Mayim Bialik

[twistedangel]

Honestly, I don't see the huge deal in the "please/thank you" thing, as she did point out that her children do actually say these things. She also specifically said that they do prompt here and there as needed with a nod, which she also said is usually all they need. That doesn't sound like children who don't use their manners to me. A little off-topic, but since she was mentioned-- I don't understand how Alicia Silverstone pointing out clean eating is important for good health and a strong immune system was something worthy of the scorn/ridicule she received in comments. Somehow that got twisted into "soup cures polio", which is not at all what her quote (or anything else in the article posted about her before) said.

On a much more fun Mayim topic.... The Hub is replaying Blossom and I forgot how entertaining this show was.

[chonies]

Alicia Silverstone is anti-vaccine and she said she was feeding her son miso soup to boost his immune system, as she was not going to vaccinate him, or at least was going to delay it. I don't mind if she's vegan or kiss-feeds her baby (and actually appreciate this kind of diversity of opinion), but my "hey, whatever" border is at vaccines. It's also bad science--miso soup is a traditionally Japanese food, and Japan also endured a polio epidemic in the 1950s, which declined steeply with the adoption of vaccines.

Where are you watching Blossom? I haven't seen it since its original run, and all I remember is Joey Lawrence being Joey Lawrence.

[twistedangel]

Sept 16, 2014 19:25:57 GMT -4 chonies said:

Alicia Silverstone is anti-vaccine and she said she was feeding her son miso soup to boost his immune system, as she was not going to vaccinate him, or at least was going to delay it. I don't mind if she's vegan or kiss-feeds her baby (and actually appreciate this kind of diversity of opinion), but my "hey, whatever" border is at vaccines. It's also bad science--miso soup is a traditionally Japanese food, and Japan also endured a polio epidemic in the 1950s, which declined steeply with the adoption of vaccines.

At least in the article I saw, she made no mention of any cures soup offers or said people should use it instead. She actually encouraged people to read and research to make decisions about what is, or isn't, right for their family and if that's vaccines, that's great. She even went out of her way to say she isn't necessarily opposed to them. I also am not sure what the soup being traditionally Japanese has to do with anything since, again, no cure promises for any disease were made, but we really could stand more dialogue about good, clean eating with some of the stuff that gets passed off as "food" these days. Science is a great thing, but it's also not an infallible thing-- lots of stuff they say is good for us now was once considered bad and vice versa so I have no problem with individuals being skeptical and wanting to do a lot of research before making medical decisions.

Sept 16, 2014 19:25:57 GMT -4 chonies said:

Where are you watching Blossom? I haven't seen it since its original run, and all I remember is Joey Lawrence being Joey Lawrence.

Blossom is playing on this relatively new network called The Hub (a seriously awesome channel! I just wish they would air Jem a little later in the day) that plays all the old shows. They currently airing Blossom in a block with Sister, Sister as a lead-in and Step by Step airing after. They're airing some of the later episodes now-- Carol and her daughter are now in the picture. The thing that I am enjoying most is the father and his reactions to all the stuff his kids do. He's a great actor! I also really love Anthony and his wife, although the mother is beginning to bug me with her whole "Oh, I want to be here with my children again" and then disappearing five seconds later. Joey had a great scene in one of last night's episodes where he expressed his sadness at his mom always have some excuse for missing his games and such. Hmm. Should there be a thread for this show?

[Hamatron]

OT: twistedangel, you might want to take a look at the Alicia Silverstone thread, which had lots of debate at the time her book was published. A lot of us were torn because we agreed with some of the stuff she was recommending, but she also talks about all sorts of things like an total idiot. Stuff like how eating meat causes infertility and uterine "sludge" (she prefers the word "hoo-ha" for lady bits). Vegetables preventing postpartum depression. Here's a nice outline from a book reviewer:

Nine non-scientific things Alicia Silverstone says about things that really should involve science

ETA: I've mentioned this in other threads, but there seems to be a subdivision of celebrity rising up of stars who dole out advice to moms. They tend to be pretty inexperienced new moms themselves. Or mothers of toddlers. Mayim definitely falls into the category. Has there been any celebs who managed to trod into this territory that didn't end up sounding like a crazy ass? Or totally oblivious to individual needs and things like actual science?

[chonies]

Sept 16, 2014 20:47:07 GMT -4 twistedangel said:

Sept 16, 2014 19:25:57 GMT -4 chonies said:

Alicia Silverstone is anti-vaccine and she said she was feeding her son miso soup to boost his immune system, as she was not going to vaccinate him, or at least was going to delay it. I don't mind if she's vegan or kiss-feeds her baby (and actually appreciate this kind of diversity of opinion), but my "hey, whatever" border is at vaccines. It's also bad science--miso soup is a traditionally Japanese food, and Japan also endured a polio epidemic in the 1950s, which declined steeply with the adoption of vaccines.

At least in the article I saw, she made no mention of any cures soup offers or said people should use it instead. She actually encouraged people to read and research to make decisions about what is, or isn't, right for their family and if that's vaccines, that's great. She even went out of her way to say she isn't necessarily opposed to them. I also am not sure what the soup being traditionally Japanese has to do with anything since, again, no cure promises for any disease were made, but we really could stand more dialogue about good, clean eating with some of the stuff that gets passed off as "food" these days. Science is a great thing, but it's also not an infallible thing-- lots of stuff they say is good for us now was once considered bad and vice versa so I have no problem with individuals being skeptical and wanting to do a lot of research before making medical decisions.

I can't find a good source because all the articles are quoting from her book, but she's not saying--and I'm not saying that she's saying--that "soup cures polio." I don't think she went out of her way to say Western medicine wasn't bad, because she's paraphrased as

Silverstone also stated that she is not against Western medicine, but would use it only as a last resort, and only uses doctors who share the same views.

That doesn't sound very positive to me, but that's okay, Western medicine isn't infallible. However, this brings me to the point about miso soup. Maybe I'm reading her wrong and overthinking it, but what I read in her description of how Bear has never had medicine, and part of that is attributed to miso soup. Miso soup is delicious and I enjoy it very much, but I don't especially see a connection between it and its powers to prevent polio. I was making a (possibly specious, maybe not) connection to a population who likely ate a lot of miso soup and still suffered the mid-20th century polio epidemic. Therefore, I wonder about her own rationale. And even though she isn't making grammatically imperative recommendations, she wrote a lifestyle book, not a memoir. She is fairly directly telling people what to do.

Of course science as a monolith isn't infallible, and yes, I absolutely think people should think about their food, from sourcing to labor to the chemistry involved. But the process of reading about things involving medicine and food does engage science, yet many people are so easy to discard any scientific thought that doesn't cement their worldview, especially with regards to things like vaccines.

ETA: kinda cross-posted with Hamatron. I will also kind of agree that I don't know if it's a big deal. I liked Alicia okay when she was acting, but I don't know if the world needs another ex Hollywood lifestyle guru.

Topic--Mayim. I checked IMDB and I don't see anything upcoming.

[Ninja Bunny]

Sept 16, 2014 20:47:07 GMT -4 twistedangel said:

She actually encouraged people to read and research to make decisions about what is, or isn't, right for their family and if that's vaccines, that's great.

No, it's not. It's a public health risk. Her idea of "doing research" translates to going to sites and sources that promote quackery give people misinformation that could prove deadly.

What chonies said - I draw the line at "hey, whatever" at vaccinations.

[twistedangel]

I was following that thread for a bit, but stopped reading when the soup stuff came up. My main point in mentioning that was she was being credited with saying something she didn't actually say ("Soup cures Polio"), just like Mayim has been accused of having children that do not have/use good manners based on the fact she said she's not on them every time about saying "thank you", which she said in the same article they do. I just feel it's not an accurate representation of the points the actresses were making and what they said about these issues.

BTW... I'm not saying Alicia is right or wrong on the things mentioned in the article you shared (haven't researched most of those topics at all and never discussed them with a doctor), but I will say I feel like there is a lot of projecting and adding things in by the author. Quite a few parts sounded odd, but I can't help but feel a sense of empathy for her on the last point there. Anecdotal evidence involving personal friends must be tough to forget, no matter what the issue may be. We tend to be shaped by and see the world through our own personal experiences and of the people we're closest to.

By the way.... the two episodes start in about twenty minutes. The channel on 294 (DirecTV) here. I about geeked out over the episode where Blossom and her family go to watch Nick at Disney. It featured a performance by an old favorite group called The Party. Last night, they played an episode where aliens were observing the family committing the seven deadly sins that I thought was hilarious.

ETA: Oops. Actually about 5 minutes now. LOL

[aibohphobia]

Now she's criticizing Frozen.

I think it's a good movie, not the best movie ever, and I'm not really sure why it made so much money especially in comparison to Tangled which I thought was better. However, she misses the mark again with her criticism of how it's about women searching for men and how men can't be trusted.

[scarlet]

From the above link:

"I know, you're confused by me," she writes, "Yeah, take a number."

Maybe if she ever, I don't know, took a breath and wasn't searching for yet another topic to rail against, she'd be less confusing. But it seems to me the attention she gets from "confusing" people is a driving force for her.

[Hamatron]

Eh. I'm not a big fan of Frozen either. But I didn't think the lesson of the story was that men are untrustworthy. There are men in the movie who are fine guys (Kristoff is a main character, too). The lesson was that Anna needed to learn not to be impulsive regarding major life decisions. Don't get engaged to the first guy who gives you the time of day.

Also, that impulsive neediness comes from a sense of abandonment triggered by her parents doing a really shitty job parenting/dealing with her sister. (That's my annoyance with that movie... and the weird pacing.)

I get what she is saying about the alien doll look of Frozen. They really need to shake things up with character design because they're all starting to look like the same alien/doll, especially the women.

ETA: And she's really not confusing at all. She's just really opinionated. Unfortunately, she doesn't always seem informed on the topics she has stuff to spout off about. It kind of reminds me of a teenager.