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534 lines
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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>20 July, 2023</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Donald Trump’s Plan to Make the Presidency More Like a Kingship</strong> - For a potential second term, the former President is devising the greatest reshaping of the federal bureaucracy in recent American history. Would the changes stand up to legal scrutiny? - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/donald-trumps-plan-to-make-the-presidency-more-like-a-kingship">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Lure of Urban Fishing</strong> - A day at Prospect Park Lake with Esther Wang, a local journalist who takes readers into the polluted rivers and murky ponds of New York City, which are home to a surprising number of fish. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-lure-of-urban-fishing">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why the Fall in Inflation Is a Big Deal for the 2024 Election</strong> - The positive economic news might give President Biden the political space to make the case for his legislative record without being constantly assailed with cries of “Did you see the price of X?” - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/why-the-fall-in-inflation-is-a-big-deal-for-the-2024-election">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Day in the Life of Congress’s “Traffic Cop”</strong> - The House Committee on Rules decides which bills go forward. Jim McGovern, the ranking Democrat, has watched a decades-long erosion of the process. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-political-scene/a-day-in-the-life-of-jim-mcgovern-us-congress">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Puzzling, Increasingly Rightward Turn of Mario Vargas Llosa</strong> - The writer has shocked many by endorsing Latin America and Spain’s rising authoritarian movements. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-puzzling-increasingly-rightward-turn-of-mario-vargas-llosa">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>On the Money: Should you combine finances with your partner?</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A bright illustration on a black background shows a man and a woman in silhouette looking in opposite directions, with symbols like a dollar sign and an eye surrounding them." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KMIUhbFpmm2J61EVSBXvk55l5RQ=/240x0:1680x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72468048/PaigeVickers_OnTheMoney__1_.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Paige Vickers for Vox
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Plus, how to think about your money after a divorce.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KPhL4o">
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On the Money<em> is a new monthly advice column written by Nicole Dieker, a </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/personal-finance"><em>personal finance</em></a><em> expert who’s been writing about money for over a decade. For Vox’s Money Talks interview column, she’s written stories about couples who run </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/even-better/23569412/money-talk-small-business-six-kids"><em>small businesses</em></a><em>, navigate </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22722672/money-talks-couple-different-backgrounds"><em>different relationships with spending</em></a><em>, handle </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/10/21003110/money-talks-health-insurance-self-employment"><em>health insurance</em></a><em>, and more. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing — or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions — you can </em><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScXuTsmpi2VQ6ZoRVEeHrgBSpkPkWSRWDH4zeY_TMBtPAhc4w/viewform"><em>submit your question here</em></a><em>. Here, we answer two questions asked by Vox readers, which have been edited and condensed. </em>
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WgVAQN">
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<strong>How do you deal with income when you marry late in life? Do you combine it, or keep things separate?</strong>
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="bORJ8d">
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When my partner and I set up house together, we also set up a joint checking account for shared household expenses. This allowed both of us to contribute to the costs of maintaining our home — the weekly groceries, the monthly utility bills, the upgraded HVAC system that our technician assured us would last a good 15 years — while maintaining separate checking accounts for the kinds of purchases that we would prefer to make without consulting the other. (He just ordered a hummingbird feeder shaped like a double helix. I bought a pair of dangly ceramic earrings. That kind of thing.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oUGuvY">
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He and I are both self-employed, and although we do not make the same amount of money at present, we both contribute the same amount of money to our shared account. I’m in my prime earning years, which means that much of what I don’t contribute to our household goes into high-yield savings accounts and various retirement funds. He’s a bit older, so he’s already built up his savings to the point where he can ease up on the freelance work and begin the process of covering the daily costs of living through long-term asset management. We talked about doing proportional contributions, but transferring the same amount of money to the shared account every month made more sense mathematically.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RHU2jB">
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It also felt better emotionally, which is the real point of my telling you this story. We dealt with our income by discussing it — and we continue to have these kinds of financial discussions, including near-term budgeting and longer-term forecasting, at least once a month.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oO62Yj">
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How you and your spouse deal with income could look much the same, but it isn’t really about whether you set up an arrangement that matches ours. It’s about whether you have the kinds of conversations that allow you to create a financial partnership that feels right for both of you. This means talking about the tough stuff, from prenups to last wills. If you have financial responsibilities toward aging parents or growing children, you’ll also need to discuss how you’ll handle end-of-life care, college costs, and so on — and decide whether that money will come out of a shared household account or whether it will be something you pay for out of a personal account. It’s also worthwhile to become familiar with any state laws regarding community property, as that could change how you and your spouse decide to manage your shared assets.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EjVi7o">
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That said, I predict that as you and your spouse continue to build your lives together, you’ll begin to think of nearly everything you earn, spend, and save as “ours.” It’s a natural trajectory, and one that I’ve experienced personally. Despite my occasional splurges on handcrafted jewelry and hardcover books, nearly all of my assets — including the money in my personal checking account — are meant to support the long-term financial stability of our household. My partner feels the same way, which is one of the reasons why our partnership continues to work.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cmFGk2">
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<strong>I’m a newly divorced woman who is no longer combining her income with her partner’s — and it feels overwhelming and embarrassing to admit that I don’t know how to manage my own money. How do I get started with budgeting, saving, and investing?</strong>
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="12uq84">
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There are all kinds of resources out there to help you budget, save, and invest. In most cases, I’d advise people to set up an account with <a href="https://www.ynab.com/">You Need a Budget</a> or check <a href="https://yourmoneyoryourlife.com/book-summary/"><em>Your Money or Your Life</em></a> out of the public library. (I can vouch for both the app and the book, by the way. When I was getting started with personal finance, YNAB and YMOYL showed me how to earn more money, get out of debt, and build long-term financial stability.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UGcii2">
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However, I’m going to give you the same advice I gave the previous writer. It’s time to have a series of conversations with yourself about what you want this next stage of your life to look like — and how you can use your income, your assets, and your skills to help you achieve your goals.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="py4aOo">
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Your first conversation might begin as follows: “I feel embarrassed. Why do I feel embarrassed? Is it simply because I feel like I should have learned how to manage money by now, or am I also embarrassed because there were times in my marriage that I allowed my former spouse to make financial decisions that I didn’t necessarily agree with?”
