"You can't go swimming for an hour after eating."
Mar 28, 2011
Wait one hour after eating
...and while on the subject of myths, does anyone (presumably my age - Gen X - and older) remember this one?
Mar 27, 2011
Limitless… are the things I don’t know about memory
If you want to see a fun, sexy movie see Limitless. I loved it. Because damn, that Bradley Cooper can wear a suit. But also, because the story is built around an interesting idea.
The premise is the enduring (and false) belief that “we only use 20% of our brains” (I have always heard 10% - maybe we’re getting smarter), and what if you could “access all of it”? And what if a pill could do that?
The premise is the enduring (and false) belief that “we only use 20% of our brains” (I have always heard 10% - maybe we’re getting smarter), and what if you could “access all of it”? And what if a pill could do that?
Mar 24, 2011
Superstition
The human brain is wired to be superstitious. I know this not only because I have read it many times, but also because I have proof.
On Saturday night my husband and I had a "date night". Maybe our second in the five years since our girls were born.
Yes, not very impressive, I know. But the novelty made it very exciting.
On Saturday night my husband and I had a "date night". Maybe our second in the five years since our girls were born.
Yes, not very impressive, I know. But the novelty made it very exciting.
Mar 21, 2011
What Women Shouldn’t Want
The Age fashion section recently ran a feature declaring that our love of Mad Men-inspired fashion is on the way out. (We’re now heading back to the 1920s for our inspiration, apparently).
I think I am glad. Like everyone, I love the styling in Mad Men. But also, I am fed up with 50s and 60s retro nostalgia. We quite possibly need a break.
Pastel tin laundry peg baskets? Floral aprons? Giant $800 cake mixers? Over it. Over it all.
We need to remember what these things actually represent. Not some rosy, fake warm view of the past but the reality of what that past was like, especially (but not only) for women.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Mad Men, but you’re supposed to watch it and remember how crappy things used to be, not sigh over beautiful clothes and martinis at lunchtime. Or, at least do both.
Remember the flip side, sisters:
Retro style: Fantasy Vs. Reality
Fantasy:
Husband = Don Draper
Reality:
Husband = Don Draper
or more likely:
Husband = one of the way lesser guys with all their crap and crap salary too (You have no salary, remember)
Fantasy:
Gorgeous clothes
Reality:
Pantyhose. Every day.
Fantasy:
People are slim without exercising
Reality:
Cigarettes, alcoholism, diets
Fantasy:
Whiskey in the office
Reality:
You’re a woman. You’re not IN the office.
Fantasy:
No crazy career pressure for women. You can stay home and manage your house and kids.
Reality:
Crazy pressure to find husband early, and pick a good one. You pick wrong, you ruin your life.
Fantasy:
Social norms – everyone knows the rules.
Reality:
There were A LOT of rules.
Dinner party hostessing anyone?
The present is better than the past, in almost every way. And I’m going to skip over the serious stuff here (financial independence, access to birth control, equal opportunity at work, equitable divorce) and just look at clothing and style.
When I was a kid in the 1970’s and 80’s my mum, who was slim, stylish and clever (and always starving herself on diets) taught us tips and tricks on dressing and looking our best. Not in a bad way, just as useful asides in our everyday life.
And there were definitely rules to learn.
Every season, skirts were of a “type” (A-line, gathered with a yoke, straight, or wrap-around), and a specific length – above the knee, below the knee, calf, ankle. (Unfortunately the most flattering length, on the knee, completely skipped the 80’s and most of the 90’s). Every season my mum would adjust all our skirt hems up or down to the correct current length. If a skirt could not be altered to the correct length, you just couldn’t wear it. You’d look odd.
Make no mistake; this was not just my mum. This is how it was.
I still remember how refreshing, interesting, and faintly shocking it was, when my mum told me about a friend’s grown daughter: “Michelle doesn’t worry about length for daytime anymore.” Wow! Revolutionary! Could it be? Could that work?! We tried it – we never looked back.
And remember that? Daytime clothes and night-time clothes? Night was dressier. You had a day bag (just one!) and an evening bag (just one!). Daytime perfume and night-time perfume (daytime was likely a cologne; night-time was the full ‘spicy’ or ‘oriental’ eau du parfum).
And all this was just in the 80’s! For the 50’s and 60’s you can magnify that by ten.
So yes, the past was stylish. It was stylish because it was ruled by rules – norms that were, to current tastes, stifling, and admitted little variation.
It’s like visiting some European cities – I admire that people are gorgeous, stylish and well-dressed. But after a while I grumble that they all look the same. There’s much less individual style, experimentation or whimsy. No crazy dyed hair, kooky ensembles or ugly shoes. Those things may grate sometimes, but I find I miss them when they’re not around.
