Random Thoughts From Marybeth

Reality Is Totally Harsh

Actress Cameron Diaz appears to have committed a major fashion faux pas in Peru. The voice of Princess Fiona in the animated "Shrek" films may have inadvertently offended Peruvians who suffered decades of violence from a Maoist guerrilla insurgency by touring here Friday with a bag emblazoned with one of Mao Zedong's favorite political slogans.

While explored the Inca city of Machu Picchu high in Peru's Andes, Diaz wore over her shoulder an olive green messenger bag emblazoned with a red star and the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese on the flap, perhaps Chinese Communist leader Mao's most famous political slogan.

While the bags are marketed as trendy fashion accessories in some world capitals, the phrase has particular resonance in Peru, where the Maoist Shining Path insurgency brought Peru to edge of chaos in the 1980s and early 1990s with a campaign of massacres, assassinations and bombings.

Nearly 70,000 people were killed during the insurgency.

If it weren't for the fact that so many people suffered and died because of communism, the irony of a communist slogan as part of fashion would be funny.

Sign of the Times

My only surprise here was that it wasn't in Spanish. The number of Spanish speaking immigrants in Louisville (pdf) is about 6000 (according to the 2000 census so I'm sure it's more now) but the number of Serbo-Croatian speakers is only about 500. (I think that's the language of the sign but I'm not positive.)

After reading the study that I linked to, I'm not sure why the sign is needed. It seems as though immigrants, especially from Europe, are employed at close to the same rates as native Louisvillians and the main barrier to employment is a "lack of English proficiency". It seems that a sign promoting ESL classes would be better. Why do government agencies prefer to promote victimhood than offer solutions?

Been Busy Part 3: The Not So Good Part

One the last day of school the weather was freaky. There would be sunshine one minute and pouring rain the next. Unfortunately the pouring rain came when Trevor was driving home from school. The rain was so hard that there was almost no visibility and the road between the school and our home doesn't have a shoulder to pull over onto. He slowed down but not enough to be able to stop in time to avoid hitting a car that was stopped to take a left turn.

It was the type of accident that could have happened even with a more experienced driver but knowing that isn't going to make me feel better if (more likely when) my insurance payments go up. A teenage driver, especially a son, is expensive enough as it it. Almost as bad is having a teenager without a mode of transportation. (There's nothing within a reasonable walking distance from where we live.) He really wants the repairs on the car to be finished, but I think the rest of the family wants it even more.

Been Busy Part 2: Meeting Relatives

Just before last Christmas I got a letter from a relative in Canada. She is a second cousin on my mom's side of the family. My mother's parents died when I was young and other than her brother's family, I didn't know any of her relatives. She and her parents had come to the U.S. from the UK when she was very young and she didn't know any of her family in England.

Finding out that I had relatives in Canada and England was a great Christmas surprise. Even better, I got to meet some of them recently. My second cousins, Denise (from Canada) and Jean (from England) and Jean's husband Michael came to visit.

From left to right - Jean, Michael, and Denise.

We only got to spend one evening together before they traveled on to visit with my uncle and his family but it was wonderful to meet them and learn more about where my mom's family came from and about my relatives.

Been Busy Part 1: Two Promotions, One Graduation

Emma at her fifth grade promotion ceremony.

Conor at his eighth grade promotion ceremony.

Trevor at high school graduation.

What Women Want...Or Not

To Appeal to Women, Too, Gadgets Go Beyond ‘Cute’ and ‘Pink’

There seems to be this idea that women want gadgets to be smaller and simpler. I do know of women who would list these things as being important but I know of men who also would.

"Cute" and "pink" would never make my list of things to consider when shopping for electronics...or anything. (Both are primary considerations for my eleven-year-old daughter though.) The more something can do, the more I like it. If it's well designed it can do a lot without being complicated but I certainly don't want something that has fewer features or was "dumbed down". And the last time I bought something where size was an issue (other than clothing) was my last handgun.

Mr. Brady said that men and women tended to have radically different approaches to televisions in the home. “Men want the TV to dominate the room,” he said “Women look more at the TV to not be the centerpiece of the room, but more of an accent piece.”

Huh. If I had a room big enough I would want an IMAX-sized TV. And I don't want the speakers to look like "vases, books, planters, mantel clocks or candleholders". I prefer some of these.

Hellion Wheels

I was reading an article about the number of accidents caused by Heelys (wheeled shoes) and began to wonder if some of them weren't caused by people who dislike the shoes as much as I do but have less self-control.

If you have never had the urge to trip someone on these things you either have the patience of a saint or don't spend much time out in public. I think parents who buy these shoes for their kids do it just so the kids will stop annoying them and begin annoying others.

I admit that the shoes look fun but they don't belong in theme parks, malls/stores, schools, or anywhere else where there may be crowds.

Language Genes

According to an article in the Telegraph:

Differences between languages could be influenced by the gene groups that speak them, according to a study that marks the first case of a causal link between DNA variations and the features of language.

There's more from New Scientist here.

Being Nit-Picky

I was planning on reading an article in the NYT about Andrew Speaker, the man who made the news for traveling while infected with a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. I couldn't get past the photo at the top.

Why is the picture reversed? The sign is backwards and his shirt buttons on the wrong side. Is there some technical reason or is it just sloppy work?

Hmmm, while I was writing this they corrected the image so I'm going to go with "sloppy work".