570News Blog: Lisa Drew

It’s not that “yucky” kiss like the one between Al and Tipper Gore where he pretty much swallowed her whole, and it’s not up there with Liza Minelli’s wedding fish kiss from her now ex-husband.. but.. it’s awkward for sure.

CNN and other news stations have been having fun,  showing the near miss kiss between Barack Obama and his running mate’s wife, Jill Biden.
That Democratic kiss in question happened Wednesday night, on stage in Denver.
It looks like they were both aiming for each other’s cheeks, but didn’t know where the other one was really
going .. and they landed on the lips.

So what do to?   Those european-style kisses where you aim for the other’s cheeks back and forth can be confusing on a good day.  You are supposed to go with the left cheek first.

A business etiquette expert tells the Globe and Mail when in doubt.. go for the hug.

lisa

We’ve come a long way, baby.
Or have we?
A new poll by CareerBuilder.ca finds women still drag behind on the pay scale.
And it’s not just the paycheque.  Some 19-percent of female workers feel the guy at the next desk has more career advancement opportunities, even though both are equally qualified.

Some 41-percent of women think men are more aggressive in their compensation negotiations, and they get the better and higher profile projects.
Almost a quarter of women asked think men schmooze more with the boss.

It’s not just about that regular golf game with the head honcho.  It can also be about who you know when you’re trying to get in the door.
That person can make a big difference in your bank balance.
University of Oregon researchers have found that women at work get by - and  even earn more - with a little help from their friends and family.  They also found men don’t enjoy the same boost from their social networks.
This is what the study found:  women who found their current job through a parent or sibling earned over
$32-thousand dollars on average.
Those women who landed a job through a close friend earned  about four thousand dollars less.
The paycheque for women with no previous connection to their employer was under $20-thousand dollars.

lisa

I can guarantee no matter day or time, and once you make it to our door, past the chinch bug eaten lawn.. you will step on one of these guys.
They are small, cute.. and pretty much everywhere in my house. (Usually found somewhere on the floor.)
The Lego man with changeable heads, hair and hats turns 30 today.
The folks at Lego say there are now four billion  of their mini men out there around the world…and 3.9 of my Lego dudes are sold every second!

Check out www.GoMinimanGo.com for news updates and trivia, even a blog. 

I’m sure we’ll be celebrating at our place.

Maybe I will save some from the vacuum today.

lisa

HEADS UP… You’ve been warned…
In about an hour from now, I am hitting the stores with two perfectly well-behaved boys in tow.
Today is our back-to-school, get it all done, shopping madness day.

I will be that tired looking mom with the two quiet and still boys, with arms full of clothing and pencil crayons.
I will be propped up at the checkout with debit card in hand.

Make way.  I want to get it done in under an hour!

Eleven days to go… WOO HOO!.

lisa

Canada picked up three silver medals at the Summer Games yesterday… and our athletes all looked pretty pleased about it.
Not the case according to some psychologists stateside.
The Washington Post reports Olympic medallists were studied after second and third place finishes.
They say the video footage proves the difference in placing, and the type of smile flashed across the television screen.
Turns out the bronze medal winners sport a true winning glow.  Silver winners are still focussed on thoughts of gold …and their smiles show it.

lisa

Some thoughts as we celebrate our 13th medal this morning: WOOHOO!!
The Olympic’s version of Mr Blackwell’s best and worst dressed list is out.
The athletes from Hungary are getting panned  for their team outfits - they’re being described as made from old curtains.
South Africa tops the worst list due to the team’s footwear - lime green Crocs.

I’m still dreaming of wolfing down an Olympic style breakfast.
Golden Boy Michael Phelps consumes some 12-thousand calories a day to be such a powerhouse in the pool.

And at the age of 61, Ian Millar continues to wow all.
This time on his horse Style..winning silver in team show jumping.
He dedicated the win to his late wife who died of cancer earlier this year.

lisa
 

I found this in the Globe and Mail today.
A poll done by Parenting magazine finds most moms think their kids are the best and the brightest.

