Just heard the news about the devastating tornado close to Oklahoma City. Although, I haven't lived in the USA for a year, merely hearing the word 'tornado' gives me palpitations... This one may have been bigger than the one that hit Joplin, Missouri a couple of years ago.
I had no idea about US weather extremes until I moved there....and I was in for a baptism of fire. Our first night in our US house, I woke up in the wee hours to discover no electricity. Having watched way too many Scream movies, I assumed some sophisticated night prowler had disconnected our power and was lurking outside ready to strike. Not so. A tornado had ripped through a few blocks away and had lifted a house with a young child inside. The house was flattened. The child didn't survive.
I thought this must be a freak event. I didn't live in tornado alley. And according to the movies, tornadoes just rip up cornfields, right? Wrong. Tornado 'watches' were fairly frequent in North Carolina. My children had tornado 'training'. I had to designate a place in the house where we would move in the event of a 'warning'. We were advised to purchase a weather alarm which sounds when a 'watch' is issued.
Now the thing about tornadoes is that they happen due to clashing weather fronts which occur over large tracts of flat land. The USA being so hugely enormous, means that the conditions are often ripe. And even when tornadoes don't develop, wind storms are frequent. I have experienced temperature drops of 10-20 degrees in as many minutes as weather fronts hit each other. It is petrifying. Nowhere is safe.
In 2011, we had what was termed a once-in-a-decade storm in North Carolina. A line of tornadoes made their way up the state. It wasn't a case of 'if' but 'when' and 'what' would be hit. I took the children to the movies hoping that the noise would drown out the sounds of the tornadoes. We saw the Easter movie 'Hop'. But the storm was loud. I could hear it coming over the Dolby Surround Sound and the cinema's sound proofing. There was a bang. The movie went off. We were moved into the auditorium's tunnel and told not to leave.
An off-duty fireman was with us in the tunnel who was receiving messages on his radio. He could track the tornadoes as they were moving and where they were 'touching down'. We knew there was one close. It hit to the side of the cinema twisting the tops of the trees, but we were safe.
I believe that the people in the cinema in Moore, Oklahoma have not been so lucky.
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Friday, 17 May 2013
Cinderella is a loser
I listened to British Radio 4's Woman's Hour today on a podcast whilst running. It's been a while since I tuned in (or downloaded in this case), but it didn't disappoint. If you've never listened to Woman's Hour, you should. It is probably the most empowering, interesting and insightful programme that exists for us today.
Yesterday's programme was no exception. A discussion of the 'Disney Princessification' of Merida (Brave) ensued. Finally, the backlash to the Disney Princesses may have become too loud for Disney to ignore. A petition against the new imagery has gained over 200,000 signatures in a few days. Feelings against are strong. I agree. I am raising a daughter. I hate the Disney Princesses, especially Cinderella.
I think we forget how old some of these Disney images are. Snow White was made in 1937, Cinderella in 1950, Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Each of the stories are re-interpretations of what the Brothers Grimm had written or recounted a century before. These are not happy stories, they are a mixture of morality, warning and horror. But they were 'Disneyfied' for a mass audience born 60-80 years ago. The films have been digitized but not re-made. They belong to an era when the role of women was very different and should be saved for courses in popular feminism not held up as icons to our young girls.
It was easy to get my daughter to question the intelligence of the 'Princesses' as my early life reads a bit like Cinderella....mum died, father with someone else, chooses her, I get adopted. This makes me more (over?) sensitive to the Cinderella story. First she's a victim of fate, then her father's marital choices, then her step family and then the Prince. But essentially by most modern criteria, Cinderella is a loser...unable to do anything for herself. She is not able to convince her father, find a lawyer or anyone in her mother's family to help her. By the time we meet her she has completely submitted to her step family's enslavement and her only hope is that the Prince will save her. LOSER!
Being saved by the 'Prince' is, of course, at the heart of all of the Disney Princess's stories. But the traditional Princesses are neither lucid, pro-active in their misfortunes or capable of fighting back. Thankfully the modern Princesses are better (a bit). Belle, for example, can read (hallelujah), she consciously exchanges herself for her father, she rejects the local hunk and saves the Beast (who, of course turns out to be a Prince - it is still Disney). But at least she has a personality.
