You probably know one of each. The one who picks up little things here and there over the course of the year, when things are on sale, and is ready for Christmas on December 1, and the one who walks the sales clerk out the door as it closes on December 24. The result is the…
DetailsWhat book did you read? Home of the Brave, by Kathleen Applegate It’s about a kid who goes to America from Africa. The story is about him and his relationship with this cow. Its name is Gol, which means family in Africa. He moves to America because of the war in Sudan. Why do you…
DetailsDillon, bless his little heart, at only 8 years old had to get a root canal last week. He had broken his tooth while playing last March, and unfortunately it had gotten infected. But that’s not the real story. My husband was in the room with him as the Dentist got started. “Would you like…
DetailsRemember the old adage ‘the best way to remember your story is to tell the truth?’ Well, it’s the same with Intercultural Communications. The best way to interact with others is to be keenly aware of yourself…but also hyper sensitive and to the individuality and autonomous experience of others around you. Good news? These tips…
DetailsWalking in to teach aqua aerobics this morning, I looked across the sea of blue hair, wrinkles and skirted suits and remembered the ladies at the swimming pool at my Grandma’s apartment complex in Miami Beach: “Don’t splash honey” they would say, plastic bags covering their freshly teased hair. I was 5…how do you swim without splashing? So I…
DetailsMy problem with representations of women in advertising is not that they’re beautiful, nor, given my delight with this ad, that they’re scantily clad. Apparently it’s more of a “boys against girls” mentality. I like this ad because, basically, the girl “wins.” She’s smarter, stronger, slyer, and ‘wins,’ while teaching the boys a thing or…
DetailsWith the notable first black Disney princess debuting 84 years after the first (in the Princess and the Frog, in Theaters December 11), I don’t doubt that the number of black dolls also falls well behind that of white dolls. So it’s understandable that, as the Wall Street Journal points out, “many black parents had…
DetailsWhen Marc and I first met, I didn’t know what to think. We were in the “Green Room,” aka the Counselor’s office at Robeson High School in Chicago, getting ready to visit classrooms as motivational speakers, as part of the Black Star Project. “I tell them about careers in marketing, and to believe in…
DetailsAs someone not as connected to the spiritual side of Christmas (is Santa connected to the spiritual side of Christmas?), this ad for “Boost Mobile” is funny, definitely a good visual image to convey the message of “wrongness”, although I hope it doesn’t run during Saturday morning cartoons! How does this, or does it, fit into the…
DetailsHappy Thanksgiving! Ours is a ‘mostly vegetarian’ Thanksgiving because everything is vegan, except for…come closer so I can whisper…except for the turkey in the kitchen, and it’s not the one pardoned by President Obama today. Our annual family gathering of vegetarians (nothing with a face, but will eat dairy), vegans (no animal products/no harm to animals–my mom even suggested…
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