Yo, Loser! You!

On a recent occasion, I questioned using the word "loser" in the teen circle.

It was explained to me (by a teen) that the word loser is a commonly used term of expression and does not mean anything and should not provoke if it's used on you.

I would tend to disagree. Nobody likes to be called a loser, even in jest. And although I will not debate that loser is common, the word itself connotes such a negativity that we do not even teach our children from a young age to say it.

Imagine this: At a match or a game, you have the winners and you have the losers. Do you hear the announcers say "Here are our winners! And there are our losers!" Is it not more common to talk about the losers as the contestants who did not win or make it, or the contestants who lost?

If your child or children did not make the cut in a team, do you teach him to say "I'm a loser, ma." or "We're a bunch of losers, ma."? I think not.

And let's take it to another context. What if there is no match, no game, no contest....and the word loser is used? What does it mean? What exactly are you when you are called such in the greater scheme of life?

This post is not to attack anyone (any teen for that matter) who thinks that there is nothing to the word "loser". Certainly, it is your right to be called a loser, and to be cool enough to accept the tag "loser" without reaction.

I just know I don't like it. And I'll never be cool enough to accept any such label. Neither will my children.

It's probably not much but that's my two cents worth on the subject.

YOU'RE A LOSER! Say, how do you feel about that?

TCP: While You Were Sleeping

I've been waiting for this topic to feature on Tuesday Couch Potatoes for the longest time because I've got just the movie in mind.

This week, our assignment is to choose a romantic movie in the 90's. And my choice (with drumrolls please!) is the 1995 romantic comedy, While You Were Sleeping.

The film tells the story of a lonely ticket booth collector Lucy (played to perfection by Sandra Bullock) who has a secret crush on a handsome commuter, Peter Callaghan (played by Peter Gallagher). On Christmas Day, Lucy rescues Peter from an oncoming train after a mugger pushes him onto the tracks. He falls into a coma. Lucy takes Peter to hospital but due to unforeseen circumstances, she was misinterpreted that she was engaged to him by a nurse when Lucy said, "I'm going to marry that man".

Afterwards, Lucy meets the rest of Peter's family and instantly she is accepted as one of the family. She is invited to spend a belated Christmas Eve with them and in the morning, she meets Peter's brother, Jack (Bill Pullman). Jack is not quite convinced that Lucy is who she says she is.

The story goes on when Lucy finds herself not being able to confess to Peter's family that she is not really engaged to him and that Peter does not even know her. Peter eventually wakes up but because he does not know her, his family is convinced that he has suffered amnesia. A wedding was set for Peter and Lucy, but in the last minute, Lucy finally admits the truth and that she has fallen in love with Jack, Peter's brother.

In the end, all's well that ends well. A happy ending is to be expected of course.

This movie really caught me by surprise when I bought it on DVD more than a decade ago. It is one of my most treasured film. I watch it every time I feel like I need a laugh and a lot of love. Not to mention that this is one of the romantic films I've watched where there is no nudity or sex scenes but the movie still successfully conveys the love story across to the audience. Gawd! The main characters only kisses at the end of the movie even.

So there it is. My kind of romantic film. Join us for the rest of the TCP gang at Just About Anything.