Thursday, May 31, 2012

Go Mamas!

Photo by Brynja Sigurdardottir
I've never understood why Americans are so prude about such a natural thing as breastfeeding. Why is it such a big deal? This is how our bodies work, it's how we are supposed to do things if we can. Breastfeeding is the best thing you can do for your baby and it's so easy compared to bottles and formulas.

This time it's army mothers that breastfeed in uniform that get people's knickers in a knot. I don't get it. It's a beautiful photo of two mothers and their babies. That they are in uniform makes the picture even stronger. Women who are willing to defend their country and their children is a strong image.
I've tried to go to the photographer's homepage but it is down because of the traffic it gets now. Her FaceBook page is still working though.

The women who breastfeed should be congratulated for being able to give that gift to their children, not hunted as if they did something perverted. There is a good reason why a mother carries lunch with her. It's always there, always ready to eat and it's in a great healthy organic package. There's no need to make a fuss of it, just open and serve when ever and where ever the baby is hungry.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Weight Stigma

Researchers asked young women and men to read about women who had either lost 70 pounds of excess weight or had stayed the same weight (weight-stable), and who were either currently obese or currently thin.The participants were then asked about some of the women's attributes, including their attractiveness.
"We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," study leader Janet Latner, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said in a news release from the University of Manchester, in England. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight."
The participants also showed greater bias against obese people after they had read about women who had lost weight, compared to after reading about weight-stable women -- regardless of whether the weight-stable women were thin or obese.(Source)
It's as if obesity is a crime and you're judged for committing it even after you've served your time. It disturbing to see that people are judged differently depending on is they have been obese in the past or not. However, it's even worse to see that people who are obese are seen as "better" than those who managed to lose weight. 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

About 65-70% of the parents do not love all their children equally much

It's a social taboo, parents can't admit to loving their children unequally. It doesn't matter if the parents who are aware of it still treat their children as equals, there is still a great shame connected to it. The way parents proclaim their equal love for all their children is among the greatest lies parents tell.

I don't love my own children equally, there is a difference between them. Personally I think it's connected to the traumatic birth of my youngest and the mayhem that followed. I was disconnected from him since he was at another part of the hospital and it took a while to bond with him afterwards. It's also due to their personalities, our oldest son is more like me and we are "on level" most of the time, while there is more conflict with our youngest. It doesn't mean that I don't love one of them, only that the love I feel for him is different. It doesn't mean that I treat them unequally, though I deal with them differently them depending on their personality.

My local news paper have a quiz about it today and this far 30% of the answerers admit to unequal love. That number stands in contrast to Katherine Conger's 2005 study where 65% of the mothers and 70% of the fathers loved unequally. There are other studies and opinions of course, but many of them show the same pattern, many parents do have favourites.

There is a huge difference between loving your children unequally and treating your children unequally, but people seem to think of them as one and the same. I think it would be better if people could talk about it openly. It could help the children who are mistreated (or even unloved) by their parents.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Armed to the teeth

Rudy Eugene identified as the cannibal.
Naked man killed by Police near MacArthur Causeway was ‘eating’ face off victim.One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked, and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp Saturday, police said,Sergeant Altarr Williams, supervisor of Miami police’s Homicide Unit, said a man doesn’t have to be armed to be dangerous. “There are other ways to injure people,’’ Williams said. “Some people know martial arts, others are very strong and can kill you with their hands.’’ (Source)
It's so macabre that I can't get it out of my mind. The victim seems to have lost as much as 75-80% of his face. Picture having to live with that, some guy on drugs ate your face.

