Why would a parent support such an obsession, and how do you raise a kid and remain grounded? MORE
|
|||||
|
Saturday, February 28
by
Suzette Valle
on Sat 28 Feb 2009 06:55 AM PST
Why would a parent support such an obsession, and how do you raise a kid and remain grounded? MORE Head on over to www.TheWrap.com to read about how to wrangle a Jonas-head kid; 12 concerts, too many hours in long lines, way too much money, and long drives resulting in mileage overages on a leased car. Why would a parent feed a Jonas obsession?
Wednesday, February 25
by
Suzette Valle
on Wed 25 Feb 2009 10:33 PM PST
It was all out 'Fandamonioum' at the premier of Disney's "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" in Hollywood last night. Over 100 screaming teenagers, winners of a Disney on line contest, lined the red carpet waiting to have a personal moment with the famous trio. During check-in, the lucky fans were given purple t-shirts, a grilled cheese sandwich courtesy of event sponsor Kraft, and were asked to wear the shirts along with their biggest grins as they watched, chatted and took photographs with celebrities there to support the Jonas Brothers in their silver-screen debut.
Big Rob, Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas on the purple carpet for the 3D Premier. Photo Bianca Valle
Photo Suzette Valle
Picking the lucky 20 to go in to the movie with the Jo Bros. Photo Suzette Valle The Jonas family arrived together, and after stopping at each press station, they went back to their fans and took time to greet them, almost one by one, until it was time to disappear into the El Capitan Theater for the show. During the lottery they held to pick 20 girls from the red carpet to accompany them into the movie, Kevin, Joe and Nick also took time to thank the throngs of fans behind barricades and a top the Hollywood and Highland complex for being the best fans in the world.
Yours truly waving. Photo Bianca Valle While I enjoyed a birds-eye view of the arrivals for the Jonas 3D Premier, my teenager was on assignment on the red carpet with her fan-cam. She took as many photos as possible with celebs who would pause at her request, but as she quickly learned, this is not easily accomplished.
My own daughter, Bianca Valle, on assignment on the red carpet for the premier of the Jonas Brothers 3D Movie.
Photos Suzette Valle As only the Jonas family can do, the premier was all about family, and that bond was warmly transmitted to a fan by Denise Jonas, mother of the Jonas siblings, who gave Bianca Valle a grateful kiss for being a dediated fan. I asked Bianca what she did to deserve a kiss from the famous mother and she said, " I don't know. I just called her and asked if I could take a picture with her. Then she turned around and kissed my cheek. All I can tell you is that she had that motherly feeling, and I felt like crying after that because this is probably the way she kisses her boys too!"
Denise Jonas and Bianca Valle Photo Bianca Valle Keeping with the wholesome theme of the evening, Demi Lovato, guest star of "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" and her younger half-sister, Madison Delagarza currently appearing on Desperate Housewives, were among the teen celebrities at the premier. Taylor Swift, who also stars in the Jonas movie, was absent from the evening's festivities.
Demi Lovato at Jonas 3D Movie Premier
Madison Delagarza appears on Desperte Housewives Little teen reporter Valle was on her toes when George Lopez, a beloved personality in our household, walked right past her and ignored her petition for a photo op. Instead of recoiling, she loudly repeated a line from one of Lopez's comedy skits, "George, I have a pain in my chest ...!" The Mexican-American comedian quickly turned around, walked right up to her and asked if she wanted to take a picure with him. She snapped away, and then Lopez held her arm and said "Gracias" (Thank you). Quick thinking Valle!
George Lopez and Bianca Valle For Jonas fans, the wait is almost over. The movie opens in theaters nation-wide at midnight this Thursday. The Jonas Brothers also made a very special announcement at last night's premier. They will be going on a one week-end whirl-wind tour surprising fans at movie theaters across the country ... in person. Do you have your tickets yet? Fandango is already reporting sold-out shows in many cities! Thanks to photographer Tricia Cazaz, NBC Online posted a special photo she took at the "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" premier. Look closely for the photo of the superfan! Tuesday, February 24
by
Suzette Valle
on Tue 24 Feb 2009 09:58 AM PST
Sunday, February 22
by
Suzette Valle
on Sun 22 Feb 2009 11:26 PM PST
The Oscars went to the dogs this year, SlumDogs that is! The $15 million budget 'SlumDog Millionaire' was expected to be the top winner of the 2009 Academy Awards, and it took the top prize as Best Picture for 2008. Winning 8 out of 10 nominations, Ben Stiller joked about the low-budget movie saying more » Friday, February 20
by
Suzette Valle
on Fri 20 Feb 2009 10:43 PM PST
It's February, the middle of winter, and we're shivering with anxiety as we look a the calendar and see exam dates starting to line up like a series of storms on a weather map; ominous approaching deadlines for tests any student with dreams of going to college has to take. The relative calm of our 17 year-old high school junior is about to turn into a rainstorm of the El Niño kind: relentless, merciless and abate less for the next three months. