“Are people laughing because they think adopted kids are bad? Am I bad?”

That question was posed by the adopted daughter of a user on an online Disney board forum, after Thor uses his brother Loki’s adoption as the punchline for a joke. The father admits that he thought the line was amusing until his daughter asked her question.

This short punchline has led to an online petition on Change.org asking Marvel to apologize. However, the vast majority of feedback on the petition reflects a degree of over-sensitivity, with most commenters feeling that the context is perfectly fine.

The scene in question:

Thor: Have a care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother.

Natasha Romanoff: He killed eighty people in two days. 

Thor: He’s adopted. 

Children often have difficulty understanding context; the joke not being that adopted children are bad, but rather Thor distancing his ‘family’ connection to Loki.

Should Marvel apologize and be more sensitive in the future? Or should adoptive parents simply explain the context to their children?

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

(Source: telegraph.co.uk)

While it may seem like the holiday season is over, it isn’t over until college football crowns a national champion! That will be taking place on Monday, January 9th @ 8:30 p.m. when LSU takes on Alabama in the AllState BCS National Championship Game. Whether you like the BCS or not (I don’t!), these are the two top teams as chosen by the system that is in place.

This game has all sorts of history and controversy surrounding it. It will be the first time two teams from the same conference will play for a national title during the BCS era thus guaranteeing that a team from the polarizing SEC will win the BCS Championship for the sixth straight year. But will the winner be a unanimous champion? Not so fast. As any college football fan knows, we’ve already seen these two teams play this season. Back on November 5th those that tuned in to the much-hyped game were treated to a 9-6 defensive snooze-fest won in OT by LSU. Yeah, yeah, I know SEC fans will scream about how it showcased great defensive football and all that. Let’s face it. It was boring. We are always told by the BCS supporters that what makes college football great is that every game during the regular season matters because it’s like a playoff. Well, apparently all games are created equal but some games are more equal than others. LSU won ON THE ROAD against Alabama and then went on to win the SEC. What’s their prize? Now they have to beat Alabama (who sat on their couches while LSU had to play in the SEC Championship game) again to win the BCS National Championship. No, it doesn’t make any sense. The winner of the game on January 9th will raise the trophy and be crowned BCS championship. The winner will finish first in the USA Today Poll because that poll is contractually obligated to vote the winner of the game as #1. Here’s the wrinkle. The AP Poll is not. Some AP voters are already on record as stating that they won’t necessarily vote the BCS Championship Game winner as their #1. What if Alabama wins? What does that make them? Division winners? Still no. SEC Champs? Nope. National Champs? Not sure. If Alabama wins, they will have earned a split with LSU. This is precisely the mess that BCS haters like me love because it just magnifies how flawed the BCS system is. If Alabama wins, we’ll have two teams with identical records that went 1-1 against each other. Which one is the rightful national champion? Exactly. This is precisely why LSU shouldn’t be forced to beat a team that didn’t win its conference and that it already beat once in their own house. If Alabama wins, prepare for the mother of all BCS controversy, especially is the AP decides to crown someone other than Alabama as their national champion.

Whether you insist that the BCS got it right and that the two best teams in college football are playing in the national championship or whether you are fed up with the SEC and think the BCS blew it yet again and needs to be destroyed, this year’s AllState BCS National Championship will make history. If you live near New York City, psGive is providing the opportunity to make this historical tilt even more memorable! The BCS BBQ & Brews Party for 10 event at psGive is an incredible opportunity to win a party for 10 people at Duke’s Roadhouse Grill on 19th St. and Park Avenue South in New York City. Next to attending the game in person, I can’t think of a better way to take in this event. You and nine friends will be surrounded by huge flat-screen televisions showing the BCS Championship game while enjoying the amazing food that Duke’s has to offer. You will even have two hours of open bar! This event ends on Thursday, January 5 at 4:00 p.m. EST so make your offers now because there isn’t much time left. Not only will you have a chance to win this amazing party for 10 at Duke’s, but you will be helping a great cause. This event benefits City Hall Fellows, a national service corps that empowers smart young people to solve the problems of America’s cities. City Hall Fellows have found ways to save their cities millions of dollars, to generate millions more in revenue and grants, to green city practices, to simultaneously streamline and improve public safety, public health, water and public transportation services, and much much more.

