Who is Santa?

As the Christmas season approaches, people start to practice holiday traditions. Holiday decorations are hung, presents are bought, and pictures with Santa are taken. Children take tradition a step further by writing Santa a letter and baking him cookies. A young child never questions the true existence of Santa Claus. As an adult, however, I wonder if there really is truth behind the story of Santa.

In my quest for knowledge of Santa Claus, I stumbled across an interesting website called the Saint Nicholas Center. I was surprised to find a wealth of information on a man who lived many years ago named Saint Nicholas. Legends describe St. Nicholas as an extremely generous man who had a passion for giving to people. One story in particular details how St. Nicholas saved three young maidens from slavery. By secretly giving each daughter enough gold for a dowry, St. Nicholas gave them the opportunity of marriage.

St. Nicholas was born in modern day Turkey, but his stories live amongst the world. There are sections on the website which describe holiday customs all over the globe. It is interesting to see that most countries portray the historical St. Nicholas instead of jolly old Santa. St. Nicholas look-alikes make frequent holiday visits to classrooms and festivals. There are also a number of churches named after the popular saint.

It is clear that there is much more to the story of Santa. In America, the giving nature of St. Nicholas is personified in Santa Claus. Although we chose to change his name and add a few frills, the message of generosity remains.

Images from St. Nicholas Center

“Baby Einstein” Bad for Baby

Have you ever wondered how Albert Einstein became so smart? Perhaps his parents were persuaded by a groundbreaking parenting study to provide special attention to little Einstein. A number of new parents today hope to raise the next Einstein with the DVD collection appropriately titled “Baby Einstein.” However, increasing evidence is surfacing stating that these videos create anything but geniuses.

After reading the article on Time magazine’s website, it becomes clear that the surmounting evidence against “Baby Einstein” DVDs is becoming more solid. Instead of increasing child vocabulary and encouraging early language development, exposure to “Baby Einstein” videos actually do the opposite. The statistics are alarming. For instance, an infant exposed to these programs for one hour each day will learn 6 to 8 less words. The same infant would also have a 10% lower score on language skills!

Language is not the only area of an infant’s brain affected by “Baby Einstein” DVDs. The amount of overstimulation presented as each scene quickly dashes in front an infant’s eyes creates a predisposition to a short attention span as he or she gets older. “Baby Einstein” babies would expect the world to move at the same rapid pace.

Although it might be common sense to many that television exposure in childhood is detrimental, others cannot resist the temptation. Along with the appealing nature of the DVD promises, parents can enjoy more free time while their infants are cognitively occupied. Still, nothing beats the cognitive stimulation that parents themselves provide. The moral of the story is: read to your baby, talk to your baby, and play with your baby! After all, wouldn’t you rather take the credit for creating an exceptional genius for the next generation?

Baby Einstein pic from Google

Mom and Baby pic from Google

Travel with a Cursor

Is it not the ultimate dream to relax on a white sandy beach, or trek across Europe and discover all of the pleasures of travel? The Travel Channel’s website has a little bit of everything for the traveler at heart. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the many pages of this site. Topics of interest can range from the top Caribbean destinations, Spooky spots, and roads to drive during the fall. With so many options, this site is sure to please.

Travel Channel media created the huge empire that is the Travel Channel, this website, and other outlets. The design of the site is accommodating and allows visitors to easily decide where they want to go. The alternating video on the main page draws viewers in and easily grabs attention. My first visit was to the “Unfamiliar Haunts” page, due to the home page video’s suggestion. I especially liked the suggested videos, relating to the topics explored, except for the fact that I could not view them. Another nice touch is the News and Weather page. Not only does the site give current weather by location, but also weather in the world’s biggest and most popular cities. The news articles have catchy titles that suck you in instantly. I chose to read about T. Rex’s third finger, and found myself surfing the Discovery Channels site for more info on dinosaurs. The easy navigation, eye-catching pictures, and compelling topics tailor the travel experience for each unique web-surfer.

By the end of my travel experience, I wanted more. There are so many places to go and so little time, as the familiar saying goes. However, another visit to this site on another day can extend my journey much further. The Travel Channel’s website creates a new saying, “So many places to go with just a few clicks."

image from Google

All Things Science

Creating a web site about dinosaurs, outer space, and the human body should not be a hard task since the topic itself easily grabs peoples’ attention. However, the Berndt Group went above and beyond when developing the Maryland Science Center’s website. At first glance, it is obvious that the developers are well qualified to create eye-catching sites that keep a reader’s interest and are user-friendly. Credit to the web group is given at the bottom of the page, and a link is provided to their site. After clicking around on The Berndt Group’s page, I noticed that they have numerous awards under their belt and have created sites for the National Aquarium of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Institutions, the Maryland SPCA, and Mercy hospital. Clearly, these people know exactly what they are doing.

I thouroughly enjoyed surfing around the Science Center’s page, and the ease at which I could find what I wanted was helpful. The location of the search bar at the top of the page is perfect for finding those quick ideas that pop into your head. The logo, which also serves as the link to the home page, is cleverly located at the top as well. The shape of the logo and the menu on the home page are both an off-kilter oval, leading viewer’s to make a clear connection. In addition, the core part of the menu follows you on every page and includes common sense headings to allow easy navigation.

