them at almost every stop they made: People.


Where did they come from?

People spilled out of Southeast Asia thousands of years ago. They spread across the great ocean on little more than rafts, hopping from island to island, most likely facing starvation and death from exposure as they drifted off into the great unknown to see what was out there. Within a relatively short period of time they’d covered the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to Easter Island to Hawaii. Hundreds of islands, all full of people.

If we look at into the night sky and think of each star as an island in the pacific the question arises, if we go and explore, will we once again discover that someone has been there before us? Hopping from planet to planet like the Polynesians did here on earth so long ago?

We should. Well, we should if life is out there. In fact, they shouldn’t just be out there – they should be here.

And if we, people that is, decided to head for the stars now, or even if we waited a century to two to get the engineering issues that make space travel difficult sorted out – we could cover every habitable nook and cranny of our galaxy – a hundred billion stars – in as little as a few million years. A blink of an eye when compared to the age of the galaxy itself. It doesn’t require made up technologies and lightspeed vessels. We know how to do this.

So then, if there are aliens out there, anywhere in our hundred billion stars in the night sky – or have been at any time in the past 10 billion years – and even one race, one species of aliens, burst out from their home and into the starry night, then everywhere we look in the heavens should be the home of an interstellar civilization. If more than one civilization arose and did the same, then space would be very crowded.

So where is everyone?
Enrico Fermi thought the very same thing, and most stories say he blurted out the question while having lunch with colleagues. They should be out there, they should be here.

But they’re not, at least not in a way we can recognize.

There’s no shortage of possible answers. Many books have graced the shelves of our local libraries and bookstores on the topic. But no one knows.

So I ask you. Where is everyone?

You can visit Rusty at his blog The Blutonian Death Egg.

As always, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed Rusty’s post. I sure did. And I invite you to stop by my Website at Breakthrough Blogs for my Aliens series. We’ll cover many topics beyond little green men. See you there!