February 17th, 2010 03:14pm

Facebook Friendships

by WineCountry.Mom

Everyone has a Facebook. And you? You have, like, 3,000 friends! It’s easy to feel popular every time you log on. And you are getting to know all these people as they update their statuses. At any given hour, you can find out what your friends ate for breakfast, that they are bored, that they have a lot of homework to do, that their parents are dweebs, that they went to the bathroom 5 times in an hour…..

But is it real?

I heard this term – cotton candy friendships – the other day, and it stuck with me. It was regarding the social life of teens online, especially when it comes to Facebook. Think about it. Cotton candy is the kind of treat that we all crave. It is super sweet, has a great texture, and dissolves in your mouth. Who really wants to share their cotton candy? Not me! When you buy cotton candy, you want it all to yourself. You can eat a whole bunch of that yummy cotton goodness! But what happens 30 minutes later? You’re hungry. You want something real. You need to be fed. (more…)
January 29th, 2010 03:33pm

What The Tortilla Curtain taught me

by WineCountry.Mom

You had to have been living in a cave to have missed the local hot topic of the week. A Santa Rosa Mom went before the Santa Rosa City school board to plead her case as to why the book, The Tortilla Curtain, by TC Boyle, needed to be removed from the required reading list. …. In the end, the school board voted unanimously to keep the book on the required reading list, and left the option that students may read a different book if they choose not to read this one. But this event brings two very clear points to light… (More…)
January 15th, 2010 10:38am

Teenagers and Technology, pt. 2

by WineCountry.Mom

Matthew Gollub of Tortuga Press wrote me this morning in response to “Teenagers and Technology”, the article that ran in the newspaper today. Here’s what he had to say:

I read with interest your article this morning, “Are teens in tech overload?” I’m a local children’s author, performer and reading advocate. (I’ve spoken at over 900 schools and continue to visit around 60 schools a year.) Tech overload is a topic about which I speak during my school assemblies. Here are some suggestions which may help your readers….. (Read more…)

December 21st, 2009 02:02pm

Teenagers and Technology

by WineCountry.Mom

“We had to take away the Xbox again last night,” a friend lamented to me. She had caught her son in the wee hours of the morning, plugged in with his headset on, chatting with friends across the country as he maimed opponents in his latest game. It wasn’t the first time, and she was aware that it wouldn’t be the last. And short of taking the game system and throwing it in the Russian River, she wasn’t sure what to do. (Read more…)
November 27th, 2009 01:10pm

Sonoma County Teen Idol

by WineCountry.Mom

Do you watch American Idol, and think, “Hey, my kid can do that!” Or maybe your child has expressed interest in showing off their vocal chops. Well, now’s their chance. Kodiak Jack’s is hosting Sonoma County Teen Idol for teens between the ages of 13-20. Prizes are $1000 first place, $500 second place, $250 third place. Event dates are Dec 6th, 13th, and 20th from 8pm – 10pm, and your teen … Read More »