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Comedy Cleans Up
Comedians and the crowds they play to are looking for cleaner acts. A poll by Zogby International released on Nov. 30, 2006, found that 72 percent of those polled wanted television programming to have positive, anti promiscuity and antiviolence messages.
Longtime comic Auggie Cook advises young comedians: "What I tell a lot of guys is you can always make a clean act dirty. If you have only a dirty act, you're limited in the places you can work."
The shift to cleaner comedy comes at a time when the latest in movie and television comedies such as Borat, Jackass II and South Park feature crass, offensive humor (Timothy McNulty, "‘Edgy' Losing Its Luster; Clean Acts Gain Popularity," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 27, 2006).
Clean humor is uplifting and rejuvenating, while offensive and perverse humor is destructive and often immoral. The new trend toward positive humor may provide young people of God with a greater choice of viewing material.
Coaches Play It Cool
At high school basketball games in Grove City, Ohio, the coaches have set an example of calm, positive sportsmanship to their players. Their cue? All coaches wear a pair of sneakers and casual dress to games, not out of disrespect, but "as a reminder to stay relaxed and patient on the sideline with the players, fans and officials. There's no cussing by anyone. There's no screaming. We think that relaxes our kids and just lets them play," said Coach Greg Waits.
Their concept has created success, and they are having an excellent season (Mark Znidar, "With Grove City, It's Not Just the Shoes," The Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 22, 2006). Sports provide an outlet for positive competition but can easily spiral out of control if attitudes are not kept in check.
Drowning in Spam
The technological world is facing a mess made out of spam. Spam volumes have doubled from the past year, according to Ironport, a firm that filters spam. They find that unsolicited junk mail accounts for more than 9 of every 10 e-mail messages sent on the Internet.
What is spam? Besides a canned meat product, spam is the unofficial term for unsolicited e-mails that advertise such things as fake miracle drugs, pornographic Web sites and worthless stocks and financial ploys. Spammers make money off gullible people and are what used to be called con artists—people who promise something for practically nothing. Instead of street corners, they use e-mail to sell their wares.
For the past few years spammers have stayed one step ahead of the anti-spam technicians. Using viruses to steal computer access and text that is encoded in images, junk mail designers fool the anti-spam technology that is limited to sifting out unwanted e-mails by recognizing similarities in text only (Brad Stone, "Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself," The New York Times, Dec. 6, 2006).
What to do? Simplify your technological life and try to accept e-mail only from those you know and who are in your address book. Keep track of Web sites that send messages to you and don't open the ones you don't recognize; delete them. There are many spam-blocking programs available and technology experts to advise you on which to purchase. Take advantage of them and try to remain spam-free.
IM Crazy
A recent online survey found that 48 percent of teens (13 to 18 years old) use instant messaging—more than twice the percentage of adults who use it. Nearly three fourths of adults who use instant messaging still use e-mail communication more often, while three fourths of teens send instant messages more than e-mail. Also, 22 percent of teens use instant messaging to ask for or accept a date, and 16 percent use it to break up a romantic relationship.
Some teens keep multiple instant message conversations going simultaneously. But Naomi Baron, a linguistics professor at American University suggests, "If you have 15 conversations going simultaneously, sometimes you're just throwing things out there and then dashing off to the next customer." That's a habit that can result in hurt feelings and gossip ("Survey Finds Huge Instant-Messaging Generation Gap," Associated Press, Dec. 7, 2006).
Technology has advantages and disadvantages, and it changes frequently, but there is still no replacement for face-to-face human contact or the thoughtfulness of a handwritten note or a phone call. Moderation is the key.
Technological Manners
With new technological products rapidly appearing, it's important to remember that polite manners are still important. Thelma Domenici, an etiquette columnist, gives some suggestions to counter possible rudeness:
• iPods are fun, but they shouldn't isolate you from other people. If someone asks you a direct question, remove the ear buds.
• Every e-mail and text message you send also sends a message about you. Use good grammar; be kind and clear.
• If you're in a face-to-face conversation, the person present takes precedence over a cell phone call. That's what voice mail is for.
• Last, but not least, cell phone conversations in public places should never make other people uncomfortable or affect your ability to drive. If either of these applies, end the call and talk later ("Technology Requires Old-School Manners," Scripps Howard News Service, Jan. 25, 2007).
Material Generation
A 2006 survey done by the University of California, Los Angeles, finds that almost 75 percent of its freshman class believed that it was essential to be financially wealthy. The same survey from 1980 indicated that only 62.5 percent thought wealth was all important and in 1966 less than half, a mere 42 percent, felt the same way. A poll by the Pew Research Center found that 80 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds think getting rich is a top goal for their generation.
David Walsh, a psychologist heading the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minneapolis, Minnesota, says, "Our kids have absorbed the cultural values of more, easy, fast and fun" (Martha Irvine, "Money-Hungry U.S. Youths Becoming Generation $, Polls Find," Associated Press, Jan. 24, 2007).
Being financially secure is important, but becoming fixated on personal wealth can lead to serious problems. It can even put a wedge in your personal relationship with God. Learn to be prudent with money, but stay balanced. For more information request or download .