This is so crazy that it seems unreal, somehow. It's the type of thing you see in movies, not reality.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

School Photos

4-year-old was in tears after being banned from school photo for hairstyle.Little 4-year-old Marcella Marino told her daddy, professional hairstylist Marcello Marino, to make her look like a princess for her school photo. Her father obliged, and fashioned the girl’s long blond hair into a bun resembling a hair bow, a look Lady Gaga had worn back in 2009. The excited girl ended up in tears after arriving at school and being told she could not be in her class photograph because her hairstyle violated the school’s dress code. (Source)
I've never understood the whole deal with "dress codes" at schools. Perhaps because we never had any where I grew up. From what I understand, the father knew very well that he sent his daughter to a school with a strict dress code and I think he should have understood that the hairdo could be too much. On the other hand, parents are not perfect and can't think of it all. Either way, it's sad that schools have systems that in a way "bully" students who want to express personality. It's not as if the poor girl showed up with Kiss make-up...


My son have experienced something similar, at a school that have no dress code that I've ever heard of. He's a metalhead with long hair studs and all. There have never been any problems when it comes to how he dress, until it was time for the school photo. Some of the other students in the class decided on a dress code for the photo and he refused to "monkey up" since it's not his style. It all ended with him not being allowed on the school photo. The photo in it self doesn't matter to him, but it annoys him, and me, that a few can have the power to bully others to do what they want them to do. 


Isn't it a basic human right to have the right to be yourself?

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Gulls

Little Gull
Gulls are beautiful birds, but... the beauty ends when they open their mouths. We have had a gull colony close to where we live for years now and the noise is overwhelming at times. I'm an animal lover and I can barely kill a fly, but there have been times when I've wished that someone would take a shotgun and ... well, scare them away.

The one day, a couple of years ago my niece followed me there and she noticed that some gulls were different. It turns out that it's Little Gulls a bird that's rare where I live. Suddenly I'm more forgiving when it comes to the noise they make, and I look forward to seeing them each spring.

The photos shows a little gull in flight, but also the branches of birches with leaves budding. Soon the world will be green again and summer will be here.

Friday, May 25, 2012

Honesty

Honesty is something that we all value and see as obvious, even though we do question things. There are liars and conmen, we all know and despise that, and that makes us value honesty even more.

One of the online newspapers I read have webtests where people can check many different things and today I found one about honesty.

"If you find money on the street, do you take it?" It's in Swedish, but I'll translate the questions.

1. You find a wallet with 50€. Do you turn it in to the police?
2. Would you part in a handicap space?
3. When you leave the story you notice that you got too much cash back. Do you return it?
4. Would you drive if you suspect you are too drunk.
5. You're in a hurry. Would you go on the train without paying if the risk of detection is little to none?
6. Would you steal hotel towels?
7. Would you take envelopes and pencils from work?
8. You see your friend's partner holding hands with someone else. Do you tell your friend?
9. You're alone on the road, would you drive 30km/h over the limit to get home quicker?
10. It's raining, you see that the bus won't have space for you. Would you push yourself ahead in the line?
11. A fried gives you an illegal copy of a program. Would you install it in your computer?
12. Would you cheat on your taxes if you felt certain you'd get away with it?

69000 persons have taken the test so it should show a fair view on the "average". Over all you can say that roughly 20-30% are dishonest while 70-80% are honest. But there are questions where the opposite apply. That's what I find interesting.

70% would hand in the wallet while 75% would keep the money if they got too much back at the store. 73% would not take hotel towels while 64% would take pencils from work. 69% would not cheat on their taxes while 79% would install illegal programs in their computer.

The point is that people seem to agree on many things when it comes to when to be honest and when to cheat. Some things are more "acceptable" to do wile others are not. Drunk driving is a good example, 93% would not drink and drive.

The honesty we all value is subjective. What value does honesty hold when we can pick and choose where it should apply or not?

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Idiots

South Africa protesters deface Zuma penis portraitTwo men vandalised a portrait of South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed on Tuesday, intensifying a heated debate about the picture that has enraged the ruling African National Congress.Television footage showed a white middle-aged man in a suit walking up to the portrait at a Johannesburg gallery and painting a red cross on president's face and private parts.A younger black man then smeared black paint over the picture while the first man was being taken into custody by security guards. (Source)
I'm not surprised, but it is sad that two idiots could do such a thing.  What would this world be like if anyone could destroy art because they disagree with it. 