The bright colors on the site cater to young children and would easily grab their attention. There is a fun magnifier that dangles next to the pictures on the home page that lets kids discover hidden pictures. Most of the images chosen have a uniform layout. The images on the home page direct the eye by curving into the menu, and the images at the top of each section arch so that attention is drawn to the text below. The paragaphs are short and sweet and don’t lead to lengthy pages. My only suggestion would be to decrease the gap on the right side by centering everything on the page.

I have never thought of going to the Maryland Science Center, although I have passed it many times while strolling around the Inner Harbor. However, after viewing their webpage, I have been persuaded to plan a visit.

--Images from MDSCI.org

A Dose of Happiness?

(image from the Happy Guy)


David Leonhardt, the self-proclaimed “Happy Guy,” believes that anyone can find a small dose of happiness with a few clicks around his website. Although I find his website somewhat charming, it is hard to believe that someone in serious need of true happiness will find it on his page. Not to mention that a constant reminder of the author’s published books lead the reader to draw conclusions about the author’s ulterior motives. However, the humor articles on various topics would probably muster a smile for some.


It seems that Mr. Leonhardt is a busy man who works at home and takes on many roles including father, author, speaker, and consumer advocate. Being an author seems to take priority and was probably the motivation for creating his website. The expected audience was most likely a group of easily persuaded readers with a credit card in their hands. Although I strongly want to believe this website’s purpose is to help humanity attain happiness, observation of the numerous references to his books leads me to think otherwise.


After sifting through a few articles, I started to get used to the author’s distinct style of writing, which lies between rambling jokes and a well-told story. I actually enjoyed reading “The Art of Kissing.” I found his point of view on kissing as the world’s greatest sport refreshing, and I liked that he carried it throughout the article. “The Happy Hermit,” in which we see the side of The Happy Guy that works from home, provided quirky tips on how to be stinky and stay married.

The Happy Guy’s website takes small steps toward making the world happy, but I feel it achieves the author’s intended purpose. With the assumption that Mr. Leonhardt’s underlying goal is to interest people in his writing enough for them to want to purchase his books, it is clear that his website is accommodating.

(above image from Google)

To be Rich

Since I was born in the 80’s, hearing the name Leona Helmsley did not quite ring a bell in my head. However, I could not pass up the opportunity to comment on the life choices of a woman who ultimately left a chunk of her billion dollar fortune to her beloved dog. After enlightening myself with a quick read on Wikipedia and MSNBC, I began to see more clearly how bizarre this woman really was.

It is hard not to believe that money really does make you crazy when discussing Leona Helmsley. Although money can have a positive effect on some, it seems that the prospect of having enormous amounts of money has unfortunately created a “monster” with Mrs. Helmsley. After all, would a woman who left half of her grandchildren $5 million each and the other half squat be entitled to the trophy for world’s best grandmother? In addition, it seems that Mrs. Helmsley adored her Maltese twice as much as her grandchildren since “Trouble” was endowed with $12 million in trust. However, it is nice to see that the majority of her wealth went to charities, where I am sure it will do some good.

I can’t help but wonder what happened in this woman’s lifetime, either in her childhood or adulthood, which made her who she was in the end. Perhaps her home was not full of love, leaving her with the feeling that the only love she could have was for herself. The only thing I really know for sure is that having a great number of caring and supportive people around is much more valuable than a great amount of money. Although it seems outrageous that someone would leave their dog millions of dollars after they die, I can’t help but smile because “Trouble” seems to have been Mrs. Helmsley’s true source of love and so what if the dog is richer than most of Americans?

(images from Google)

The Joy of Children

To briefly introduce myself, I am a nursing student who works in a hospital near my hometown and I live with my parents, 3 cats, and 2 tortoises.

For my first blog assignment, I am supposed to find an award-winning blog site that strikes my fancy and develop an opinion on it. Out of the many blogs I scrolled through, one in particular caught my attention.

Being a mother is not something I can strongly identify with, so it might seem strange that I chose to explore a blog called “Motherhood is Not for Wimps.” However, as you read the entries on this site it is easy to laugh right along with the author. It is evident that the author, also called “Da Momma,” can easily find humor in all situations. My favorite entry detailed a long trip to a family wedding in the rugged family van. As the author detailed that she had to cusp her hands under her daughter’s mouth to catch her vomit, I could only laugh. Instead of grossing you out or scaring you away from motherhood, “Da Momma” simply wants people to enjoy the humor that comes along with parenting.

Another enjoyable aspect of this blog are the characters that enter each story, including a highly excitable toddler named “Roodle,” her calm and collected older sister “Mare,” and a non-chalant husband better known as “Cute Husband.” Of course, the main character who holds everyone together is “Da Momma.”

(My sister & my niece at the beach)

Although it might seem that a blog about parenting would be intended for parents, I feel that anyone who reads the blurbs on this site could appreciate its value. I love that a site about parenting chooses to point out the humor, companionship, and joy that children can bring instead of offering the latest tips on being a good parent. After all, no one is the ultimate authority on parenthood. We all just have to dive into it and make the best of it, much like “Da Momma” has.