Go ahead ask me!

More than a thousand mothers were polled and 70-percent
say their child is gifted.
Here’s the deal…as much as we brag, most kids are not.
The experts say only two to five percent actually fall under the “gifted” category.

Days left until back-to-school: 14!

lisa

The Summer Games are in full swing,  and Michael Phelps continues to dazzle all in the pool.

The golden swimmer has even been fully covered up for some events - wearing  a unitard-style swimsuit.
And it’s working for him.. look at the loot around his neck.

And then there are the women’s beach volleyball teams.
What are these athletes wearing?
Two tiny bits of spandex.. pretty much a bikini.
Their male counterparts on the sandy volleyball court are sporting long shorts, and a loose- sleeveless jersey.
Four years later.. not much has changed.
One bend over or dive.. and the women are spotted worldwide re-adjusting their tiny bottoms.  Did you see the American men’s pair pulling at their uniforms last night on CBC?
They were busier with their backward ball caps and shades.

Also noted during our CBC summer games viewing last night - the sea of blue in the stands - all those empty seats.

At least they had a full house for the lip-syncher. 

lisa

The sunshine is truly here..none of that stormy, broody stuff from the last week or so.  The less-than-perfect weather just meant more time curled up on the couch
and out on the porch on the wicker chair, just reading.

We had a great week at the cottage.  We started up in Huntsville for the long weekend.  The long drive up was worth it. ( Way too much traffic for a Saturday morning!)
While the sun was out - I finally got some sea legs and got a ride on a jet-ski.  The kids were sent thru the air tubing.  Our five-year-old also experienced what he calls his ” best campfire ever”! 
Then we headed to the family cottage on Lake Erie.

I did get through two books, and am now into number three, so it was a good week off despite the weather.

I loved (loved!) Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay.  It surrounds life and love at a radio station in Yellowknife in the 1970’s.  It really captures the daily life and characters found at a radio station.
It also follows a life-changing canoe trip the group from the station makes.  Beautifully written, I wish there was more.

Holy Cow by Sarah Macdonald chronicles her stay in India.  She and her husband are reporters,
and she is adjusting to the India way of life while he covers the political unrest around 9/11.
She charts her own religious journey.   The book is an updated, hipper version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love. 

I am now halfway thru A Complicated Kindess by Miriam Toews…and I’m already in love with Nomi.  She’s a very Juno-like young Mennonite woman trying to make sense of why her mother and sister just up and left.

I still have my eye on some bio’s, and way too many decorating and current affair magazines left stacked up by the bag of dirty laundry at the back door.
I just have to shake the sand out of them…and find some more time.

lisa

This week’s gruesome attack on a bus in Manitoba is just that..gruesome.  The details are not pretty - they are truly horrible and  tough to talk about,  but people are talking about it… and quite a lot.
It is a story like this that prompts extended discussion here in the newsroom.  How much information is too much?
Is the right to know the same as the right to possibly offend?

Some media outlets did advise listeners of the disturbing nature of the story before some details were given.
Many didn’t.
We have cautioned listeners in the past.  One of the more recent examples would be the details given in court during Robert Pickton’s trial.

As the morning progressed yesterday, and the more horrific details were coming down, the discussion focussed on the eyewitness reports.  Police had not confirmed the multiple stabbing or the beheading of the victim.
We did report that.

I took a one call yesterday, and the listener thought
we should be giving out even more information.

We do try to be sensitive, and to report all stories honestly and factually.
Many of us are parents, and those children are home for the summer holidays hearing reports, even seeing the footage on TV.. as they search for that show on YTV or Teletoon.

The bus attack is being called unprovoked and  isolated, and that means these types of stories are isolated too.

It is a good reminder to remember who is listening, and how the information is handled.

We do appreciate your feedback.

lisa