"Predator" Returns

I mentioned, back in November, that one of my favorite shows on tv right now is Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator series. Finally, it is returning tonight at 8 p.m. ET with a new investigation from Long Beach, California. Over the next six weeks, they will also show investigations from Murphy, Texas and Flagler Beach, Florida. You can watch past episodes of the investigations on the series' homepage (midway down, under "Investigations").

Headlines!

Awww, so sad...looks like Katie Holmes will not continue her Batman Begins role in The Dark Knight...boooooo hoooooo. Okay, I'm over it.

******************************

Like coffee and a donut?...Why not have some caffeine with your caffeine? Pretty soon they'll be injecting caffeine into our milk and orange juice too!

******************************

Ahhh, yes....Paula Abdul. She has made a fool of herself once again. While I understand the fact that she may have gotten her signals crossed while talking to multiple news stations during the same interview, I don't quite understand her odd, loopy behavior-- apparently blamed on "lack of sleep." Riiiiiight. Check out two videos, here and here.

******************************

And, finally......no one sums up headlines better than Best Week Ever. Check out my favorite clips from the last two episodes:

• Jan. 22 clip: Commentary on Paula Abdul, American Idol, Britney's Peanut Butter-carrying boyfriend, and the Golden Globes
• Jan. 29 clips:
  
• Act 2 : Commentary on Rachael Ray, K-Fed, Brad Pitt, and LaToya Jackson from Armed and Famous
• Act 3: Commentary on the new Kleenex commercial, Tara Reid, and safety talk from Beauty and the Geek

Corporal Punishment of Children

My comments on this interesting article.......To Spank or Not to Spank:

Spanking is definitely based on Classical Conditioning, or Pavlovian Conditioning. In it's simplest form, the idea is that the child will associate the spanking with the bad behavior...they don't like the spanking...they don't wish to experience it in the future...so they remove the bad behavior.

However, it is not as simple as that. There are so many factors that go into punishment. If a parent does not catch the child in the act of the bad behavior but finds out, let's say, hours later and, at that point, punishes the child by spanking...well, the child will no longer be able to associate that punishment with his/her behavior. Therefore, conditioning is not taking place.

In my opinion (that's for you, Jon), I don't think spanking a child teaches them anything worth learning. Sure, it may teach them that they don't like getting spanked...that it hurts...but, is it truly teaching them why they're getting spanked in the first place?

Spanking will not change a particular behavior any more than another form of punishment. All the child learns is that they need to be more savvy about doing that behavior in the future...like, striving to do it outside the watchful eye of Mom or Dad (from whom the spanking would come). But, I think this creates a deviant behavior....thus contributing to avoidance and an overall devious personality. Is that really what we want to teach our children? How will that help them in life?

Thanks to the work of behaviorists like Pavlov and B.F. Skinner, enter Operant Conditioning...that is, the use of positive & negative reinforcement, as well as positive & negative punishments. And, yes, there are differences. In a nutshell, these are ways to teach the child consequences for a bad behavior or to reinforce a good behavior. With Operant Conditioning, children are much more likely to continue to apply what they've learned to future situations.

Due to my Developmental Psychology class in college, I find this extremely interesting and could go on and on about this topic...but, where do you weigh in? Feel free to comment.

All You Need is Some Water and Sunlight

This picture is amazing...Notice the contrast in brightness between the area within the rainbow and around it.

EDIT: This picture has been removed from the original link. A smaller version can be seen here.

Random Bits

Did anyone see Grey's Anatomy last night? I cried like a baby when George's dad died. Of course, my sister laughed at me...I'll remember that the next time she gets but a tear in her eye.

------------------------------------

Back on December 12th, I talked about Pearl Jam's cover of The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me." At the time, I only heard a snippet of the song in the trailer for the movie, "Reign Over Me." Well since then, Pearl Jam has put the entire track on their MySpace page and it is awesome...so, go listen to it right now...well, not right now...but, after you're done visiting my blog.

------------------------------------

In my last post, I put up the trailer for Zach Braff's upcoming film, "Fast Track." However, Mr. Braff himself recently reported in his hilarious MySpace blog that there has been a name change. So, if you go looking for the movie and don't find it, you can't blame me for not telling you! It is now called "The Ex" because apparently it had nothing to do with a track. Go read his blog though....it's quite funny...BUT (need I remind you twice?) only when you are finished here.

------------------------------------

I've been crazy busy lately (hence the reason for the lack of updates)...I have taken on three part-time jobs. First, I've been doing freelance writing in Education for a little less than a year and I've been doing many assignments for that recently. Also, I started tutoring back in the fall after my summer job was over. Now, I've just picked subbing back up again, twice a week.

In addition to the jobs, I've been taking steps that will hopefully lead to a permanent teaching position...By "steps," I mean this:

1. I sent in my application materials for New Jersey State Certification, after passing a required Praxis test called Elementary Education: Content Knowledge (they don't use this particular test in PA).
   
2. Plus, last Saturday I took two more tests for certification in Middle School English and Middle School Math to widen my certification area. I should have those results in about a month.
   
3. As if that wasn't enough, I am taking one more test in March, called Fundamental Subjects: Content Knowledge to prove my "Highly-Qualified Status" as a teacher in PA, due to requirements by No Child Left Behind.
   
4. And, no I haven't gone broke....yet.
   

Wow, I'm exhausted just writing this. I officially release you to listen to Pearl Jam and read Zach Braff's words of wisdom. But, I'll be back...

New Year...New Movies

I hope you all had a happy holiday! Over the Christmas holiday, I saw two movies...Happy Feet and Night at the Museum...what can I say?...I need to entertain my inner child once in awhile! Actually, both movies were very good. I absolutely LOVED Happy Feet. The penguins were so cute, the music was great, and the animation was unbelievable.

There are quite a few movies I'm looking forward to seeing in 2007...some are already open and I haven't gotten around to seeing them yet, while others will be released this year:


Little Children - released in NY & LA in October '06 - (not sure when it's opening nationwide)




The Good Shepherd - released 12/22/06




Children of Men - release date 1/5/07




Miss Potter - release date 1/12/07 (nationwide)




The Good German - release date 1/19/07




Catch and Release - release date 1/26/07




Hannibal Rising - release date 2/9/07 (I've read Thomas Harris' Hannibal and have followed the movies surrounding this character...so, yeah, I want to see this!)




Fast Track - release date 3/9/07 nationwide - (limited release 12/29/06)




Reign Over Me - release date 3/9/07




300 - release date 3/9/07




Spider-Man 3 - release date 5/4/07




Shrek the Third - release date 5/18/07




Evan Almighty - release date 6/22/07 - I saw the trailer for this in the theater over the holiday...looks really funny...but there doesn't seem to be Bruce in this one.