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Orange County Children’s Book Festival

ByMichael Thal

Remember the good old days when you could walk into Crown Books, Borders, or Barnes & Noble and browse the tombs for your favorite author or curl up in a corner to check out a fun read? With most bookstores closed, where can a mom purchase books for children and teens besides logging onto Amazon?…

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How high school students can get into the college of their dreams

ByMichael Thal

Many high school students focus just on their GPAs believing high academic classroom performance and perfect SAT scores will open doors to their college dream school. Perhaps this was the best path to take a generation ago, but 21st Century colleges and universities want more. According to Elizabeth Dankoski, founder and CEO of The Dream…

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Hapless dad raises biracial daughter

ByMichael Thal

Daddy’s Girl, by Ben Burgess Jr., is a unique novel about the black experience in America as seen through the eyes of a father and his daughter. Nick Johnson is an underachieving alcoholic and womanizer with little ambition other than partying with friends. After he gets a married woman pregnant, she decides to give the…

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August #AskGretchen: Politics, Bratty Kids, Single Again, Conflict at Work

ByMichael Thal

Pop’s Blog would like to welcome Gretchen Hydo, an executive business and life coach. Once a month Gretchen will offer her advice on parenting, business, relationships, love, money, friendships and more right here on Pop’s Blog. Feel free to send in your questions to be included in her next #AskGretchen column or you can e-mail…

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How Netflix protects kids and parental responsibility

ByMichael Thal

Netflix, a global provider of streaming movies and TV series, has over 75 million subscribers. It started service in 1998 as an American DVD-by-mail service and began streaming in 2007. Recently, it has produced award-winning programs such as “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” The company also cares about kid programming that includes…