Sony replaced the head of its mobile division yesterday, and today its latest earnings report gave a clearer indication of why. Sony’s mobile unit increased its revenue in the last quarter of business (its Q2 2014) by 1.2% to $2.83 billion, but the company wrote down the valuation of the business by a whopping $1.58 billion. Read More
Things are better for HTC these days, after the Taiwanese phone company eked out a slim $19.6 million (NT$0.6 billion) profit for the third quarter of 2014. That figure represents a drop on the previous quarter’s $75 million profit, but is a big improvement on October 2013: when it suffered a $102 million loss, its first negative quarter as a public company. Read More
Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan covered it all on “Live’s Best Halloween Show Ever Seriously” special on Friday.
The talk show hosts started off the show dressed as zombies and — with a little help from Gelman and Art Moore — went on to spoof TV’s hottest series, including “Downton Abbey,” “Orange Is the New Black,” “Game of Thrones” and “Mad Men.” They even poked fun at Kimye’s wedding, Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” music video and NBC’s “Peter Pan LIVE!”
Bravo!
Mary Ann Cahill died several days ago. Her name turns up few Google hits. No major news outlets lament her passing; her 11 children and 17 grandchildren mourn her loss in relative privacy. But if you’re a parent, and especially an attachment parent, you owe her a great debt. In 1956, along with six other women, Cahill helped found the advocacy and support group that became La Leche League International.
Your town have a Wal-Mart? You probably have a La League group. That group’s trained, educated leaders provide breastfeeding help to all and sundry, by phone or in person — for free. Seriously — these women are like Batman waiting for the bat signal. I called a leader when my 9-month-old chipped a tooth and nursing felt like a shark attack; Robin told me to get his tooth filed, then found a pediatric dentist to do at 4:00 p.m. on a Friday. I called a leader when nursing my 2 day old hurt so badly I’d resorted to oragel on my nipples; Jen agreed he probably had a tongue tie and told me which local doctor could fix it. Quite literally, La Leche League saved the tatas.
But Cahill, along with the other founders, envisaged not just a boob-help-hotline, but a community of mothers guiding and nurturing each other through their parenting journeys. I’ve called LLL twice. But I’ve asked average LLL mamas innumerable questions, at meetings and on Facebook, about everything from reflux to tandem nursing to co-sleeping. I’ve helped other members in turn. And more importantly, I’ve had the bone-deep relief of other mothers sitting where I sit, struggling where I struggle, women who have kept and keep company in the sleep-deprived shellshock of new motherhood.
Ideally, we’d give birth into a culture where breastfeeding is valued, where new mothers find themselves shepherded gently into a supportive community of parenthood. Instead, most postpartum women struggle with isolation. Few mamas go home to an adequate support network, especially if they parent outside the mainstream. Cahill and the founders recognized those needs in the science-worshipping postwar era, when society saw engineered, measurable formula as best for babies, and the rise of Levittowns heralded a breakdown of traditional community. These seven women from Elmhurst, IL imagined a local group that offered breastfeeding support. Almost 60 years later, LLL International has chapters all over the world, all coordinated exclusively by volunteers.
Not a week passes that a breastfeeding mother is asked to cover up, take it to the bathroom, or leave a store entirely. But La Leche League is still normalizing nursing, still supporting breastfeeding rights. Today, Alyssa Milano is posting nursing pics on Instagram. Breastfeeding photography has become a lucrative niche. And millions of women are meeting their personal nursing goals — which may not be exclusive breastfeeding, or may include drying up their supply. All thanks to seven woman at a church picnic.
When I talk to new mamas, I always give the same advice: at the first sign of trouble — sore nipples, sleepy baby, fast letdown — call your local LLL leader. Barring that, find her online. If you need a lactation consultant, your leader will know the best in town. And if you’re a lonely new mama, check out a meeting. Yes, someone will breastfeed their 3-year-old. Yes, you’ll see a lot of unabashed, unashamed bare boob. At first, it might scare you. I once side-eyed the bare-chested woman with a toddler on one breast and a newborn on the other. I get it. But slowly, it’ll become inspiring, and maybe one day, you’ll be the mom nursing a toddler, the one assuring new mamas: look, I didn’t plan to go this long either. And you don’t have to it. It’s all okay. We’re here to support you and your goals, whatever they may be.
