Weekend: I caught a fun movie that rocked, literally, School of Rock with Jack Black. The movie had a fun trite touches, including a bit forced scene where he talks about how he really cares about his kids ... kids he tricked into serving as his backup in a Battle of the Bands competition by taking over for his roommate (played by the wonderful Mike White, who also co-wrote) in a temp teacher position at a snooty grade school. It was criminal as well that Sarah Silverman was wasted in a role as the bitchy girlfriend. Still, the movie took a standard plot idea, built it around a role made for Jack Black, and took advantage of the general fun of the genre done right. And, new how to appreciate rock while also making fun of it.

Sports was a mixed bag. The Yanks did what they had to by beating the Twins and moving on. The Cubs did what it didn't do for about a hundred years and won a playoff series (admittedly in the past, it didn't have an option to play three sets until its third attempt in 1998) via another great effort by Kerry Wood. The As, likely helped by a bad umpire call but much more so by their own bungling, lost their best shot at advancing. They lost their second shot (helped by Hudson, pitching on short rest, leaving after an inning) and have to face Pedro (on full rest) their third and final shot. The Marlins blew a four run lead (after Dontrielle Willis got a triple on his third hit ... he might have been a tad too pumped up), but survived. So, the Giants and Braves, way ahead by mid-Summer, are eliminated. Oh, and the Giants (football) played shoddy football to drop into last place.

Harmful to Minors by Judith Levine got a lot of criticism around a year ago (feels like that, maybe I'm a bit off) because she had some good things to say about child sexuality. Her main focus was more on children learning about sexuality, playing around with it in safe contexts, and how attempts to "protect" children from sexuality often are counterproductive. She wrote the book right before the Catholic Church scandals came out, but her basic themes still hold. Someone who influenced her (and vice versa) is Sharon Lamb, who about the same time wrote a book entitled The Secret Lives of Girls: What Good Girls Really Do -- Sex Play, Aggression, and Their Guilt. The two can be read together and are both worthwhile at least for perusing, be it for parents, educators, or the regular reader.

Lamb's book is split into two parts, sexual play and aggression. Her overall theme is that both are and have long been (her interviewees range in age from literally eight to eighty) part of the lives of girls, though many seem to feel that they are weird or even bad for taking part. Lamb is not as blase as intersexual sexual contact itself as Levine at times is, but same sex playing is seen by her as important as a way to play around with sexuality, learn about it, and even to provide pleasure. A few intersexual incidents are discussed, but same sex/more balanced in power players seem more attractive to her. Likewise, she wishes society to face up to the fact that girls too deal with aggression, not just boys, and sometimes it might even be good for them (especially in sports, useful also as a way for girls to "take up space" and for "good girls" to be proactive).

The sexuality of children, though addressed in some cultures, is seen by many as dangerous. The fact is that children are in some sense sexual beings, and there are safe ways for them to examine this part of themselves. The same applies to aggression; and when aggression is excessive, it should be seen in a balanced way. Would it be as bad (or even bad at all) if boys were involved? Likewise, yes, some sorts of sex play (especially actual sex) might be deemed troubling, but it should be put in perspective. This is a crosscultural work ... one difference, though in part it is a matter of class, is that black girls more often play sexually with other boys (and are more likely to be deemed bad girls by nature, though white girls are sexual as well). Pretty quick reading with short chapters throughout ... good way to get a feel of a controversial societal topic.