Parenting Teens

For those of you who don’t follow the music and artists that your teenagers follow,27-year-old rapper T.I.(Clifford Harris, Jr.) is currently in jail in Atlanta. He faces federal weapons-related charges, including possessing three unregistered machine guns, two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

T.I. is a big name in rap. His best-selling albums include King, Urban Legend, and Trap Muzik, as well as the movie soundtrack Hustle and Flow. His movie appearances include ATL and the current American Gangster with Denzel Washington. He hangs out with other rappers like Diddy, Young Jeezy, and Jay-Z. He’s a big influence in the lives of some of your teens out there.

T.I. was arrested on Saturday night, just hours before he was to appear on BET’s Hip-Hop awards in Atlanta. His arrest came as part of a federal sting operation in which his bodyguard was arrested attempting to purchase firearms from an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agent. The bodyguard informed the ATF that he was purchasing the weapons for T.I., with money provided to him by the rapper.

The bodyguard also informed the ATF that T.I. had fronted him thousands of dollars to buy guns on four different occasions since July of this year. In cooperation with the ATF, the bodyguard wore a wire while meeting with T.I. to hand over three machine guns and two silencers. When he was told about one of the silencers, T.I. reportedly said “no flash, no bang” and asked for the “change leftover” from the $12,000 he had given the bodyguard for the weapons. At that point, he was taken into custody.

T.I. was convicted of drug distribution in June, 1998 in Georgia. He also has additional arrests, and a probation violation for unlawfully possessing firearms. This prevents him from legally buying guns himself. He will remain in jail at least until Friday, when hearings will be held to determine whether he is eligible for bail, and whether there was probable cause to arrest him.

Sounds like yet another wonderful role model for our kids. If you have teens who are into rap, talk about this situation with them, and follow the news with them. Seeing their idols forced to answer to, and take responsibility for, their actions, just might make them think a little harder before getting into trouble.

For more news on rappers see:
Diddy
Young Jeezy

T.I., Clifford Harris, Diddy, Young Jeezy, American Gangster, ATL, rap music, rappers, teens, teenagers, parenting, parenting teens, parenting teenagers

All the drama! All the excitement! All the screaming! And that was just for Zac Efron! Efron and his High School Musical 2 costars won several awards at the Teen Choice Awards, as did Johnny Depp and his Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s Endcostars. A selected list of winners is below. For a full list of who teens picked as their favorites this year, go to Fox News.

Choice Movie: Action Adventure — “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

Choice Movie: Drama — “The Pursuit of Happyness”

Choice Movie Actor: Drama — Will Smith (”The Pursuit of Happyness”)

Choice Movie Actress: Drama — Jennifer Hudson (”Dreamgirls”)

Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure — Johnny Depp (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure — Keira Knightley (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie Actress: Comedy — Sophia Bush (”John Tucker Must Die”)

Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller — Shia LaBeouf (”Disturbia”)

Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller — Sophia Bush (”The Hitcher”)

Choice Movie: Villain — Bill Nighy (”Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”)

Choice Movie: Hissy Fit — Ryan Seacrest (”Knocked Up”)

Choice Movie: Breakout Female — Sophia Bush

Choice Movie: Dance — Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan (”Step Up”)

Choice Movie: Breakout Male — Shia LaBeouf

Choice Movie: Chemistry — Will Smith and Jaden Smith (”The Pursuit of Happyness”)

Choice Movie: Scream — Steve Carell (”Evan Almighty”)

Choice TV: Movie — “High School Musical 2″

Choice TV Show: Comedy — “Hannah Montana”

Choice TV: Reality/Variety Show — “American Idol”

Choice TV Actor: Comedy — Steve Carell (”The Office”)

Choice TV Actress: Comedy — Miley Cyrus (”Hannah Montana”)

Choice TV: Breakout — America Ferrera (”Ugly Betty”)

Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star — Sanjaya (American Idol)

Choice TV: Female Reality/Variety Star — Lauren Conrad (”The Hills”)

