A Blog Post From Dorothy Wallace

Hello Again!
I'm afraid I'm doing a terrible job as a blogger.  I had hoped to post regularly to let you know what's going on with me and The LadyBugs, but there aren't enough hours in the day. 

The Howard Stern Show
I was one of the lucky contestants in the Howard Stern Show Theme song contest on April 30th.  I didn't win first prize but The LadyBugs have lots of new fans thanks to Howard playing "The Creepy Man," "Ritalin is a Gateway Drug," and "Don't Commit Suicide."  I have to say Stern fans have been 100% positive with their support and feedback of the music and animation.  I had braced myself for negativity but have received nothing but love, smiles and sunshine from the Stern crowd.

Pin The Handcuffs on the Pedophile
 I'm working on episode 2, season 2 of "Meet The LadyBugs!"  The working title is "Pin the Handcuffs on the Pedophile" (I like it.. let me know what you think)...   And I'm happy to announce Stern Show favorite, Rachel Butera, will make an appearance as Sister Phillip.  Rachel is super talented and funny and The LadyBugs are very happy to have her on board.

Broken Tiaras
I'm also writing songs for the next LadyBugs album.  So far I have songs about Munchausen Syndrome (by proxy), Bullies, Menstruation and a cover of Everclear's "Wonderful".  The title song, Broken Tiaras, is written from the point of view of a contestant on "Toddlers and Tiaras."  The album will have the same catchy grooves as "Sugar is Poison" but with more of a Motown influence.  However, it would not be a LadyBugs album without the obvious inspiration of The Beatles in the songwriting and harmonies.  Stay tuned!

A Blog Post from Adalia of The LadyBugs

Special Kids
As you know, The LadyBugs have a song called Special Kids, which is written from the point of view of a kid who is curious about the special kids in her school.  It's so important for kids to learn empathy for other kids that are different from them.  After all, bullying comes from a lack of empathy.  There are lots of children's books that discuss kids with special needs in an engaging and educational way.  My Friend Has Down Syndrome - Let's Talk About It and My Friend Has Autism are  books that helps parents talk to their kids about accepting their friends with special needs.  A lot of kids with special needs have a different perspective than the rest of us because life is much simpler. 

Temple Grandin is a TV Movie about a woman living with Autism who accomplished great things in her life including becoming a world renowned scientist.  There are many people who were diagnosed with a cognitive disability who went on to live not only normal lives, but extraordinary lives.

The LadyBugs are experts in helping parents talk to their kids about difficult subject matter.  Leave your comments and thoughts below.

A Blog Post from Cleo of The LadyBugs

Angelina Jolie - Honorary LadyBug
 As you know, The LadyBugs want kids to get a good education.  There are a lot of places in the world where this is very hard.  Especially in countries like Afghanistan, which discriminate against women and girls.

I was very excited to read that Angelina Jolie is helping to open a school for girls in Afghanistan.  The school is just outside of Kabul and offers primary level classes.  You can read more about it here in The Washington Times. I think Angelina has earned the title of "Honorary LadyBug" for her dedication to these kids.

Does your kid know what to do in an emergency?
In The LadyBugs song, Dial 9-1-1 (in an emergency), we teach kids if someone is having trouble breathing or your house is on fire, call 9-1-1 and the Police or Fire Department will come.  There have been a lot of stories in the news about a kid who is left alone with a parent or grandparent when the person has a medical emergency.  As a result of the kid knowing how to call 9-1-1, the parent or grandparent avoids death or severe injury.  Make sure your kid knows what to do in an emergency.

There a lots of books teaching kids to call 9-1-1.  One of them is called Impatient Pamela calls 9-1-1.  It has received excellent reviews from parents who said their little tikes enjoyed the book and the instructions stuck with them.

The LadyBugs are experts and helping parents talk to their kids about difficult subjects.  Leave your comments and let us know your thoughts.

A Blog Post from Nelli of The LadyBugs

Stop Bullying Now!
As you know, The LadyBugs are very passionate about helping kids stand up to bullies.  The LadyBugs have all been victims of bullies.  Many of you saw me being bullied in the first episode of our web series Meet The LadyBugs! called "Break His Thumbs". 

It's very important to teach kids assertiveness and self-confidence so they can stand up to bullies.  Well, there's an author named Joe the Biker who writes children's books about standing up to bullies.  One of his books is Yubbie The Fall and Rise of an Everyday Joe.  He also provides free books and information on his website www.joethebiker.com. 

