LI Idol Season 6 Week 13 Pick a Topic

I went into my daughter’s backpack to get her folder where the teacher puts her homework and any notes or papers that the teacher wants me to see. In there I found the usual graded papers, flyers for the next PTA meeting, a notice that the band will be selling flowers for Valentine’s Day, and a sheet informing me that a new sexual offender had moved into the neighborhood and I could go to the usual site and find out more if I care to.

I go to the site and look up the latest information about sex offenders in my area. We tend to have a few more than other areas because we have a couple of half-way houses for various forms of addiction in the neighborhood. This individual was a little closer than that since they were staying with a family that I have a nodding aquaintance with.

Something was tickling at the back of my mind. So I called the local gossip, I mean the head of the local watch, and asked her if she had seen J. She said that J has returned to his parents house about two weeks ago. He had picked up a job at a garage and was getting ready to marry his girlfriend with whom he had a little boy. It all made sense to me. J had gotten arrested and convicted of child molestation and a few other charges. His crime was that the week of his 18th birthday, he had unprotected sex with his 16 year-old girlfriend (almost 17) and got her pregnant. And the DA decided to make an example of him figuring, correctly, that this kid didn’t have the money to lawyer-up. So J now has to register each and every time he moves as a convicted child molester.

A 14 year old girl sends a sexy photo of herself to her 14 year old boyfriend. The kids even have a term for it, sexting. Now three teen are arrested and waiting trial for distributing Child Pornography which was the photograph that the teen took. The way the law is set up now, all three, if convicted, would have Class C felonies and have to register at sex offenders for the rest of their lives. These kids are 13, 14, and 15. This is happening all over the US and kids are being convicted because the law doesn’t allow for anything else.

I think these kids need help in understanding boundaries and why what they did was oh so wrong, but I don’t think any of these kids are child pornographers or will become such. They see it in the media that they absorb. They see it in the ads that claim to be advertising to adults but we know kids see them. The reality shows that tout sexy like Big Brother or the Bachelor (which I swear has more kissing and feeling up than any edition before) or any of the housewives shows on Bravo. They watch people vie to be the next top model while showing quite a bit of skin and this is during the 8 o’clock hour to boot.

I am not suggesting that the networks tone it down but I am suggesting that the parents get more involved in talking to their kids about what they are seeing all around them. We’ve all been teenagers and we have all felt those raging hormones coursing through our bodies causing all kinds of thoughts and feelings. Feeding them mix messages isn’t going to help them at all. I also think that the laws as they stand need to be changed to take into account the ages of the offenders and the offenses. There are people that we need to be informed that they are in our area but people like J are harmless hormone driven teens who now have to tell the world that they are something that they really aren’t. The wedding is set for June and I think that J and his girlfriend are going to be a great couple as they are both great parents to their little boy.

This has been my entry for this weeks Lj Idol contest. My partner is fourzoas

Farpoint 2010 Countdown 5 days to go (well really 4)

Well the creek ain’t gonna rise but the snow fall may make it a little tricky to get down there and back. I think everyone is going to bring a shovel with them just in case. Funny thing is that the last time we had this much snow around Farpoint, Ariel wasn’t coming with us to Farpoint because she was off with the other side of her family at a bar mitzvah I believe. So I have my compact shovel all ready to go.

I am having fun with the critters I am working on for the art show. They are a little different for me. I have them in my head. Now I have to see if I can make them a reality in this dimension. I may start posting pictures to motivate my art.

Coheed and Cambria put up a pre-order for a deluxe pack with their new CD and the book that Peter did with Claudio. More information can be found here. I am quite proud of this collaboration between my husband and this kick-a** band.

Superbowl was fun. Saints won and the crowd went wild. It was nice to have a game when the game itself was as interesting as the commercials. I think my favorite was punch buggy but the Letterman ad was one for the ages. I also liked the Simpson’s ad and hope I see that a couple more times. Most of the Coke ads were pretty good. The Budwiser ads were an interesting mix.

OK back to sculpting and a few other chores that do need to get done today.

I am grateful that we had such a nice family evening watching the Superbowl.

I Need YOU to vote for me on LJ Idol

The poll is up and you can vote for as many entries as you like here

My entry for this week is here and I think is a problem with the legal system as it stands today.

My partner this week was fourzoas who's entry can be found here

We either go through to the next week together or fall by the wayside this week.

So I could use your help so I may write another week.