So head on over to the psGive BBQ & Brews Party for 10 event page and start making your offers. This year’s BCS national championship will be historic, and if you live near New York City there is no better place to watch the game than Duke’s.

Who are you rooting for in the big game? Are you a fan of the BCS? Do you think the BCS got it right this year?

-AK

It’s often been said that baseball is timeless. Unlike the other major sports in North America, baseball doesn’t have a clock you can run out. You can’t foul incessantly. You can’t take a knee. Perhaps it is baseball’s timeless quality that appeals most to Josiah Viera, a young boy who suffers from Progeria, a disease that accelerates his aging. According the Progeria Research Foundation, “Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (‘Progeria’, or ‘HGPS’) is a rare, fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging in children. Its name is derived from the Greek and means ‘prematurely old.’” The average life expectancy for a child diagnosed with Progeria is 13 years, and there is no known cure.

I had never heard of Progeria syndrome before hearing about Josiah’s story though ESPN, which did a wonderful documentary highlighting Josiah’s strength in fighting the disease as well as his unmatched passion for baseball. You can watch the documentary here, but please make sure you aren’t around anyone whom you don’t want to see you cry. When I started sharing Josiah’s story with others, I realized I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t familiar with the condition. I think this is due in large part to the rarity of the condition. It is estimated that Progeria syndrome occurs once in every 4-8 million live births. Currently, there are roughly a dozen children in the United States living with Progeria and an estimated 40 cases worldwide.

When I watched the video I couldn’t help but marvel at Josiah’s strength. He stands only 27 inches tall and swings a bat that is only 2 inches shorter than that! Ok, now you try to imagine swinging a bat that is only 2 inches shorter than you are. Now try to imagine hitting a ball with that enormous bat. Not so easy, right? However, Josiah’s only dream was to play baseball. Nothing was going to stand in his way.

Josiah’s story also resonated with the Philadelphia Phillies, his favorite baseball team. He was invited to visit with his favorite player, Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. You can watch this brave young boy meet all of the Phillies here. Ryan Howard is certainly no stranger to helping children. His foundation, The Ryan Howard Family Foundation, was founded to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth and families. The Foundation recently donated over $1 million worth of athletic apparel to the School District of Philadelphia.

The Boston Bruins are also helping to raise awareness about Progeria. They have teamed with the Progeria Research Foundation for a global campaign to “Find the Other 150”. Through this effort “PSAs are being distributed in the Czech Republic, Finland, Serbia, Slovakia and Canada, as well as to US outlets with ties to those countries” in an effort to help raise awareness about Progeria and identify those children who suffer from it in those countries. The Bruins will also be auctioning off a Stanley Cup ring with half the proceeds from ticket sales going to the Progeria Research Foundation. The drawing is 12/23/11 at 7pm. If you want to purchase tickets for a shot at an authentic Stanley Cup Championship Ring while also helping out a great cause, click here.

I’m a huge sports fan. All my life I’ve both played and watched sports. Many people don’t understand why sports fans are so passionate about something that really doesn’t matter that much or affect our lives at all. It’s hard to explain to those who don’t “get” it. I think watching Josiah’s story demonstrates the answer more than anything else possibly could. Sports are about the great stories. Whether we participate by playing or by associating as fans and spectators, we sports fans endlessly seek the storybook ending. I dare you to tell Josiah or any of the people who were there to watch him in play for his team that sports don’t matter. The image of Josiah fulfilling his dream of playing baseball is something that they will all carry with them for the rest of their lives. As Josiah said, “I don’t want it to be over.”

-AK

For more information on Josiah Viera as well as information on how you can help donate money towards his medical care, click here.