Don't Commit Suicide
If you watched Girl's Night Out, the 3rd episode of Meet The LadyBugs you heard us perform part of our song, Don't Commit Suicide.  There aren't a lot of recording artists who tackle the subject of kids committing suicide, but we think it's really important.  Kids usually end up killing themselves after being bullied.  Make sure your kids know how important they are in your life.  Just like we say in our song When you feel like youre all alone and you just want to end it all picture your Mom and Dad crying and standing by your friends at your funeral.  

The LadyBugs are experts at helping parents talk to their kids about difficult subject matter.

A Blog Post From Harmony of The LadyBugs

Last week, our creator, Dorothy Wallace, had the privilege to appear on Tara Kennedy-Kline's podcast Stop Raising Einstein.  There is so much pressure on Moms to be perfect parents and to push their kids as hard as possible so they excel in every area possible.  Tara wants to encourage parents to accept their child's unique brilliance and let him find his own voice.

Sedating our Kids
In The LadyBugs' song Ritalin is a Gateway Drug we share a true story about a boy who was not allowed by his public school to come to class until he took mind-altering prescription drugs.  He was bored in class because he was highly intelligent and had trouble sitting still.  You might listen to the song and think it's funny.  That's okay.  The LadyBugs want you to laugh.  However, you must remember the trend of putting very young children on anti-psychotic drugs that have never been tested on children is very dangerous.  If you have friends that are having trouble dealing with their rambunctious and curious kids, why not offer to babysit for free.  Remember what Hillary Clinton said?  It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. 

Are Kids Like Dogs?
You know how much The LadyBugs love animals.  Well there are some people that think parents are over-thinking the way they raise their kids.  There's an author and dog trainer named Camilla Gray-Nelson who who thinks you should use dog training techniques when raising your kids.  Check out her book Lipstick and the Leash and find out how your kids are very similar to dogs.

The LadyBugs are experts on helping parents talk to their kids about difficult topics.  Send us your comments and let us know what topics you want us to blog about.

A Blog Post From Dorothy Wallace

Well it's so nice to finally have warm weather here in the NYC tri-state area.  I hope everyone enjoyed the Holidays.

I've been busy writing the next episode of Meet The LadyBugs as well as my first screenplay based on my childhood experiences.  I had started writing in Microsoft Word, but realized I needed script writing software.  I decided to splurge and purchased Final Draft, which I highly recommend.

Click here to check out Final Draft.

I'm also excited to announce The LadyBugs have submitted a theme song to the Howard Stern Show theme song competition.   It definitely sounds like The LadyBugs and not the Grungy Metal you usually hear on that show.  I will keep you posted and put the song online either way.

For fellow Howard Stern Show fans, I'd like to encourage you to check out a "Parrot-y" by William Levin called The Howard Tern Show.  The animation and writing are very funny and he did a great job including all the popular characters and bits.

Click here to check out The Howard Tern Show.

Until next time!

Dorothy Wallace
Ruby Slipper Bunion Productions

A Blog Post from Adalia of The LadyBugs

Hi everyone!  My name is Adalia and I'm the drummer for The LadyBugs.  I live in Bugwood Commons near the other LadyBugs. I'm so excited to be writing in our new blog.  We are hoping through this blog to communicate with parents and kids and let you all know about our music and animated series.  

I'm a single mom and my daughter Condoleezza lives with me.  She is 7 years old.  I named her after a powerful woman who plays a mean piano.  

PUPPIES AND BABIES

I know someday soon I'm going to have to have a talk with Condi about where babies come from.  Kids are exposed to so many sexual images at a young age these days.  The LadyBugs think it's important to try to explain those confusing images to your kids.  If you don't, someone else will and that someone else will probably be another kid.  In our song "Puppies," we compare a dog having puppies to a Mommy having a baby.  The song talks about how Mommy and Daddy like to play just like their dog, Lucy, played with the neighbor's dog, Gus.

TEEN PREGNANCY

The LadyBugs promote abstinence until adulthood.  We think an unwanted pregnancy is something kids shouldn't have to deal with and romantic relationships can be too distracting from schoolwork and planning for your future.  A great movie about teen pregnancy is called "Juno".  In this movie, a 16 year old girl gets pregnant by her boyfriend and has to decide what to do.   

The LadyBugs are experts in helping parents talk to their kids about difficult topics.  Share your comments and let us know what topics would interest you.

