Unless you've been hiding under a very large rock all year, you'll have heard of the complicated tryst of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. That is, the sexy fiction trilogy which put writer E.L. James in the public lexicon.
Not surprisingly for any book to sell gazillions, the movie studios were all over that, baring their teeth to get a piece. Universal Pictures and Focus Features got the rights. Question is, who should be cast to play the Fifty Shades of Grey players: the innocent college grad Anastasia Steele and the "complicated billionaire businessman" Christian Grey she gets *ahem* involved with.
Regardless of whether you liked or loathed the book, which has divided readers much like the Twilight Saga before it, you'll have an opinion either way about who should play the parts. Also in the vein of Twilight, the author cherry-picked the tunes to accompany the film, making sure the mood evoked is just right.
James's playlist apparently includes Britney Spears' ("Toxic" -- 'nough said), Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" and Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire" (again, self-explanatory with the theme of fire figuring heavily.
So who would be the perfect pairing for the (no doubt) blockbuster? Ian Somerhalder from "Vampire Diaries" is apparently well up for the challenge of portraying Christian Grey. And really, what actor in their right mind wouldn't want to snag the role.
"It could be very, very amazing. I have the book and I just started reading it," he said. "That would be a pretty incredible thing, and hopefully that could pan out," he said. "Beyond the shadow [his pun] of a doubt, I think that would be a phenomenal opportunity!"
While you ponder your choices, have a listen to the soundtrack.
The breastfeeding debate has hit the Big Apple in a big way. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's health department launched the initiative, “Latch On NYC”, as a means to encourage new moms to choose breast milk over baby formula.
Admirable though the program sounds, with 27 of the city’s 40 hospitals already on board, many fear it goes too far, literally keeping formula under lock and key and throwing any printed formula material out with the trash.
When a new mom requests a bottle of formula, she'll get it, but only after enduring a lecture on the benefits of breastfeeding. “It’s the patient’s choice,” lactation consultant at Beth Israel Medical Center, Allison Walsh told the New York Post. “But it’s our job to educate them on the best option.”
If that kind of pressure exists, then aren't mothers effectively being bullied out of formula feeding? Shouldn't hospitals be neutral agents, gently encouraging breastfeeding as recommended by the American Pediatric Association, and leaving it at that?
Keeping formula under lock and key -- and ostensibly making moms beg for it -- makes bottle feeding seem shameful, even taboo, instead of a viable alternative for the many mothers out there who, for whatever reason, are unable or unwilling to nurse their babies.
“The current fascination with breastfeeding is also an extension of a society’s efforts to control risk, including risk to our children,” Alissa Quart wrote in the New York Times. “We need more balanced, reassuring voices telling women not to feel guilty if they can’t nurse exclusively for months on end. Given how difficult it is for some women to nurse, we should understand that we might sometimes be asking too much.”
Do you think New York's approach to breastfeeding is too heavy handed? When it comes to breastfeeding, shouldn't we be speaking in terms of and/or, not versus?
If math is a four-letter word in your household, and if memories of long division make you break out in a cold sweat, it needn't be that way for your kids.
New Jersey mom of three (and astrophysics grad no less) Laura Overdeck has devised a clever blog called Bedtime Math, which challenges kids of varying ages (Wee Ones, Little Kids, Big Kids) and abilities to tackle a math problem before bed or anytime. The site offers a no-pressure approach to sharpening up numeracy skills, and by Bedtime's growing national presence it would seem the strategy is working wonders.
Parents can even sign up by email, as I have, to receive a daily problem to work through with their kids. The problems draw on "real-life, kid-friendly examples," the first of which involved Harry Potter. Bedtime Math is particularly helpful for keeping kids on their toes (and counting them) during the summer brain drain.
And it's never to late for this old dog to relearn some new math tricks... If Kristen Stewart received ten kisses from Rob Patz in the morning then a further twenty from her Snow White director at night, how many public apologies will she need to win her fans back? (See how much fun this can be!)
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