I think Disney is finally going to have to re-think its imagery of girls. The stupid Princesses are replaced by those spoilt, ill-mannered, pig-headed and generally disgusting, albeit thin and well-made-up, creatures which grace our TV screens on the Disney channel 24 hours a day. One reason I haven't bought a TV since we moved is that I can't stand them. No TV, no arguments.... I also know lots of parents who are changing their cable subscriptions to get rid of the Disney channel or have put parental controls in place to restrict viewing. I realize I sound like my mother here. But here's the thing.... I could accept my child watching half an hour of this turgid, non-sensical, rubbish a couple of times a week. It's the constant bombardment I object so passionately to.
Disney should have a re-think. Appealing to children who constantly whine at their parents for whichever Princess doll (and the billions of Princess products that exist) or to watch 'whatever' pulp they are currently broadcasting is one way. But at some point, parents put their collective 'foot' down. Perhaps this is the start...I hope so....
You can sign a petition against the 'princessification' of Merida at:
https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave
Yesterday's programme was no exception. A discussion of the 'Disney Princessification' of Merida (Brave) ensued. Finally, the backlash to the Disney Princesses may have become too loud for Disney to ignore. A petition against the new imagery has gained over 200,000 signatures in a few days. Feelings against are strong. I agree. I am raising a daughter. I hate the Disney Princesses, especially Cinderella.
I think we forget how old some of these Disney images are. Snow White was made in 1937, Cinderella in 1950, Sleeping Beauty in 1959. Each of the stories are re-interpretations of what the Brothers Grimm had written or recounted a century before. These are not happy stories, they are a mixture of morality, warning and horror. But they were 'Disneyfied' for a mass audience born 60-80 years ago. The films have been digitized but not re-made. They belong to an era when the role of women was very different and should be saved for courses in popular feminism not held up as icons to our young girls.
It was easy to get my daughter to question the intelligence of the 'Princesses' as my early life reads a bit like Cinderella....mum died, father with someone else, chooses her, I get adopted. This makes me more (over?) sensitive to the Cinderella story. First she's a victim of fate, then her father's marital choices, then her step family and then the Prince. But essentially by most modern criteria, Cinderella is a loser...unable to do anything for herself. She is not able to convince her father, find a lawyer or anyone in her mother's family to help her. By the time we meet her she has completely submitted to her step family's enslavement and her only hope is that the Prince will save her. LOSER!
Being saved by the 'Prince' is, of course, at the heart of all of the Disney Princess's stories. But the traditional Princesses are neither lucid, pro-active in their misfortunes or capable of fighting back. Thankfully the modern Princesses are better (a bit). Belle, for example, can read (hallelujah), she consciously exchanges herself for her father, she rejects the local hunk and saves the Beast (who, of course turns out to be a Prince - it is still Disney). But at least she has a personality.
I think Disney is finally going to have to re-think its imagery of girls. The stupid Princesses are replaced by those spoilt, ill-mannered, pig-headed and generally disgusting, albeit thin and well-made-up, creatures which grace our TV screens on the Disney channel 24 hours a day. One reason I haven't bought a TV since we moved is that I can't stand them. No TV, no arguments.... I also know lots of parents who are changing their cable subscriptions to get rid of the Disney channel or have put parental controls in place to restrict viewing. I realize I sound like my mother here. But here's the thing.... I could accept my child watching half an hour of this turgid, non-sensical, rubbish a couple of times a week. It's the constant bombardment I object so passionately to.
Disney should have a re-think. Appealing to children who constantly whine at their parents for whichever Princess doll (and the billions of Princess products that exist) or to watch 'whatever' pulp they are currently broadcasting is one way. But at some point, parents put their collective 'foot' down. Perhaps this is the start...I hope so....
You can sign a petition against the 'princessification' of Merida at:
https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Running to time
About time I actually posted something about running on this running blog of mine. But if truth be told, I'm kind of bored. Track running has had this pointless feel recently of just going round and round in circles. Of course, that is actually all I'm doing. I go round and round and round....I've tried all kinds of permutations of lap accounting. Counting backwards from 30, counting in 5 sets of 6, 6 sets of 5, 3 sets of 10, et cetera, et cetera, yawn, et cetera.... Time for something different.
I bought a running watch in the USA. It was cheap and is technologically speaking a dinosaur. It can only measure my distance in miles, approximate calorie burn and numbers of steps taken. There are no satellites involved and I don't think anyone in the space station can watch my plod by tuning into Telstar (if it's even still in orbit).
