1. Wow. Iceland was never on my Top List of Places to Visit until I saw this video. Now it is. (Can't embed the video, sorry.)
2. Unless you've been living under an internet rock for the past couple of weeks, you know that this video is all the rage, with everyone talking about how motivational and innovative and inspirational it is:
Don't get me wrong - I actually love the ad. The song is catchy (Faith watched it about fifty times in a row), the premise is clever, and I'm ALL in favor of getting girls more interested in S.T.E.M. (that's science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects. And I do think starting early is the way to go.
But I'm kind of ambivalent about the GoldieBlox product. It's an engineering toy... but pinkified. Now, I don't have anything against pink. But why can't girls play with plain old Lincoln Logs and Erector Sets and Legos and Tinker Toys? It seems like this is saying, "Engineering can be for girls too... if it's PINK and has PRINCESSES!"
But on the other hand, if this encourages parents to buy engineering toys for girls when they otherwise wouldn't, or encourages girls to play with engineering toys when they otherwise wouldn't... well, that's good. And I certainly think that girls can like princesses AND building things. Liking math and science doesn't make you un-feminine, and doesn't mean you can't like Pretty Things too (and I would argue that math and science are also beautiful in their own ways). So, like I said... ambivalent.
3. Excuse the language, but this is hilarious:
Cranberry sauce is SO EASY TO MAKE. And SO MUCH BETTER THAN CANNED. (I make the first of the three recipes on this page.)
4. Speaking of which, we did the Thanksgiving thing yesterday. It was just the four of us, which was fine. We had signed up to host displaced sailors for the holiday, but apparently more people signed up to host than be hosted. I can understand that -- it might be kind of awkward to spend Thanksgiving with a stranger's family, and maybe you'd rather just get together with your friends and celebrate with them.
Don't get me wrong - I actually love the ad. The song is catchy (Faith watched it about fifty times in a row), the premise is clever, and I'm ALL in favor of getting girls more interested in S.T.E.M. (that's science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects. And I do think starting early is the way to go.
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| Credit: SMBC Comics |
But on the other hand, if this encourages parents to buy engineering toys for girls when they otherwise wouldn't, or encourages girls to play with engineering toys when they otherwise wouldn't... well, that's good. And I certainly think that girls can like princesses AND building things. Liking math and science doesn't make you un-feminine, and doesn't mean you can't like Pretty Things too (and I would argue that math and science are also beautiful in their own ways). So, like I said... ambivalent.
3. Excuse the language, but this is hilarious:
Cranberry sauce is SO EASY TO MAKE. And SO MUCH BETTER THAN CANNED. (I make the first of the three recipes on this page.)
4. Speaking of which, we did the Thanksgiving thing yesterday. It was just the four of us, which was fine. We had signed up to host displaced sailors for the holiday, but apparently more people signed up to host than be hosted. I can understand that -- it might be kind of awkward to spend Thanksgiving with a stranger's family, and maybe you'd rather just get together with your friends and celebrate with them.
It was fun anyway. I roasted a turkey for the first time:
Made this centerpiece (Pinterest for the win!):
And this dinner:
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| Note the dog lurking under the table, waiting for us to turn our backs. |
And it was yummy.
5. How awesome was the Day of the Doctor??! Pretty darn awesome, that's what. We got our Doctor Who car decals in time to celebrate:
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| (We bought them from the Epic Family Decals Etsy shop. Highly recomend) |
6. So this video of a little girl walking on ice for the first time is ridiculously adorable:
7. There will be no walking on ice for us this year, here in the Land of Endless Summer. It's really disconcerting to have almost no seasonal changes. I didn't realize until now how much I subconsciously rely on the changing of the seasons to internally mark the passing of time. I've started playing Christmas music now that Thanksgiving is over, but it just feels weird.
(I know the arguments for NOT playing Christmas music throughout Advent. But we tried it last year, and honestly, it just made us kind of depressed rather than reverent and preparatory... not the intended effect, I imagine.)
Go to Conversion Diary for more quick takes!
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