Technology

This is an excerpt based on Sherry Turkle’s appearance at the TED talks 2012.  It was taken from a live blog feed…

“”Human relationships are rich and they’re messy and they’re demanding. And we clean them up with technology. We sacrifice conversation for mere connection.”

Technology appeals to us where we’re most vulnerable, says Turkle. “It gives us the illusion of companionship without the means of friendship.

“It feeds the fantasy that we will always be heard, and we will never be alone.”

And it’s changing our psyches.

It “makes being alone feel like a problem that needs to be solved. Where the moment people are alone they reach for a device.”

We need to learn to be alone, says Turkle. We even have to re-learn how to be bored. “We all really need to listen to each other including during the boring bits. When we lose our words or stumble it’s when we reveal ourselves.”

We need to use technology to bring us back to our real lives.”

 

 

Update the Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976

MomsRising.org sent this email out today.  There is a group ‘educating’ at the Capitol today.  Why should we have to deliver such a message?  Shouldn’t it be our right to assume that what we give our children is non-toxic?  Please be proactive and ask the Senate to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA).

Here is the form letter to send or alter to your Senator.

“Dear Senator,

Today, moms and kids from across the country will be gathering at the U.S. Capitol to deliver one single message:  We know our Senators can be super heroes and protect America’s children & families from toxic chemicals.

I can’t be there in person today, but I’m there in spirit. Please move quickly to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) by supporting the Safe Chemicals Act.

A growing body of science has documented widespread human exposures to toxic chemicals in everyday products, and has linked those exposures to the rising incidences of a number of serious chronic diseases and disorders, including reduced fertility, learning disabilities, breast and prostate cancer, and certain childhood cancers.

This is unacceptable. The time has come to give the EPA enough authority to require that chemicals be tested for safety before they are put into the products we use every day. Updating the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) is critical. The current TSCA law is widely acknowledged to be ineffective.

Please take action now to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA) by co-sponsoring the Safe Chemicals Act in order to provide vigorous oversight of chemical use and to ensure all products, including children’s products, are safer. I urge you to support this effort to lead us into a new era of safer chemicals and healthy families.

Thank you for using your superpowers wisely!”

Roles of Dads

Here are a couple of recent articles on how the roles of dads are changing.  Certainly not the role my father played, but definitely changes that my husband has embraced and is grateful to share in our family.

Are Dads the New Moms?  Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304451104577392261536405038.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Why Stay-at-home Dads Are Still The Invisible Men In The House.  The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/jan/29/stay-at-home-dads-policy

Our children grow so fast!

Someone is always telling me, ‘Enjoy your child.  They grow so fast.’  And then I saw the video that Frans Hofmeester filmed of his kids over a period of 12 years and 9 years.  The video was taken every Saturday morning and in a couple minutes tells a story of their personality and growth.  A kind reminder that our time with our children is short….

He says, “It (the video) carries a message about living your life, and enjoying every moment of having your children with you.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/26/frans-hofmeester-films-lotte-vince-time-lapse