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Whether your'e a fan or a player, hockey requires quite the commitment. Kids with dreams of becoming the next Crosby or Gretzky have to learn to win—and lose—with grace. Unfortunately, some adult fans are giving the sport a bad name.
According to an article in the Toronto Sun, Sue Lotocki is a good hockey mom, trying hard to impart sportsmanship in her 11-year-old son, Jake. Imagine her astonishment when she took him to a Winnipeg Jets vs. New York Islanders NHL game.
Unfortunately for Jake, he has always rooted for the Islanders. Expecting that he would take some "good-natured ribbing from Jets fans" for his choice in jersey, Lotocki prepped her son ahead of the game. She was in no way prepared for the reaction to turn nasty when the Jets lost in overtime.
Adults, some of them drunk, shouted abuse at the boy. “People were swearing (‘You suck!’ and ‘Go home, loser!’) . . . I don’t think it’s appropriate to direct profanity at a child because of what they’re wearing,” said Lotocki.
As they left the arena, Jake was in tears. Yet even on the way out, the abuse continued.
“And I just kind of looked at him and went, ‘Knock it off—he’s a kid.’ It’s hard to see your kid upset," Lotocki said. "I just want to protect him.”
Respect in sports has to start with adults setting the right example, with grown-ups growing up.
“My son plays hockey . . . and all the stuff going on with minor hockey leagues, we talk about it a lot,” Lotocki said. “You’re trying to teach the kids right from wrong. It’s discouraging that adults are doing exactly what we tell them not to do.”
Target is dealing with media criticism after one of its bikini ads missed the mark. Big time. Unlike many Photoshop fails, this one appears to stem from botched editing.
According to an article in Today, bloggers were quick to call out Target with the header, "Attack of the thigh gap!" and the retailer was equally quick to remove the image from its website.
It's not so much thigh gap as thigh hacking, as the image has been manipulated so poorly that the legs are left with jagged spikes and there is no vagina to speak of. Photoshop is a black magic, no doubt.
Thigh gap is certainly damaging, and retailers have long been guilty of pandering to the insecurities of young women. You only have to check out the recent body image survey from Today and AOL to see just how badly this generation feels about their appearance.
Judging by the fact that the bathing suit being modelled is part of the junior range, that self-loathing is designed to start early.
“This is what young girls have to look at and try to reconcile with their own, normally shaped bodies,” wrote Jezebel's Rebecca Rose.
In this case, I tend to agree with this designer that the Target image was the result of overzealous (and incompetent) Photoshopping.
The good news is, people are watching and people are talking. Companies are increasingly being held accountable for the imagery they are putting out there. And one thing is clear—it doesn't pay to piss off your marketplace.
What do you think of this Target ad?
You may be surprised to see how this celebrity was Photoshopped. Even this beauty was altered.
Image from Target.com
Watching an interchange between Barack Obama and Zach Galifianakis on Between Two Ferns will have you wondering who's the comic and who's the president.
In the clip, courtesy of Today, the American President 'plugs' the Affordable Care Act and its website, all the while showing up Galifianakis in a way that will make your lips curl upwards, even if you are a fan of Galifianakis.
"What is it like to be the last black president?" asked Galifianakis.
Without missing a beat, Obama replied, "What is it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president?"
The U.S. Prez goes on in the same slick style. When asked if Obama was disappointed about not being able to run for a third term, he replied, "I think it's a good idea. If I ran a third time it would be sort of like doing a third Hangover movie. It didn't really work out very well, did it?" Touche.
He then teased Galifianakis about how co-star Bradley Cooper "kind of carried" The Hangover movies. "Good looking guy," he quipped.
More cool Obama antics.