HOMESTARRUNNER.COM-PLETELY COOL!
By Kelly Milner Halls

            Are your dreams filled with a hilarious trio of bad, sad and mad brothers, an armless geek in a baseball cap and endless references to witches bwew (brew)? Don’t call a doctor. You’ve got HomestarRunner.com fever -- along with 20 million other cybernauts -- and there is no fwiggin’ cure.

           Pin the zany blame on Atlanta brothers Matt and Mike Chapman. They created the PG-rated world of HomestarRunner.com as an alternative to holding down a real (boring) job, and people went nuts. It was even named one of PC Magazine’s Top 100 Websites for 2003 and was featured in Entertainment Weekly. But it didn’t happen overnight.

“After we finished college [Mike, 29, studied photography at the University of Georgia, Matt, 26, tackled film at Florida State], we moved back home to Atlanta and got an apartment together,” says Matt Chapman.

          While Matt worked at Internet provider Earthlink to pay the rent, Mike downloaded free trial versions of Flash computer animation software and taught himself how to use it.  “I would come home, and Mike would show me everything he’d learned that day,” Matt explains. “Once we got the hang of it, we wanted to make a cartoon, mostly for fun.  So we dusted off some old characters.”

Homestar Runner, Strong Bad, Pom Pom and the Cheat populated the pages of a self-published picture book Mike Chapman and his friend Craig Zobel created in 1996 to spoof the “sad-shape” of picture books at an Atlanta mall, according to Matt. Distributed only to an elite group of art school friends, the quirky characters seemed custom made to dazzle folks online.

            “Once we had a couple of cartoons done, we put up a website,” Matt says. “Not to make a living, but because we thought it would be fun.”

           First launched in January of 2000 as www.homestarrunner.net, the site had a modest but faithful following almost as soon as it went live.  “We didn’t really try to self promote,” Matt admits. “We weren’t really looking for an audience. We were having fun.” 

            They did post word of the sparky shorts on an Internet animation registry, “reaching out to other flash animators,” Matt says.  “Our first audience was full of people in the field and students, but hardly anybody else.”

            By September of 2002, the online word-of-mouth buzz was in full-swing and HomestarRunner.com drew 25,000 unique or individual visitors every day.  “The fans are now rabid,” Matt admits. “They’ll watch each cartoon several times a day. It’s really cool.”

            Most popular is Strong Bad’s Email (http://homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html)  – a sassy question & answer column drawn from actual visitor emails and hosted by a half-naked Latino wrestler named Strong Bad.

            “Strong bad gets 3000 to 3500 emails a day,” Matt says. Not every note is funny enough to land on the popular flash screen. “But we set aside the stuff with potential,” he says, “and we try to stay current by picking one from the top of the pile, now and then.”

            New letters (and letter animations) are added each Monday and address almost any topic, featuring various HomestarRunner.com characters, as this gut-busting example called “1 Step Ahead,” illustrates.

Dear Strong Bad,
   Don’t you think it would be funny if you glued Strong Sad’s hands to his face? I think it would be.
Alex
Medford, NJ

I’m one step ahead of you Alex. Though I decided to take it in a bit of a different direction.

[Cut to flash animation of Strong Bad’s plump, gray gothic brother, Strong Sad with his hands glued to his rear.]

Strong Sad:  Oh, hey Homestar.

Homestar:  Uhh…Strong Sad, why are you touching your buttocks. That’s pretty weird.

Strong Sad:  I can’t help it.

Homestar: Okay. That’s REALLY weird (and walks away)

Strong Sad: No wait, you don’t understand.

--Enter Bubs—

Bubs: Grabbin your butt? That’s not very ladylike.

Strong Sad:  I’m not a lady.

Bubs: Oh. Whatever (and walks away)

Strong Sad: Oh, this is getting frustrating

--Enter Strong Bad--

Strong Bad: Oh, Strong Sad, fancy seeing you here, and uncontrollably grabbling your own butt, I see. Oh, don’t let me get in the way. Carry on (snickers and walks away)

Strong Sad: Wait, come back.

