What's Up Katrina?: February 2007

Thursday, February 22, 2007

BLEACH ANIME SERIES

Bleach ( ブリーチ, Burīchi?, romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a manga and anime series by Tite Kubo, mangaka of Zombie Powder. Bleach follows the life of Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year-old high school student with the ability to see ghosts, and a shinigami (Soul Reaper or, literally, "death god") named Rukia Kuchiki, who crosses paths with him one day while searching for a hollow (an evil spirit). During the ensuing confrontation with the spirit, she is wounded and forced to transfer virtually all of her powers into Ichigo. Thus the adventures of Ichigo and Rukia begin. Together they search for hollows and perform soul burials on wayward souls, cleansing the spirits and sending them to Soul Society. The early parts of the story focus mainly on the characters and their past, rather than the actual occupation of the shinigami. However, as events unfold, the story begins to delve deeper into the world of these gods of death on the "other side" called Soul Society.

Why is Bleach called Bleach?

There is no official reason to why Bleach is called Bleach although there are a few theories put forward. The First being that when Japanese people bleach their hair occasionally it doesn't go so well and goes Orange rather than Blonde. Ichigo is attacked in one manga chapter by a guy claiming Ichigo stole his hair style (In fact the guy bleached his hair, Ichigo just had his normal hair). The third being that the Shinigami "Bleach" the souls of the hollows and spirits sending them to the afterlife, cleansing them.

How many episodes/chapters will Bleach be?
No one knows how many Episodes or Chapters there will be. There were rumors that Bleach would only be 52 Episodes, this is 100% false. First of all it was just a rumor started by someone and eventually everyone fell for it except for a few smart people (Ahem, me. No one believed me when I said it was a rumor *sigh*) It was later proven false by the announcement of a new Opening and Closing theme for Bleach starting Episode 53, so obviously there will be more than 52 Episodes. As for the manga, it is still going strong and Kubo Tite has made no sign of slowing down the onslaught of bleachy goodness, so rest assured Bleach has a while left in its batteries!

What is Bleach Manga? Who are Manga-ka?

For those of you anime watchers who don't know what manga is, a manga, put simply, is a Japanese comic. The vast majority of Shonen anime’s are based off original manga’s. The artist/writer of a manga is often referred to as a "manga-ka." Bleach's manga-ka is none other than Kubo Tite, who is known for Bleach (Obviously) and an awesome series called Zombie Powder. The manga, off which the anime is based off, runs in Weekly Shonen Jump, a weekly magazine in Japan. The manga is quite far ahead in the series than the manga, so if you're considering reading the manga, but do not want to be spoiled beyond the anime, refer to our Chapter to Episode Guide, it explains which chapter each episode corresponds to.

Here are some Bleach links that I would like to share with all you anime addicts out there:

-- Get to know the singer behind "Rolling Star", Japanese rock star YUI , and watch her other music videos at SickCycleCarousel.

-- See the piano version of "Rolling Star" at Zeroing In

-- Get Bleach's "Rolling Star Lyrics "at Tildemark.Com and 32Flavors.
For Bleach Episode Guides click here.

Trivia:The third ending, “Houki Boushi,” had a different animation for each episode, one for each of the 13 squads. The squad for each episode is as follows: Episode 26- 6th Squad, Episode 27- 3rd Squad, Episode 28- 11th Squad, Episode 29- 12th Squad, Episode 30- 4th Squad, Episode 31- 2nd Squad, Episode 32- 9th Squad, Episode 33- 7th Squad, Episode 34- 5th Squad, Episode 35- 10th Squad, Episode 36- 1st Squad, Episode 37- 8th Squad, and Episode 38- 13th Squad.

In addition to the Captain and Lieutenant from each squad, they also show major characters from that squad, other characters that squad interacts with (ex. many of the female Lieutenants are shown hanging out in multiple endings), and a shot of our “heroes”.

