Weblog Awards

I was skimming through the Weblog Award Finalists and saw that our podcast The Glenn and Helen Show had been nominated in the "Best Podcast" category. Thanks to whoever nominated us. If you like our show, go vote for us, or if you don't, well... to each his or her own.

Podcast: The Daring Book for Girls

Today we interview the authors of The Daring Book for Girls about how girls can put a little adventure into their lives. The book teaches girls how to change a tire, run a lemonade stand, negotiate a salary and lots more. The authors discuss if kids are active enough today, women spies, advice on boys and whether or not Hillary Clinton is a "daring girl."

You can listen directly (no downloading needed) by going here and clicking on the gray Flash player. You can download the file and listen at your leisure by clicking right here. And you can get a lo-fi version, suitable for dialup, cellphones, etc. by going here and selecting lo-fi. A free iTunes subscription is available here, and you can visit our show archives at GlennandHelenShow.com.

This podcast was brought to you by Volvo Automobiles. Music is by Audra and the Antidote.

Bloggers in the News

Are we pampering our children by providing super safe playgrounds and schools games that deny them the skills they need to become effective adults? Nanny State author and blogger David Harsanyi says "yes" in an interview with Brian Williams on the NBC Nightly News. Take a look.

Neo-neocon has some thoughts on my PJM column on marriage in a post subtitled, "what's in it for me?":

But I have to say that the level of vitriol expressed in the comments section in response to this article by Dr. Helen at Pajamas Media surprised me and disheartened me, even though I’ve read similar discussions before online. The general flavor of comment after comment there—mostly from men—can be summarized as follows: “The bitch screwed me” with the corollary, “Women are all like that.” The formerly married say, “Never again,” and the never-married merely say, “Never.”

I see things differently; I think there are few places for men to go to talk with others about their feelings on relationships, love, marriage and kids. So when they have such a forum, a lot of pent up frustration may show through. The media, including daytime tv is mainly geared towards women who complain non-stop about men, their inability to communicate and how they are being kept down by these oafs, so there is always a place to vent. Experts are always telling men to open up about their feelings, then when they do, suddenly they are good-for-nothing selfish whiners. Seems a bit hypocritical to me.

Update: Neo-neocon has Part II up of "Getting Married: what's in it for me?"

Should Men Get Married?

My PJM column is up:

If PJM’s advice columnist Dr. Helen Smith ever doubted that the institution of marriage was getting to be an increasingly risky and expensive proposition for men - her readers have certainly educated her, forcing her to think carefully about whether or not to advise them to head to the altar.

Much of the column is about a new book by professor Stephen Baskerville entitled, Taken into Custody: The War Against Fatherhood, Marriage, and the Family. The book is an important one and brings to light some of the difficulties men are having with the current family court system. It is worth a read for those of you who want to know more about the ins and outs of the family court system's bias towards men (and some women).

Anyway, take a look at my column to learn more.

Teen is Suspect in Craigslist Killing

This story is troubling:

MINNEAPOLIS - A 19-year-old man suspected of killing a woman who answered an online ad for a baby sitter was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder.

Michael John Anderson is accused of shooting Katherine Ann Olson in the back at his home in suburban Savage, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County District Court.

Sadly, the victim sensed that something was wrong with a woman named "Amy" who asked her to babysit but she didn't rely on her built-in intuition:

This ad was posted by someone claiming to be "Amy." Olson's roommate, Matt Thiede, told police that Olson had talked with "Amy" over the phone and commented that "the woman seemed kind of strange."

Olson and "Amy" exchanged e-mails, and in one message, "Amy" asked Olson to baby-sit a child between 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Thursday. The address and phone number provided to Olson matched Anderson's address and cell phone number, authorities said.

If you talk to a stranger on the phone about setting up a job or other business exchange etc., it is always best to meet them in a public place, not a home and if the person sounds strange, don't go or at least bring a friend to a restaurant or open area with other people. Gavin de Becker, the author of The Gift of Fear says "victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. They may distrust the fear, or it may impel them to some action that saves their lives."

Good advice.

Grand Rounds is up. Be sure to check out the post on how to survive a wildfire.

Update: Also check out the latest Carnival of Homeschooling.

Fun in D.C.

Sorry about the light posting this week, I was in Washington D.C. enjoying the sights and trying to rest my fingers from typing. D.C. was fun, I went to Georgetown where it was packed with people shopping like mad--I found an unoccuppied stoop outside and plopped myself down until the teens I was with finished shopping at Sephora which is a very popular make-up store. It was funny to watch the guys walking with women by the store --the women's eyes would widen as they passed and they would squeal with glee, "It's Sephora!" Either the guy would look a bit puzzled like, "Huh, what's that?" or the more savey among them would know, look at his watch and say, "you have ten minutes." It was interesting to watch. I often wish I could think of some product to sell that would bring as much joy to people as this make-up store does for women. I would soon be a millionaire.

Anyway, I stayed at a nice hotel near the Capital that had one of those new elevator systems called Miconic 10. They seem to be popping up everywhere and I must say, I don't care for them. The elevator sorts the cars for the maximum efficiency by having you press the number of the floor from the outside. Then when you get in, there are no controls so if you made a mistake, you have no way to correct it. Call me neurotic, but I hate the lack of controls inside the elevator. I am secretly scared of elevators but until now, have tried to keep this fear to myself. I use them and deal with the uneasy feeling but I must say that if you have an elevator phobia, this new system is not great. I was the Hearst building in NYC a few weeks ago and they had this system. I had to go to the 44th floor and must admit that by the time I got off, I was pretty uneasy. If you don't like elevators, this device is not the best--perhaps with time, there will be improvements or maybe the manufacturers don't consider that some of us are slightly phobic of elevators.

Anyway, finally, as I drove back from D.C., I spent a good portion of the trip beside a DARE cop car. The car was a Mustang GT that had been painted all over and had DARE advertisements all over it. The most amusing--or perhaps unnerving--advertisement on the car stated boldly, "This car was seized from a local drug dealer." Now call me crazy, but why advertise that you are stealing cars from drug dealers and then driving them around. This is hardly something to be proud of. The law apparently is quite liberal when seizing property from anyone they suspect is accused of dealing drugs but the person does not even have to be charged. And somehow, the idea that this property is given to the police is a real racket, setting up the incentive for all types of corruption. As I was driving, I sort of wished I had a car that said, "I seized this car from a local Sheriff accused of police brutality." Might have been funny, okay, probably not. I might have ended up with a ticket I didn't really want.

So, I had a nice weekend and am now back, after a number of adventures.