With the world as crazy as it is, we have taken to sheltering our children, but perhaps it has gone too far.
I know things are different from the way they were twenty five years ago, but we are creating a generation of super dependent children. Aside from cell phones taking a way a young teenager's opportunity to navigate the world on her own, to many parents are to afraid to let their kids go. Do they not trust them, or is this just another step in our "parenting from fear" policy?
When I was in eighth grade, and going forward I went into the city from the suburbs with a friend of mine every time we had vacation. We took the bus, we took the bus back, we stayed past dark, and our parents' input was a piece of paper with a few pertinent places we wanted to go to, and a crude map of Manhattan. Oh, and no cell phone.
My friends' kids went into the city with a complete plan and itinerary mapped out by their mothers, the other one went WITH her mother, and one of my daughter's friends (almost 18) was allowed to go if they left the city by the time it got dark. Hmm.
Living in the suburbs it is very hard to give our kids any freedom or independence. There are very few places they can go to themselves, and the culture around here is just very car-centric and not at all public transportation based. Thus, I was quite excited when my daughter got her licence, because now she has the ability and the necessity to navigate the world, and interact with people and life without her parents doing things for her. I guess I am unsure as to why a parent would resist allowing their older children the ability to become a productive member of society, a functioning social being able to navigate the world around them in a way that will eventually give them maturity and a step into adulthood.
I look at my eldest and I see the little eighteen month old who climbed out of her crib at nap time, the one who looked up at me with huge innocent eyes, as she played, her facing registering a "what? did I do something wrong?" expression. It's hard to see her moving on, but that's what she needs, and that what shes up to, and it hurts, but I can't hold her back, and I want her to succeed.
When they sprout the wings, we need to let them fly.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Photo Evidence
Here is the photo, the sticky notes are covering up specific information about the who, why, what, when, where- this is the internet after all!
There you have it! Seeing the picture shows even more of the absurdity of this. She's wearing a towel and her arm is exposed. As MBB puts it, the "temptress in the Harbor!" Wanna know why people stopped being frum when they got here? It was because of what loomed large above them as the boat sailed into Ellis Island. How could they withstand the temptation? Plus, if you get close, I think her toes are showing too!
 |
| From the ad with the face |
 | ||
| From the ad blurred |
There you have it! Seeing the picture shows even more of the absurdity of this. She's wearing a towel and her arm is exposed. As MBB puts it, the "temptress in the Harbor!" Wanna know why people stopped being frum when they got here? It was because of what loomed large above them as the boat sailed into Ellis Island. How could they withstand the temptation? Plus, if you get close, I think her toes are showing too!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
They've Gone Too Far
By now my feelings on the omitting or blurring of women's photos in magazines and ad circulars is well known. I think though that things have finally reached the tipping point. At least for me.
My high schoolers are gearing up for their production, dance and drama, with one on the props committee, which is really not only props but set decoration. That means building the sets from scratch; a lot of cardboard, foam and paint, coupled with blood (literally), sweat, burns, and laughter. (If there are tears we haven't seen them). Part of this endeavor is publicity, aside from going to the local schools to sell tickets, ads are placed in local publications. My niece is running that committee, and alerted me to the following travesty parading as religiosity.
The play is an immigrant story, taking place at the time of the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory fire. The art for the poster and print ads is the backs of two immigrants with an American flag and the Statue of Liberty looming large above them. In one of the ad magazines that are available for free at the supermarket (pages of local ads, some coupons and classifieds, lots of pictures of Rebbes,parlor meetings, accidents and weather related snapshots) the ad is in there, in the relatively early pages (61), albeit there is a change.
The Statue of Liberty's face has been blurred out.
If it wasn't so sad I would laugh.
My high schoolers are gearing up for their production, dance and drama, with one on the props committee, which is really not only props but set decoration. That means building the sets from scratch; a lot of cardboard, foam and paint, coupled with blood (literally), sweat, burns, and laughter. (If there are tears we haven't seen them). Part of this endeavor is publicity, aside from going to the local schools to sell tickets, ads are placed in local publications. My niece is running that committee, and alerted me to the following travesty parading as religiosity.