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Spring Flood

I spent an hour by the overflowing waterfall yesterday. It's amazing to stand there surrounded by the thundering water. I would have stayed for longer but my husband was waiting for me.



Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Game of Thrones

People around me have told me about Game of Thrones, comparing it with Lord of the Rings or "something similar to Tolkien". After watching the DVDs I can say, it's not even close. Comparing Game of Thrones with Tolkien is blasphemy in my opinion.

The constant jumps between the families makes it a bit hard to follow and makes me feel a bit overwhelmed. Who did what now? I'm about to watch it all again to see if it's easier to follow the twists and turns the other time around. I'm forgiving the confusion because some of my favourite actors are in it, Sean Bean, Jason Momoa and Peter Dinklage. (Yeah, I know. It's unfortunate.) Peter Dinklage's character Tyrion Lannister is a favourite and a bit of a surprise, since he's not stereotyped in a way as so many dwarves in fantasy are.

Monday, May 21, 2012

PETA

PETA once again cements the impression that they are all full blown idiots, this time by wanting Jägermeister change the name to "Waldmeister". (Source) If they don't like the product name then they don't have to buy it. It's as simple as that.

This has to be a publicity stunt, it's the only way this makes sense. "Attack" a well known company, and its name, and you will get a lot of attention.

I wish...

By Elly at Blasting Art
I wish I could figure out how to create chrome effects in art. I've read some tutorials, but they are about text or things such as apples or fruits. I can chrome text easily, but fail when I try to chrome fruits. What's worse is that I want to chrome something that's more advanced, such as a skull like the one in the image.

I'll keep on trying, but it seems impossible for me to "get it" as it is now.


Sunday, May 20, 2012

Censorship

The Spear by Brett Murray
Established Cape Town based artist Brett Murray returns to Goodman Gallery Johannesburg with Hail to the Thief II. This body of satirical work continues his acerbic attacks on abuses of power, corruption and political dumbness seen in his 2010 Cape Town show Hail to the Thief. In this sequel show, Murray’s bronzes, etchings, paintings and silk-screens form part of a vitriolic and succinct censure of bad governance and are his attempts to humorously expose the paucity of morals and greed within the ruling elite. (Source)
Political satire artwork with South Africa's president Jacob Zuma in a typical Lenin pose with his penis sticking out annoys ANC. Zuma who enforced the law that gave South Africans the freedom to express themselves without being punished for it now want to censor the artwork.

If Zuma (and the ANC) hadn't protested then the rest of the world would never have seen the art or heard of it.   There has to be a spark to start a fire. Our Prime Minister didn't complain about the political satire aimed at him, and the "news" faded quickly. This on the other hand could live on for a long time since ANC is threatening to take the museum to court to have the artwork censored. 

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Frog

The snow is almost gone now in our backyard, but this frog still had to sit on it. The poor thing was so cool that it didn't react when I walked up to it.


Friday, May 18, 2012

Time for new glasses?

I've been going through some photos I took of birds last week. There was a Western Marsh Harrier that circled a grove in hunt for food and we watched it for quite sometime. Well, that's what I thought. Once I uploaded the photos and had a closer look I realized that it's not a Western Marsh Harrier at all. Not even close. It's a Rough-legged Buzzard, a bird that I've never seen before.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

I'm too old

I went to my youngest son's concert yesterday and I'm exhausted. The event reminded me of my true age, I'm not what I used to be. =/

I wanted to film the new band line up in action since I've never heard them play. However, the sound quality is poor. They didn't do a proper sound check and it was painfully obvious.

The band in it self sound much better with the two new members and I think the split in the band was for the best. The new guys haven't had time to rehearse all the material properly and they still play better than the two old members that had played most of the songs for years.