Choice Music: Single — “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne

Choice Music: Male Artist — Justin Timberlake

Choice Music: Female Artist — Fergie

Choice Music: Rap Artist — Timbaland

Choice Music: R&B Artist — Rihanna

Choice Music: Breakout Artist Female — Vanessa Hudgens

Choice Music: Breakout Artist Male — Akon

Choice Music: Love Song — “With Love” - Hilary Duff

Choice Music: R&B Track — “Beautiful Girls,” Sean Kingston

Choice Music: Payback Track — “What Goes Around..,” Justin Timberlake

Choice Male Hottie — Zac Efron

Choice Female Hottie — Jessica Alba

Choice Comedian — Dane Cook

Choice Summer Movie — Drama/Action Adventure — “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix”

Choice Summer Movie — Comedy/Musical — “Hairspray”

Choice Summer Song — “Hey There Delilah,” Plain White T’s

Choice Summer Artist — Miley Cyrus

Choice Summer TV Show — “Degrassi”

Choice V Cast Video — “The Hills”

Teen Choice Awards, High School Musical 2, Zac Efron, Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean

The biggest illness affecting ‘tweens right now? According to ABC News it’s High School Musical 2. The sequel to the wildly popular first High School Musical is giving it’s young stars lots of media coverage-Zac Efron on the cover of Rolling Stone, Ashley Tisdale on lots of talk shows, the whole cast on “Good Morning America.”

Tweens and their spending power have made the Disney musical a hit-turning it into a $100 million dollar enterprise. According to Jane Buckingham, president of market research firm Intelligence Group, “They can spend about $50 billion. Increasingly they get their own allowances, they know what brands they like, they are very sure of what they want to buy.”

Director and choreographer Kenny Ortega said of the movies’ popularity among ‘tweens:

“It empowers young people … that they can take the responsibility themselves and be in charge of their own destinies, and that high school can be what they want it to be.”

Are your teens or ‘tweens fans of “High School Musical?” How do you feel about them spending their money on merchandise from the movie?

High School Musical, High School Musical 2, Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, Kenny Ortega, Disney, The Disney Channel, Good Morning America, Rolling Stone, Intelligence Group

Well, the Pottermania for this summer has officially begun! “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” has been released. The race for who can see it first is already over, and now the race is on to as to who will see it the most times! And with the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming out soon, there’s even more mania to follow. The Baltimore Sun has reactions from some fans who saw midnight showings last night.

Which brings me to the rest of my post for today. As usually happens with our favorite movies, my 16-year-old daughter and I were out to see a midnight showing. This was following a sprained or broken ankle scare yesterday morning (it turned out to be only a strain, thank goodness, but spending half the day in the emergency room was my reason for not posting yesterday). We went with in a small group with two of our friends.

It was, essentially, like a family reunion! Not that we knew all of the people there. But we all had a love of Harry in common, and getting together was great! In keeping with the theme of the evening, I dressed as Professor McGonagall and the three girls dressed as Hogwart’s students. The costumes were interesting. I even saw a couple of people who were wearing torn, black flowing robes and looking like Dementors. One extremely tall guy was wearing a wig and long beard and looking like Hagrid.

We arrived at 11:00pm, although we had already bought tickets earlier. But there were door prizes, a costume contest(we didn’t win, darn it!) and trivia. It was a fun and quick hour, waiting for the movie to begin.

Now, for the movie itself. This is no critic’s evaluation. I’m a huge Potter fan, and would have liked it, regardless. This is just my take. It was the shortest Potter film to date, at two hours, 18 minutes. It seemed to go much faster than that.

My favorite part of it all was that all the familiar characters were back-Mad-Eye Moody, Remus Lupin, Lucius Malfoy. My least favorite part was that the movie is so jam-packed with familiar characters that it left very little room to introduce new ones. We saw extremely little of Tonks and Bellatrix Lestrange (a great turn by Helena Bonham Carter), who figured prominently in the book.

As usual, the veteran actors of the cast were superb. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black fits the role to a T. Alan Rickman did his usual outstanding job as Severus Snape, as did David Thewlis and Ralph Fiennes, as Remus Lupin and Voldemort. From the beginning, the casting of the professors and other older roles has been wonderful.