Until next week,

 Adalia

A Blog Post from Cleo of The LadyBugs

Hi I'm Cleo.  I play piano and bass and sing background vocals for The LadyBugs.  I live in Bugwood Commons with my two bulldogs, Howard and Robin.  

ADDICTIONS

If you watched our latest episode of our web series, "Meet The LadyBugs!", you were introduced to a troubled spider named Paddy "Long Legs" O'Shea.  Paddy used to have an addiction to drugs and alcohol, which he's kicked since getting out of rehab.  However, he still chain smokes and uses nasal sprays too much.  

Addiction is something The LadyBugs tackle in our song "Daddy, Please Don't Drink and Drive".  In this song, a little girl just wants her Dad to stay home and read her a book instead of going to the bar to get drunk and making Mommy cry.  She is embarrassed when her father gets drunk on her birthday and falls down on her birthday cake.

Substance abuse of parents can hurt kids in a lot of ways.  For one thing, if you have an addiction, it's very hard to be a good parent.  Sometimes kids want to copy their parents and end up with addictions too.  A great movie that deals with kids and drugs is called "Thirteen".  A very talented young actress, Evan Rachel Wood, stars as 13 year old Tracy who does a lot of dangerous things just to fit in like drinking and taking drugs... .   Another great movie and book about kids and drugs is called "The Basketball Diaries" and stars the very talented, Leonardo DiCaprio.  This story is the memoir of musician, Jim Carroll, who fell in with a bad bunch of kids and ended up a heroin addict at the age of 13.  If you're afraid your kid is starting to hang out with the wrong crowd and drinking or doing drugs, why not sit down with him or her and watch these movies.  They cover pretty rough subject matter, but are an honest depiction of addiction and kids.

The LadyBugs are experts in helping parents talk to their kids about difficult topics.  Share your comments and let us know what topics would interest you.

Until next week,

Cleo

A Blog Post from Nelli of The LadyBugs

 I'm Nelli.  I play guitar, keytar and xylophone and provide background vocals for The LadyBugs.  I live in Bugwood Commons, a community for bugs, near the other LadyBugs.  I live with my girlfriend Kati Didd.  

BULLYING

 You may have seen me being a victim of bullying in the first episode of "Meet The LadyBugs!"  That happens a lot because I have a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend.  It's really hard, but I try not to let it bother me. I know bullies are mean because they don't like themselves.  I have lots of nice friends that accept me the way I am.

The LadyBugs are experts in helping parents talk to their kids about difficult topics like bullying.  That's why we started this blog for parents and their kids.  A lot of the topics we talk about can make Moms and Dads uncomfortable, but we think you really should get over it so that you can keep your kids as safe as possible.

CHILD PREDATORS

One of our songs, "The Creepy Man," talks about pedophiles. It lets kids know there are some really bad adults that want to hurt kids.  Well, there are a couple of movies out that parents can watch with their kids about this very subject.  One is called "Trust".  It stars the very handsome, Clive Owen, and a terrific young actress named Liana Liberato who plays his daughter, 14 year old Annie.  In this movie, Annie meets a cute boy online and falls head over heels for him.  The only problem is he's not a boy at all.  He's a grown man pretending to be a boy so he can lure Annie away from her parents.  It's a hard movie to watch, but it's important for kids to learn about bad grown ups.

I'd also like to recommend a similar movie called "Blue Car".  It stars the also very handsome, David Strathairne, and another great young actress, Agnes Bruckner.  Agnes stars as 16 year old Megan, a talented young poet.... 

Blue Car Spoiler Alert!

Megan develops a close relationship with her English teacher who she thinks has taken an interest in her talent, but he's really interested in something else.  There are some weirdos who think this is a romantic coming of age film.  Buy a young girl losing her precious virginity to a creepy old married guy is not romantic you freaks!  Sorry, I get very emotional about this topic.

I hope you check out these 2 films.  Please share your comments and let The LadyBugs know what topics you're having trouble discussing with your kids.  The LadyBugs are here to help!

A Blog Post from Harmony of The LadyBugs

Hi I'm Harmony and welcome to The LadyBugs daily blog.  A little bit about me.... I live with my boyfriend, Don Hapithus.  He's a musician and goes by the stage name, Happy Cricket.  We have a son, Liverpool, who is named after the hometown of our favorite band, The Beatles.  Liverpool is a bedbug from New York City who we adopted after the infestation left so many bedbug children homeless.  I know what it is like to lose my family.  I grew up on a farm and my parents and relatives were killed be pesticides.  As a result I am a staunch advocate of organic farming.  It's much better for people and bugs.  If you buy organic produce and find a bug in it, just gently place him on your windowsill so he can find a new home.

