DPS Disney Princess Syndrome

"Just because they wear the tulle doesn’t mean they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid."

http://www.swancher.com/word/mcphee/

according to Jo Paoletti, an associate professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, it ain’t so. When colors were first introduced to the nursery in the early part of the 20th century, pink was considered the more masculine hue, a pastel version of red. Blue, with its intimations of the Virgin Mary, constancy and faithfulness, was thought to be dainty. Why or when that switched is not clear, but as late as the 1930s a significant percentage of adults in one national survey held to that split. Perhaps that’s why so many early Disney heroines — Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Wendy, Alice-in-Wonderland — are swathed in varying shades of azure. (Purple, incidentally, may be the next color to swap teams: once the realm of kings and N.F.L. players, it is fast becoming the bolder girl’s version of pink.)

Singer/ songwriter P!nk introduces a song "Stupid Girls" with a video that expresses the same worry, that females would be trapped in their minds and psyche of damsel in distress.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4yQFZK9YM

And yet, little girls all over the world, play with Barbie* and dress-up in mom's clothes and look at their worries parents. Smile happily. “But, Mommy?” they add. “When I grow up, I’m still going to be a fireman.”

Ok Go

Watch this
This is the WONDERFULLY intuitive group OK GO.
I remember watching their first video (Treadmill) and just wanting to try it.
It's an example of Rube Goldberg; adjective defined as accomplishing something simple through complex means. Rube Goldberg was an American cartoonist born in 1883. In 1931 the Webster Dictionary added his namesake to their prestigious pages.
Wallace, the human from the clay made duo of Wallace and Gromit is an inventor of Rube Goldberg proportions.
Another example include the inventor and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang's protagonist, Caractacus Potts. some of his inventions include the Toot Sweet, the egg cooker, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A complicated machine for a car, but it does much more.
Interesting fact, I used to date a guy who's father bought the plans and made the only exact replica of the car Chitty.

Remember

When I get bogged down in homework or find that I should work all weekend to stay on track, I usually find myself watching movies from when I was younger.
Favorites include Hercules , and other animated classics.

I love sharing these memories with my sister, in fact we've got a trans continental movie date tomorrow to celebrate our youth gone away.
I watched Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and Rock-a-doodle last week.
Some of the memories I'm reliving this week include Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Robin Hood , and my highschool fav Shakespeare in Love .

I hope you enjoyed my skip down memory lane.

Chaos and joy

I love riding the subway in a big city. I to read the signs and wait for the right train to pull up. Wait for swarms of people stream out of the cars. I'd either move to an area not occupied with sweaty armpitto balance as if on a surfboard, or calmly park myself in an open area and sit down. I'd cross my legs into a more comfortable position without kicking the shins of the people next to me. Everyone knows that eye contact is expressively forbidden in such a cramped environment. The next move would be a bag adjustment, move my purse from one shoulder to the next, take out my current novel and start reading through the dull subway ride.
People walk by me, on and off the car and I notice colors; black ,navy blue a couple of greens and reds, browns, blue jeans and khakis, skirts and tights. The colors don't really inspire joy, especially in the winter. But the fashion is fun and sometimes I get a hint of creativity out of the drab garb.
Some girls just love to wear their short skirts and for a minute I think one is parked right behind my novel. A skirt so short it looks like she's got no pants.
A quick glance and I notice, Darling you should have shaved your legs...
A second glance... a guy in a skirt... ok, not too weird, gay rights and all. This is a big city.
I lift my eyes to see just what kind of skirt he's wearing, I am a girl after all, and then I realize... he's not wearing a skirt or pants... He's only in his underwear!
I look up from my book Mr Pantless is acting normal. Not smiling down at me in a suggestive way. He doesn't even look gay. I grab faces from the crowd looking for accomplices and notice the other naked legs in the subway car.

~~What did I get myself into?~~

Men, in boxers, briefs, banana-hammocks and thankfully no thongs. Women in frilly knickers, boys boxers, girls boxers, again thankfully no thongs.

The colors are bright and I smile, here is my brief chaos of color in a mundane winter world of dark shades.
Blues, Greens, Reds, Pinks, Yellow, Orange, White. Characters like Spiderman, Cookie Monster and sayings like Cabin Fever, make me laugh out loud. This is my kind of joke.The only question is...
Should I take my pants off?

This is a fictional story based on real events. For more information see Improv Everywhere
☺

For a little more joy, check out (RAOK) Random Acts of Kindness with Danny Wallace and Join Me or Free Hugs

Dreams

There are a few words thrown around when talking about the future.
Dreams, wishes, goals, hopes, vision, ambition. Of these words there are a multitude of denotations and connotations within them.

I try to lean towards three words; dream, vision, and hope. I dream in ideals. My ideal house, husband, me, kids etc. I dream of a happy family in a safe place living next to kind neighbors and kids biking in the streets having fun.

My vision is the values I see important to my dreams. The way I can get my dream. Having money enough to give my kids a life that allows them to experience multiple aspects of life. (Travel, Study, Missions, Experience) I visualize myself on a visit to the Taj Mahal, a place of renowned beauty and elegance. My visualization is a mixture of hopes and ambition. My vision is of my on a porch swing with my husband, older and content with our selves.

My hopes include feelings and instinct. I hope that I will not break my leg walking to classes. I hope that I will live long enough to visit every continent. I hope that I will not loose my sight. I hope that aliens will not destroy the Taj Mahal in some freak hostile takeover bid, at least not until I've seen it first.

All in all I guess what I'm trying to say is, without a touch of realism, dreams will be nothing more than a damper on life. Who wants to go through life, checking off the To Do list every day, just waiting to fall asleep at night, to get to your dreams? Not me.

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."
- Thomas Edward Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia")