One link, four paragraphs

Yesterday we had toddler snap, which can only be described as a good way of wasting time for those that are really bored. And of course no one who reads this blog fits into that category. Or maybe they do. Hmm. I'll have to think about that one. Maybe they're just bored, but not really bored.

Anyway. Today I shall link to a youtube video which made me laugh. Unlike toddler snap, it won't take hours and hours. Just five minutes. Please note that this video is entirely family friendly; it's the sort of thing that you can watch with your whole family peering over your shoulder.

And here it is (click on the writing following the colon. It should be red if you're reading this on my blog as opposed to reading it in a reader. I wonder if it's red in a reader. I suspect that it might not be, depending on which reader it is or how you've got things set up.): Tim Hawkins talking about GPS. I don't know what the related videos are like, but that one's good and contains nothing offensive at all. Actually, that might not be true. Some might find the most humorous part offensive. But you can't expect me to cater to the whims of those who just don't know what a joke is. I say it again: it contains nothing offensive at all.

And it's much quicker than playing toddler snap. And much more fun. And have you noticed? I talk too much! I could have just linked to the video and had done with it. I could have embedded it and had done with it. But no. I write four paragraphs on it. It takes a long time to say nothing, apparently.

Toddler Snap

Today I'm going to tell you about toddler snap. I have just finished playing this wonderfully non competitive game with my three year old sister; I was playing games with her because she needed to be occupied in some productive way. A productive occupation for a toddler is one that doesn't involve accidentally dropping water on the kitchen floor, or annoying mum in any way at all.

I asked her what she wanted to play, as we're currently trying to teach her how to play simple card games. She wanted to play snap, so I took the snap cards. She insisted on shuffling and dividing them herself. And then began a game of what can only be called 'toddler snap'. This game was not snap as we know it, but it wasn't an anything goes game either. It had clearly defined rules. And lest you should find yourself very bored and in need of occupying yourself and another person for a while, I explain exactly how to play.

Toddler snap is played with ordinary snap cards. These are divided among players in the normal way. Then each player takes it in turns to upend a card, making a neat pile. And the players watch for matching pairs. Just like a normal game of snap. However, in toddler snap proper etiquette is for the older player to draw the attention of the younger player to the cards each time a card is placed down which matches the one below. This is to give the younger player a proper opportunity to say snap first.

However, it is also considered proper etiquette for the players to keep back cards which have nice pictures on, placing them at the bottom of their pile instead of on the top of the upturned pile. When the bottom of the pile is reached, the proper thing to do with your hoarded cards
is to use them up. And this is understood. However, these cards must go in order. The most bent one goes first, and the pristine one goes last.

Also, when one player uses up all their cards they are not out. They do not lose. Losing is not a concept known in toddler snap. Oh no. When someone runs out of cards, they immediately take ownership of the upturned pile, just as they would had there been a pair and they said snap first. The fact that there is not a pair does not enter the equation. It is totally irrelevant.

Toddler snap goes on forever, or until the toddler has to go to bed, or until one player gets bored of playing. And much as I'd like to claim this most entertaining game as my own, all credit has to go to my two year old sister.

But enjoy playing toddler snap until I next blog (if you can understand my explanation of the rules).

Woo!

And woo again! And again!

I have found an article on the internet—no, that term's too loose—on the Telegraph website about a Catholic woman who sometimes wears a hijab! No matter that it's five years old! This is a cause for celebration!

You see, I have a blue scarf which I wrap around my head in what cannot be described as anything but how a Muslim woman might conceivably wear it. My family can't understand it. I'm trying to break them in to the idea gradually, but I have been wondering whether it's socially acceptable for me to wear a scarf in that way when I'm not a Muslim.

And now, why. What the hell. A Catholic can wear one. Arguably, Catholics are not Muslims (although once I did meet a Catholic who thinks that Muslims were very good Christians. Fortunately, she was talking to mum and not me!). Anyway, as a Catholic woman can wear a hijab if she wants to, therefore there is nothing wrong with me wearing a hijab—or at least nothing to worry about potentially confusing the poor innocent public at large. Of course there may still be problems with wearing a hijab, but I'm not going to discuss all the ins and outs now.

However, this story inspires me. The idea of wearing something which looks like a hijab outside the house worried me—still does, actually. However, other non Muslims have. And therefore I can.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten to provide a link for all of you who think that I can't have found any such article. It's here. Or, if you don't want to click that link, copy and paste this. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/31/wscarf131.xml

Yes, it only takes a little thing to make me happy. And sometimes the thing that makes me happy can be terribly surprising to, well, just about everybody else. Oh, okay. I'll be honest. Maybe the happiness also had to do with listening to too much Bach from youtube...

Compromise

Certain views hold one more open to the problem of succumbing to compromise than others. And while it may not be seen very much on my blog, I am a compromiser at heart. I'm good at compromising. And I don't think that it's good to be good at compromising. I think that that's very bad.

If we are compromising, we are apologizing for our views. We are internally saying, "I think this, you think that. If I want to associate with you—which I do—I have to go along with what you think. And that's fine." Of course, we may not actually have to compromise. Sometimes we just think that we do because we don't want to appear different.

True, some views are unpopular. But if we compromise, we obviously don't think that these views are very important. We are probably already questioning them—"She's nice, and she does x, so is x correct? Is my view that x is wrong incorrect? I don't know. I'll go along with x while I'm with her so that she isn't upset." And if we aren't prepared to upset someone by living according to our beliefs and freely explaining them when required, we do not care very much about this belief.

No, we do not care much about this belief. We care more about appearing rational, reasonable, and kind. We care more about not causing trouble. We are not prepared to behave in a way which will cause others to scream, "She's irrational, unreasonable, and harsh. She's a trouble maker and a meanie."

And if we find ourselves behaving like this, then maybe it's time to reconsider those beliefs and views that we are compromising on. Maybe it's time to look closely at them to see if we should be throwing them away completely or standing up and admitting, "Yes, I'm irrational, unreasonable, harsh, mean, and a trouble maker. And for your information, I don't care!"

Yes. I think I may need to revisit some of my beliefs and views. And then I either need to willingly hold them to the point where I'm not worried if I'm considered an irrational bigot, or just drop them. And I don't think that dropping them's much of an option.