D23

Are you a Disney fan?  Are you going to be in the LA or OC area? Starting tomorrow, the first ever Disney fan expo will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center.  D23 is the official community for Disney fans and they are having their first conference Thursday through Sunday. The schedule is jam-packed with a ton of fun events including special screenings and sneak previews, special guests, a fashion show and more! Daily tickets are $37 but definitely worth the trip if you’re in the area.  It’s the first of its kind!

Are You Living In HD Yet?

This post was previously published…

I have been promising my husband an HD TV for months now.  After he painted our entire house, that was (and is) going to be my thank you to him.  We’re just waiting on the right time to make the purchase and he’s still doing the research on brand, model, size, and price (and if you have any recommendations please feel free to leave a comment!).  I have recently dabbled a little in HD technology with the new Vado HD I’m testing out (a review is coming very shortly) and I love the quality of the picture I get when I view my videos.

What is HD and why do we need it?  That was one of my first questions to my husband.  HD or high definition basically has to do with resolution although anyone in the technology field would probably shutter at my simplicity in explaining the concept to you. The concept is very technical but the result is phenomenal.  Higher resolution equals a clearer, crisper, more detailed picture.

If you would like to find our more information about HD, I encourage you to check out a brand new community called Living In HD, created by Panasonic.  One of the ways I am using HD is to create video memories of my family, particularly my son.  My hope is to create something of quality that he can look back on years from now.  Here is a little more information about this very cool site:

The site serves as an interactive forum where individuals can share their real-life experiences and expertise–with the goal of helping one another use technology more creatively in their every day lives.

The site is packed with information and there is relevant content for beginners (like me) and experts (like my husband…or so he says).  Living in Southern California means that we always worry about the possibility of an earthquake so the video on mounting our new TV safely is going to come in very handy when the time comes to purchase it.  The ideas gallery contains a ton of media and I really enjoyed learning how to display fridge art, how to make a photo block puzzle, and how to make black and white photo prints.

I encourage you to take a look at the site and join the LiHD program where Panasonic outfits families with a whole suite of interconnected HD products so they can learn (and teach others) how technology can enrich our lives.

The Women

I have an awesome husband.  He takes such good care of my son and I, he works really hard to provide for us, he makes me laugh, and holds me when I’m sad.  He’s loving and giving, respectful and honest, supportive and encouraging…. Regardless of whether we’re out running errands or spending time with our son, I truly enjoy his company. But there are some things that men just don’t quite understand about us women.  Like when I cry at commercials, stress about my leftover baby weight, or feel the need to call him 20 times a day to say hi and give him a running tally of what I’ve done all day.  These are the moments when I look to my female friends for support, advice, and a listening ear.

When Dove first launched it’s Campaign for Real Beauty in 2004, it initiated global discussion about the true meaning of beauty.  The campaign seeks to redefine the meaning of beauty, broadening it to include women whom society would not conventionally stereotype as “beautiful.”  How freeing it is to see real women, of all shapes, sizes, and colors, in Dove ads on TV and in print.

Out of this campaign emerges a film for women, about women, directed by a woman, starring a cast comprised entirely of women.  The Women is a remake of the 1939 classic film of the same name and stars Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Cloris Leachman, Bette Midler, and Candice Bergen.  The movie is clever, sassy, and moving.  It’s a story about relationships, weaving in themes like body image, self-esteem, female empowerment, acceptance, and true beauty.  It’s about love and mistakes, forgiveness and second chances.  I laughed and cried and walked away with a broader definition of beauty.  It made me think about how our society dictates the definition of beauty and inspired me to work just as hard on my inner beauty as I do on my outer beauty.

So what is true beauty?  Discuss amongst yourselves!

And don’t forget to grab a girl friend and go see The Women.  You can watch a preview here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3TCy9EqpBA&hl=en&fs=1]

I also highly recommend watching Dove’s exclusive mini documentary, The Women Behind The Women, created “to encourage women to challenge today’s beauty stereotypes, celebrate opportunities for women to empower one another and explore the diverse definitions of beauty, through interviews with some of the cast and crew of The Women.”  You’ll find it on Dove’s website here.

Profuse thanks to Dove and the Family Review Network for the opportunity to review The Women.

Win It!  Dove is giving away 100 tickets to The Women every day through September 19, 2008.   Head on over for your chance to win!