Friday, April 16, 2010

Mama Bean posts links on Friday - April 16, 2010

- I feel like I should orchestrate these link lists like a mix tape; start with a little fun timez, proceed through some Srsly Scientifical Studiousness, toss in some God and His People activity, and finish with more fun timez. Or alphabetize? Sometimes the order I post links through the week falls into this nice logical sequence for Link Love, other times we're jumping around all ADD-style. Which, now that I think about it, is fairly apropos vis a vis the nature of the interwebs. So without much further ado (why do people sometimes say this "further adieu"? That doesn't even make sense. Just because further ado is a sort of pretentious thing to say doesn't mean you have to supplant a nonsensical french word pronunciation to make it sound even more pretentious) our first link is a picture of what they thought home computers would look like in 2004 fifty years ago. B commented it's "[t]oo bad someone invented the mouse. Otherwise we apparently would have awesome giant steering wheels on our computers."

- No more fun timez, right in with the Contentious Mom Issues, namely the Mamageddon of Breastfeeding v Formula Feeding. (Isn't Mamageddon the best term ever? We must fight about this totally ridiculous parenting issue as though it is The End Of The World! RAWR!) I read this blog post about how much of the reason why moms end up formula feeding has to do with lack of support in the hospital (or from family or employers.) I posted it because of the discussion at our breastfeeding group that revealed the majority of moms felt totally overwhelmed by the nurses in the hospital pressuring them with totally contradictory messages to feed-more-pump-more-the-baby's-not-gaining-it's-going-to-get-dehydrated-and-die-you're-a-terrible-mother-why-don't-you-just-let-us-give-it-a-bottle-already!?! RAWR MAMAGEDDON!! L pointed out that the author has a "somewhat inflammatory and judgmental" writing style, which I think is to be expected from someone whose blog is titled Tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic. So maybe I wouldn't write it the same way, but I agree with the general idea that one of the bigger barriers to successful breastfeeding is not that moms don't want to do it, or don't know that it's a good choice, but that they are poorly equipped to fight against the fear mongering and their own self doubt.

- This is an incredible, poetic description of what the blogging community can be. It's a good account of why I do All Of This. I totally realize the online world is not Real Life for everyone, but for me, it is as much my real life as my offline world, and I am conscientious to language it as such. I know there are ways technology has contributed to greater isolation to the detriment of offline community and relationship building, and I am an advocate for everyone finding their own balance. For my balance, I take the social mediaz and real-ize the shit out of them!

- (Oh man, there will be no fun timez anymore ever again I'm sorry) Is it necessary to draw a line between being forgiving and actually forgiving? Is this an important semantical separation? I think this is a compelling argument. On the one hand, God is always forgiving, that is, in a state of readiness and eagerness to forgive. But, actually forgiving should not and does not happen without a person acknowledging a need for it, i.e. repentance and confession. To imitate God, we are also eager and ready to forgive at all times, but actually do the act of forgiving only when someone has requested it. This resonates for me, as a people-pleaser kind of personality, that I can have a forgiving heart that's ready to forgive at a moment's notice but (and it's a big but) I shouldn't preemptively do the act of forgiving people, making myself a total doormat with no self-respect.

- Fun Timez Returneth! LULZ This is a video imagining The Attack of the 8 Bit Universe. I didn't play many video games as a kid, pursuing other branches of the Nerd Family Tree, but even I chuckled at this one. And dated myself a bit in the process, as there is this entire generation of kids now who don't have a clue what these games and characters are from.

- Hmm, combination of fun timez (cartoon) with theologicianing and critical thinky-stuff. This is a picture of the parallels between the hierarchy of heaven (described in Revelation) and the hierarchy of the Church. It is meant as a cultural criticism, I think, to challenge why this format is used, what it's value may or may not be, if there might be new imaginings that could better serve humanity. Niel commented, "It's no coincidence that religious groups often choose to build their churches in such a manner as to inspire awe." Bang on, bro. I replied, "It's probably good to have physical and organizational structures that inspire awe, but that awe should be directed towards God, not a person (priest.) These can be heavy issues to face, and so even an edge of humour helps to lighten the load, as it were." I just discovered thenakedpastor this week, and I'm really enjoying his insights so far.

- Another new discovery this week: Hyperbole and a Half. She (I think?) is a funny blogger with funny pictures and everyone should enjoy her (?) !! This post is about her method of dealing with all those people who think "a lot" is one word. It is more than hilarious. It's like another Bob the Angry Flower's apostrophe use guide.

- (End of fun timez back to seriousness...rollercoasterwheeee) "[T]he evidence strongly suggests that the rising prevalence of autism if largely an artifact of broadening the diagnosis and increased surveillance." Before the 1970s, an ASD diagnosis carried a stigma, while mental retardation (MR) did not, so parents funneled their resources into getting an MR diagnosis, which also afforded them greater social support at the time. After the 1990s, as ASD lost the stigma and gained better access to public resources, parents began mobilizing their resources for an ASD diagnosis instead of MR. Interesting, right? A new study found children who live near another child diagnosed with ASD are drastically more likely to be diagnosed, because proximity provides access to information that allows parents to marshal their resources into effective diagnosis. These are sociological reasons for the apparent increase in ASD incidence - it is not a true increase in incidence, and that is important for determining how we allot research dollars. Everyone who commented on this post on my fbook stayed really respectful and non-histrionic, and for that I am grateful. I am well past the vaccine-autism link, the science is clear, there is no link. However, I still think there are strong connections between diet, gut health, and symptomatic control, and I hope more research is funded in that direction.

- Take this quiz to see how observant you are! Don't cheat, you Cheaty McCheatersons. I scored 15 out of 25, which I guess is pretty good.

- Oh by the way, would you like to watch my son eat cereal? Of course you would! You can also watch The Hand of Mom wipe cereal off his forehead and smear it into his bib. And you can hear me laugh a lot. Or alot. (haha do u see what I did thurr?) I got stuck in the youtube vortex of watching a string of suggested videos from Bean's video, and ended up watching clips of puppies and raccoons being bottlefed. Everything on the internet ends up with puppies (or porn. Your choice.)

- Not quite puppies, but this elephant seal sort of behaves like an overgrown beflippered puppy. It's super cute, except I couldn't help thinking about the fish breath.

- Phew, a whole string of only fun timez all the way. This is an excellent kijiji (tooooo maanyyyy iiiiiiiiii's) ad for the manliest Jeep Liberty you've ever seen. Are you Chuck Norris enough for it? I didn't think so! Never mind, the ad has been removed. Trust me, it was hilarious.

- Dood, I'm totally gonna end this list of linkedy-lovedness with politics /sigh. I know, bad idea. But bear with me, maybe plz? Here's the marriedtothesea comic. Okay, now I will write something nonpolitical that is a little related but not really. I get a little tired of people in my neck of the North who complain about the weather. I don't mean like gripe about a genuinely cold or dreary or wet day. I complain about that, too. I mean people who are upset and dour whenever it isn't 20 degrees, sunny and clear. We live in Canada! There are seasons here! If you don't like seasons, you should move! If you "can't" move (like your job? want to stay near your wife or your kids? enjoy the socialist healthcare oopsIgotpolitical?) then spare us, and try to deal in silence. Like the rest of us. Sorry, that's like an uber-harsh note to end on, isn't it? Hmmm....LOOK IT'S CUTE! (Forgive me?)

1 comment:

  1. Love the "Married to the Sea" cartoon - that's a good illustration of how people living in such a great country (the USA) love to complain about anything & everything.

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