Every day we are bombarded with more statistics and information about our environment and lectured to about how we can be more “green.” I’ll admit that it can be a little overwhelming at times. Everyone cares about the environment and wants to do the right thing. However, sometimes the information overload and constant lecturing can lead to a bit of a backlash. I think that people want to do what they can, but many aren’t willing to turn their lives upside down in the process. People also typically don’t like to be forced to do things or be made to feel guilty when they don’t. Thus, the green movement walks a fine line. It has to encourage people to make changes in their lifestyles that are reasonable, but it also has to ensure that it doesn’t alienate people by being too aggressive or pushing changes that are unreasonable.

This is why recycling is still king. It’s a simple way for people to make a significant contribution to help the environment without making a significant lifestyle change or giving up something that they love. Today is America Recycles Day, and it’s a perfect opportunity for people to examine their recycling routines and see if they can do more. If you are someone who is skeptical of new “green” initiatives, I can sympathize. However, recycling has long been a simple and fundamental way to make a difference without sacrificing anything you love.

My dad is a car guy. Always has been always will be. He can recite numbers from cars dating back to the 60’s. Want to know a certain car’s horsepower? No problem. Need to know the cargo capacity of an SUV? Sure thing. He passed that love of cars on to me. When I graduated high school, my gift was a trip to Skip Barber Racing School. It was an experience I will never forget. Ripping through those turns at breakneck speeds on the beautiful Lime Rock Park race track was something I will never forget.

A few weeks ago I watched this trailer for Forza 4 that so poignantly bemoaned the recent trend of the automotive industry away from performance. I found myself nodding my head in agreement. Some of the trends in this “growing age of safety and restraint” make me long for the days of the past. This isn’t to say that I don’t understand what is driving these trends. I accept the fact that environmental and safety concerns are here to stay, and that’s a good thing. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll ever gawk at Volt the way I do at a ‘Vette. I will never run my hand along the curves of a Prius the way I would on a Viper. I’m not the only one. Many “green” initiatives are going to face staunch opposition by many when they result in this type of “collateral damage.” People have strong attachments. They develop a certain comfort level with what they know.

Cars are only one example. Who knows what other initiatives are in the pipeline? Cutlery made of corn? I’ll pass. Energy efficient lights that contain mercury? No thanks. Only time will tell whether initiatives like these succeed or fail, but the one “green” initiative which has been around as long as I can remember and has no collateral damage is recycling. We all use products that can be recycled (paper, cardboard, glass, plastic, etc.), and it takes very little effort to do so. That is why it is so crucial for everyone to recycle as much as they possibly can.

Many companies are making it easier than ever to recycle. For example, let’s say you are the lucky winner of the Amazon Kindle Fire event on psGive, and you don’t know what to do with your existing Kindle. Everyone you know already has one so you can’t give it away, and you’ve used yours so much that it is displaying significant wear. Instead of letting it sit around and collect dust, Amazon makes it incredibly easy for you to recycle it. Just go here and you will be able to print out a UPS shipping label. After that, all you have to do is pack up your Kindle and drop it off at a UPS location. Best Buy also has a website dedicated to providing the resources needed to recycle just about any electronic product, whether or not it was purchased at Best Buy.

Today, on America Recycles Day, I urge you to take the pledge and begin recycling one new type of material. While it’s likely that recycling is already a part of your daily routine, it’s also likely that there is something else you could be recycling. Another option is to make an effort to purchase more products that are made from recycled materials. Did you know that you can purchase recycled motor oil? Take a few minutes to evaluate your recycling routine and see if you can make one simple change to improve. It could be as simple as recycling your printer’s ink cartridges.

Brought to you by Keep America Beautiful, America Recycles Day has been an annual event since 1997 and “is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to the promotion of recycling in the United States.” Keep America Beautiful, a valued partner of psGive, “follows a practical approach that unites citizens, businesses and government to find solutions that advance our core issues of preventing litter, reducing waste, and beautifying communities.” You can help support Keep America Beautiful by participating in psGive’s Kindle Fire event. The event is ending tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. EST so get your bids in now!

What new material will you begin recycling today?

-AK