--Enter Coach Z—

Couch Z: Atta-boy, Strong Sad (keeps walking)

Strong Sad:  Wait, where are you going? Do you have any solvent? Or goof-off? Or DD7?  Somebody get my hands off my butt.

            Is WWF inspired character Strong Bad really a black sheep?  “No,” Matt admits. “We grew up watching the Little Rascals. The bully was the bully, but they still hung out with him. So Strong Bad is more like my brother Mike. He’d beat me up and make me laugh at the same time.” 

            HomestarRunner.com will just make you laugh, without a bruising. Not too shabby for homegrown entertainment you can get online for free.

	Guidepost for Teens ONLINE Ashley Phillips

After the Disaster

Ashley Phillips Found a Way...

by Kelly Milner Halls

May 2, 2002, was just another day for Ashley Phillips, 17. Then she turned on the TV—and saw the devastating results of a flood two hours away from her home in Virginia. Houses, property, and lives in the Appalachian Mountain regions of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky had been swept away in the disaster.

Ashley watched in horror as 13 of the area’s schools were engulfed by the sea of muddy water. One was a total, $7.5 million loss. Elementary-school libraries were literally washed away—and most of the schools in the poverty-stricken area had no funding to replace the missing books.

“Everyone deserves a chance to read,” Ashley says. “I couldn’t let a natural occurrence take that away from these kids and not try to do something about it.”

So Ashley joined forces with her mother, Rhonda, to create “Books for Flooded Appalachia.” While Rhonda spread the word locally that their organization was collecting books, Ashley created a Web site to cyber-circulate the need worldwide.

Within days, boxes of books began arriving—lots of boxes. As Ashley unpacked each one, she kept track of the senders’ names and home states. Then she started organizing them into “Easy Reader,” “Picture Book,” and “Novel” categories. By the end of June, Ashley had counted and sorted almost 1,500 children’s books—and donations are still pouring in.

During the week of August 19-23, Ashley will help distribute the books to schools, according to how many they need. But she says she’s already collected her most valuable reward.

“It feels good to step up and help,” she says.

For more information about the book drive, visit Ashley’s Web site at www.geocities.com/booksforfloodedappalachia/donations.html  

Roswell student whose parents are of different races is working to win Project RACE.

When 14-year-old Roswell resident Ryan Graham first talked to a committee of Congress members in Washington six years ago, he was one of the youngest Americans ever to testify. He was a fourth-grader with a vision -- a little kid with a big idea.

"My mom is white, my dad is black," Ryan explained to News for Kids. That makes him multiracial -- a person with two distinct racial identities.

"Most federal forms force me to choose between those two races," Ryan said. "But that bothers me because I am BOTH." The forms Ryan is talking about are for things such as taxes, employment and school registration.

To add to the confusion, the Census Bureau -- the federal agency that keeps track of just who lives in America -- asks multiracial children to choose, or claim, the race of their mothers as their own race. The Census Bureau takes a big survey every 10 years. Its next survey won't be conducted until 2000.

The 1990 survey revealed that two-thirds of people surveyed who had one black parent and one white parent called themselves black -- regardless of their mother's racial heritage.

But what other people decide isn't the point, Ryan said.

"It should be up to the individual," he says. And so, for the past six years, he has worked hard (alongside his mother, Susan) to change the way our government sees and defines skin color. Susan Graham is founder of an organization called Project RACE, which stands for "Reclassify All Children Equally."

Ryan's big plan is to convince Congress that adding a "multiracial" box to government forms is not only smart, but fair.

"Can you imagine how you would feel if you were a kid and you had to walk up and ask the teacher, in front of the whole class, 'Where do I put my X?' " Ryan says. "It makes a lot of kids feel alienated and alone, when they should feel proud of who they are."

In addition to his work in Washington, Ryan has been on TV news shows on networks including CNN, ABC and Nickelodeon.  He's testified before some state goverments including Georgia and Michigan.  He helped confince lawmakers in both states that adding a "multiracial" choice totheir forms was a good thing to do. At this time, eight states have added the multiracial choice to some forms. Those states are Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and North Carolina.  But for Ryan, that just means there are 42 more  states to go.