Early scanlations of the manga noted Ichigo’s birthday as July 7 instead of July 15, causing great confusion among fans. BLEACH creator Tite Kubo assigned several characters theme songs which are used to give insight to characters that might not normally appear in the run of the manga or anime.Ichigo names the mod soul he finds Kon, which is fitting seeing as “Kon” literally translates to “soul”.

In episode 41 a familiar piece from Neon Genesis Evangelion playsNeon Genesis Evangelion and BLEACH share the same musician , Shiroh Sagisu. When Ichigo used to go to the hair dresser, people would ask him about his hair color and since he hated that, he doesn’t go anymore. Normally, Yuzu cuts it.

In the first anime episode, there is an electric guitar which suggests Ichigo might like to play or listen to rock music (which is viable, considering one of his favorite celebrities is Mike Ness from the band Social Distortion). According to the Shonen Jump’s character popularity polls, Ichigo is consistently the Bleach series’s favorite character.

Rukia likes to climb to high places, rabbit-themed items (evident when she reveals she wanted a “Chappy the Bunny” soul candy dispenser), and her favourite foods are eggs and cucumbers.Rukia has consistently been the second most popular Bleach character in Shonen Jump’s polls. Her position has been usurped only very recently by Toshiro Hitsugaya in an official poll.The Shiba siblings have a naming pattern. The first characters in their names refer to a type of terrain (”kai” means “sea,” “kuu” means “air,” “gan” means “boulder) and the second characters refer to birds (”en” means “swallow,” “kaku” means “crane,” “ju” means “eagle”).

On the front of the magazine that is offered to kon by the young boys in “Kon-samma’s diary Part 1″ (ep 56) is Matsumoto in a red bathing suit.Starting from minute 30 of the 1 hour special (episode 68-69) you can hear, in the background, what was the current ending theme “My Pace” by SunSet Swish. “Menos Grande” probably was meant to be translated as “Big Minus”, in the sense of a very large Hollow, but in this specific order it is literally translated from Spanish as “Less Big”.

Kuchiki Byakuya wears the standard captain uniform along with a white headpiece called a kenseikan (symbolizing his noble rank as the head of the Kuchiki family) and a white scarf made by the master weaver, Tsujishirō Kuroemon III. The scarf is called ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu (lit. silver-white windflower light silk), and is a family heirloom handed down through the generations to the head of the Kuchiki family. Ten large houses can be built from the cost of just one of these.

During the fourth opening, “Tonight, Tonight, Tonight” (episodes 75-97), after the closeup of Kariya’s right eye, there is a different still picture for every of those episodes.In order to promote the new Bleach movie, the production team decided to replace the new Opening (Rolling Star - YUI) and Ending’s (Baby it’s you! - June) animation with footage from the movie “Memories of Nobody”.Did you know that Ichigo was nicknamed “strawberry” in the manga because “ichigo” actually MEANS “strawberry” in Japanese?“Ichigo” using certain kanji does mean “strawberry,” which is where his nickname comes from. However, the kanji used in his name means “to protect one.”Ichigo’s name also sounds like ichi (one) and go(five). Thus in episode 113, you can see a sign on Ichigo’s bedroom door saying 15.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Siargao -- The Surfing Capital of the Philippines

Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island situated 800 kilometers southeast of Manila in the province of Surigao del Norte. It has a land mass of approximately 437 kilometers. The east coast is relatively straight with one deep inlet- Port Pilar with a coastline marked by a succession of reefs, small points and white sandy beaches.

There are similar neighboring islands and islets with similar landforms. The Island's Pacific-facing reefs are situated on the edge of the Philippine Trench, and the extremely deep offshore waters assure the ocean swells have undiluted power when they encounter the many coral and rock reefs, giving Siargao excellent surfing conditions, particularly during the southwest "habagat" monsoon from August to November, when the prevailing wind is offshore.

The best known surfing wave on Siargao with a worldwide reputation for thick, hollow tubes is "Cloud 9". This right-breaking reef wave is the site of the annual Siargao Cup, a domestic and international surfing competition sponsored by the provincial government of Surigao del Norte.

