2009 October « In A Nut Shell

The new(s) lifestyle

October 21, 2009 at 1:37 pm | In Archbishop, Archdiocese of Guam, Guam, Pacific Daily News, career, domestic partnership, news desk, same-sex | Leave a Comment

Yesterday was my second day working at the news desk.

Oh yeah, in case you didn’t know, I got switched from the lifestyle section to news on Monday.

I came in this morning just around 9 a.m., and before my body made contact with my seat, the assignment editor scurried towards me saying I had to rush over to the Hilton immediately because the Archbishop had called for an emergency meeting with senators to argue against Bill 185—the same-sex domestic partnership bill.

This, just a day after the senator who introduced the bill—Benjamin Cruz— announced that he had been abused by a Catholic priest when he was growing up in California. According to Cruz, similar incidents of abuse have taken place on Guam by members of the Agana Archdiocese as well, although Cruz maintains that he has no proof to back up these claims. Still, Cruz feels it’s inappropriate for the Church to dismiss same-sex domestic partnership as “immoral,” when the Church itself has some “cleaning up,” to do, he says.

But apparently the Archbishop had invited the senators to this meeting even before Sen. Cruz’s allegations of sexual abuse by the Guam’s priests, so naturally, the Archbishop was not ready to comment on that yet. (check about 38 seconds into the KUAM video).

I spent the rest of the day trying to chase down members of the Church to comment over the phone, only to no avail, but the senators were willing to share their views. In fact, Sen. Telo Taitague suggested the bill got through a referendum like in California.

So that’s how it works at the news desk. I could get used to this new lifestyle.

Smile for me, daddy

October 16, 2009 at 1:29 pm | In Guam, Pacific Daily News, Paul Wall, celebrity, grillz, teeth | Leave a Comment

Paul Wall's grill (Flickr photo by pgookii)

I remember when the Nelly song “Grillz” played on the car radio one day during a family vacation, and sitting between my parents in the car, I explained to them what a “grill” was, and just how important it was if you wanted to be anyone who’s anyone in the rap/hip-hop industry.

As attractive as I find grills (as in, not even slightly) I couldn’t help but be “captivated” standing in front of Paul Wall today at the Sheraton Laguna Guam resort— not because I was awed by his C-list celebrity status, but more because he was flashing a $10,000 mouthful of bling my way.

That’s right, 10 grand. Kinda’ puts into perspective the braces you got in middle school, eh?

Spanking leads to stupider kids?

October 4, 2009 at 3:30 pm | In Guam, IQ, Pacific Daily News, behavior, discipline, intelligence, misbehaving, parenting, spanking | Leave a Comment

Is Russel Peters going to have to change his most popular punchline?

A new study conducted by University of New Hampshire professor Murray Straus found that the IQs of kids who were spanked were lower than those of kids who were not spanked.

So is this reason enough for you to think twice before raising your hand against your kid?

Well, not exactly, according to Guam Department of Youth Affairs licensed pscyhologist Juan M. Rapadas. There could be several factors at play here, and the two variables, spanking and IQ score, may not actually be linked. But the strongest part of this study seems to be the rather large number of kids who were were studied, he said.

According to the report published in the Science Daily, the study included nationally representative samples of 806 children ages 2 to 4, and 704 ages 5 to 9, who were tested at the beginning and end of a four-year span.

“IQs of children ages 2 to 4 who were not spanked were 5 points higher four years later than the IQs of those who were spanked. The IQs of children ages 5 to 9 years old who were not spanked were 2.8 points higher four years later than the IQs of children the same age who were spanked,” Science Daily reported.

Personally I’m a softie. I consider a light tap on a kid’s tushie okay once in awhile to put him or her in place, but I wouldn’t be the one doling it out myself. Plus, the situation, age of the child, and manner in which it is executed all matter, because inappropriate spanking could easily make a minor discipline lesson turn into a major personality issue for the child, Rapadas said.

And, parents on Guam seemed to think so, too. Most said they use spanking as a last resort, and even then, it’s not something they enjoy.

In that case, Rapadas suggested they look into alternatives to spanking.

After all, it might just help save a couple of their kid’s brain cells.