My Internet Focalpoint

Feb 03

applearts:

Interior design room: The Dipr Spoon

applearts:

Interior design room: DarkFin Gloves

Feb 02

ilovecharts:

USDA Eggs grading chart

mattlehrer:

Clever Design Hides a Chest of Drawers Under the Stairs

epic4chan:

iz kyoot:

Happy parents 画

(via kittenskittenskittens)

deleteyourself:

Suoi Tien in Vietnam is the first and only Buddhist amusement park in the world. Trippy. (Link)

[video]

Feb 01

jaclynday:

What I’ve Read: How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm And Other Adventures in Parenting by Mei-Ling Hopgood*

When I first brought Isobel home, I was Googling or researching the answers to tons of questions I had. From the mundane to the POTENTIALLY LIFE-ALTERING, I was fearful that one wrong move would forever ruin my child in some way. Why was I so panicked? Other than the obvious (it’s natural and I think most women go through some anxiety at first), there has never been more scrutiny on parenthood—and mothers in particular—than there is right now. Part of the reason for this is that more women are making their decisions and their child-rearing very public. You may know more about a stranger’s views on parenting and child-rearing than the views of a best friend…or even those of a significant other. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter and blogs, there are more opportunities for parents to communicate and encourage one another, but there are just as many opportunities for judgment and peer pressure.

The culture (whether it’s overt or not) of there being a “better way” or a “worse way” when it comes to parenting decisions is exhausting to try and navigate. Disposable or cloth diapers? Breast-feeding or formula? Attachment parenting or not? Crib or bassinet or co-sleeper? The options—and the opportunities for judgment and peer pressure—are endless.

That’s why this book is so refreshing and wonderful. Hopgood, an American living in Argentina, begins to notice the cultural differences between bedtime/rest for Argentinian infants and American infants. From there, she explores several other cultures and their views on infant-rearing and everything in between. There’s very little “preachiness” happening and Hopgood doesn’t necessarily draw any conclusions that would break the majority-rules status quo of infant-rearing protocol here in the United States, but she does make a few inferences that I found interesting. First, she indirectly hints that many other countries hold their children to higher expectations than American infants or toddlers, and also suggests that several developmental milestones (potty training, for example) are delayed in the U.S. because we simply don’t expect that children are capable of potty training until a certain age. It’s an interesting point of view.

But, other than those view subtle items of note, Hopgood mostly keeps to an informative, light tone that ultimately helps to show that there is no one, perfect way to raise a child. Additionally, Hopgood doesn’t just do sideline research: she tests several of the tactics on her own daughter, meeting with equal parts success and failure. (She notes that she learns a great deal no matter the outcome each time.) I appreciated that Hopgood was willing to put her findings to the test, and she was honest when things didn’t work and when she felt that her way was better for daughter. There’s a lot of intuition and trial-and-error involved!

*Book provided for review.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

While I was working on Downward Spiral, I was living in the house where Sharon Tate was killed. Then one day I met her sister. It was a random thing, just a brief encounter. And she said: ‘Are you exploiting my sister’s death by living in her house?’ For the first time, the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, ‘No, it’s just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I’m in this place where a weird part of history occurred.’ I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don’t want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, ‘What if it was my sister?’ I thought, ‘Fuck Charlie Manson.’ I went home and cried that night. It made me see there’s another side to things, you know?-Trent Reznor

(Source: shadowinthebackgroundofthemorgue, via ikillwhatineed)