Come and play everything's A-OK. Friendly neighbors there that's where we meet . Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street ?

You would be hard pressed to find an American who cannot name at least one character on Sesame Street. We all have our faves - we're partial to Cookie Monster around here. How can you not fall for the charms of a bug eyed blue Muppet who is famous for uttering: "Me want cookie!," "Me eat cookie!," and "Om Nom nom nom"?

Alas, I would come to learn this morning that not everyone was as enamored with the cookie-eating-blue and Sesame Street as we are around here. According to Wikipedia, in May 1970, a state commission in Mississippi voted to ban Sesame Street. "Say WHAT Now???" Yep, we were just as shocked when we first heard it - still are. The members of this state commission apparently felt that "Mississippi was not yet ready" for the show's integrated cast. How dare Cookie Monster try to interact with Big Bird!?!?! The nerve!

Luckily for the children of Mississippi, the commission later reversed its decision, after the vote had made national news. Someone had to be around to teach the children the number of 'Ss' and 'Ps' in Mississippi. If success is the best revenge, Sesame Street is definitely having its cookie and eating it too.

Happy 40th Birthday SS! "Me want cookie!," "Me eat cookie!," and "Om Nom nom nom"!

 

Return to sender, address unknown. No such number, no such zone.

According to Chrys Ankeny of Historynet.com, personal ads for companionship have a rich tradition in America. Mail-order requests for brides were the natural result of the fact that out West, men could prospect for gold but rarely for respectable females.

In his article, The History of Mail Order Brides, Ken Marlborough goes on to explain the modern day version of this phenomenon. He explains the trend in the early 1980s of Western men who extended their search for a perfect soul mate. Initially, Asian women were the ones advertising themselves as MOB. Eastern European women, especially Russian, came into the fold with the fall of the Iron Curtain. The introduction of the internet increased the ease and reliability of creating future romantic partnerships.

A recent episode of We TV's Secret Lives of Women explores this subject in modern times. The episode follows a group of women on their journey to find international love. As with other non-traditional methods of dating and marriage, the mail order system is viewed with skepticism by many friends and families of those involved.

So, what are your feelings about this matter?

Would this be something that you would consider for yourself?

Would it be something that you would be okay with your family and friends doing it?

Share...

Upcoming Air Dates:

Tuesday, November 10 at 3pm | 2c
Wednesday, November 18 at 3am | 2c
Tuesday, December 1 at 9pm | 8c
Wednesday, December 2 at 12am | 11c
Wednesday, December 9 at 1am | 12c

 

Rock the Mixed Race Nation!

According to U.S. Census estimates, multiracial Americans have become one of the country's fastest growing demographic groups. Nicholas Jones, chief of the U.S. Census Bureau's Racial Statistics Branch, says the number of mixed-race individuals has increased about 25 percent since the 2000 census. "These are mainly driven by births of children from interracial parent couples," he says.

The book Blended Nation is a portrait of mixed-race Americans and how they exist in the multiracial realm. According to the husband-and-wife team they "wanted to highlight the personal experiences of life between categories."

Paint us a picture of your life in the box of more than one race.

What does that mean to you on a daily basis?

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120209980

A Jew by any other name would still eat matzah ball soup?

This is a fascinating case that highlights the complexities of religion and ethnicity. Is Judaism a religion or an ethnicity? Do Jews of different races share the same religion and the same ethnic umbrella?

Who is a Jew?

According to Judaism 101, "a Jew is any person whose mother was a Jew or any person who has gone through the formal process of conversion to Judaism." Judaism 101 goes on to say that "a Jew has nothing to do with what you believe or what you do... In this sense, Judaism is more like a nationality than like other religions, and being Jewish is like a citizenship."

This question was posed to a British Court when a 12-year-old boy, an observant Jew whose father is Jewish and whose mother is a Jewish convert, was denied entry to the Jews’ Free School (JFS) in North London. JFS, which subscribes to the Orthodox definition of Judaism - maternal lineage - denied the boy entry because his mother converted in a progressive, not an Orthodox, synagogue. According to the school "she was not a Jew — nor was her son."

The family has filed suit against JFS for discriminatory practices. They initially lost, but the ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal this summer. According to the New York Times
article:

The case rested on whether the school’s test of Jewishness was based on religion, which would be legal, or on race or ethnicity, which would not. The court ruled that it was an ethnic test because it concerned the status of M’s mother rather than whether M considered himself Jewish and practiced Judaism.

JFS is currently in the process of appealing to Britain’s Supreme Court . However, this incident has left divided loyalties among those of different Jewish denominations. Who has the authority to determine the definition of Jewishness?

We ask you these question:

Who has the authority to determine the definition of Jewishness?

Religious leaders?

Secular courts?

Religious courts?

Those who consider themselves Jewish?

What factors should be used to determine said definition?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, And all the King's men should have consulted Germany to put Humpty together again!

Germany is celebrating 20 years of successful unification. Maybe it's time that you take a page from its book and close whatever division is in your personal life.

“I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits by Picasso.”

I must say that we're confused. Sammy Sosa claims that he "is just rejuvenating his skin". We're spa buffs here, but have never encountered this particular type of "rejuvenation". Let's hope that the quote that he provided to the Chicago Tribune is correct: "When you see me in person, it is not going to seem like the picture ..." Good luck with that one, Sammy!