We love ice cream

Perhaps it's something that runs in my family. No one so far beats my dad, but certainly he's got a couple of contenders.

An old picture from our vacation in Myrtle Beach.


But what are our favorites? Pretty much any kind of ice cream. For sure, certain brands are better than the others.

Häagen-Dazs is definitely among the best, a truly premium brand with premium taste. Unfortunately, it comes with premium price. So, it's restricted to only premium occasions. Our favorite: its fondue (now) and Mint Chip Dazzler. Oh yeah, high calorie dessert - 1270 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat. But, gosh, it's so good.

I also like Woody ice cream, back way years ago in Indonesia... I think Woody is a local brand, without any permission to use the Woodpecker icon. But for sure, it was among the best back then.

Ben and Jerry's was our favorite when we were in North Carolina. One shop on Chapel Hill's Franklin St. was our favorite during Summer time.

Baskin-Robbins used to be better than they are today, in my opinion. But with 31% off every 31st of the month, it certainly is a good deal, good value for the taste.

There was an ice cream parlor in Blok M (then moved to Pondok Indah), called Rendez-Vous. Again, my parents' favorite. Their sundae is superb!

And of course, soft ice cream -- anywhere, vanilla mixed with chocolate. Dairy Queen, Mc Donald's... My old time favorite is the one in Apotik Melawai on Jalan Melawai.

Yeah, we love ice cream.

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Sex education: solution or problem?

Malaysia is considering sex education in the National Service - I heard this on the radio a couple weeks ago.

clipped from www.cbsnews.com

AP) Malaysia's government is worried that high school graduates may not know enough about sex.

Authorities in the conservative, Muslim-majority nation are considering teaching sex education to teenagers when they undergo national service after leaving school, Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil, director general of the National Service Department, said Wednesday.

High school graduates may not know enough about sex? Never underestimate teenagers!

The question is "what is sex education?" What is the curriculum? Will knowing more about sex drive up or down the sex activities among teenagers?

I found another article from John J. Macionis interesting.

Most schools today have sex education programs that teach the basics of sexuality. Instructors explain to young people how their bodies grow and change, how reproduction occurs, and how to avoid pregnancy by using birth control or abstaining from sex.

Half of U.S. teenage boys report having sex by the time they reach sixteen, and half of girls report doing so by seventeen. These numbers are much the same in most high-income nations; what accounts for the higher U.S. teen pregnancy rate is less use of contraceptives. "Sex ed" program, then seem to make sense. But critics point out that as the number of sex education programs has expanded, the level of teenage sexual activity has actually gone up. This trend seems to suggest that sex education may not be discouraging sex among youngsters and, maybe, that learning more about sex encourages young people to become sexually active sooner. Critics also say that it is parents who should be instructing their children about sex, since, unlike teachers, parents can also teach their beliefs about what is right and wrong.

But supporters of sex education counter that research does not support the conclusion that sex education makes young people more sexually active. More generally, they argue that it is the larger culture - one that celebrates sexuality - that encourages children to become sexually active. If this is the case, the sensible strategy is to ensure that they understand what they are doing and take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

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Goodie bags gone wild

We went to a kid's birthday party earlier this month. Usually, my concern is on the amount of candies in the goodie bag. This time, however, there was no candy at all. In fact, there was no bags at all.

Ben got a cool Batman Power Key Playset, and Anya got a set Barbie. Definitely more costly than the birthday present we brought for the birthday boy.

What is really wrong with parentings these days? It took me a while to agree to move from "the original" goodie bags (candies and small party stuff) to things like matchbox, pencil holder, diary, and the likes.

Has the goodie bag standard increased? As ridiculous as it sounds, it scares me - the amount spent for things like this, or for kids in general. Education cost is perhaps the scariest.

A survey in the U.K. found that demand for goodie bag contents had risen 12-fold in the past three years.

Why do we need to give out goodie bags anyway? Why do kids need to get a goodie bag just for going to someone's party?

And then there are parents who just have to try to overdo others' goodie bags. The same survey quoted: "I think that children actually prefer the simple things. In the end, it's the parents that are making all these expensive choices."

Sigh...

By the way, Ben loved his Batman, though I had trouble assembling the toy. On the other hand, Anya didn't really like hers. We settled with a replacement from Toys 'R Us; Barbie will become our next birthday present.

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The naked mile and peer pressure

It's this time of the year that the naked mile usually held in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Naked Mile is a tradition at the University of Michigan where graduating Seniors run through campus naked the evening of the last day of classes. It started in 1986 and finally was banned in 2004.

I went to the event while in Ann Arbor, 1998-1999. The crowd was superb - the runners as well. Some runners would shout "pervert!" to the spectators. But no one seemed to care. Everyone was too busy taking pictures.

And it was cold too. Late April in Michigan can be as cold as in the 40's degree Fahrenheit.

No, I'm not sharing any naked mile pictures in this blog. An article from the Michigan Daily has a considerate picture of naked mile in 1998. And of course, there are websites selling pictures and videos of the naked mile. Just google "naked mile"...

One would wonder why these students would do such things. Some would say fun. Others would say keeping the tradition.

The rest were under peer pressure, as implied in another Michigan Daily article written by an ex-runner sharing her experience, and an article where a student was having an inner battle whether to run or not to run.

I agree with Cam who said: "It appears to me that the power of peer pressure and social acceptance is the main attraction here. The old saying, "Would you jump off a cliff if everyone else is doing it?" certainly pertains here. Most people would say no, but when confronted with the actual decision, they cave in and conform."

Peer pressure is, loosely, a concern with being accepted by others. Here's a brief TV ad that we used while discussing peer pressure as a motivation for conforming to others. It's quite a big challenge for teenagers. It's a mix of positive and negative influence, and may include things from fashion to alcohol, and from way of life to getting actively in sports.

By the way, it is actually illegal to run naked through the streets. But at the same time it is not illegal to take pictures of naked people. There was a period where most runners were wearing underwear to avoid arrest. That way, the only violation was interfering with traffic...

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Kids In Mind

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Smacking and best/worst place for children

The irony of a recent UNICEF report is that the two, arguably, most pursued places for work are the two worst places for children to live - among wealthy nations. They're the U.S. and Britain, at 20 and 21 out of 21 nations.

The British government, of course, said that the data used by UNICEF was outdated. Duh!

The study was done in six main areas: (1) relationships, especially with their peers, (2) risky behaviour such as sex, drink and drugs, (3) children's own assessment of their happiness, (4) poverty and inequality, (5) education over the long-term, and (6) health and safety.

Overall rankings of the study is:
1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
...
19. Hungary
20. United States
21. United Kingdom

When I first met our Iranian neighbor, I wondered why their parents migrated to and now live in Sweden. Now, perhaps this study answers my question.

Almost a third of British youngsters aged 11, 13 and 15 reported being drunk on two or more occasions, against just an average of under 15 percent in the majority of OECD countries.

But I guess this is not a surprise. Nor when the United States ranked 21 for health and safety...

Another article, however, disputes the results as some of these nations, and most notably the Netherlands being on top, have not banned smacking. I don't really have strong opinion on either way - ban or not ban. Because parents have more problems with smack down on TV...

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