The wave was discovered by travelling surfers in the late 1980's, and named and made famous by American photographer John S Callahan, who published the first major feature on Siargao Island in the US based SURFER Magazine in March 1993, and hundreds of photos in many other books and magazines since.

Callahan has returned to the island many times since his first visit in 1992, and his efforts to photograph and publish surfing related and general location material from Siargao in books and magazines around the world has put the island on the international map and drawn thousands of surfers and toursts to Siargao.

There are several other quality waves on Siargao and nearby islands, but Cloud 9 has received more publicity than any other wave in the area, indeed in the Philippines as a whole. It is the only wave in the area accessible without a boat, leading to overcrowding and the nickname of "Crowd 9" among surfers worldwide as eager foreign and locally owned accommodation and tourist facilities attempt to profit from the magazine publicity and the annual influx of visitors drawn by the Siargao Cup competition in September.

Siargao Island contain the biggest mangrove forest reserves in Mindanao on the opposite coastline. Long stretches of wetlands likewise indicate potentials for commercial seaweed propagation. Siargao Island is greatly influenced by the winds and currents coming uninterrupted from the Pacific Ocean, intensified by the Mindanao current running westward through the Siargao Strait.

Offshore, a classic tropical island lay protected within its surrounding coral reef and the dozen coconut palms dressed in the center circle of the island rustled gently in the morning breeze. Off to the right, well within the massive coastal reef, lay a shining white sand bar some 200 meters long, claimed by a flock of some forty black-headed terns that stood chattering among themselves at the waters edge. The tide of Siargao is diurnal with tidal curves typically present especially on the east coast of the island.

It is the Surfing Capital of the Philippines.

Source: wikipedia.com

Monday, February 19, 2007

Britney Spears has Gone Mad and BALD!

I just heard the most amazing and surprising news of the year! Britney Spears shaved her head.

I know everybody loves attention. BUT I think the "Oops I Did It Again" diva had enough of all the publicity and attention that the paparazzi and the public is giving her recently. I know for a fact that it's not easy being a famous celebrity that she is. The physical and emotional stress she is getting from her divorce with rapper-wanna-be Kevin Federline, her on-and-off affair with Isaac Cohen, and her constant party-hopping with Paris Hilton are probably the very things that are chewing on Bitney Spears' sanity as of this moment.

When I saw Britney's pictures, I was not disgusted or amused. In fact, I felt sad. Although I'm really not a Britney fan I do feel that she needs all the help she can get from everyone around her. Damn! She's a single mom with two kids to take good care of! She definitely is a woman in distress.

Britney has what it takes to make it to the top so can't just anyone out there try to convince the pop princess to take up the broken pieces and move on?! Going bald might be just an experimental look for Brtney however we really don't know what's on her mind, right? With all the bad things everyone is throwing against her, I think it's high time we show Britney the goodness and greatness she is capable of.

The least that a bald and tattooed Britney Spears needs right now is a litany of her stupidities and weaknesses as a person. It's time for the critics to leaver her alone.

Bohol Vacation

It's almost summer here in the Philippines and just like the rest of the you working people out there, I's also dying to get a vacation to get away from the stress and troubles of work and office.
I would like to travel to Bohol first.

Pangalao is an island in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas. Panglao Island is located southwest of the island of Bohol and east of Cebu.

About 250 new species of crustaceans and 2500 new species of mollusks were found around the island. The discovery was the work of the Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project. It is claimed that Panglao alone has more marine biodiversity than Japan and the Mediterranean sea.

Bohol's tarsiers are the one of the famous tourists attractions in the island. According to Wikipedia, "Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name, and most are nocturnal."

Here's Chocoloate Hills of Bohol with around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills covered in green grass that turns brown during summer season. The hills are elevated 100 to 500 meters above sealevel.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Annoying Things Kids Say

By Melody Warnick

Snuggling under her blankets at bedtime, Ella, 3, gazed up at me and announced longingly, "I want a new mommy." Not even four years into my tenure as Mom and I was already being edged out of the job. Even worse, Ella started announcing "I want a new mom" frequently, like whenever I failed to buy her a ring pop at the grocery-store checkout. Some days, it was all I could do not to retort, "Yeah? Well, I want a new kid!"