As for the younger actors-Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, I like them more with every movie. Some people feel that they are outgrowing their roles. I, on the other hand, feel that they have grown into them. They have a great cohesiveness, which improves with every Potter film.

Overall, I felt the film was really good. The tone was much darker, true, but then each successive book has dealt with darker themes, so this is to be expected. When you think about it, kids deal with darker issues the older they become, so the films mirror life in that respect.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is a great activity to share with your kids-teen, ‘tweens, almost any age. If you like it too, so much the better. If you don’t, go anyway and indulge your kids a bit. They’ll appreciate it, and you might find yourself having a good time, if you can suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours and accept the magic.

Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, David Thewlis, Ralph Fiennes

Does your teen or ‘tween wear glasses? These days, it is more stylish to wear eyeglasses. With all types of frames (many of them designer) available, glasses can be considered a great fashion accessory!

A poll of kids ages seven to 16, conducted in the UK by the College of Optometrists, reports that Harry Potter and Johnny Depp are making it cool to wear glasses! Telegraph.co.uk reports on the study, in which Harry Potter(the fictional character portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe in the movies) and actor Johnny Depp were the top role models for kids-with Depp being particularly influential to teens.

Others named as influential in the poll included Elton John, the Queen, Bill Gates, Tony Blair, and Anne Robinson(of “Weakest Link” fame).

If you have a teen or any other age child who needs glasses or contacts, a great site to visit is All About Vision. They have a wealth of information regarding vision problems, eye diseases, glasses, contacts, laser surgery, and many other subjects involving the eyes and vision. They have separate sections dealing with children and teens.

Let your kids know that wearing glasses is no longer just for geeks!

glasses, eye glasses, contacts, vision, Harry Potter, Johnny Depp, Daniel Radcliffe, laser surgery, contact lenses

It’s time once more for the Teen Choice Awards. The awards will be broadcast on Fox, August 26th. Your teen can vote by going to the above website. Here’s a complete list of nominees. Some really interesting choices on here!

Choice Movie: Action Adventure

300

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Spider-Man 3

Transformers

Choice Movie: Drama

Step Up

Stomp the Yard

The Departed

The Guardian

The Pursuit of Happyness

Choice Movie: Chick Flick

Georgia Rule

License to Wed

Music and Lyrics

The Holiday

The Last Kiss

Choice Movie: Comedy

Blades of Glory

Evan Almighty

Knocked up

Night at the Museum

Ocean’s Thirteen

Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller

Disturbia

The Number 23

1408

Hostel: Part II

Saw III

Choice Movie Actor: Drama

Ashton Kutcher - The Guardian

Leonardo DiCaprio - The Departed, Blood Diamond

Channing Tatum - Step Up

Adam Sandler - Reign Over Me

Will Smith - The Pursuit of Happyness

Choice Movie Actress: Drama

Angelina Jolie - A Mighty Heart

Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

Lindsay Lohan - Bobby, Georgia Rule

Meagan Good - Stomp the Yard

Scarlett Johansson - The Black Dahlia, The Prestige

Choice Movie Actor: Action Adventure

Shia LaBeouf - Transformers

Chris Evans - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Orlando Bloom - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Tobey Maguire - Spider-Man 3

Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure

Jessica Alba - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Keira Knightley - Pirates of the Carribean: At World’s End

Kirsten Dunst - Spider-Man 3

Lena Headey - 300

Megan Fox - Transformers

(more…)

For teens, ‘tweens, and everyone else alike, it’s a Harry Potter summer! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has its U.S. release on July 11.

My 16-year-old daughter and I are so looking forward to this movie! With each successive movie, we’ve become more crazy about the series. We were thrilled to hear that Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson had all been signed for the rest of the series. We plan to catch this one at one of the midnight showings with two of her friends.

We’re a little less thrilled with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It’s not that we’re not looking forward to reading it. It’s just that, with it being the final book in the series, we’re both prepared to cry, no matter how it ends! After all, this series of books has been part of both our lives since she was in third grade. Both the books and movies have been a great bonding experience for us, since we are both fans.

Is your teen or ‘tween a fan? Do you plan to see the movie and read the book? Let us know about your experiences with your kids over Harry!

Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling, teens, ‘tweens, movies, summer movies