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Will warning labels in DVDs stop piracy?

Pirates Beware: DVD Anti-Piracy Warning Now Twice as Fierce.
Hollywood and the federal government have partnered to create updated and even more annoying anti-piracy warnings that will be included in new home-release DVDs and Blu-ray discs beginning this week, the government said Tuesday. (Source
)
Everyone who actually buy their DVDs face this annoyance, the piracy warning that can't be skipped past. Great isn't it? You've done the right thing, you bought the DVD, and then you are "punished" for it by being reminded of all the pirates out there. You're also in a way reminded of the fact that pirated DVDs don't have that annoying warning and let you watch the movie of your choice undisturbed. 


Do the pirates care about such warnings? Do they care about the fact that they are breaking the law? Well... I don't think so. If they cared then they would have stopped pirating and we wouldn't have this problem. 

Monday, May 14, 2012

Strange

My husband is an animal lover, that's why he doesn't eat their food. It's close to impossible to get him to eat his veggies and I have stopped trying. He eats potatoes, carrots, cucumber and sometimes a lettuce leaf. That's it.
Personally I like veggies and our youngest son often join me when I'm making something special with them.

Yesterday I got hold of fantastic green asparagus and I decided to have a luxury lunch. Our youngest son wasn't at home and I looked forward to eat it all by myself. As I'm filling my plate our son comes through the door. Did I have enough for him too? Of course, he's my child, I can't deny him to eat even though he's and adult by now. Then my husband shows up and ... wants to have some too. While recovering from the shock I split my delicious lunch in three and give him a plate too. By then it wasn't enough food to call it lunch and I was just as hungry before lunch as after.

Even more shocking was that he thought it was good and decided that he could eat it again.

Now I wonder what's wrong with him and how worried I should be.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Do what you want to and apologize later.

It seems to be how H&M operate. They do what they want to do, even though they know they will get critique, and then they apologize.

It's like a kid, stealing and eating candy, then saying they are sorry. They still got the candy and that was what mattered. Apologizing is easy when you've already got what you wanted.

So, H&M is once again apologizing and saying that they have listened to the critique and will keep it in mind in the future. We've heard it before and we've also seen how easy it is for them to do what ever they want the next time too.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Blue

I'm feeling down and blue again. The rapid changes in the weather makes my aches and pains worse and my brain isn't functioning as it should. I forget even the most basic things.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

That's not fair

H&M is getting critique again, this time from cancer experts that says that the model, Isabeli Fontana, has an "unhealthy tan". Deeply tanned models encourage people to get tans and through that skin cancer.
H&M have defended the campaign to the Swiss press by saying they chose a model with darker skin in order to best show the strong colours on sale this season.
The Swedish firm said Fontana, the model featured in the controversial campaign, has naturally dark skin.
However, pictures previously published of the other model in former campaigns show her with a light skin tone.(Source)
Let's start with two photos of Isabeli Fontana one from H&M 2012 and one from Victoria's Secret 2011.
Isabeli Fontana H&M 2012
Isabeli Fontana Victoria's Secret 2011













Isn't it strange that Isablei's "naturally dark skin" is so much lighter in the 2011 Victoria's Secret photo? It's not all though, all photos I can find of Isabeli in a quick Google search showsher with skin that's much lighter than in the H&M photos.

Why lie about something that's so easy for everybody with internet access to look up? It makes no sense. Why not explain the reason for the dark tan without lying? This, together with all the other issues that H&M get critique for, shows how H&M is clearly out of touch with reality. 
Patricia Krentcil
H&M's ad reminds me of "tanning mom" Patricia Krentcil that has been in the news lately. What's obvious when you watch interviews with her is that she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. That's something she seems to have in common with the decision makers at H&M. That and the preference for the abnormal. 
There is another side to the story. I and (I assume) many others would never have known that Isabeli has lighter skin than in the ad. There are models with naturally dark skin and I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Watching Oprah does not make me feel that I need to get a tan, nor does the H&M ad with Isabeli. 