Developing the knack to verbally push your buttons is just part of your child's linguistic and behavioral development. The challenge is to teach her to be courteous while allowing her to assert herself — and do it without responding like you're 3 years old. What to say (and what to skip) in response to these gems:

"Mine!"

Whatever 18-month-old Weston Congdon has, his 3-year-old brother, Addison, wants, even if it's something that's collected dust in the toy box for the past six months. "What drives me crazy is that usually it's a baby toy, like a teething ring," says their mom, Sarah, of Ames, Iowa. "I think, 'What are you gonna do with it other than take it away from your brother?'" Now Weston, a beginning talker, walks around the house repeating "Mine, mine, mine" ad nauseam. His frustrated mom has been known to retort, "Well, then, the couch is mine and you can't sit on it."

A better way to respond: As tempting as it is to give little ones a dose of their own medicine, it won't help them see the error of their ways, and it may confuse them. Yet keeping your cool in the face of "Mine!" can tax even the most Zen-minded mom.

"Ignoring the behavior is best, but even as a clinical psychologist, I can't," admits Ray Levy, Ph.D., a dad of one and the coauthor of Try and Make Me! "I'd rather have something to say in response that I can depend on." His solution: Toss out a "brain-dead phrase" — a short-and-sweet sound bite that lets a persistent child know he won't get his way. With a child who insists that everything is his, simply keep repeating, "Sorry" or "It's nice to want things." End of story. Even if the empty phrase doesn't completely shut down the whining, having something — anything — to say will keep you from saying something that you shouldn't.

"It's not fair."

Attempts to pry her 4-year-old son away from one last episode of his favorite show usually turn into major bedtime battles for Anne Eide of Columbus, Mississippi. "William will say, 'But it's not fair!' Then he'll cross his arms and stomp down the hall, come back again, and repeat, 'Mom, it's not fair.'" That's when Eide sometimes can't help but let loose with "Listen here, Mister, you either turn off the TV now or you won't watch it for a week!"

A better way to respond: On nights when she's a tad more patient, Eide uses a kid-friendly example to explain why he doesn't always get his way. "I say, 'Daddy doesn't want to be in school all the time, but right now he needs to.'" Translation: Even adults don't get everything they want. The approach usually works. "He looks at me kind of like, 'Oookay.' Then he goes and gets ready for bed," says Eide.

Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, a mom of two and author of Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles, recommends asking your child to start over and try again with less irritating words, such as "Can we please talk about this?" or "Mom, I don't like that rule." Next time he complains that something's not fair, you can say, "Remember, we talked about this before. What words are you supposed to use instead?" Giving your child new ways to express himself makes him more likely to abandon the annoying ones.

"You're not the boss of me."

Eleanor Petersen of St. Louis wants to do everything herself. So when her mom, Amy, was in a rush and buckled the car seat for her, Eleanor, 3, declared, "You're not the boss of me." Petersen had to bite her tongue to keep from answering, "You wanna bet?"

A better way to respond: "As a mom, you have to try not to get caught up in the words and instead connect with the feeling underneath them," says Kurcinka. "You can ask, 'What's going on here? What's the need she's trying to express, and how can I help her do it more appropriately?'" In a calmer moment, Petersen realized that what her daughter really wanted was control. When her mom gave her options (like "Do you want to do the top buckle or the bottom buckle?"), Eleanor was far more likely to cooperate. You can even head off "You're not the boss of me" by teaching your child to say, "I'd like a choice," instead.

"I want it now!"

As I was starting to make dinner, my daughter asked for a cookie, and when I said she could have one for dessert, she launched a major whinefest. "But I want a cookie right now!" Ella demanded. None of my attempts at reason dissuaded her. She just kept insisting again and again and again. Desperate for the "I want it now!" noise to stop, I broke down and gave her the cookie.

A better way to respond: Though I usually stand my ground, giving in once can set you back light-years when it comes to nagging, says Paul Coleman, a dad of three and author of How to Say It to Your Kids. "That's how slot machines work: Every tenth pull you get a reward. It's not a big reward, but it's enough to keep you putting more money in the machine." Instead, he says, I should tell my daughter no once or twice, then ignore future requests and get her mind on something else, like a silly dance or a knock-knock joke. The good news: Such dogged persistence can be a plus in the real world. "You can step back and say, 'When they grow up, at least they're not going to be pushovers,'" says Coleman.

"You never let me do anything."

Carl Mowry, 10, has been known to whine that he never gets to do what he wants. His mom, Carla, has a take-no-prisoners response: "You know what?" says the Omaha mom. "You're right! I will leave your life alone. But I want $800 for the house payment, $200 for food...." Carl gets a full list, and he has to write it all down.

A better way to respond: Lecturing may shut down the grumbling, but it doesn't get at the problem. Find out what's behind the whine by saying, "Is something wrong? I get the feeling you're upset about more than just not getting to play at Brad's house." Whether or not your child wants to confide in you, at least you're opening the door to the conversation — on his level.

"I don't like you."

I'm certainly not the only mom whose feelings have been bruised by a kid who demands a mom swap or says, "I hate you!" Greyson Kreis, 6, of Fairfax Station, Virginia, put in a request for a new mom when his mother, Kim, made him drop the latest Captain Underpants book to clean up his room and turn in early. Unlike me, she had a quick comeback. "I told him that he had better enjoy that night in his bed because the next day I would find him a new mom, and he could go live in her house — but without his toys," she says.

A better way to respond: The unanimous chorus from experts: Don't take it personally. Kids say these things when they're frustrated or angry. It doesn't mean you're a bad parent. Of course, distancing yourself when your kid seems to be dissing your mothering skills isn't easy, but letting your child think that you're all too happy to get rid of him — or worse, that you hate him, too — isn't okay. Since the under-9 set are literal thinkers, they won't detect the reverse psychology at work, and you might end up undermining your child's trust.

To stay calm, try to pinpoint the real reason your kid is lashing out: For 7-year-old Shaun Herock of De Pere, Wisconsin, it was frustration and fatigue. He snapped, "I don't like you! You're not my friend!" when his mom, Mia, refused to grab hamburgers on the way home from a two-hour football practice. Her measured response: "That's fine. You're entitled to feel that way." Shaun stewed for a while, but by the time they got home, the whole thing had blown over.

Herock recognized that her son only said "I don't like you" when he was overtired, and that helped her keep her temper. Easier said than done, of course, but if you're upset, wait until you've calmed down to say anything. "When you get emotional, you lose 50 IQ points," says Ray Levy. "But later on you can say, 'It hurts my feelings when you tell me you hate me.' Usually when kids are calm, they're pretty remorseful."

My daughter's requests for a new mom have died down recently, but now she likes to say, "You hurt my feelings," when I refuse yet another visit to her bedroom at night. While most of the time I manage a response like "Thanks for sharing," I'm not always as calm as I'd like. "We all lose it and say the wrong thing," says Levy. "But it's good for parents to apologize or change their behavior, instead of thinking they have to be right or perfect all the time." In other words, it's always okay to say "I'm sorry" to your kids.

Toddler Friendly Chores

Cleaning up toys
What he can do: Pick them up off the floor and sort them into buckets or onto a low shelf
What he can't: Stay focused enough to tackle a huge mess
How to help: Establish a place for every toy; clean up one mess before making another

Putting away clothes
What he can do: Hang his jacket on a hook; place shoes in a closet; toss dirty things into a basket
What he can't: Tell the difference between clean and dirty clothes
How to help: Hang low hooks near the entry; place a hamper near his room or bathroom; add "put clothes away" to your coming-home and bedtime routines

Setting the table
What he can do: Place napkins, forks, spoons, and plastic cups (maybe plates)
What he can't: Carry sharp knives; be responsible for your best china
How to help: Lay out one place setting as a model; work on plates one day, napkins the next