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which is on high school students radars starting freshman year, is upon us after three years of PSATs and many e-mails from the Princeton Review, the College Board and a host of other entities claiming to be the expert sources for all things related to the college application process. During the first three years of high school, we've accepted the reality our college-bound student has to face just to be able to apply to college. So brace yourselves as I try to break down the approaching hurricane of examinations into smaller showers of information we can hold an umbrella to. Disclaimers: Most families are caught up in the dream of having their child attend an Ivy League school as the only key to their future success. Having this goal is admirable, however, not every student is cut out for these schools no matter how hard they work. Based on this, the tips I offer below are not necessarily geared to helping your student get into this level of school, but a broad overview of what we discovered (some of it in hindsight), going through the application process. I'm not an expert or counselor, but simply have some experience I'd like to share with you because I did a lot of research helping my son throughout this process - and, frankly, it'd be a waste if I didn't! Below are some tips I hope will help you weather the pre-college exam storm: 1. PSAT- Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. Starting freshman year, high school students practice for the real SAT. I highly recommend that your student take this each year, and use the scores from freshman and sophomore years to gage how much preparation your student will need for the real test(s) his junior year. If taking the test during the later part of junior year, prepare now! If your student's goal is a perfect SAT because his or her dream college is an Ivy League (but he's not gifted like Einstein), then hire a private tutor - don't waist your money and time on courses. If you can't afford the tutor, then enroll in prep courses, preferably during the summer of junior year, to prepare for the tests offered in September or later. Having said this, if your child doesn't fall 'naturally' in the genius category, then make sure the school the student is applying to fits his academic strengths. Too many families get caught up in the competitive college dream without giving thought to the sacrifice the amount of work required at these prestigious cathedrals of education entails - and may be setting up their student for a very rude awakening. It's also important to go to the meetings provided by both the high school counselors and visiting colleges. A wealth of information is shared at these presentations and will avoid you many hours of research. My husband and I attended two scores-back sessions for the PSAT (sophomore and junior years), and after leaving the first session with a higher level of anxiety about what our son needed to do to increase his score, a year later we walked out of the second session more at ease with the unavoidable reality: Study and prepare for the real SAT in March of his junior year! This first test will reveal if your child will need to take more tests and if professional help is needed. 2. AP Exams - Students take Advance Placement course exams, usually starting sophomore year, if they enrolled in AP courses. As a junior, these tests will be taken in May. The extra grade point from taking AP courses is helpful to boost GPA, but be aware that most competitive colleges will look at 'unweighted' GPA, and both grades are reported on the student's transcript. So, why take AP courses? Colleges want to know if you were able to do this college-level work. I know, it doesn't make much sense to me either, but this is another way to 'weed' students out. Seems unjust, doesn't it? 3. SAT- Scholastic Aptitude Test and ACT- These are 'The Biggies'. According to our son's counselor, he can take them as many times as he wants (needs) to improve his scores and choose the best ones to send in with college applications. Score Choice is a new system for reporting test results, but you'll find most Colleges want to see all test scores reported, and Admission Officers will see the improvement (and persistence) with each score.You only need to report one set of scores; either the SAT or the ACT, but not necessarily both. 4. SAT Subject Tests - College-bound students definitely have to take at least two of these subject area tests, one in each level, to apply to top schools in the country and also if you're applying to USC and University of California schools: 5. Prep Courses - Our local high school counselor doesn't advise paying the high fees (around $1,000) for a preparation course. Instead, she is convinced that taking the PSAT as a freshman, sophomore and junior, and the SAT twice should yield higher scores each time. So, if your child took the PSAT his freshman year and got a score of 1,200, the same PSAT taken his junior year should have shown a score improvement to around a 1,600 simply due to two more years of knowledge plus good grades. With a little studying and preparation, this score could be even higher for the real test. However, if your student's target is over a 2,000 (and you can afford it), hire a tutor from the start, especially if the scores on the PSAT were not high (1,600) from the beginning. 6. College Coaches - If you just can't hack doing the research yourself, and you have another $1,000-$2,000 to spare, a college coach will work with your child on filling out applications, writing the all-important essay, and doing research on what colleges are best suited for his or her major. (Having someone other than yourself work with your child during this grueling process might also save the relationship between you and your student from becoming very strained). If you'd like to explore this route, I'd go in for a consultation with a college coach freshman year. Otherwise, save this money and spend it on the first year of college books. 7. Community Service - This part of the application is very important and can help separate your child from the pack. Start getting involved with a cause or club as a freshman - and stick with it throughout high school. This is what colleges would rather see instead of 'lose connections to several activities'. Besides sports, leadership, initiative and involvement are key to a well-rounded student. Keep this in mind, every student applying to the top schools in the nation has the following profile: . Valedictorian . High GPA 4.0+ . High SAT scores 2,000 . ASB or other Student Body involvement . Sport and Team Captain. Athletic Letters and Awards are included in this category . Community Service 8. 