Strollerderby : video cameras

Scream-Free Births

Madeline Holler — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 20:20:00 GMT

My husband and I took a six-week childbirth class about a month before my due date. The instructor was unquestionably pro-drug-free labors. So, in addition to going over all the anatomy charts and talking about our fears and how we handle pain, etc., we also watched a ton of birth movies. Tons and tons and tons. Her goal was to bore the fear out of us, I think. In fact, by the end of the six weeks, we'd seen birth from all angles -- you know, except the angle of actually experiencing it, which by then felt a little beside the point.

There was one video in particular, shot some time in the early 80s judging from the hair/hiked up jeans on the dad, that really stuck with me. The woman was so calm and checked out and focused on the birth. She didn't even mind writhing around naked with her legs wide open during her minister's quick visit to say "hi." She kind of got on my nerves.

While I was laboring and eventually pushing out my first kid, I thought of this woman. I reasoned that if this insane preacher-flasher could stay calm and have a baby, so could I. And I did!

But since nobody goes to childbirth classes anymore, I'll give you a YouTube version of mine -- it's not me, she's reaching the level of calm like I tried to and like the 80s mom did. I've come across some others with laboring women who are just as calm -- no, calmer! -- than my inspiring/annoying laborer. You won't want to watch them at work, as the camera captures EV.ER.Y.THING. Happy labors!

Is That a Baby In Your Pants Or Are You Just Happy to See the Paramedics?

Kelly Mills — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 18:13:00 GMT

Sometimes you just have to love a "baby born in..." story. I mean, I've heard of babies being born in cars, in elevators, in fast food restaurant bathrooms, but I think this might be the first "Woman Gives Birth Inside Pants" headline I've ever seen. I'm sure many of us can report doing all kinds of things in our pants in our lifetimes, but I doubt many can say they dropped a baby. Does that mean the pants are true mom jeans? Maybe I was wrong about those birth clothes... Did I also mention she had twins?

So when Larryett Thomas went into labor, her mom called 911. But it was too late to get to the hospital, and when paramedics arrived, one baby was already coming out. Thomas had one leg of her pants on, which I guess qualifies as giving birth in your pants, especially since paramedics had to cut the pants off. They delivered the second baby by flashlight, because Thomas had no lamps. While I'm sure it was a little nerve-wracking for everyone, Thomas has done the whole birth thing before (she has five other children) so maybe that helped. She named the twins Curt and Curtis after their dad. Levis is a good name too.

Man Suspected of Raping a Toddler On Video Caught

Kelly Mills — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:34:00 GMT

In what started as a routine traffic stop, police arrested Chester Arthur Stiles in connection with the videotaped rape of a girl under the age of three. The police began asking questions when they pulled over Stiles for not having license plates, and his driver's license photo didn't match his appearance. (In other words, even teenagers have better fake IDs.) Stiles confessed to being the guy police were seeking based on a videotape made four years ago of a toddler being sexually assaulted. The child in the video, now age seven, was identified last month after a nationwide search.

One of most horrible aspects of this case is the fact that the girl's mother did not know her daughter had been assaulted until she learned police were looking for her. I can't even begin to imagine what that must be like. It probably happened when the girl's mother was at work, and her roommate brought Stiles, her boyfriend, over to the apartment. The video was given to police by Darren Tuck, who said he found it in the desert and then held onto it for five months and showed it to people before turning it in.

Professionals evaluated the girl once she was located, and the mother's attorney says the child appears to be "'healthy and fine and happy.'"

Photo: AP/Las Vegas police

Big Brother is Watching You[r Kid] On the School Bus

Karen Murphy — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 11:32:00 GMT

You decide—good idea gone awry, or just good idea? Apparently the new accessory on school buses is a video camera, recording your kid's every nose-picking moment.

The idea is to provide an objective record when there's a bus-related dispute. Hey! Did the bus driver haul off and whack my kid for no reason like my kid says, or does my kid have a bone to pick with the driver because he made him keep his head inside the window and embarrassed him in front of everyone? Who's telling the truth? The camera will know!

And the cameras supposedly deter bullying, too. Which would have saved my daughter's birthday cake from having been consumed by the ~~fat piglike girl~~ evidently very hungry girl who extorted it from her last year, thus providing life-long birthday cake-related scars.

And the ACLU is on board with the idea, too, stating that school buses aren't a place where kids would normally expect privacy.

So how come I don't like it?