Tuesday evening roundup and ramble

I love the idea of a shut-up toy but experts think an iPad is not the best thing for your little ones.

The silver lining of the Mayan apocalypse.

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I was walking to an event today when I saw a woman walking a few steps ahead of me. She was slouching and looking down. I don't know what's going on in her life--whether she was having a bad day or whether she was perfectly content with life and with bad posture--but it stood out in a city where women overwhelmingly stand up straight, dress well, and walk proudly. Maybe that one woman would consider the rest of us vain.

A related topic came up recently--in response to Richard Cohen's idiotic column on how James Bond makes him feel too unfit to date much younger women: there's this apparent stigma on people who exercise. It's like we're self-obsessed and uninterested in the written word. It's as if taking care of oneself is a sign of vanity.

Allow me to quote from the above-linked article:

Worrying about the way you look doesn't mean you live in your own little, insulated world where you don't understand that there is also war and massive human rights violations and global warming and animal cruelty. Worrying about the way you look is a form of awareness and sensitivity to the world around you. You are influenced by your environment because you are paying attention.

and

Thinking about the way we look is probably almost never the only thing that anyone thinks about. Our brains are far too lively and complicated for that. But ignoring the hangnail doesn't make it go away. And being made to feel guilty for it is just ridiculous.

I have to admit, and I think I've admitted, that I hated caring about my weight. Not only because it was stressful to care about my weight, but because I felt petty and vain caring about my weight. It's not like I was unaware that there was a world around me, but I still cared. And I'm still aware that there's a world around me, and I'm actively reveling in being thinner. If you believe dampening the happy-weight festivities in my soul will bring peace to the Congo and solvency to Greece, please explain. I'm listening. If you think it'll make Aesha feel better about her face, tell me how. Otherwise, quit calling people who care about their appearance, vain.