Dusting
What he can do: Wipe a cloth on a surface right in front of him
What he can't: Thoroughly clean large surfaces; dig into corners; move objects to dust
How to help: Fill a clean spray bottle with water; closely supervise spraying; suggest he move down the table when one spot is done

Sweeping
What he can do: Imitate your motions with a broom; push dirt around
What he can't: Actually gather dust into a pile
How to help: Offer a kid-size broom and dustpan; hold the dustpan while he sweeps

Raising Compassionate Kids

While rummaging through an old box, my daughter, Claire, came across the stuffed bear I'd had when I was her age, a deeply loved creature named Teddy. "How come Teddy has no fur?" she asked. "Why doesn't she have eyes?" I explained that my cousin's dog had chewed up Teddy when I was a kid. She was aghast.

Gravely, she kissed Teddy's empty eye sockets. Somberly, she reported to her twin brother, Drew, what had happened. "We've got to fix her," she said.

As it turns out, children have an inborn capacity for compassion. Small in stature themselves, they naturally identify with stuffed animals, other kids, pets, and underdogs. The tricky part is that their empathy must compete with other developmental forces, including limited impulse control — which makes them pull the cat's tail — and their belief that their needs absolutely must come first — which makes it hard for them to let their cousin push the cool fire truck.

But with so much hatred and turmoil in the world today, it seems more important than ever to raise kids who can understand and be kind to other people. Teaching this doesn't mean lectures or visits to soup kitchens. It's part of day-to-day life: how you answer your child's questions, how you solve conflict at the park, how you nudge his or her growing capacity to understand and think about other people. Temperament of course plays a role — some kids are naturally more tuned in to other people's feelings and difficulties, while others are a bit oblivious. Either way, you have influence in fostering your child's ability to empathize. Age by age, here's how to do so in small, daily doses:

Promote sweetness

Teaching your child ways to treat things with care helps him develop the understanding that actions have consequences.

Show how to be gentle. Your child wants to be friendly but ends up grabbing the baby roughly? Demonstrate another way. "I say, 'We use our hands to give love,'" says Kimberly Mazone of Dresden, Maine, mother of 4-year-old Sienna and 3-month-old Lucca. "'You're being a little bit rough. Let's be gentle. Let's show our love with our hands.'" You can actually take his hand and show him physically what a gentle touch is.

Speak softly. Your kindness will be a role model for how to treat others. When your child's in pain, be warm and caring. "It's all about the tone in your voice," says Emily Mihalchik, a mom of 2-year-old Sam and director of the Johnnie Appleseed Preschool, in Lawrence, Kansas. If a child's friend is crying, "I say, 'Maybe a hug would be nice,'" says Mihalchik. Young toddlers don't have a very consistent long-term memory, so you'll have to repeat your lessons more times than you thought possible.

Reject rudeness. "I see fifteen-month-olds who do things like spit into their parents' faces, and the parents laugh," says Susan Jensen, a mom of two and director of Children's Nook preschool, in North Charleston, South Carolina. This will not do. Compassion requires that your child respect others, including you. Gently but firmly, say "No, you may not spit!" In the same loving but no-nonsense manner, remove his little feet from the table and unlock his fist from your hair.

Say "I'm sorry." If you've been short-tempered with your child, apologize to him. All parents make mistakes. It's how you address them afterward that makes the difference. He'll learn that everyone, even Mom, admits it when she's wrong.

NATURALLY BAD CHILDREN

If some children seem like they were born to be bad, new research suggests it may be true.

In a study of adult twins and their children, researchers found that genes, rather than parents' own argumentative behavior, seemed key in the children's odds of serious conduct problems — like bullying, skipping school and shoplifting.

The findings, published in the journal Child Development, touch on the classic nature-versus-nurture question.

In the case of child behavior, research has linked parents' marital conflicts to long-term, serious conduct problems in their children. However, it has been unclear whether that means that marital woes themselves cause the behavioral problems.

The new findings suggest it's more a matter of genes. That is, parents who are naturally argumentative pass on these traits to their kids.