The play is an immigrant story, taking place at the time of the Triangle Shirt Waist Factory fire. The art for the poster and print ads is the backs of two immigrants with an American flag and the Statue of Liberty looming large above them. In one of the ad magazines that are available for free at the supermarket (pages of local ads, some coupons and classifieds, lots of pictures of Rebbes,parlor meetings, accidents and weather related snapshots) the ad is in there, in the relatively early pages (61), albeit there is a change.
The Statue of Liberty's face has been blurred out.
If it wasn't so sad I would laugh.
Another Prize Ceremony
Congratulations again to RabbiM!!!!
Being the Mid -West contingent of our loyal following, we asked our loyal commenter, DOOBIE to do the honors, and present him with the award. Here are the photos from that ceremony!
Remember, next year a great prize COULD be yours!
Being the Mid -West contingent of our loyal following, we asked our loyal commenter, DOOBIE to do the honors, and present him with the award. Here are the photos from that ceremony!
Remember, next year a great prize COULD be yours!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Dance With Me...If You Dare
We were at a really fun wedding last night, a category that most family weddings fall into. We know a large amount of people, are happy to see them, and are genuinely happy for the parents and the bride or groom, who we tend to actually KNOW.
At this age, much of the fun at the wedding is more about the socializing than the dancing (and sometimes, if we are feted correctly, the menu!), but we do our duty and get up to dance first with the bride, and then with her mother, or mother in law and/or grandmother. The dancing, once we get up from our seats, is quite enjoyable, except when it's not.
When is it not? well, let's see, I join the circle and on one side we hold a palm so sweaty it may in fact not be sweaty at all, but perhaps this particular dancer came late, went to wash for the crusty challah roll on her plate, and before she could dry her hands (or make the bracha) heard the intense drumbeats and shrieking that herald the bride and groom's entrance onto the dance floor. She quickly ran to the circle, and perhaps that's when I, unfortunately, cut in to grab on to her dripping hand. Or she just sweats. A lot. The woman on the other side of me felt the need to hold her car keys. I'm not sure why. At first I thought maybe she had a problem with her hand, and that's how she protected herself, but I saw her later, holding her keys (which looked numerous enough to wonder if she was the lone night watchman at a prison. or a twelve year old boy) very normally. I had to wonder, with all of us who left our cell phones at the table, inside our fancy evening bags, why she couldn't do the same, but perhaps she was late in coming as well, and had no time to put them down. What fun! Sweaty McSweatsweat on one side, and holding the crook of the arm of Warden McKeys on the other as we shuffle around the outer most ring of the dance floor. It didn't last long, beacsue a short, but very stocky woman noticed the bride's great grandmother standing at the side, and made it her duty to get her into the inner-most circle. A noble endevour indeed. Is it noble to LITERALLY PUSH people out of the way, and then hold them back as if she was the wall of water at the splitting of the Red Sea? Then there was Elbow Woman. She was convinced she knew me (she doesn't), and had to talk to me while we were dancing, but every time she spoke to me her elbows flew up and banged into my arms. She was tall and wiry, so her elbows were quite bony!
Then there was the usual, circle too fast, circle too slow, women changing the dance to something complicated, girls jumping and calling it dancing, and the requisite wiggling that is de riguer at today's function.
It really was nice, everyone was happy, even when the groom fell off the table he was held aloft and dancing on and after the wedding ended up with stitches and a shattered wrist.
At this age, much of the fun at the wedding is more about the socializing than the dancing (and sometimes, if we are feted correctly, the menu!), but we do our duty and get up to dance first with the bride, and then with her mother, or mother in law and/or grandmother. The dancing, once we get up from our seats, is quite enjoyable, except when it's not.
