Cyberbully, A Kids Opinion

Nicole is a well read author, even at her young age. She wrote about cyberbullying on her blog and I felt as though it would help give us old folk a bit of insight into what is going on in the world of young people today. I call her a "kid" but the fact is that she is more mature in her thoughts in many ways then I or most adults.

I cut and past so please understand that the following may not be formatted right.... blame me and not Nicole.

Please make sure that you click the link at the bottom to visit her website and her blog.....

Cyberbullying, Part One

Back then, we just had to worry about bullying.
Now?
Now it’s cyberbullying.
Since I spend a good deal of my time on the Internet, I’ve seen quite a bit of cyberbullying, so I know about what I’m talking. I’ve seen it, stopped it, been victimized by it, and even caused it unintentionally.
So here’s part one of my Cyberbullying Special.
How do you know when someone is being cyerbullied?
Most of the symptoms are the same for actual bullying—like being depressed, angry, and withdrawn and not talking to friends or family. Similarly, the bullied victim may have a drop in grades—I know I would—and will likely refuse to go to school, especially if the cyberbullies are people they know from school.
A big one is pretending to be sick. Granted, the person might just want to skip school. But if the victim always claims s/he is ill, there’s a chance s/he is being bullied.
And, of course, there’s the cyber part.
The victim probably becomes upset, enraged, or simply depressed while surfing the Internet or talking on a cell phone. Or maybe even afterwards. Either way, the person has mood swings that correspond to cyber-use.
Take it from me.

Cyberbullying, Part Two

Being on the Internet makes you feel stronger. More powerful. Because you’re anonymous. They can’t touch you. Ever.

So someone uploaded a video to YouTube complaining about that great movie you loved. That doesn’t mean you have to post a comment saying that the uploader of the video is a “retard” and “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” It’s better not to put anything at all. Yet, you cannot say that you have never done something of the like. Maybe you unfriended someone on Facebook or disliked a video. Perhaps you made a sarcastic remark, not realizing who might see it. It is within the bounds of imagination that you even wrote a kind comment that others might identify as sarcasm.

And yet there is another, worse way of cyberbullying.

You see on a website that someone has posted an insensitive, rude comment, and you think to yourself how much of a bully that person is; however, you do nothing, merely go on to the next page. As with real bullying, bystanders often wield more power than the bullies themselves.

So how can we stop cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is real, and it will be around for as long as we have technology. It can cause depression. It can cause suicide.

Think before you write. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Realize that nothing on the Internet can ever be private. If you’re just sharing a joke between friends, it could very well turn into a nasty conversation that hurts everyone. Be mindful. Use the “report” button wisely—if you see an inappropriate comment, report it. Keep track of the behavior of your friends and family. Never hesitate to ask. Don’t forward “funny” emails and text messages without thinking. Don’t dislike something for no reason. And never, ever be a bystander. Write something nice.

Remember.

It’s up to you and me to stop cyberbullying.

What are you doing about it?


http://authornicoleizmaylov.blogspot.com/


http://nicoleizmaylov.com/

Marblehead - The Semi-true Story of it's Founding

This blog is about my personal life and my day to day experiences and I have been greatly remiss in not even talking about my new home, Marblehead Massachusetts. Let me start off by saying that it took me a simple trip of almost 5,000 miles to get here but that is a story to itself. When I first planted my feet in this burg I realized that I had found home, a place filled with preppys that also had a very strange streak of individualism and arts that runs deeply through it.

There are a few things noted about this fantastic little town, one is that it is the birth place of the US Navy another is that it is the yacht capital of the US and that it got its name from the cliffs over looking the ocean. When the people were sailing in they thought that the cliffs were made of marble but after they named the site they did a little closer inspection and realized that it was just seagull poop on the rocks.

My secret theory about how Marblehead became populated has to do with the town next door, Salem.... yes, that Salem, the one with the witch trials. My theory goes along the idea that when all of the wackos in Salem decided to go after women that were too pretty and accuse them of witchcraft then even kill them that all of the beautiful women anywhere in the New England area became concerned for their lives. The concern was felt as well among fathers, uncles, mothers .... well, anyone that had a beautiful female in their family.

These elite few realized that the only way to protect the beautiful women of New England from the evil witch hunters was to band together, in which they did. They all congregated in Marblehead and started their own town. Today Marblehead still benefits from those first courageous founders with the wonderful bounty of beautiful women and guys like me that found one that even liked him back.

I love my new home and would never think about leaving Marblehead Mass. until I die because I am pretty sure that heaven is the only place that could even come close to giving it a run for the money.

Monkey Meat Dinner

This is one of those blogs where you might get the story and find it mildly amusing or you might just assume that I have gone completely nuts and you will probably be closer to right if you fall within the later group.

Lets start off the short story by explaining that I, just like everyone else in the world, I have a person who is the proverbial monkey on my back. It kind of helps to understand that they act a bit like a wild beast and even their own kids claim they look like a monkey. (Please note, this is NOT some kind of slight racist inside joke).

This last Tuesday Ari had her birthday party.... ok Parties, they just kept coming in waves that day. We went to the Cheese Cake Factory with a few friends and a ton of family. I set between two of my favorite people. On my left sat the most beautiful woman in the world, the love of my life, Judy and on the other side sat a great friend who is in his mid 70's.