But its supposed to give me an added oomph and spring to my step. For mathematical simplicity, I decided to run 5 miles and stop counting laps. Instead I have started to count songs. I should strive to run 2.5 laps per song: the permutations of which are far too boring to go into...but suffice to say this depends on how long the song is. I can run 5 laps to Faithless (the really famous song that everyone knows about not sleeping), but only 2 laps to The Clash's 'London Calling'. Clearly the hypothesis is that anything originally released on a 45rpm is going to be, on average, shorter. How old and boring am I?
Don't answer...more interestingly about wearing this watch is that it shows how lazy I am when I am NOT running. I don't do anything. I don't walk anywhere. I am truly sedentary. I know this because once I have run my five miles, I am lucky if I add another mile by just going about my daily business. If I go food shopping and vacuum the house, I can add 2 miles. But hardly anything. Quite a revelation for someone who feels constantly 'busy'. I actually do sweet FA...
Monday, 13 May 2013
Running book club
Not written again. There is a reason. It was my turn to host the monthly book club. A group of lovely, witty and resourceful ladies created a small lending library. They let me join.
This is not a club which chooses a common book to read and discuss each month. No need to analyze whether Jane Austen's Emma is a subliminal reflection of the author's desire to lap dance in a gay club had she lived in the 21st century. But a chance to tell anecdotes and exchange Lusaka common stories...have you tried the cappuccinos at such-and-such a cafe, found this fantastic recipe for french macaroons, so-and-so got kidnapped and robbed at gun point last week. Conversations are a healthy mix of the benign, informative and need-to-know. I usually take more away from the meetings than a few books.
But to host means to cater...heart sinks, hands sweat, foolproof children's recipe book comes out. I pick 3 things: cheese sticks, carrot cake, chocolate muffins. How hard can that be?
I start with the cheese sticks. In the desire to go beyond the culinary expectations of a 5 year olds birthday party...I add some chopped dill, hoping for the homely yet elegant morsel. So far so good.
On to the carrot cupcakes. I am a domestic goddess. No, really. I am baking 3 things in one day. No less than a marathon bake-off. And then it dawns on me. I'm making carrot cupcakes. I have mixed all the ingredients except for....wait for it.... carrots. I don't have any bloody carrots. Idiot! Stupid, stupid woman that I am! This is why I don't 'host' I don't like cooking...or baking...or decorating stuff.
What should I do? If I don't add carrots what will happen to the cake? Will it be too wet, too dry, too totally tasteless? I take a deep breath. It can't be that difficult. I have beetroots. I will make carrot cupcakes with beetroots. And it worked. Sort of. The cupcakes did look an odd swampy green color and tasted a bit earthy. But the orange icing I put on top soon covered them up.
The chocolate muffins were better. But once cooked, they stuck to the bottom of the cake papers and broke in half. So I cut through the little muffin papers and carefully peeled each one off attempting a salvage job. Too, too stressful. Bless the lady at the school tuck shop who baked me 6 cappuccino muffins to give an appetizing option next to the swampy cupcakes and stuck-to-the-paper muffins.
The outcome. I loaded a plate with cheese sticks and another with 3 different types of cake. Bought cappuccino cakes were completely eaten, followed by a couple of the chocolate muffins. Kids and husband got to take each and every carrot (beetroot) cupcakes in their lunchboxes for the rest of the week. Away from the house, I wouldn't know if they ended up in the bin or not.
My feelings were preserved.
This is not a club which chooses a common book to read and discuss each month. No need to analyze whether Jane Austen's Emma is a subliminal reflection of the author's desire to lap dance in a gay club had she lived in the 21st century. But a chance to tell anecdotes and exchange Lusaka common stories...have you tried the cappuccinos at such-and-such a cafe, found this fantastic recipe for french macaroons, so-and-so got kidnapped and robbed at gun point last week. Conversations are a healthy mix of the benign, informative and need-to-know. I usually take more away from the meetings than a few books.
But to host means to cater...heart sinks, hands sweat, foolproof children's recipe book comes out. I pick 3 things: cheese sticks, carrot cake, chocolate muffins. How hard can that be?
I start with the cheese sticks. In the desire to go beyond the culinary expectations of a 5 year olds birthday party...I add some chopped dill, hoping for the homely yet elegant morsel. So far so good.
