JulietteTerzieff.com

Honestly, what is Danica Patrick thinking?

Patrick has an impressive racing resume as the most well known female contender in the Indy Car series and the ARCA Racing Series in recent years. She was the first woman to win an Indy car race with her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan Race and her 2009 third place finish in the Indianapolis 500 was the highest finish in the event’s history for a woman. Patrick is on track to make her debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series this coming weekend.

In that respect she is a great role model. She’s a capable, determined, gutsy lady breaking down barriers. And she and/or her managers are smart enough to market Patrick elsewhere while she’s a hot commodity.

But beside her late night talk show guest spots, most of her appearances outside the racing world – including two Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (like this one from 2009), numerous racy photos shoots and the GoDaddy.com commercials – seem more apropos to a centerfold wannabe than a race car driver.

It’s not that I mind a sexy looking woman in a bikini – and she certainly looks good – but it infuriates me to see a woman break through into one of the most staunchly male-only sectors of society, only to turn around and play the role of stereotypical sex kitten.

And certainly Patrick is not the only talented or famous lady to go this route in recent years. Beyonce, Rihanna and Britney Spears were all very successful before shortening their skirts, their hair, or list of sexual inhibitions surrounding public displays of affection.

But as a sports star female in the public eye, doesn’t Patrick have a responsibility to the young girls out there who consider her a role model? What kind of message is she sending? Success is great, but you haven’t really made it until you flaunt your body? Breaking barriers is good stuff, but no matter how talented you are, the truth is society will never view you as more than a pin-up girl? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Maybe I’m a prude. Maybe I’m getting old.

Or maybe not ….. the rankers in USA Today’s 22nd annual Super Bowl Ad Meter agreed. The GoDaddy.com commercials ranked in 61 and 63 place out of 63. (Small aside? LOVE the fact that Betty White and Abe Vigoda scored the number one spot!)

End result for Super Bowl Sunday 2010?

Score a massive win for New Orleans and their beloved Saints. Post a major loss for poor taste. 

Now that’s a Super Bowl Sunday worth cheering!

If recent history is anything to go by, both traditional and new media are going to be flooded with verbiage on Sarah Palin’s appearance this weekend the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville. Love or hate the former-Alaska governor, only a fool would argue the lady doesn’t have an attention-grabbing public persona.

Her supporters believe this the real Mrs. Palin. An attractive do-it-all-modern mom who shoots from the hip, holds nothing back and brushes off emotional punches like a prizefighter.

Her detractors blast her as a manipulative and dangerous talking head that spews vitriol without checking her facts first.

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the span of the last two weeks we have witnessed both the power and the folly of new media.

The blogosphere, twitterverse and other online forums proved to be effective rapid-reaction communications tools when a massive earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12. Outside Haiti, the Internet exploded with posts and tweets providing donation information, suggestions to help people search for loved ones and heartfelt entreaties to lend a helping hand. From inside Haiti survivors tweeted eyewitness accounts and offered to help locate loved ones, uploaded information to MySpace, YouTube and Facebook.

Did all this online activity dig people out from under collapsed buildings? Did it put bandages on bleeding wounds? No, of course not.

But it did provide an almost immediate platform for people to come together, share information and reach out with compassion and do what they could to help Haiti.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just when I thought it was impossible to be any more disgusted by the shenanigans of politicians, along come two New York Times stories that turned my stomach.

First up? John Edwards.

After repeated denials and lots of puppy dog eyes, the former Democratic presidential nominee-hopeful has now publicly admitted that, yes, he is the father of his former mistress Rielle Hunter’s 2 year old daughter.

Read the rest of this entry »

The blogosphere and twitterverse exploded late last night with the news of a massive 7.0 earthquake in Haiti. The current outpouring of support, prayers and entreaties to help Haiti recover are both humbling and inspiring – and remind us all that even in the face of great tragedy there is hope for us all when people of the world unite in common purpose.

Read the rest of this entry »

So a few not-so-random thoughts as a follow-up to my post: Perils of Living in a Fast Food Nation.

 According to this Der Spiegel article from Germany, governments across the European continent are examining legislative ways to trim the fat out of their nations’ diets. Like residents in the U.S. and other regions, Europeans are seeing an explosion of expanding waistlines. Proposals on the table reportedly include more taxes on chocolate in Denmark and fast food in Romania, limits on the use of trans fat in Spain and an end to advertising of sweets to children under 12 in Germany.

Read the rest of this entry »

If there’s one thing guaranteed to foil my best attempts at a healthier lifestyle, it’s not remembering to stock the fridge with better-for-you snacks; and it’s not getting in a 30 minute walk at least 3 times a week — it’s fast food (following very closely by rich, chocolate desserts). It’s a battle I’ve fought – fairly unsuccessfully – for years, … and one that society in general also seems to be losing.

But not anymore!!! Two really gross stories this week may finally tame my FF addiction.

Read the rest of this entry »

When electoral authorities declared Iran’s incumbent Mahmoud Ahmedinejad winner of June 2009 presidential elections the power of technology and social networks became front page news around the world. Six months later the power of these new tools to influence the hearts and minds of users around the world is definitively a mainstream concept – and is attracting attention from policymakers.

 Iran’s opposition politicians and their supporters rallied to oppose the controversial election, using Twitter networks to inform people in and outside Iran of demonstration plans. As authorities blocked an increasing number of websites and prevented most journalists from reporting out of Tehran, protestors and their online supporters set up proxies to help those inside Iran continue using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social networking sites to sidestep official censorship.

Read the rest of this entry »

As a devoted fan of all things bloodsucker, I was delighted to read about all of the bloody creatures snapping up honors at last night’s Peoples’ Choice Awards.

The New Moon installment based on the Twilight saga phenomenon sucked up four awards, including favorite movie, franchise, on-screen team and breakout male actor for Tayler Lautner. My other current favorite fang-fare, HBO’s True Blood (based on Charlaine Harris’ series) grabbed favorite television obsession, while CW series The Vampire Diaries won for new television drama.

My joy in this news is twofold. One, it means we’re likely to see more bloodsuckers soon rising to feast in contemporary literary fiction works, on television and in the movies. Two, the popularity of these walking dead – who tend to either glory in the hunt or live in eternal torment – means that I am definitely NOT alone in my not-so-secret infatuations. (phew!!!!)

Read the rest of this entry »

A piece of positive news for the animal kingdom to close out 2009 and welcome 2010

Australian and American researchers believe they have uncovered the cause of a cancer that has decimated the world’s Tasmanian devils populations, pushing the marsupial towards extinction at a frighteningly quick rate. Scientists hope to use the information to formulate a cure in time to save the species.

Read the rest of this entry »