Laugh Out Loud (LOL)

VIRGINIA QUAKE~~BREAKING NEWS! The USGS has determined that the epicenter of the VA earthquake was in a graveyard just outside of DC. The cause appears to be all of our Founding Fathers rolling over in their graves."

Dear Cousin Myrna,

 

As your Washington, DC cousin, I did not lol at this one.  Sometimes I find your missives very interesting - especially the one you sent of the new guidance of the Church on immigration which I thought was really hopeful. 

 

But I was almost cut by glass shattering from a picture that fell of the wall of my office at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as I was running to a safer place.  Walls cracked, churches and houses were damaged. A few pictures fell off shelves at my home, but I did not find anything seriously wrong here. I worked from home while they fixed our building, but that was not a problem with use of cell phones and computers.  No one was killed thank goodness.

 

I know sometimes it can be fun to target areas of the country and our Capitol City  (it is OUR capitol.)  But you don't really seem to me to the be the type of person to take such pleasure in the suffering of others. 

 

Hope all goes well with you and yours,

 

Your cousin, Caren Anne 

PRODUCT PLACEMENTS TARGETING KIDS

Advertising to kids has taken a major hit recently, with new standards and many companies simply shifting their ads away from kids. A recent Yale University study found that food marketers have done little more than shift their strategies.

When you sit down to watch a movie or TV show with your kids, did you happen to notice the cereal or soda the actors were eating or drinking?! Well yes you can believe your eyes, because the companies that previously pledged not to market “junk foods and drinks” to kids in the form of TV commercials have turned to product placement, according to the study. As subtle as the message might be, the influence is strong.

Yale researchers analyzed Nielsen data and found that 35,000 brand placements had appeared on prime-time television in 2008, and that kids see about 14 traditional ads for food and beverages each day on TV compared to one product placement. American Idol boasted the “most viewed brand” Coca-Cola where kids and adults saw five times as many product placements as they did traditional, paid TV commercials for Coca-Cola products.

Today about one-third of children in the US are overweight or obese. Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and other processed snack foods puts kids at greater risk for obesity, long-term health problems like diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – and long term ingrained habits that are very difficult to change. Next on the agenda will surely be new rules on product placements as well... The study is set to run in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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