Joelle said at some point on November 18, 2008
What is it about women (and men, too, but in a different way) that makes them go out of their way to be completely unwarranted shrews? I just don’t get it, though I suppose this is me being a completely warranted shrew. 
I expect to get some dirt slung my way for some of my more candid reviews about certain establishments, but a nitpick on a 5-star review buried in the annals of my Yelp profile? I had to laugh… and yeah, I took the bait because it’s baffling to me how small some people can be and… well, sometimes it’s just fun.
Joelle said in the late morning on November 7, 2008
While contemplating what to get Reilly for Christmas and his birthday this year, I’ve started noticing toy commercials more. I tend be one to give creative or fun educational toys. Yes, I’m the aunt you can thank for the washable markers and the “Make your Own Stalagmites” kits. It’s not Grand Theft Auto: Punch a Hooker Edition, but they’ll thank me later.
Anyway, I’ve been seeing a lot of these Leapfrog books advertised lately. I’m not really sure what I think about it. I’m not an education expert or a teacher or a children’s development specialist, so I don’t know how to measure scientifically the impact these books have on reading. But, and correct me if I’m wrong here, I kind of think if you drag a pen over the word and hear the word read to you, that ceases to be reading. I’d say that’s listening.
I don’t entirely get it. Sure, it seems cool and fun and how exciting that the book talks! I see the appeal. I was a little old for them, but I had step-sisters, so I remember those books with the buttons down the side that added sound effects to your story. It’s not like the concept of sound in books is new or unusual. I’d go as far as fun. But, I don’t really see how dragging the pen over a word and hearing it said for you teaches you to read it, but maybe it does. What happened to sounding things out? What about recognizing the letters and learning what sounds those letters make and what happens when you string them together? Maybe I’m just old school.
I know people learn other languages that way. Rosetta Stone uses an visual/audio connection to teach you to speak a foreign language, so I suppose the same principle applies here. Perhaps the combination of using both hearing and seeing helps solidify the information. I’ve always been more an auditory learner, was never one for much note-taking in school. I spent too much time writing things down and I’d miss the next thing the lecturer was saying, so I just paid attention unless it was imperative I take note. So I can understand how hearing the words read would help drive the point home.
I guess I just wonder where the line is drawn between reading and storytime. Or maybe its teaching that reading is play… and I agree it can be. Reading is awesome and as a child, I was a voracious reader. Adding the voices of the characters and hearing the story told for them robs the child of a piece of their imagination, part of the joys of reading. The ability to create your own scenario when you read is part of the fun of it, not having it spoon fed to you in the voice of Jack Black.
I have mixed feelings. What do you think?
Joelle said at some point on October 24, 2008
Bunny nose.
I’ve wanted to blog about a zillion times and then I open this publish page and stare at it until I’ve talked myself out of whatever it was I wanted to blog about to begin with.
But, I refuse to give it up. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Sure, I write a lot more on Yelp and Twitter lately and of course, sometimes on Moxie Design Studios, but this is my blog… so much of my current existence is wrapped up in blogs that not having one of my own would be like separating Linus from his blanket. Sure, I’ve changed the name twice, but I eventually came back to where I started.
Blogging is a weird thing… it’s changed so much and I think one’s expectations regarding blogging have changed. A lot of us have been blogging since ads were considered “sell-out”, when the idea of a fancy design was having some celebrity photo slapped in your banner, when people actually commented in order to get traffic and everyone (including myself) didn’t lurk via RSS feed. Now, while progress is good and I’m on board with it, I get a little nostalgic for those times… when blogging didn’t feel so cliquey and I met some of the best people I’ve ever known.
I love blogging. I am a blogger. I cannot separate myself from that label, despite my recent waning of interest in writing about myself. There’s a certain element of “people pleasing” that happens when you blog and while I’ve never been a balls-out, emotional blogger sharing intimate details, I do feel myself holding back sometimes, feeling the need to keep up “appearances"… though I’m not sure what appearances those would be. And because I find that’s disingenuous, I just choose to not blog at all. I’d rather shoot my mouth off in 140 characters or less.
My focus has been work lately. I’m determined to stay on schedule if it kills me. I want to take the holidays off for once. I want to bake things and go to parties and travel to see friends… so if that means I have to bust ass 12-14 hours a day to make that happen, so be it. Next up! 4-day work weeks… but we’ll save that experiment for 2009.
I’m also working on some side projects that I’ve wanted to do for a long time… Put Down the Donut is one and finally it’s starting to take shape (and it’s so cute, if I do say so myself). I wish I’d never shut it down in 2005, but I think having it back will be good for me. It might inspire me to write more. Plus, I’m going to have a great ratings database for exercise DVDs and products, so that should keep my ass moving at the very least. Kathy’s been busy working on SafeMama and now Lovely Safemama (and loving it!), so it’ll be nice to have a side-project or two to keep me inspired.
I’m also starting another site called Lulubun which is still in the creative development stage, but will be a one-stop resource for stylish urban buns and their owners. I had such preconceived notions about owning rabbits, for some reason. I pictured big wooden hutches outside, bales of hay and poop akimbo. But that’s really not the case. Having a new bunny has really opened my eyes to how much fugly and/or poorly thought out stuff there is in the marketplace for rabbits and other small animals. House bunnies are so much cleaner than I thought they were, but the products DO make everyone look a little ‘country’. What if that’s not your taste? Should you not benefit from having a house bun? They’re a great alternative if you’re allergic to cats and/or your landlord won’t let you have a dog, plus… well, just look at her. Bunny!
Using a little ingenuity and design sense, there are ways to create an environment that isn’t an eyesore and is actually cute. Just because you have a rabbit, there’s no reason to live like it’s a hoe-down, for pete’s sake. I’m also working on design and manufacturing concepts for products that I feel that could be new to the pet market as well as improvements upon existing products.
I also feel that there’s so much misinformation online about rabbit care. There’s a lot of great info, too, especially from the House Rabbit Society. But there’s a lot more out there, everyone has an opinion and not all of them are reliable. I’m going to be interviewing my vet (and possibly others) about basic rabbit care, what to expect when you get your first bun, reading their behaviors and other stuff all in one pleasant place, like I wish I had when I was trying to figure it all out. Yes you can find this information online, but sometimes it’s scattered, not clearly organized or just plain inaccurate.
I’m not sure how I got on that tangent. But look, I blogged!
Joelle said at some point on October 2, 2008
Apparently, I rhyme. Not all the time, but sometimes I rhyme. This was something I never knew about myself until a friend pointed it out. When Kathy was here, even she agreed. I just naturally rhyme; it’s not something I foresee. I can’t do it when I write, it’s like I’m trying too hard. It comes off trite, like a greeting card.
But I do it when I talk and I have no idea why. Is it because I sing? It’s not like I try. Should I have been a writer? I guess I already am. Should I have been a rapper? I don’t have big enough pants.
Ok, that last one was a stretch.
But I guess I really do rhyme when I talk and now I can’t stop hearing it. I have to acknowledge when I rhyme now… “I was rhyming.” like anyone else gives a shit. But I guess people do, who knew? It’s not like I notice when others rhyme, it’s not my business. I don’t have the time.
See? Right then I wasn’t even trying. *sigh*
Moxie Design Studios™