Here's what I think: What up ABC Family?

What a great weekend! I've just been enjoying, as I always do, the Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family and as a result have seen about a million commercials featuring the ABC Family original TV shows. Even though I love commercials (seriously, I was an advertising major and I LOVE commercials), I have to admit that it took me several viewings of these ads to pay attention to what some of these shows are about. After processing it I asked my self "What up ABC Family?"

The new show "Baby Daddy" has me a little concerned. While it looks light hearted and funny, I can't help but think it is sending a really disturbing message to the youth of America. I'm not naive. In fact I come from a "non-traditional" family myself, with four loving parents who miraculously all get along like good friends. I've only seen the commercials, and haven't watched the show. However, from what I can tell, it looks like it glorifies un-married (not even dating) parents. I might be off base and maybe I'll try to watch an episode to verify my concerns. If you ask me, the portrait of a single man who becomes the "baby daddy" for someone doesn't seem like a positive family message for young people.

This on top of shows like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" which is basically a show about a bunch of teens who think it's okay to get knocked up and then have a "pretend" marriage is a strange direction for a family oriented network. I know ABC Family likes to promote it's shows with the tag line "A new kind of family" but shouldn't it be concerned with the kind of message it's putting out there for the young target market that watches these shows?

All that being said, I do love ABC Family and will continue to watch, especially during a good long Harry Potter Weekend!

Here's what I think: Impatiently waiting for Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is set to hit theaters in three short weeks! Having waited two long years for this next installment of the Harry Potter series, I, along with thousands of others world-wide, am on the edge of my seat- giddy with anticipation.

As a self proclaimed Harry Potter expert, I have been thrilled to see that all the trailers that I have seen for the sixth movie have been incredibly close to what I envisioned while reading the book. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is my favorite book in the series, I love the growing relationship and trust between Dumbledore and Harry, I love the budding romances between Harry and Ginny and the tension between Ron and Hermione as they realize their feeling for one another. But I especially love the complex storyline of Severus Snape and trying to decipher whether he is truly a good or bad guy. I can't wait to see it all come to life on film!

As a side note and as credentials toward my expert status, I have read all seven books multiple times, I have seen all the films thus far, have read books about the series, such as "The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter" by David Colbert and just about anything else J.K. Rowling has put out about the magical world. I also am undefeated at the Harry Potter Scene It game, including playing against my eleven-year-old brother (we are a Harry Potter family, with the exception of my sister who down right refuses to read the books or watch the movies).

I am an avid reader an find myself completely absorbed in the worlds of the things I read about, it's not hard to become absorbed in a world so thoughtfully and meticulously created as J.K. Rowling's wizarding world. I try to add small wizarding touches to my real life including having a jar of floo powder for the fire place. And I truly believe that one day my children will receive their letters to Hogwarts (or an American Wizarding School of the same nature). Well maybe not truly but one can hope, just because I'm a muggle doesn't mean my children will be!

As you can probably tell from this blog entry, I am a little more than the typical Harry Potter fanatic and I am in need of some sustenance for my withdrawal since the final book was released. You can bet I'll be at the local Cinemark on July 15th with my Hogwarts cape(borrowed from my younger brother). And for anyone who needs some clarification on anything Harry Potter related, or if you know of anyone that might hire me full time to be a Harry Potter historian, I'm available.