That’s what Mary Ann Cahill and her friends wanted. Women needed support. They created it. Their small group ballooned into an organization that supports scientific research, sells accessible nursing wear, maintains online forums, and helps millions of parents in over 60 countries. Godspeed, Mary Ann. May we all learn from your example: it only takes a few to make a village. And from that village, we can recreate the world.
In a unanimous vote, we’re ruling this baby guilty of being too freakin’ cute for words.
When HuffPost Parents asked readers for pictures of babies in Halloween costumes, we received this gem from mom Kate Livingston, who wrote: “Our 12-week old son Sycamore is his favorite feminist action figure, Ruth Bader Ginsburg!”
Talk about supreme.
(Head over to the HuffPost Parents 4th Annual Halloween Parade to show us your adorable photos!)
Read more on HuffPost Parents:
What You Need to Know About 6-Foot Trick-or-Treaters
The Default Parent
20 Things Your Baby Is Desperately Trying To Tell You
More amazing Halloween ideas over on Pinterest!
It has been some time now that Google Now, which is the voice activated assistant of Android, was capable of launching apps when one makes a request. It looks like things have managed to move along in a better manner now, as Google has just introduced the ability within Google Now itself to actually kick off a search – and to do so within any app in the handset itself.
In other words, those who are curious about checking out this new feature will be able to mention something along the lines of “OK, Google, search for hotels in Trip Advisor”, or “OK, Google, search for pizza on Eat24″, and wait for a while as the voice assistant launches the corresponding app, while kicking off its search automatically – within the given parameters.
Such a connection ought to be allowed by the target app, so that developers are required to update their previous work through the amendment of some code lines. Right now, this particular feature is available on English locale phones, as long as they run on Android Jelly Bean or newer. Have you given this a go already, and if you have done so, how do you find it so far?
Google Now Can Search Within Any App In Handset
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Well, to point out the obvious, we are aware of them both in October. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month AND, October is Halloween. Both happen every year.
What do these two things have in common?
On the lighthearted side:
They are both scary
They both have some connection to altering your looks
They both involve wigs and scarves and some sort of costuming
They both involve support — for trick or treating, most kids go with their parents or friends… but not alone. For breast cancer treatment, most patients take someone with them for support and not being alone.
On the more practical side, there are other similarities. Breast Cancer month is an opportunity to celebrate all the education and resources that are available for all women (and men too). It’s a smorgasbord of information and available services. The push is to get women to pay attention, get mammograms, do exams. We all know that early detection is the key. While scary with the possibility of discovering something, it’s still the best option.
With Halloween, I remember when my son was young and started to go trick or treating. He loved it, of course. Who wouldn’t? It was fun and still an innocent time. Kids never had to worry about candy being poisoned or apples having razors in them… until one day… they did… have to worry… because it was happening.
Parents then paid more attention. They went with their kids even at an older age. They forbid their kids to eat anything from the bucket that wasn’t wrapped, etc. When they got home, they dumped it all out and sifted through it for safety. Only then did they allow kids the chance to dive in.
You see, it’s all about prevention… affirming safety.
I write these blogs in the interest of humanity and it’s concern for helping people with cancer and other major illness, especially in the workplace. It’s in the reaching out, with information, interviews, resources and support that I hope I will make a difference.
Here’s an example of a man I interviewed recently. He responded to my call for people to speak with who did not have support from their workplace. His needs were not high on the chart of their company’s needs.
This man, unidentified, told me that he worked in a small company. He was confronted with the most awful thing a parent can experience… a son who was diagnosed with a tumor that would be dangerous to remove, but they thought that surgery might be able to alleviate some of the pressure. He obviously took a short leave of absence to be with his child. Wouldn’t any parent? The child underwent surgery. It would be touch and go for a significant amount of time to see if the tumor would return. The employee informed his workplace that he still couldn’t return to work for awhile. Their response was to ask him to come and pick up his belongings… that they needed to replace him… that there was too much work for him to miss more time.
Obviously this man knew his own values — his need to be with his child. The good news is, the child pulled through and is still alive and improving. The other good news is that the man is even happier in his new work situation.
The message here, or should I say the concern, is that not everyone looks at the full 360° view of illness. If the boss in this situation had more empathy and compassion, the company would have done the “right thing.” They would have supported their employee during this difficult time. They would have been able to allow the employee flexibility and a work from home option during the child’s healing time and not lost a valuable employee. This parent would have not been so stressed out about not having a job along with his fears about his child.
So, as you face Halloween with your children or as you face the horror of a Cancer diagnosis, please take heed of what you’ve learned here.