So take “inspiration” from Mad Men – and other sources – all you like. But don’t discount the wonderful things available right here in the present: freedom, individuality, self-expression, and the ability to wear track pants for the dash to the corner shop.
I think I am glad. Like everyone, I love the styling in Mad Men. But also, I am fed up with 50s and 60s retro nostalgia. We quite possibly need a break.
Pastel tin laundry peg baskets? Floral aprons? Giant $800 cake mixers? Over it. Over it all.
We need to remember what these things actually represent. Not some rosy, fake warm view of the past but the reality of what that past was like, especially (but not only) for women.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Mad Men, but you’re supposed to watch it and remember how crappy things used to be, not sigh over beautiful clothes and martinis at lunchtime. Or, at least do both.
Remember the flip side, sisters:
_____________________________________________________________________
Retro style: Fantasy Vs. Reality
Fantasy:
Husband = Don Draper
Reality:
Husband = Don Draper
or more likely:
Husband = one of the way lesser guys with all their crap and crap salary too (You have no salary, remember)
Fantasy:
Gorgeous clothes
Reality:
Pantyhose. Every day.
Fantasy:
People are slim without exercising
Reality:
Cigarettes, alcoholism, diets
Fantasy:
Whiskey in the office
Reality:
You’re a woman. You’re not IN the office.
Fantasy:
No crazy career pressure for women. You can stay home and manage your house and kids.
Reality:
Crazy pressure to find husband early, and pick a good one. You pick wrong, you ruin your life.
Fantasy:
Social norms – everyone knows the rules.
Reality:
There were A LOT of rules.
Dinner party hostessing anyone?
_____________________________________________________________________
The present is better than the past, in almost every way. And I’m going to skip over the serious stuff here (financial independence, access to birth control, equal opportunity at work, equitable divorce) and just look at clothing and style.
When I was a kid in the 1970’s and 80’s my mum, who was slim, stylish and clever (and always starving herself on diets) taught us tips and tricks on dressing and looking our best. Not in a bad way, just as useful asides in our everyday life.
And there were definitely rules to learn.
Every season, skirts were of a “type” (A-line, gathered with a yoke, straight, or wrap-around), and a specific length – above the knee, below the knee, calf, ankle. (Unfortunately the most flattering length, on the knee, completely skipped the 80’s and most of the 90’s). Every season my mum would adjust all our skirt hems up or down to the correct current length. If a skirt could not be altered to the correct length, you just couldn’t wear it. You’d look odd.
Make no mistake; this was not just my mum. This is how it was.
I still remember how refreshing, interesting, and faintly shocking it was, when my mum told me about a friend’s grown daughter: “Michelle doesn’t worry about length for daytime anymore.” Wow! Revolutionary! Could it be? Could that work?! We tried it – we never looked back.
And remember that? Daytime clothes and night-time clothes? Night was dressier. You had a day bag (just one!) and an evening bag (just one!). Daytime perfume and night-time perfume (daytime was likely a cologne; night-time was the full ‘spicy’ or ‘oriental’ eau du parfum).
And all this was just in the 80’s! For the 50’s and 60’s you can magnify that by ten.
So yes, the past was stylish. It was stylish because it was ruled by rules – norms that were, to current tastes, stifling, and admitted little variation.
It’s like visiting some European cities – I admire that people are gorgeous, stylish and well-dressed. But after a while I grumble that they all look the same. There’s much less individual style, experimentation or whimsy. No crazy dyed hair, kooky ensembles or ugly shoes. Those things may grate sometimes, but I find I miss them when they’re not around.
So take “inspiration” from Mad Men – and other sources – all you like. But don’t discount the wonderful things available right here in the present: freedom, individuality, self-expression, and the ability to wear track pants for the dash to the corner shop.
 |
Picture Credit: http://www.blingcheese.com/image/code/40/mad+men.htm |
Mar 19, 2011
Divine Retribution? End of Days? Or a very unlucky streak? Disaster Days
What with natural disasters, climate change, the end of carbon, terrorism, wars, the global financial crisis, and the frightening rise of violence and viciousness in our cities, at some point we all wonder, What’s going on?
Mar 3, 2011
A Minor Operation
There is nothing like holding your daughter's hand as she goes under anaesthetic while not taking her eyes off your face, and you holding it all together so she has no idea how terrified you feel.
And this was a minor operation, and of our choice - nothing life-threatening or even "serious", so I do not for a moment pretend our experience compares to others who have been through far, far worse.
And this was a minor operation, and of our choice - nothing life-threatening or even "serious", so I do not for a moment pretend our experience compares to others who have been through far, far worse.
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