It is a well known fact that Judy has a problem with choosing something on a menu that has more then 2 dishes listed. This little quirk really is not a problem to me but it did cause some interesting conversation because of her trying to figure out what to order. Judy was dutifully perusing the menu for a good 15 minutes when she jabbed me in the side and said that "they have monkey steak". Now anybody that knows me or Judy will fully understand that she is capable of reading and that was not what caused the comment. I had to see what she was talking about and she pointed to a steak named with the same name as the monkey on my back.

Her comment was mildly amusing but the gentleman next to me only got the part about a "monkey steak" He immediately wanted to know where the steak was listed, he thought he might actually try it. I am looking at him with my mouth open realizing that I would probably have done the same thing if I thought there was a monkey steak available but he is an absolute gentleman. He kept prodding me about where it was listed and I kept him guessing till not one but TWO ladies at the table both announced that they have consumed monkey in the past.

This just floored me because both ladies are exactly that... LADIES. The strange part is that they told how, when and where and the stories where both true. So I am sitting there looking around the table and it hit me, 2 true ladies had eaten monkey meat and a man I highly admired wanted to give it a shot.

Then it hit me big time...... I finally understood....... I really do fit in with New England Yankees..... they will try anything at least once.

Return of the Stalker 2011

I hate to keep even recognizing a stalker but enough is enough. Becky, I will not run from you. You are just an old lady with to much time on your hands.

This is the way it is going to work from now on. Every time you raise your head and try to trash me I will release a little of the whole story, I will show the emails, photos and posts that you have left and my responses.

Your daughter blew it and while she is still upset with her actions she has at least slinked away into the gutters of the internet and left me alone (with just a few exceptions). Your last post was totally uncalled for but I left it up for all to see. I do not run from a withered old woman who is angry that her daughter trashed her reputation with that porn thing. All I did was direct you to the evidence after you asked me to.

Now is the time to move on with your life and simply leave me alone..... is it a deal?

Judy, the girls and I are all very happy and we really do not need you and your family to keep popping up and trying to rehash why I broke up with your daughter so long ago (remember the porn stuff?). I have dated other women in my life and the vast majority I am still friends with but there is something really strange with your whole family.

Now leave me alone please.

Women and the NBA

I am a sports fan, anything that requires talent, skill and athleticism I am going to try and watch. Now there is one major exception and that is NBA basketball I find watching a great NBA game to be about as exciting as watching the girlie men play soccer. Now before you go nuts about me making fun about soccer please remember that in the US it is pretty much the only sport that moms are happy about putting there daughters on the same teams as boys. There are actual soccer leagues for children that do not even bother to keep score.

Back to the topic of women and the NBA. I have tried off and on to get into watching the NBA for many years but it just is to boring for me. Several years ago Oklahoma City brought in an NBA team and I knew that I had to give it one more shot or all of my friends would think there was something deeply wrong with me.

My Mother, out of the blue, decided that she was going to be a fan of the OKC Thunder. I watched a few games with her and found that I still did not like the game but I did enjoy watching my mom go nuts over all of the intricacies of the game. It got to the point that I would try and make time every time a game was on so I could watch my mom go nuts. Nothing like having some good parental time with your mom while watching the NBA.

Long story short, or at least shorter, I moved to the Boston area and Judy (my wife) turns out to be as big of a fan of the Celtics as my mother. I have to say, she goes just as batty over the game as my mom does. This has led me to believe that the NBA, just as soccer, must be a sport for women. I have now gotten into the habit of watching all of the games with Judy and actually am beginning to enjoy it.

I am not sure that since I am starting to get into watching the NBA if that means I am becoming more tame or just becoming a sissy but I really do not care..... it is the NBA and they will have at least one guy watching the playoffs this year.

Osama bin Laden is Dead But Who Cares?

Maybe this should have been placed in one of my political blogs but it is more of a personal story then a political one.

Last night I was doing what I always do late at night, creeping through the house and trying to sneak up behind the cat to scare her. I had already heard that Osama was dead and while I reveled that they got the guy I also realized that in the grand scale of things it really did not mean much. There will still be bad guys and killing just one of the big ones really will not do much. I was glad the guy was dead but at the same time thought that there was now more things to worry about.

Ari, was down stairs watching the news of his death when I came traipsing through the living room and she was crying. I have to tell you that guys hate it when women cry but we really hate it when a woman is crying that we care about. I immediately stopped and asked her what was wrong and response was one of those moments when if I listen I can learn something true and real.

Ari, explained to me that 9-11 happened when she was 11, young enough to know the horror that occurred but too young to understand all of the details. This created a fear of unspeakable proportions, going to bed at night and not knowing if she would be bombed at night. Fearing that her world was coming to an end and it was this mans fault. She had lived half her life with Osama as the ultimate bad guy.

I realized that not only had we finally brought justice to a really bad guy but those Navy Seals (heroes for sure) had brought a sense of finality to millions of people that lived with fear because of one whacked out individual. He had become the Hitler of modern times.... I now wonder if when the far left or far right go nuts and start demonizing those they disagree with if instead of saying "You are worse then Hitler" if they can now say "You are worse then Osama".

I am glad the guy is dead but I am also glad that Ari helped me understand why last night so many of the people who gathered around the country to celebrate where college aged kids.... thanks Ari, even an old dog can learn new tricks with a little patience.



Ari turns 21 this month and is in college to become a teacher. Judy and I are both very proud of her and Heather, her sister.