REAL FOOD

The LadyBugs' debut album is called "Sugar is Poison" and contains a song by the same name.  It talks about how important it is for kids to eat healthy foods.  This is something The LadyBugs are very passionate about.  If you want to improve the quality of the foods you serve in your home, I recommend a book called "Real Food" by Nina Planck.  The book is an easy read and explains why processed foods are so bad for you.  Nina recommends eating food that's as close to it's original form as possible. 

KIDS WITH FOOD ALLERGIES

What if your kids can't eat foods in their natural state because of food allergies?  Some kids have very life threatening allergies to certain foods like peanuts, eggs and dairy products.  Well, I'd like to recommend a book called "Kylie's Special Treat: A Food Allergy Fairy Tale" by Letizia Barbetta with beautiful illustrations by Wendy Sefcik.  It's a story about an artist named Kylie with severe food allergies who makes a special treat for a baking contest that will be judged by a Prince.  Does she win the contest?  Buy the book and find out.  Thanks Letizia for writing a book about this difficult topic.

The LadyBugs are experts in helping parents talk to their kids about difficult topics.  Share your comments and let us know what topics would interest you.

Until next week,

Harmony

Dorothy - My First Official Blog Post

NEWS
Hello and welcome to my first official blog.  I will be using this blog to let people know what is going on in my creative world. You will also be hearing from the members of The LadyBugs about a variety of books, films and other resources that deal with difficult subjects affecting kids.

ABOUT ME
As you know, I created The LadyBugs a couple of years ago.  Since then, I've released a LadyBug album, Sugar is Poison, and created an animated comedy series which is in its second season on Blip.TV.  I plan to continue the series as long as possible, so I created a survey to get feedback on what you like and don't like. Everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Amazon.com gift certificate.

Click here to take survey

ANIMATION
A lot of people have asked me about animation.  If you watch the web series I animate, Meet The LadyBugs, it is pretty obvious I don't have a lot of training. :-) I actually purchased a pretty inexpensive program called Anime Studio Pro. The great thing about this program is you draw a character from various angles.  Then you animate the character by inserting and moving their bones.  It makes it much quicker and easier... and it still has that folksy look as if it was drawn by hand.  It's a little hard to get into at first, so I'd recommend checking out some great online tutorials.  One I like is AnimationTrainer.com hosted by Eric Moore.  He takes you step by step through the learning process on the key features you will need to create animation.  

ON THE WEB
Since creating Meet The LadyBugs, a lot of great things have happened.  I won an award for Best Screenplay (produced) at the Broad Humor Film Festival in September of 2012.  I also was invited to join the Writer's Guild of America East.  I've had the opportunity to meet some really talented writers and directors with their own web series that I'd like to share with you.

Brooklyn is in Love
If you enjoy shows like Girls and Sex and the City, check out Brooklyn is in Love by a very talented writer/director/producer, Danielle Earle. The show follows a group of twenty-somethings who are confronting the challenges we all face when life doesn't turn out the way we expected it to.  The series also features some terrific performances by talented actors, most notably, Miranda McCauley. 

Disciplinary Actions
I've also been enjoying a new web series called Disciplinary Actions directed by Tony Clomax who also co-wrote the series with its creator Dianna Smith.  She describes the series as Law and Order meets The Practice with a focus on stories of union and non-union workers.

Strand
If you're a fan of science fiction, check out Strand written and directed by Amanda Cole.  It definitely has a J.J. Abrams feel to it.  In this series, Scientist, James Roy, tries to keep daughter, Rae, safe while bringing unpredictable elements back to their hiding place. Meanwhile, his outlawed invention, an Oracle, tracks Rae in an effort to connect.

CLOSING THOUGHTS
The combination of the exorbitant cost of cable, the depressed economy and television series leaning toward reality rather than the traditional written fictional shows, it's great to have these web series as an alternative option.  So next time you complain about having 700 channels with nothing to watch, check out one of these original web series.

That's all for now.  Please post comments and share my blog with anyone who might be interested.  And stay tuned for blog posts from The LadyBugs themselves!

Dorothy Wallace