Take precautions
Pay attention
Reach out for support
If you are an employer… please take the time to view a situation such as I described, as something that could happen to any of us and use it as an opportunity to tap into your more compassionate side. How would you have wanted the situation handled had it been your child?
So, that’s my October report. More interviews to come, more blog posts to come as we approach the most beautiful and yet the most emotionally difficult time of the year.
Ann Fry is the Workplace Cancer and Disease Crisis Coach. She trains managers to engage and support people at work who are impacted by Cancer or a major illness (either their own or that of a loved one.) She’s the person to call when the Executive teams needs to “triage” and sort through the crisis when one of their own is impacted. She can facilitate the conversation and help set the strategy for moving forward.
If you’re on the fence about letting your kids walk around door-to-door on Halloween (or maybe your kiddo is too little to do so yet), here are some fun, safe alternatives for Halloween night that still allows kids and teens to have fun celebrating Halloween.
1. Spooky Movie Night
Instead of making Halloween all about collecting candy and knocking on the doors of strangers, create an annual family tradition that your kids can anticipate. Make caramel corn or caramel apples, something fun that you only make together on this special day. Then do a small craft of Halloween game before watching some spooky shows or movies. This is definitely best for older kids, but even the little ones may enjoy an evening of Disney Junior Halloween episodes and family time.
2. Church Festivals
Even if you’re not a believer, church is a great place to have fun on or just before Halloween (plus, it’s nice to share the culture of different religions with kids). Many churches often hold Fall festivals, which are really Halloween parties under another name that allow kids to dress up, play games and collect candy in a safe environment. Sometimes, there’s even free dinner and a jumpy house!
3. Trunk-or-Treat
Due to the fear of the unknown, some communities gather together to put on a trunk-or-treat, where kids go to this event and walk around to people who give them candy in what is set up to be a safe environment.
4. Halloween Fright Night
Have older kids, or simply a kid who really enjoys scary stuff? Take them to the local haunted house or ghost tour on Halloween. Some ghost houses even have a good fairy who will walk wit the younger kids so they aren’t super scared during the haunted walk-through (though I was still scared, even with the fairy when I was a kid).
5. Amusement Park Mania
If you’re close to an amusement park like Great America, Disney World, Gilroy Gardens, or Legoland, go play at the park with the family! The entire park will be decorated for Halloween, which is kind of fun, and sometimes there are special Halloween events or parties too.
6. House Party
Not a fan of the Halloween parties around town? Throw your own apple bobbing, pumpkin carving carnival of sorts with close friends and family. This way, your kids have fun and get to hang out with their friends, and you know that they aren’t out egging a house or getting some creepy items from strangers.
7. Treat Shopping
OK, so the intent is really to go trick-or-treat at the mall or local shopping center that’s having a Halloween event with crafts and candy at the different stores, but their aim is to get you to shop. If you need to pick something up at the mall, or simply like the idea of letting the kid get treats at different stores so that the next time you want to buy something, she has a positive experience to draw from, this is the option for you! Plus, you’re indoors and things are well-lit, which can be a plus if you’re no fan of walking around in the dark (or maybe your costume involves a long dress that you keep walking on).
Did I miss any other options? Please share your ideas in the comments below!
Are you offending somebody when you say “Happy Halloween” today?
Fox News recently leaped all over a local school board that canceled some Halloween parades, although the district has since said that “religious objections by some parents were among several factors” that led to the cancellations, the local paper reported.
The kids, though, will still be able to utter the words “happy halloween.”
Not so at another unnamed public school, according to a teacher there who posted on Twitter Friday morning:
Feels a lil weird to say “Happy Friday!” instead of “Happy Halloween!”, but it’s banned in my school :/
— J.S. Bach (@BachToTheFuture) October 31, 2014
The teacher declined to be named, saying that risking the job wasn’t worth it.
Strange as it sounds, there are indeed people who object to Halloween on religious grounds, arguing it is tantamount to witchcraft or some such. The presence of actual witches (see photo above) on the sidewalk does make that, we suppose, a hard point to refute.
We’re curious if your family, town or school is involved in any Halloween controversies this year. Let us know at openreporting@huffingtonpost.com.
The BLACKLINE is a bicycle, and it looks like any other bicycle. Nothing fancy–two tires, handlebar, seat, the works. That is, until you look closer. Then you’ll see that it may be a bike, but it is a bike of the future, equipped with both mechanical and technological perks.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.