In 1990, 3 million citizens told the Census Bureau they were living with someone of a different race, and had given birth to 2 million children. According to the New York Times, a 1995 telephone survey sponsored by the federal government found that 1.6 percent of the people questioned considered themselves to be "multiracial."

With less than 2 percent of the American public affected, you might think the multiracial issue isn't a big deal.

"But it is to us," says Ryan. "One day a kid asked me if I was 'mixed.' I said, no, I'm multiracial. He said, 'What's the difference?' and I said, puppies are mixed. People are multiracial."

House Speaker Newt Gingrich seems to agree. In a speech he gave in June 1997, Gingrich supported Ryan's cause.

Ryan says it's really not just a matter of a box on a test or on a federal form.

"It's a way to stand up and say it doesn't matter what color your skin might be," he says. "What matters is who you are inside."

Originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Also posted on Graham's PROJECT RACE website.
http://www.projectrace.com/inthenews/archive/inthenews-ununun.php

Materialism Bug

(An EdPress Finalist)

Itching to get the latest, greatest toys? Pestering your parents for more clothes and games and gadgets and STUFF? Look out! You may have been bitten by…The Materialism Bug

by Kelly Milner Halls

Every December, just before Christmas, millions of kids begin a yearly ritual: making out THE LIST. A trendy doll with all the accessories. The official sports jersey of your favorite player. The 25 Beanie Babies you must have for your collection. The newest, fastest video game system. Sound familiar?

Itching to own

What kids want for Christmas and birthdays—and all the days in between—controls how a lot of parents spend their cash. And all that spending really adds up.

Consider the Pokémon craze. Nintendo sold 2.6 million Pokémon game cartridges (most to kids 8 to 12) last Christmas. And another hot sensation, the Furby, had even Pokémon beat. Tiger Electronics sold 8 million of the googly-eyed creatures in less than a year.

Ask 9-year-old Vanessa how many of those $29.95 Furbys wound up in her overstuffed room and she shyly admits, "Four. I guess I went a little bit overboard."

Bugged to buy

According to Chicago psychologist Dr. Antoinette Saunders, Vanessa is not alone. "Kids sometimes get caught up in collecting what they want rather than appreciating what they have," she says. That urge to accumulate things is called materialism—getting and keeping more than you actually want or need.

How do kids fall victim to the materialism bug? Sometimes it’s hard to avoid. Watch your favorite TV show, and you’ll see lots of commercials aimed at you—and other kids. Newspaper and magazine ads want you believe that cool kids have it all. And if you want to be cool, you need it all, too. Companies work hard to convince you that their products—especially expensive products—are "must-haves." When Pokémon cries out, "Gotta catch ’em all," they want you to believe you need all 151 of ’em!

Swat team

Here's the good news: Kids can squash the materialism bug! How?

1. Keep it simple. Look around your room. Do you have more clothes than you can possibly wear? Do you have toys you hardly ever play with? "Do something about it," says Alison, 13. "Donate things to the poor."

2. Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Don't get so caught up in what you want that you forget what you have. "Every time I think I want another Furby," Vanessa says, "I try to remember how lucky I am to have four sitting on my dresser at home."

3. Resist! Avoid the temptation to buy too much. "It’s easy," says 11-year-old Garrett. "Think about whether or not you really need something before you ask for it."

Bug zapping

One surefire way to exterminate the materialism bug is to "Look…to the interests of others" (Philippians 2:4).

"I had three bikes," Vanessa says. "My mom said I could only keep one when we moved." So the fourth-grader rolled two bikes out to the street and marked them "for sale." But then it happened. Zap! Her need to get was transformed into a need to give.

"This really sad lady pulled her car over and said her kids wanted bikes for Christmas, but she didn’t have any money to buy them," Vanessa remembers. "So I ripped the signs off and gave her the bikes for free. It felt really good to have the power to help."

It’s a power that’s catching on. When 10-year-old Colin heard about the "dump children" living in poverty in Guatemala, he decided it wasn’t fair. "I get so much," he said, "and those kids have to do without."