"Marital conflict doesn't appear, in this study, to cause stable patterns of conduct disorder," explained lead study author K. Paige Harden of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

"Rather, marital conflict is influenced by parents' own characteristics — including their genes —and these genes are passed on to children," she told Reuters Health.

Harden and her colleagues arrived at their conclusions by studying 1,045 adult twins and their children. Some of the twin pairs were identical, which means they shared all of their genes; the rest were fraternal, meaning they shared only some of their genes.

Such studies allow researchers to tease out the effects of genes and environment on a given behavior.

In this case, Harden's team found that genetic influences were important in parents' marital conflicts, and genes, in turn, explained the link between marital discord and children's conduct problems.

No 'argument' gene
There may be no "argument" gene, but genes do influence personality traits, including those that make people more or less prone to confrontation.

According to Harden, it's possible that genes involved in risk-taking, sensation-seeking and other aspects of antisocial behavior may make parents more likely to clash, and, when passed on to their kids, make conduct problems more likely.

However, the researchers stress, none of this means that fights between parents do no harm to children.

Even if genes are more important in long-term, serious behavioral problems, parents' conflicts do distress their kids, explained Dr. Robert E. Emery, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and a co-author on the study.

The study "does not mean that children are unaffected by parents' disputes," he told Reuters Health.

"Think about how you feel when friends, a couple you know, start fighting. Now make them your parents, you're six, and they're screaming about moving out. Parental conflicts definitely are not healthy for children."

AFTER THE RAIN

Monday, February 5, 2007

Bud Light Rock Paper Scissor

Snicker's Kiss

Another Spider-Man movie is coming to storm the theaters soon. Although I admit I'm not really a Spider-Man fan (I grew up watching Superman), I think this third sequel will surely make you wish want to spin webs.

Tobey Maguire is cute and H-O-T!His boyish looks makes you want to get down on teenagers who looks as innocent and dashing as Maguire is.

Here are some Tobey Maguire trivia I'd like to share with you:

-- A producer's lawsuit claiming Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio blocked the release of DON'S PLUM, a movie made before they became stars, has been dismissed. (December 23, 2006)

-- Says he loved playing a baddie in new film THE GOOD GERMAN - because it is so different from his role in SPIDER-MAN.

-- Has revealed that SPIDER-MAN 3 will probably be his last movie in the action-hero series. (December 9, 2006)

-- Elijah Wood, Tobey Maguire and Daniel Radcliffe, are continuously mistaken for each other by fans.

-- His fiancee, Jennifer Meyer, gave birth to a baby girl on November 9, 2006.

-- Maguire and fiancee Jennifer Meyer are expecting their first child together. (July 14, 2006)

--He and his fiancee Jen Meyer are reportedly expecting a baby. (June 13, 2006)

--Voted the worst (4th) autographer in Hollywood by Autograph Collector's 14th annual survey. (2006)

-- Is reportedly planning to propose to his girlfriend of two years, Jennifer Meyer, after he learned that his best pal Leonardo DiCaprio's romance with Gisele Bundchen had fizzled out. (December 19, 2005)

-- Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio are being sued by an indie movie producer who claims that the two actors have blocked the distribution of their 1995 film DON'S PLUM by telling potential distributors that they wouldn't work with them if they released the film. (December 21, 2004)

-- Hates heights.

-- Says working on stunts as spider-man was a lot easier on his body than riding a 1,200-pound thoroughbred for his role as jockey Red Pollard for the horse-race drama SEABISCUIT. (December 16, 2003)

-- Maguire has paid out $197,000 laundered by former financial adviser Dana Giacchetto --The actor is one of a number of celebrities who was unknowingly given money by Giacchetto, who had acquired it by defrauding lesser-known clients. (September 26, 2003)

-- Maguire almost missed out on appearing in the SPIDER-MAN sequel when he failed to inform film bosses the exact extent of the back problems troubling him. (August 27, 2003)

-- Despite his calm exterior, Maguire admits he's a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, saying the program makes sense to him. (June 25, 2003)

What's Up Katrina?