When is it not? well, let's see, I join the circle and on one side we hold a palm so sweaty it may in fact not be sweaty at all, but perhaps this particular dancer came late, went to wash for the crusty challah roll on her plate, and before she could dry her hands (or make the bracha) heard the intense drumbeats and shrieking that herald the bride and groom's entrance onto the dance floor. She quickly ran to the circle, and perhaps that's when I, unfortunately, cut in to grab on to her dripping hand. Or she just sweats. A lot. The woman on the other side of me felt the need to hold her car keys. I'm not sure why. At first I thought maybe she had a problem with her hand, and that's how she protected herself, but I saw her later, holding her keys (which looked numerous enough to wonder if she was the lone night watchman at a prison. or a twelve year old boy) very normally. I had to wonder, with all of us who left our cell phones at the table, inside our fancy evening bags, why she couldn't do the same, but perhaps she was late in coming as well, and had no time to put them down. What fun! Sweaty McSweatsweat on one side, and holding the crook of the arm of Warden McKeys on the other as we shuffle around the outer most ring of the dance floor. It didn't last long, beacsue a short, but very stocky woman noticed the bride's great grandmother standing at the side, and made it her duty to get her into the inner-most circle. A noble endevour indeed. Is it noble to LITERALLY PUSH people out of the way, and then hold them back as if she was the wall of water at the splitting of the Red Sea? Then there was Elbow Woman. She was convinced she knew me (she doesn't), and had to talk to me while we were dancing, but every time she spoke to me her elbows flew up and banged into my arms. She was tall and wiry, so her elbows were quite bony!
Then there was the usual, circle too fast, circle too slow, women changing the dance to something complicated, girls jumping and calling it dancing, and the requisite wiggling that is de riguer at today's function.
It really was nice, everyone was happy, even when the groom fell off the table he was held aloft and dancing on and after the wedding ended up with stitches and a shattered wrist.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
And the Winner Is…
The S&P 500 Index ended 2011 at 1257.60, down 0.3% from its 2010 closing level of 1257.64. The technical term for that kind of performance is “flat.”
However, merely looking at the year-end closing price and comparing it to the prior year’s close, ignores the fact that the market was quite volatile this year. Looking at the high-low range on the Index, it becomes clear that stocks really moved around quite a bit in 2011. The S&P 500’s high point for the year was about 1370, representing an 8.9% increase from 2010’s close, while the low point was 1075, representing a 14.5% decline from the year-end 2010 level.
Of course, in our stock market contest, the aim is to pick the S&P 500’s level at year end. What happens throughout the year doesn’t matter much for our purposes. To those of you who sold at the high and bought at the low, congratulations. Your portfolio might look nice, but that’s not going to help you win our contest. It’s not the journey, it’s the destination.
Before we announce the winner, let’s recap 2011’s entries, listed in the order they were received:
(In accordance with the official IcebergCarwash style manual, I have quoted all S&P 500 Index prices to two decimal places).
The winner of the Third Annual IcebergCarwash Stock Market Contest is rabbim, who predicted the year-end level of the S&P 500 Index within 3.2%.
An announcement regarding this year’s prize will be forthcoming.
Congratulations!
However, merely looking at the year-end closing price and comparing it to the prior year’s close, ignores the fact that the market was quite volatile this year. Looking at the high-low range on the Index, it becomes clear that stocks really moved around quite a bit in 2011. The S&P 500’s high point for the year was about 1370, representing an 8.9% increase from 2010’s close, while the low point was 1075, representing a 14.5% decline from the year-end 2010 level.
Of course, in our stock market contest, the aim is to pick the S&P 500’s level at year end. What happens throughout the year doesn’t matter much for our purposes. To those of you who sold at the high and bought at the low, congratulations. Your portfolio might look nice, but that’s not going to help you win our contest. It’s not the journey, it’s the destination.
Before we announce the winner, let’s recap 2011’s entries, listed in the order they were received:
• MBB: 1130.00
• Doobie: 1450.00
• BrotherLawyer: 1340.00
• fil: 1450.00
• wolfman: 1440.00
• rabbim: 1298.00
(In accordance with the official IcebergCarwash style manual, I have quoted all S&P 500 Index prices to two decimal places).
The winner of the Third Annual IcebergCarwash Stock Market Contest is rabbim, who predicted the year-end level of the S&P 500 Index within 3.2%.
An announcement regarding this year’s prize will be forthcoming.
Congratulations!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)