4.0 - Keep those grades hovering around 4.0, especially your junior year. Only encourage your child to do this if you want him or her to choose the college he would like to attend, and not have the college choose him. For the top ranked UC schools, a 4.0 has become imperative. To this end, we offered our 3.6 GPA student (previously 3.8, but we took a break from nagging and look what happened!) the following advice: Parent to child in February: "The next three months will determine the rest of your life. A 4.0 will get you into almost any school you choose. Can you put the Xbox away, unjam the ear buds from your head, and stuff the iPod in a drawer for the next three months? It's only for three months, and this small sacrifice now will give you a life-long reward. Please? Child to parents: "How can that be? I've got one more year to go." Parents: "Unfortunately, your college application will have your transcript up until the end of your junior year. These will be the grades admissions officers will use to determine if you are good enough for them". Child: "Darn it!" Finally, after all this is said and done (hopefully by the end of junior year) take the summer off. Really? No, not really. The summer between junior and senior year should be used to do something meaningful; create a unique internship (good ideas are available at College Board.com), get an interesting job related to your college major, or volunteer with a philanthropic organization. All this work is important to fulfill the community service requirements many colleges have today, and some say makes for a well rounded student. Don't curl up with a good book and hot chocolate when the raindrops hit your rooftop this month. Instead, grab Newsweek's How to get into College Fall 2009 issue, or the SAT prep book and help your child start answering some questions like this one taken from the College Board's Official Question of the Day: Part of the following sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Select the option that produces the best sentence. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select choice A. Chilean novelist and short-story writer María Luisa Bombal wrote innovative and influential stories featuring heroines which create fantasy worlds in order to escape from unfulfilling love relationships and restricted social roles. 1. heroines which create 2. heroines, they create 3. heroines, they created 4. heroines who create 5. heroines that were creating Want the answer? Just leave a comment and I'll give it you! Finally, remember, this too shall pass... Thursday, February 19
by
Suzette Valle
on Thu 19 Feb 2009 10:41 PM PST
Gilbert Avila, Suzette Valle and Jaime Paullada at the Celebration of Life for Ricardo Montalban
“It all began in a
Mr.Gilbert Smith, Montalban’s son-in-law, gave a moving tribute to his late father-in-law, referring to him as “Dad”, and recounting many of his personal anecdotes as a member of the Montalban family. Smith also took time to recognize several organizations Montalban supported over his many years as an actor, most notably Nosotros and the Ricardo Montalban Theater in Los Angeles.
Tye Justice presented a drawing of Ricardo Montalban as Khan to Gilbert Smith. Carmelita Martinez, past Nosotros Board Member
The Latino Walk of Fame presented Mr. Smith with a replica of a Sun plaque bearing Ricardo Montalban’s name which will be placed on Clips from several of Montalban’s acting roles, from "Star Trek’s" Khan to "
Ricardo Montalban was an inspiration to the Latino acting community, and The Nosotros Foundation is the legacy many will continue to benefit from for years to come. Saturday, February 14
by
Suzette Valle
on Sat 14 Feb 2009 09:51 AM PST
more » Wednesday, February 11
by
Suzette Valle
on Wed 11 Feb 2009 11:21 AM PST
more » Tuesday, February 10
by
Suzette Valle
on Tue 10 Feb 2009 10:03 AM PST
Julio Preciado - Insulto nacional en plataforma internacional more » Sunday, February 8
by
Suzette Valle
on Sun 08 Feb 2009 11:30 PM PST
We watched the music awards show on and off, and only what appealed to the various tastes in our household. Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was our top choice to win as many Grammys as it was nominated for. Of course, for my teenaged daughter the Jonas Brothers being denied the victory again - they were upset by Britney Spears at the VMA's - was a disappointment, especially loosing to someone she'd never heard off! more » Friday, February 6
by
Suzette Valle
on Fri 06 Feb 2009 07:59 AM PST
TODAY, MAMARAZZI KNOWS BEST.COM IS ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE WRAP!!!!! PRETTY COOL, SO COME ALONG READERS ... CLICK THIS LINK TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE THE WRAP, SHARON WAXMAN'S NEW SANTA MONICA-BASED ONLINE PUBLICATION FOCUSING ON THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY.
We have a voice on a national platform. Parents, what do YOU have to say to the industry?
SUZETTE VALLE: Keeping Young Hollywood Real A-list young celebs are everywhere (and on everything), making it difficult to ignore them and the influence they have on our family and, ready for this, our values. Hollywood and values? Is this an oxymoron? Probably, but like it or not, this is our Holly-reality. MORE Sunday, February 1
by
Suzette Valle
on Sun 01 Feb 2009 11:22 PM PST
There's been an idea floating around about the $850 billion (the amount changes daily, so don't quote me on this!) the heads of our country want to inject into our floundering economy ... Mom heard about a formula for disbursing this much discussed financial bail-out money to the people which seems to make perfect sense to her - and frankly, me too. more » |
As Seen On Dr. Phil
Listen to internet radio with Mamarazzi Knows Best on Blog Talk Radio
Mamarazzi Knows Best![]() Promote Your Page Too
Search
Links
Month Archive
|
||||
|
|||||