I also dislike how the "cancer experts" (who ever they are) target H&M because of the ad. This makes the experts look as if they are doing it for the PR they will get. There are far better ways to get attention and educate people about skin cancer and how to prevent it. As things are now people will remember the critique against the ad, but they will still not be educated about how to protect themselves.

This article explains the basics of staying safe quite well I think. The mistakes that many do are to apply to little sun screen and not reapplying after two hours. 

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Birding

Common Kestrel
We went birding yesterday and got photos of both Common Kestrel and Western Marsh-harrier. I've been feeling down lately, but seeing the birds cheered me up somewhat.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

I'll believe it when I see it

Beginning with their June issues, the editors of the 19 international editions of Vogue magazine have made a pact to stop using models under age 16 or those who, from the viewpoint of the editors, appear to have an eating disorder. (Source)
The problem with Vogue's new modelling rules is this part; "... who, from the viewpoint of the editors, appear to have an eating disorder". People who see (too) skinny as a norm, something good, will not see the warning signs in the same way. It's like letting an anorexic decide if they are too skinny or not. H&M have made claims about picking their models more carefully more than once,and they still keep failing. It's easy to doubt that Vogue will live up to what they promise. 


It would be great if they succeed with their ambitions, but that's only one small step towards a "sane" display of models all over. We are still far away from models being "normal".

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Something I got in the mail

 I got a mail from a friend and the sigline caught my attention far more than the actual message.
"Every guy thinks that every girl's dream is to find the perfect guy. Not so, every girl's dream is to eat without getting fat."

 It rings true. A world where you can eat anything you want to without any bad side effects is fiction, and impossible dream.

I lost control over my carbs when I visited my mother and my husband's birthday did not help either. (Of course I have to have some cake.) My blood sugar levels went up, and so did my weight. The worst thing is that the weight it took months to lose came back in no time.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Whooper swan on thin ice

I went for a walk down by the water yesterday and I saw a swan struggling to get to open water. I filmed it and thought that was all, then I saw his/her mate and turned the camera on again when they got together. It was a sunny, but windy day and the gulls were of course as noisy as usual. Today it's snowing and summer feels very far away again.


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Spring is in the air

Spring Crocus
The migrating birds are landing all around, my garden is full of spring crocus and my eyes are itching from the pollen. We still have plenty of snow, but it's melting fast now.

I don't like this time of the year. The ground is too wet to walk on and the roads are full with trash and filth that have built up during the winter. The trees are still barren and very few flowers bloom this early. Then it's the weather that never seem to make its mind up. Sun, rain and snow, then it's windy or cold, or both.

Yesterday it was Walpurgis Night but I didn't bother to go out to look at the bonfires. I've seen it before and the weather was bad.

Equality?

If a man lock a woman in his apartment and force her to have sex with him eight times, he's a rapist. If a woman locks a man in her apartment and force him to have sex with her eight times, she's a nymphomaniac. At least in Germany.
A GERMAN nymphomaniac arrested after forcing a man to have sex with her eight times has struck again - this time keeping her victim on the go for a staggering 36 HOURS. (source)
This bothers me. First of all because the woman is not seen as a rapist event hough that would be a logical conclusion. If men and women are equal. No man would ever get away with such a thing by being a sex addict or mentally ill, he'd still be a rapist.
Second because of the attitude people online have towards the news article. Many see it as a joke. Others see it as "lucky guys" having great sex.

What kind of world do we live in? How can so many have such a deranged view of reality? Those two men have been seriously violated. It's not funny. Rape and sexual abuse is not consensual, it's sexual violence. To be assaulted is not to be "lucky", just as being robbed and beat up is not "fun" or "lucky".

It's sad to say that female rapists do exist, but they do. What's even worse, is to see the attitude many have when it comes to male rape victims. The gender of a person does not make the assault and violation less horrifying.