You may not recognize Ann Turner Cook today, but her cherubic baby face is uber-famous: she was the very first 'Gerber baby.'
According to an article in the Huffington Post, the 85-year-old recently appeared on the Today Show as she prepared to pass the torch to the new face of Gerber's baby products, 8-month-old Mary Jane Montoya.
Having won a contest in 1928, Cook's sketched face was the epitome of cuteness for generations. And after 80 years on the job, she is still as rosy-cheeked as ever.
As for little Mary Jane, she also won a contest, via Facebook, beating out more than 300,000 contestants, for the coveted title and tidy $50,000 prize (which her parents plan to put towards her college fund).
"It's so exciting, you're just bursting at the seams with pride for your daughter," said proud daddy, Billy Montoya.
How adorable is little Mary Jane? Would you have chosen her as the new face of Gerber?
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Kudos to the York University professor who has just bagged $2m to study the effects of bullying among children and adults with autism.
According to an article in the Star, Jonathan Weiss, currently an assistant psychology professor at York, scored the prestigious chair position via the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
“Targeting mental health means being able to help with a person’s quality of life,” said 35-year-old Weiss, whose research will span the next five years.
With autism rates rising sharply (from 1 in 250, to 1 in 88), Weiss claims that between 40 and 70 per cent of those on the autism spectrum face mental health issues.
In 2011 research, Weiss revealed "alarming levels of bullying of autistic children." Of the 192 autistic children studied, 77 per cent of the parents claimed their child had been bullied within the past month alone. That's more than double what the average Canadian child faces.
The effects of bullying are well documented. And with autistic children suffering from "higher levels of anxiety, hyperactivity, and self-harm," clearly more needs to be done to put an end to bullying.
The $1-million funding was pooled from Health Canada, NeuroDevNet, Autism Speaks Canada and the Sinneave Family Foundation—with another million matched by York University. The bulk of funds donated by Autism Speaks came directly from public drives, including walkathons and Toys “R” Us collections.
Weiss sure has his work cut out for him as he searches for “innovative approaches to treatment and care."
Certainly there are behaviour modification therapies available to help those suffering from developmental disorders such as autism. But it isn't clear how more research can stop bullies from targeting those who are visibly 'different.' It seems to me that bullies will always probe until they seek out the vulnerability in others to make themselves feel more powerful.
Nonetheless, for parents affected by autism, it's a huge comfort to see funding going directly into this kind of research. Congrats, Mr. Weiss!
Are all things Native American trending right now? Did I miss the memo or something? Just days ago this Indian-themed Halloween costume was pulled from shelves for being racist. Now it's No Doubt's turn. Following the release of its latest single, "Looking Hot," Gwen Stefani & Co got their knuckles rapped for a video in which the band plays up the most ancient of cowboy and indian stereotypes.
According to an article in Jezebel, it wasn't long before YouTube commenters dubbed the video—in which Gwen dons a feather headdress and gets saucily tied up by cowboys—"Looking Racist."
But for many fans, the bad taste lingers, despite this public apology from the so-called "multi-racial band":
"Our intention with our new video was never to offend, hurt or trivialize Native American people, their culture or their history. Although we consulted with Native American friends and Native American studies experts at the University of California, we realize now that we have offended people. This is of great concern to us and we are removing the video immediately. The music that inspired us when we started the band, and the community of friends, family, and fans that surrounds us was built upon respect, unity and inclusiveness. We sincerely apologize to the Native American community and anyone else offended by this video. Being hurtful to anyone is simply not who we are."
Many bands frequently use satire in videos. I'm thinking Foofs and Chilis, in particular. When does satire stray into harmful stereotyping? And speaking of Chilis, would the reaction have been any different had the video come from someone with Native American heritage, like frontman Anthony Kiedis?
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