On to the carrot cupcakes. I am a domestic goddess. No, really. I am baking 3 things in one day. No less than a marathon bake-off. And then it dawns on me. I'm making carrot cupcakes. I have mixed all the ingredients except for....wait for it.... carrots. I don't have any bloody carrots. Idiot! Stupid, stupid woman that I am! This is why I don't 'host' I don't like cooking...or baking...or decorating stuff.
What should I do? If I don't add carrots what will happen to the cake? Will it be too wet, too dry, too totally tasteless? I take a deep breath. It can't be that difficult. I have beetroots. I will make carrot cupcakes with beetroots. And it worked. Sort of. The cupcakes did look an odd swampy green color and tasted a bit earthy. But the orange icing I put on top soon covered them up.
The chocolate muffins were better. But once cooked, they stuck to the bottom of the cake papers and broke in half. So I cut through the little muffin papers and carefully peeled each one off attempting a salvage job. Too, too stressful. Bless the lady at the school tuck shop who baked me 6 cappuccino muffins to give an appetizing option next to the swampy cupcakes and stuck-to-the-paper muffins.
The outcome. I loaded a plate with cheese sticks and another with 3 different types of cake. Bought cappuccino cakes were completely eaten, followed by a couple of the chocolate muffins. Kids and husband got to take each and every carrot (beetroot) cupcakes in their lunchboxes for the rest of the week. Away from the house, I wouldn't know if they ended up in the bin or not.
My feelings were preserved.
Friday, 3 May 2013
Hard labour day
Missed my Wednesday run - labour day. Kids off school, husband at work....usual 'holiday' situation. What to do? The day started with a play date for my son. Two hours quietly building all the new lego we had bought from the USA, I thought. I had envisioned the two 6 year olds quietly engineering police helicopters, space shuttles and the scale model lego White House. They would be seen but not heard except for the odd exclamation of 'what fine propellers you have built there, my friend'.
Fat chance...they decided to make lego Bayblades and proceeded to take all the heads off the lego people and use them as the spinning tops. As the playdate degenerated into mild anarchy, my daughter offered to play chess with the visiting boy. Hooray, I thought, redemption! Not so, my jealous son started tormenting his sister about it being 'his' playdate....so we moved on to air(head) hockey... a game with no cerebral point whatsoever...
For the afternoon, I decided a quieter form of self torture: the movies. At least I can fall asleep safe in the knowledge that my children are being dumbed down by some brainless feature. I usually do a deal with them: I watch something with them and then they must watch something with me. This is how I have got them to watch the 'Iron Lady' and 'Lincoln' without so much of a peep of protest. They understand the concept of 'quid pro quo' very well.
We went to see 'The Croods' about a cave family escaping Armageddon whilst dealing with father-daughter relationship issues. And actually it wasn't half bad. But I don't understand why children's movies have become this unrelenting stream of fast-paced action. It leaves no time for thought or reflection. I prefer the slower paced 'Lorax', 'Gruffalo' and 'Where the Wild Things Are'. All of which are adapted from books and have an actual story line and a 'point'.
Anyway, movie, play date and labour day successfully completed.
Fat chance...they decided to make lego Bayblades and proceeded to take all the heads off the lego people and use them as the spinning tops. As the playdate degenerated into mild anarchy, my daughter offered to play chess with the visiting boy. Hooray, I thought, redemption! Not so, my jealous son started tormenting his sister about it being 'his' playdate....so we moved on to air(head) hockey... a game with no cerebral point whatsoever...
For the afternoon, I decided a quieter form of self torture: the movies. At least I can fall asleep safe in the knowledge that my children are being dumbed down by some brainless feature. I usually do a deal with them: I watch something with them and then they must watch something with me. This is how I have got them to watch the 'Iron Lady' and 'Lincoln' without so much of a peep of protest. They understand the concept of 'quid pro quo' very well.
We went to see 'The Croods' about a cave family escaping Armageddon whilst dealing with father-daughter relationship issues. And actually it wasn't half bad. But I don't understand why children's movies have become this unrelenting stream of fast-paced action. It leaves no time for thought or reflection. I prefer the slower paced 'Lorax', 'Gruffalo' and 'Where the Wild Things Are'. All of which are adapted from books and have an actual story line and a 'point'.
Anyway, movie, play date and labour day successfully completed.
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