Zap! Colin asked his parents not to buy him any Christmas presents. Instead, they took the money they would have spent and bought school supplies, personal items (soap, toothpaste, and toothbrushes), and toys for the poor kids he’d heard about in church. "It made me happy on Christmas day," says Colin.

Bug, be gone!

Like Colin, most kids who do things for others realize that giving can be more fun than getting. Adam, 7, puts it this way: "It’s good to like your toys and it’s important to take care of them. But we have to take care of one another, too."

If that annoying materialism bug’s biting you, that’s a great thing to remember!

KIDS : THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION

Freezone/Curiocity

by Kelly Milner Halls

From electric light bulbs to Polaroid cameras, grown-up inventors have been changing the way things work for as long as we can remember.  But are adults the only people who can bring new ideas to life?

"No way!" says Arlene Erlbach, author of "The Kids' Invention Book" (Lerner Books).  "Kids are inventors every time they find a new way of doing things." 

Don't believe it?  Check out these two young geniuses and their thoughtful inventions. Then dig into our step-by-step advice on how you can follow their lead. 

Matt Erlbach - The NappyShirt

When Matt Erlbach was 7-years-old, he read an article about kid inventors and decided to try a project of his own.  "It was a matter of problem solving," he says.  "I was always wiping my mouth on my sleeve.  So I came up with his 'NappyShirt' idea -- a shirt with a napkin attached to the sleeve." 

Next, Matt sewed several pieces of Velcro to a shirt sleeve and others to a cloth napkin. Finally, he wrote a report on how he came up with his idea and how made it real, and gave it to his second grade teacher.

"She loved it," Matt says.  "I know it wasn't the most amazing invention ever created, or anything.  It didn't make me famous or rich.  I was afraid to even try and patent it.  But it

gave me the chance to be taken seriously. And it taught me to always follow my dreams -- to always just go for it."

Jessica Peach  - Jump Rope Belt

Take an ordinary object and make it better! That was challenge 8-year-old Jessica Peach's teacher set down for her gifted third graders.  "So I thought of how much I loved jumping

rope," Jessica says. 

With a little help from her parents, Jessica created the Jump Rope Belt a seven foot cluster of colorful braided strands that stretched to 14 feet when it was time to try double

dutch. "My parents were really great about helping me.  And my teacher loved it," Jessica says, "so I entered the Invent America competition and made it to the second of three levels. Then I had to drop out because I got too busy."

Local newspaper, television and radio news reporters even interviewed Jessica. "It was pretty scary at first," she admits. "But I was brave.  My friends started saying it was really fun to know someone famous.  I found out if you don't give up, you can do almost anything."

SIDEBAR: STEPS TO INVENTIVE THINKING

Want to sneak a peek inside the mind of an inventor?  These simple steps will help you see just how these great thinkers they come up with their ideas -- and how they make them real. 

1. What's your problem?

Believe it or not, most good inventions begin with a problem. Focus on your biggest challenge  -- from raking leaves to feeding your gerbil  -- and you're on your way.  

2.  New and Improved!

Can't come up with a new problem to solve?  How about making an old idea even better?  Coming up with a better mouse trap could be inventor's gold.  Don't believe it?  Consider in-line skates.

3.  Write On!

Don't count on your memory to capture this thoughtful nugget.  Write it down!  Add as many details as you can imagine. Be neat and careful when you write your notes.

4.  Talk the Talk.

Now that you have an idea, talk to your parents or teachers about how to make it work.  Remember, just because you ask for advice doesn't mean the idea isn't really yours.  Many great inventors rely on experts to help make their dreams come true.

5.  Draw Some Conclusions.

Draw a few pictures of how you think your invention should look.  Your drawings will help you imagine just what materials you'll need to build your dream.

6. Get to Work!

If you build it, they will come.  In other words, if you put together a sample of your invention, people will be able to share your excitement  -- and maybe even reward you for your idea.

SIDEBAR INVENTOR'S RESOURCES

US Patent and Trademark Office

Washington, D.C.  20231

(703) 305-8341

Intellectual Property Owners Association

1255 Twenty-Third Street NW, Suite 850

Washington, D.C.  20037

(202) 466-2893

The National Inventors Hall of Fame

221 South Broadway Street

Akron, Ohio  44308-1505

1-800-968-IDEA

The Kids' Invention Book 

by Arlene Erlbach

(Lerner Publications, $14.95)

ISBN: 0822524147

INVENTOR CONTESTS

The Great Idea Contest

Inventors Workshop International Education Foundation

3201 Corte Malpaso, #304-A

Camarillo, Ca.  93010

(805) 484-9786

INVENTORS ON THE 'NET

The Inventor's Club

http://www.girltech.com/HTMLworksheets/IN_invention_intro.html

The National Inventors Hall of Fame

http://www.invent.org/

INVENTORS' CONVENTION

Think you're ready to look into inventing?  Check out the Inventors Expo and Conference, March 10-15, 1999 in Orlando, Florida.  Thousands of inventors will gather at Disney's Coronodo Springs Resort to share ideas and discoveries.  For more

information, contact the Disney Reservation Center at (407) 939-7673, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., EST.

WOMEN'S WORK

Think only men come up with life changing inventions?  Think again.  Wealthy Illinois socialite Josephine Cochrane didn't have to wash the dishes herself, but she did have to replace broken cups and saucers. So she came up with the automatic dishwasher in 1886 to help save fragile china and money. Cochrane's machine was so popular, it was featured at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where it won an award.

WITH A REBEL YELL

By Kelly Milner Halls, Parenting Teens

Even before they hit their “official” teens, maturing young people begin the slow but steady slide towards rebellion. It is a subculture most parents vividly remember from their own youth – and yet seem ill equipped to cope with as adults. 

            “That’s because I wasn’t aware when I was a teenager,” says 45-year-old Kim Warrick, mother to Douglas 16 and Jessica 13. “I didn’t know how dangerous things were. Now that I do, my kids’ rebellion sometimes scares me to death.”

An understandable reaction, says psychologist and author Dr. Jeffrey P. Kaplan, but it cannot negate the facts. “Adolescence is, by definition, a period of emerging independence for teenagers,” he says. “Developmentally, it’s the teen’s job to become independent and thus challenge authority.”

            It’s nature, says young adult author and family therapist Chris Crutcher (“Ironman,” “Whale Talk,”)  – as sure as the tides or the sunrise. Healthy kids striving to become healthy adults will challenge authority. “It can’t be avoided,” he says. “But it can be survived.”

            Authors Jane Nelsen and Lynn Lott liken rebellion to a butterflies struggle in their book, “Positive Discipline for Teenagers – Resolving Conflict with Your Teenage Son or Daughter” (Prima Publishing, 1994).  “You may have heard the story about the little boy who was watching a butterfly struggle to break out of a cocoon,” they write. “Feeling sorry for the butterfly, the boy opened the cocoon and set the butterfly free. But after flying only a few yards, the butterfly fell to the ground and died. The little boy hadn’t realized that the butterfly needed the struggle to gain strength that would allow it to fly and live.”

            If struggle cannot be avoided, are there steps parents can take to sanely endure this troublesome period? “Don’t take it personally,” Crutcher says. “Remember when they roll their eyes or say you don’t know anything about real life, it’s their way of saying they need to learn how to make decisions for themselves.” 

            Asking the question “Why?” – a query that frequently torments parents – is, according to Kaplan, a mandatory rite of passage. “Understanding why helps prepare a teen to make other smart choices along the way,” he says.  “Unfortunately, a lot of parents are threatened by that question. If they refuse to answer, the process only gets tougher.”

            If it’s a teenager’s job to challenge authority – to ask why – then what is the parent’s most legitimate function?  “Your job,” Kaplan says, “is to maintain a fair consistency. Rather than holding your breath and saying, ‘I hope they don’t challenge me because then I’ll have to tell them who’s boss,’ try to listen and talk openly.”

