You Heard It Here First

In November 2008 I predicted, based on limited research, that the U.S. was in the throes of a baby boom in recent years. And lo and behold, the New York Times confirmed it. There were more births in 2007 than in 1957, the height of the original baby boom.

Now, whether or not a boom of "Obama babies" was spawned on election night remains to be seen. Just a few more weeks and we should know...

Update: August 11, 2009

...In 2007 alone, American women birthed more than 4.3 million babies — the highest number ever. More than a quarter of those were to women having their third or fourth child, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Photo credit: Gawker.com

Stranger Than Fiction

In the age of instant information, the media are under constant pressure to be the first to break a story. In their haste to produce news quick, sometimes facts go unchecked. And apparently, that’s okay.

With the downsizing of reporting staff, it’s not uncommon for one reporter to be responsible for writing about multiple topics with which he may not be familiar. Combine this with the plethora of social media vehicles that offer more rapid, democratized distribution channels than ever, and it's not only possible for incorrect information to get published, but to proliferate in a matter of seconds.

After the New York Times plagiarism scandal in 2003, where reporter Jayson Blair blatantly fabricated details and stole information for at least 36 of the 73 articles he wrote for the national newsdesk - one would think the media might be a little more buttoned up in terms of journalistic integrity and responsibility. Not so.

To test today's media efficacy, an Irish college student recently altered what many media and professionals consider a reliable reference - Wikipedia. When a famous composer Maurice Jarre passed away, the student purposefully misquoted the deceased and added the “fact” to Jarre’s entry in Wikipedia. To their credit: Wikipedia’s editors caught the non-referenceable statement and removed it, but it wasn’t before other reporters had read the inspiring, yet false, quote and reprinted it as their own – multiple times.

"I am 100 percent convinced that if I hadn't come forward, that quote would have gone down in history as something Maurice Jarre said, instead of something I made up," the student said. "It would have become another example where, once anything is printed enough times in the media without challenge, it becomes fact."

An even more grievous case of un-fact checking occurred In the case of Bob DeWitt, a patient who received a cardiac medical device to help his condition. The media began running Bob's inspiring story and miraculous recovery in January 2009 and didn't stop picking up the story until April 2009. The good news: more people learned about the amazing new technology that sustained Bob's life after his battle with severe heart failure. The bad news: Ever in-search of new content and feel-good health care pieces, no one bothered to check in with Bob to see how he was doing. Bob passed away in early February, shortly after the first time his story ran.

The most recent occurrence of the media’s preference for speed over accuracy occurred last Thursday when KNX 1070 NewsRadio interrupted a segment regarding the "Life and Times of Farah Fawcett" to announce that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital and was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. Their source? TMZ.com.

The news, unfortunately, turned out to be true and KNX ending up breaking the story before anyone else – which, of course, is their top priority. Still, it’s a sad commentary of journalism today when KNX, "Southern California's most trusted and honored news radio station," considers a celebrity gossip and entertainment site as a credible source of information.

Photo credit: Super School University

Local Yokels

There are few things more entertaining than local TV advertisements. Here are a few favorites from SoCal and beyond.

Westminster Beachbikes

Credit MacDaddy

Jones Big Ass Truck Rental & Storage

Red House Furniture

Seal the Deal

During a recent trip to Hermosa Beach, we were reminded just how vast and marvelous the Pacific Ocean really is.

The day started pleasantly enough. Warm sun, a cool breeze; just me and my husband hanging out. Before long, a crowd started gathering not 50 feet away from where we sat. A 250 lb. baby elephant seal had washed ashore and hadn't the will or the strength to turn around and head back to sea. Tourists snapped photos. Lifeguards jabbed signs into the sand warning people to stay 25 feet from the wild animal, as it is protected by California state law.

We watched as a second seal appeared - bobbing in the surf, dangerously close to the shore. Maybe searching for his brother? It was all very surreal - kinda' like a Disney movie where two seals go on an adventure and one seal dares the other to get closer to "the humans." He takes the dare and accidentally beaches himself, while the other looks on helplessly from the surf.

After about 20 minutes, we began to worry. Was this seal sick? Was it going to die? I frantically searched for the number for a marine rescue in the area, remembering my friend had told me about a place in San Pedro.

No sooner did I Google and punch in the number on my phone did a white truck roll onto the beach. A very unofficial-looking marine animal specialist hopped out of the truck, strolled over to the animal and ran a series of seemingly unofficial tests to make sure the seal was okay. The rescuer held his hand up in front of and over the seal to see if he would react. (He did.) He walked around the animal and firmly squeezed his tail. (The seal let out an audible grunt in protest, indicating that he had feeling in his lower extremities.)

The worker then returned to the truck and grabbed a large, rolled up net, which he used as a stretcher. He made it look easy - sliding the baby seal onto the contraption, then carefully rolling it around him, to make sure it was secure. He then enlisted the help of the male lifeguards to effortlessly transport the little guy into the back of the truck.

The young malnourished seal was miles away from his northern California home, according to the rescue worker - but he thought he could be saved. He assured us the animal would be in good hands at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro, a hospital for ill, injured and orphaned marine mammals that focuses on the treatment and release of rescued California sea lions, northern elephant seals, harbor seals and northern fur seals.

A happy ending to the story of the "Seal Who Strayed Too Far."

Microsoft's Vision of the Future (Parody)

The future looks pretty $%#!in good, and Microsoft is making it a reality. Can't wait for the day in-flight Twitter access is available for only $45. Talk about advanced technology.