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Nickelodeon and Norwegian Cruise Lines are breaking up.

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Today's post is not a book review. It's a rant at how sexist stereotypes still persist. As any preschooler knows, Dora the Explorer is an intrepid pint-sized adventurer with a purple backpack and a boot-wearing monkey for a sidekick. A show featuring her exploits took off in 2000. Five years later, Dora's cousin Diego was given his own series.

When my nephew was younger, he loved Dora and wore her backpack with pride. It didn't matter to him one wit that Dora was a girl. And yet, fourteen years after the show's debut, Dora has been sold out, a victim of merchandising. The above photo was snapped in my doctor's waiting room. Sexism is so insidious that it took me a while to realize what was wrong with the decals stuck to the wall. But look closely. The toons' body language says it all. Dora stands with her arms folded, legs crossed, while Diego is running full speed. The message is clear: Girls = Passive; Boys = Active. (I won't even go into the butterflies surrounding Dora versus the menacing paw prints near Diego.)

Not to be hasty, I checked to see if there are more active wall decals of Dora on Amazon. Not really. There's one showing her holding a bunch of flowers and another, the best of the bunch, in which she's on tippy toes, arms wide open.

Now imagine a preschool boy seeing the two figures on the wall. Would he choose Dora as his model. Not likely. A preschool girl would, though. And with her choice comes the implicit message that boys do all the running.  

Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go generally get high marks from the media for setting nonstereotypical examples for its young viewers. Unfortunately, its licensing department has a long way to go.

Okay, today's rant is over.

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Putting the pop back in soda (Coke releases a single for its "Open Happiness" campaign featuring members of Gnarls Barkley, Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco. Plus, The New York Times asks what "The O.C." treatment will do for indie bands featured... Read the rest of this post

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He's not feeling good. It's cold out. What better way to spend the night than sitting downstairs watching Dora the Explorer on DVD?

Side note: I'm starting to sense some recurring themes on this show.

• They always have to get from Point A to Point B.
• They always use that goofy Super Map guy to get the job done.
• There's some really um...grating songs on there.
• That one Swiper guy always tries to steal Dora's crap and whenever he's foiled (which is all the time) he say's "Awww...man!"

Anyway. It was a good night.

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NOTE TO SELF: SEEMS WE HAVE A LOT TO WORRY ABOUT THIS CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY SHOPPING


As soon as she had found the perfect present for her niece and dropped it in her shopping cart, Lovey Lane had a nagging worry.

"It just hit me -- this is made in China," the Dundalk resident said, checking the Disney princess costume box and scrutinizing the beads adorning a tiara as a possible hazard. "I thought I'd better put it back."

But the Pirates of the Caribbean ship for her nephew stayed put in the cart, as Lane reasoned that the plastic toy was not likely tainted by lead.

"Of course, we don't know what paint they're using," said Lane, shopping yesterday morning at Toys "R" Us in the Golden Ring area of Baltimore County.

After months of recalls that have seen millions of toys pulled from store shelves -- including classics such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer and Big Bird -- anxiety was palpable in the toy aisles on the day after Thanksgiving. Warnings of lead paint and choking hazards, and even chemical coatings that could be transformed into a "date rape" drug if ingested, have gotten shoppers' attention.

Full Story Here:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-te.bz.toys24nov24,0,3673506.story

Toy safety tips
• Children under age 3: Avoid toys with small parts, which pose a choking hazard.

• Children under 6: Avoid building sets with small magnets. If they are swallowed, serious injuries or death can occur.

• Children under 8: Avoid toys that have sharp edges and points.

• Riding toys, skateboards and in-line skates can cause fatal falls. Helmets and safety gear should be worn and sized to fit.

• Projectile toys such as air rockets, darts and slingshots, intended for older children, can result in serious eye injuries.

• Chargers and adapters should be supervised by adults to prevent burn hazards.

• Read toy labels for age and safety recommendations.

[Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission]

Shopping for children's toys has become complicated. Perhaps it's time for consumers to seriously consider buying products and goods made locally.

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Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine. The test is tomorrow but you'll do just fine. It's reading and math. Forget all the rest. You don't need to know what is not on the test. Each box that you mark on each test that you take, Remember your teachers. Their jobs are at stake. Your score is their score, but don't get all stressed. They'd never teach anything not on the test. ... Thinking's

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