            Damage control is another parental obligation.  “No matter how good a job you’ve done,” Crutcher says, “Your kid is going to make a few mistakes. Your job is to love them unconditionally and help them learn from those mistakes. Your job is to help them get up and move on.”

            “Communication” has become a psycho-babble catchword. But it is key, according to experts, to surviving rebellion -- and most circumstances of adult life. “People are afraid to talk about the hard stuff,” Crutcher says. “But it’s NOT talking that really causes the really big problems.” 

            What stands in the way of real and meaningful discussion? Most often, parental agendas, Kaplan says.  “Too many parents are stuck in their own insecurities and needs.” They think they are protecting their kids when they are, in fact, protecting wounds of their own.

            To avoid that, Kaplan says, “It’s important to remember there is a hierarchy of needs. In other words, when you lay down the law, be sure you’re aware of who’s needs are you’re trying to meet.” In other words, if you say, “No! You cannot go to Johnny’s house,” and your teen wants to know why, ask yourself that same question.

Are you saying no because Johnny has been in juvenile hall six times in five months? Then be honest about your decision. Are you saying no because you don’t like Johnny, but he’s not dangerous? Consider rethinking your decision. Are you saying no because you miss your teen and crave a little together time of your own? Don’t be afraid to admit that. Work towards a compromise you can both get behind.

      Karen Lytle Blaha of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit institution working with schools and communities in five northwestern states offers another perspective. “Parents can say no,” she says, “but it’s often best to just say no without an accompanying criticism or lecture.”

How can you tell when “typical” rebellion has crossed a dangerous line? “When the need for safety – yours or the teens -- becomes compromised,” Kaplan says, “that’s when you’ve slipped over the boundaries. I had a parent who’s kid put a knife to her throat and said, ‘How does it feel to know your kid hates you so much? I wouldn’t go to sleep tonight.’ But the next day she was driving him to work instead of calling the police. She was allowing her love for her ‘little boy’ to cloud her judgment.”

According to Kaplan, setting clear limits in advance can help parents avoid that problem. “Be willing to negotiate,” he says, “but set the rules first. In my book, ‘Finding the Path: a Novel for Parents and Teenagers’ (Xlibris), I have a pretty comprehensive bill of rights for parents and teens that has helped a lot of families. But always remember, bad parenting that’s consistent is better than good parenting that’s inconsistent.

Courageously facing the most daunting topics, according to Kaplan, unravels most rebellious knots. “Once you’re open to discussion,” he says, “your relationship takes on a whole different flavor. Through communications and compromise, the parent can help their teens make smart decisions of their own. Once a parent can step back from their own agendas, parenting teens becomes a beautiful time to discover who they are.”

SIDEBAR #1

Read More About It:

Fiction

Finding the Path: a Novel for Parents and Teenagers

By Jeffrey P. Kaplan, Ph.D.

Paperback – 165 pages (December 2001)

Xlibris; ISBN: 0738862568

Whale Talk

By Chris Crutcher

Hardcover - 224 pages (April 10, 2001)
Greenwillow; ISBN: 0688180191

Ironman

By Chris Crutcher

Mass Market Paperback - 216 pages (March 1995)
Laureleaf; ISBN: 044021906X

Nonfiction

Augusta Gone: A True Story

By Martha Tod Dudman

Hardcover - 256 pages (March 2001)
Simon & Schuster; ISBN: 0743204093

Positive Discipline for Teenagers – Resolving Conflict with Your Teenage Son or Daughter

By Jane Nelsen and Lynn Lott

Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? : A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager
by Anthony E. Wolf

Paperback - 204 pages (January 1992)
Noonday Press; ISBN: 0374523223

A Parent’s Guide to the Teen Years: Raising  Your 11 to 14-Year-Old in the Age of Chat Rooms and Navel Rings

By Susan Panzarine, PhD

If you think you’re alone in your rebellion struggles, think again. Author and single parent Martha Tod Dudman wants you to know she’s endured the same hell you’re facing – and lived to tell the tale. Her gripping bestseller, "Augusta Gone," (Simon & Schuster), Dudman reveals her very personal account of raising an "out of control" teenager and surviving the emotional ordeal.