Accentuate-the-Positive Psychology
The discipline of positive psychology is studying the meaning of happiness and well-being. Classes on this subject are increasingly found on college campuses in the United States and the United Kingdom. Grammar schools are looking for ways to add positive messages to their class curricula. Even the government of Scotland wants to see if positive psychology and a new parliament can create the next Enlightenment for its citizens. Proponents of the subject want to know if happiness can be learned and, in turn, taught.
Positive psychologists use practical techniques to create happiness. They recommend people tally up the good things that happen during the day and show gratitude to those who have been helpful to them.
But being grateful is nothing new. In the Psalms of the Bible, King David of Israel composed and compiled a great quantity of songs and poems thanking God for His blessings. The followers of Christ were often admonished to rejoice and give thanks. God's plan for mankind is the ultimate in positive psychology and happy endings—everyone has a part to play in it. For more information request or download .
Teen Sex, Drugs Lead to Depression
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers reviewing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health have found conclusive evidence that teenagers who engage in risky sexual and drug behavior will have an increased likelihood of depression. But depression itself does not cause teenagers to indulge in those behaviors.
According to this research, statistics from 2003 help to explain why teen depression has increased: 47 percent of high school students reported that during the past month they had had intercourse, 45 percent had been drinking alcohol and 22 percent had used marijuana (Janice Shaw Crouse, "Teen Sex Leads to Depression and Drug Use," www.cwfa.org, Jan. 30, 2007). On the positive side, these statistics have dropped recently.
These studies counteract the myth that casual sex has no impact on emotional health. God gave a clear commandment against adultery in the Bible. As the evidence shows, abstaining from sexual activity until marriage results in more stable mental and emotional health. For more information request or download .
Early Hebrew Inscriptions on Egyptian Walls
Richard Steiner, a professor of Semitic languages at Yeshiva University in New York, has deciphered an ancient inscription found in a chamber under a pyramid south of Cairo. The inscription, which uses Egyptian characters to represent early Canaanite or proto-Hebraic speech, had been undeciphered by Egyptologists for nearly a century. Steiner dates the script to a period from the 30th to 25th centuries B.C. because of its similarities to a Semitic text used by Canaanites at the same time ("Egyptian Tomb Inscription May Bear Oldest Proto-Hebrew Text Yet," Associated Press, Jan. 25, 2007).
The inscription is a magic incantation to protect the sarcophagus from a snake invasion. It shows the cultural connections between the inhabitants of Canaan at the time and the Egyptians. The translated Semitic is an archaic example of what later developed into the Phoenician and Hebrew languages.
Mushrooms Have Triumphed!
The fungi are healthy! Medical researchers have turned their attention to the humble mushroom and have gathered a crop of health benefits. Consumption of a variety of fungi may help the immune system fight infections and may protect the body against diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Mushrooms provide B vitamins and the minerals selenium, potassium and copper.
Fungi growers are even trying to add vitamin D to that list of nutrients by exposing just-picked mushrooms to ultraviolet light. Mushrooms also contain antioxidants (portobello and cremini varieties having the highest content) and beta glucans, the kind of healthy fiber also found in oatmeal (Janet Helm, "Healthful Mushrooms Emerge From the Dark," The Chicago Tribune, Oct. 18, 2006).
Penicillin, one of the most famous medical compounds, came from a fungus. So fungi have been working hard for human beings for a long time. Of course, not all mushrooms are edible. But there's another great reason for eating the ones that are—when prepared well, they can taste great!
Study Hard for Good Health?
Researchers are finding that the more education you have, the longer you are likely to live (within reason, of course). Education has outweighed wealth and health insurance as the most important factor resulting in personal longevity.
Dr. Adriana Lleras-Muney studied this correlation as a graduate student at Columbia University. Her research stemmed from a paper published in 1969 stating that it was wiser to invest in education than medical care to achieve a long life. Dr. Lleras-Muney went on to find that according to her statistics and research, the statement was indeed true. Even one extra year of education added one and a half years in life expectancy (Gina Kolata, "A Surprising Secret to a Long Life: Stay in School," The New York Times, Jan. 3, 2007).
This isn't a new theory! And it's especially true about spiritual knowledge. In the Bible God explains the way things work: "The fear of the L ord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you" (Proverbs 9:10-11). For more information request or download .
IM Code Sends PPL OTW W/O Clue
(Instant Message Code Sends People Off to Work Without a Clue) English teachers are concerned that students are letting too many instant messaging abbreviations leak into their school work and setting up bad habits that may hinder them as they start their careers. Many students find themselves letting the plentiful acronyms slip into essays and even SAT exams and other tests. The phenomenon has been acknowledged all the way into the university system, and professors see it either as a difficulty or as a teaching moment and an exercise in the way language works.
However, many teachers don't understand the code, leaving them at a disadvantage when trying to decipher papers. It is amusing on one level, but when Jeff Stanton, a professor at Syracuse University, gets e-mail messages from students that say, "hi prof how are u culd u tell me my xm grade–tim," he is "concerned [students] won't be successful if they don't know how to communicate on a formal basis. The first time they send a goofy message to the boss, they're going to be out" (Lori Aratani, "IM Shorthand Slips Off Computer Screens and Into Schoolwork," Washington Post, Dec. 25, 2006).
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Keywords: humor spam instant messaging internet money happiness Egypt and Hebrew mushrooms
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