Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
We be beachin’, and the internet connection be spotty, so I’m enjoying some enforced vacation time. And by enjoying I mean “gritting my teeth & trying not to think about how much I’m going to have to do to catch up tomorrow.” Tomorrow can take care of itself. Enjoying today!
Here’s some quick linkage for the week:
1. Mark Zuckerberg’s new challenge: Eating only what he kills (and yes, we do mean literally…)
Good for him. Eating only food you’ve slaughtered yourself means ensuring a humane kill. It means getting to know local farmers by name. It means being conscious of exactly what goes into your steak or chicken sandwich: the ending of a life. It means not just buying a tidy plastic-wrapped packet at the grocery store and closing your mind to its origin. And most likely, it means a drastic reduction in the quantity of meat you consume.
2. I Actually Want My Kids to Be Weird
Seven practical reasons why normal is overrated. The successful & satisfied are the outliers, the follow-your-dreamers, the I-don’t-care-what-you-thinkers. Are you encouraging your kids to fit in or stand out?
3. Why Are Car Seats So Poorly Designed?
Seriously, why are they? Statistics indicate 9 of 10 carseats are improperly installed or used. Why not design carseats that are really hard to use incorrectly? Or hell, just build them into the structure of the backseat itself?
4. Baby Storm’s mom on gender, parenting and the media
The mother of “gender-neutral” Storm speaks up. I have enough to say about this that I should probably just write up a separate post; for now I’ll just agree with her that “…the psychologist on the Today Show for example, was willing to make strong, unqualified conclusions about a family (and children) he had never met, based on (generously) one per cent of what there is to know about said family. Will that behaviour help grow healthy, happy, kind, well adjusted children?”
5. Female rappers tout their sexiness, keep silent about domestic skills
A study of rap lyrics & videos, male & female, revealed four main messages:
- Wealth equals independence
- Beauty and independence are connected
- Average men deserve perfect women
- Sexual prowess equals independence
I’m not sure when we equated in-your-face sexiness with independence and “girl power” but it annoys the hell out of me. How are you defining independence for your kids? For yourself?
6. Old Navy Markets Gay Pride Shirts to Fight Bullying
Sigh. 10% of profits go to the It Gets Better project, which is good, but ya’ll realize that Old Navy benefits the most here, right? I’m not certain that t-shirts are the most effective way to fight bullying, but whatever measures people take to make acceptance mainstream are OK by me.
7. Bill Clinton’s Commencement Speech: Our World Is Unequal, Unstable, And Unsustainable
Anybody else wish Clinton had kept his hands and his cigars to himself? To this day I have a hard time not seeing him as the butt of a joke, even when he delivers level-headed yet inspirational speeches like this one. Yes, you can be and do anything, but remember that there is important work to be done, today.
Reminds me of the Thoreau quote: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
VIDEO:
Dude. I love Bert. This is Part Two of a Charlie Rose-style interview with Andy Samberg, and I can’t help but think how much fun it must be to work for Sesame Street.
Your turn! Hit me up with your votes for the most news-worthy stories this week in the comments!
