Blog Posts by Annette Cardwell, Shine staff

Getty ImagesI have a 3-year-old daughter and a kid on the way. So I am fully aware of the vaccine debate. And by now, I've been conditioned to believe that my thinking on vaccines should always be, "Question everything."

But having just read the November cover story from Wired ("An Epidemic of Fear"), I'm now questioning why I've been so skeptical. Do I just feel this way because the anti-vaccine movement has me duped? Or are those fears grounded in something real?

The article asserts this: People who choose not to get vaccinated or get their children vaccinated are putting all of us at risk by increasing likelihood of outbreaks of previously nearly eradicated diseases. And those people have an irrational fear of something that's been proven time and again to be safe or at least a lesser risk than the alternative.

The story also shows that the problem with the anti-vaccine message is that it's not just about skepticism, which is of course healthy; it's really about fear of what might do your

AP ImagesI just saw "Where the Wild Things Are" over the weekend, and honestly, I never really thought of it as a children's movie at all. It may be based on a beloved children's book that's especially resonant with people of my generation, but a 90-minute meditative film by Spike Jonze doesn't really sound like kid's entertainment to me.

That is, not until people started asking me, "Should I take my kid to it?" And my first thought was, "Really?"

I know why people (especially my age) would want to take their kids to see it. It's a landmark book for them. But there's a big difference between Maurice Sendak's award-winning, 10-sentence book and this movie.

I loved the movie, personally. Director Spike Jonze really knows how to make the dream-like and surreal films I love (obviously not everyone's cup of tea). I thought it was tender, touching, and beautiful--both visually and emotionally. And I especially loved the characters, like Catherine Keener as the hard-working and loving mother.

But

APUntil a few days ago, I'd not really given the Roman Polanski story much thought-he was basically a punchline to jokes about men interested in much-younger women. So I went looking for the facts of the case, and wow. Let's be clear about what this guy is accused of doing, so there's no confusion.

In 1977, then 43-year-old film director Roman Polanski was arrested for raping a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and Quaaludes. He did all this after luring her to the home where the rape took place on the pretense that he was going to photograph her for French Vogue. He proceeded with the sex act, even after she asked him to "keep away." And when the police asked her why she didn't fight harder to resist him, she said, "Because I was afraid of him." You can read the entirety of her painful testimony here on The Smoking Gun.

Polanski eventually agreed to a plea deal that charged him with having sex with a minor, but, when it looked like a Superior Court judge might not honor

I'm a sentimental type overall, but not generally sentimental publicly. But I'd love if you all would allow me a sentimental moment here on Shine.

John Hughes died today, and the news floored me. I felt like a little piece of my childhood died with him. Melodramatic? Perhaps, but when I look back on all the movies he directed, wrote, and produced in his relatively-short life, it blows my mind just how much of an impact he has had on me, especially on a young Annette growing up in the middle of nowhere in the '80s. And I know (judging from the outpouring of sentiment on my Facebook, Twitter, etc) that I'm not alone.

For Generation X-ers like myself, John Hughes was perhaps the greatest culture maker of our times. Steven Spielberg had our imaginations, but John Hughes had our realities. It's hard to think of any other filmmaker who really got the exquisite pain of being an ordinary America teenager quite as well as he did. And honestly, the guy also knew exactly what made teenage girls

This Sunday is Father's Day, and while we're usually all about the strength of moms on Shine, this weekend is purely for the dads in our lives. Father's Day is all about showing those amazing men who raised us, our children, and others in our family how much we appreciate them.

Here on Shine, we've had a few writers and editors chime in with ideas on what to get the special dad in your life for his special day as well as with ideas on how to celebrate. Also, there are a few fun stories like The Thread's list of fashionable celebrity dads, and there are also some more serious ones, like this story about how dads are now looking for more work-life balance, just like moms.

Check out all these great posts, and we hope you have a lovely Father's Day!


Gift ideas:

• 5 worst Father's Day gifts
• Fun, free, creative last-minute gift for dad
• Scotch, whiskey, rye, and other last-minute Father's Day gifts
• 4 gifts every dad will love
• Last-minute Father's

Getty ImagesApril 22 is Earth Day, the day of the year when we feel most motivated to reflect on how green we, our families, and our communities really are. And for most of us, it's also a day when we also realize just how much greener we ought to be.

Looking back on my green year, my family and I have actually made a few changes we're proud of, starting with active composting! I'm lucky to live in a very eco-minded city like San Francisco that offers curbside composting. They take all my organic waste and turn it into awesome mulch that's either used on city parks or actually sold to farms. And once I got composting, I realized just how little trash I actually throw out that's NOT compostable. On the energy-saving front, we also put our energy-sapping electronics - like our TV and laptops - on power strips that we turn off during the day (man, it saves us a lot of money each month). Plus, we also wash most of our laundry in cold water, drive a lot less, and try to shop for locally-grown foods.

A few weeks back, some friends came over for dinner during their visit to San Francisco, and as a gift, they handed us a bag with what appeared to be a big chocolate babka in it. But instead of being a yummy sweet, it was actually one of these: a mushroom mini farm from Far West Fungi. While it's a chancy gift to give anyone. I mean, growing our own mushrooms? Weird. But fortunately, it's a perfect one for me and my husband who totally love mushrooms, especially shiitakes.

For me, shiitake mushrooms are so much better fresh. The dried shiitakes that you reconstitute by soaking in water always have a far too intense flavor to me, so I was really thrilled (but a little nervous) about growing our own fungi. First off, it was so strange looking, this sorta log coated with some sort of growing agent and wrapped in plastic wrap. And then after a few days, when the little nubs of shiitake stated to sprout, it all felt and looked a little creepy.

But once we opened up the bag a bit and the

Getty ImagesAfter hearing that singer Chris Brown allegedly beat up his girlfriend pop star Rihanna, my friends and I (which include the other editors here on Shine) were outraged: How could such a seemingly nice guy have done such a horrifying thing to our beloved Rihanna?

And then, the photo of Rihanna's battered face was leaked. And then the detailed police report emerged that documents the brutal bruising and choking. And then we heard she might be taking him back. It's just insane!

But here's another tragic story to add to this saga - yesterday's New York Times ran an article about how many teen girls actually blame Rihanna for the whole incident, and expect her to stand by her man - even if he did in fact abuse her.

"In a recent survey of 200 teenagers by the Boston Public Health Commission, 46 percent said Rihanna was responsible for what happened; 52 percent said both bore responsibility, despite knowing that Rihanna's injuries required hospital treatment," the article states.

Worse