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</p>
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<div class="c-float-right">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M7LwT4">
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This is going to be a tough conversation, by the way. Get a journal, get a box of tissues, and consider getting a therapist if you don’t already have one. The more you learn about why you feel the way you do and how your choices might have affected your current situation, the less likely you are to find yourself in a similar situation in the future — and right now, understanding your emotions around money is even more important than understanding budgeting, saving, and investing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rSfk4f">
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That said, it’s also important to ensure that this process does not put you at the risk of increasing your debt burden. As you begin your difficult conversations with yourself, see if you can set up a simple system that allows you to track your purchases and make basic decisions about discretionary expenses. I’d recommend a budgeting app for this, except most budgeting apps are going to nudge you toward long-term financial planning and you are still dealing with a short-term emotional emergency. Try pen and paper instead. Write down everything you earn, write down everything you spend, and do the math. As you learn more about where your money goes, start asking yourself whether you like where it’s going. Ask yourself which purchases make you feel embarrassed and which purchases make you feel happy. Ask yourself what it feels like to save for the future, even when you don’t know what that future is going to look like.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="74nNKt">
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You’re overwhelmed because of the idea that you have to have this entire financial problem solved, budgeting-saving-investing, every dollar going into the right place right now. It takes most people about a year to figure out how to create the kind of household budget that allows them to accurately predict their expenses. I’ve been tracking my finances since I graduated from college, and it still took me a full decade to clear out my debt, set up my savings and retirement accounts, and prepare to invest with confidence.
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</p>
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<p class="c-end-para" data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zKzf8M">
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So start with the pen and paper, the journal and tissues and honest conversations. That’ll give you the confidence you need to make your next money move. A month from now, read <em>Your Money or Your Life</em>. Six months from now, download YNAB.
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</p></li>
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<li><strong>The long history of kids decapitating their Barbies and making them kiss, explained</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A Barbie doll in a magenta dress is spotlit in a Toronto Star studio,&nbsp;July 10, 2023." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/whZGvXsd_C_UbW93i3Aze79Y3kg=/191x0:5164x3730/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72468015/1519294657.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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With the new <em>Barbie</em> movie about to debut, Mattel’s Barbie doll is having a massive cultural resurgence. | Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Why Barbie inspires some of childhood’s weirdest games.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dqcHgi">
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The earliest Barbie commercial ever on TV is instructive. It tells you exactly what Mattel thought you were supposed to do with your Barbie doll when the ad aired in 1959: You were supposed to aspire to be her.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="U3TcnZ">
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“Someday I’m gonna be exactly like you,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8-avPUxyno">sings a girl’s voice</a> in the ad, as Barbie cradles a bouquet of flowers like a pageant queen. “Till then, I know just what I’ll do: Barbie, beautiful Barbie, I’ll make believe that I am you.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JtG4kt">
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It’s an odd ad, mostly because no one I know who played with Barbies was ever willing to admit to aspiring to be like Barbie. That was not what Barbie was for.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jyskHz">
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Barbie was for ripping apart and putting inexpertly back together. She was for removing heads and limbs. She was for microwaving. She was for chopping off her doll hair. She was for doll orgies. She was an ersatz body whose purpose was to allow her owner room for experimentation. <a href="https://jezebel.com/growing-up-everyone-did-dirty-things-with-their-barbie-299195">As Jezebel put it in 2007</a>, “Growing Up, Everyone Did Dirty Things With Their Barbies.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="c8KWh3">
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The cast of Greta Gerwig’s buzzy new <em>Barbie</em> movie knows exactly how kids play with these toys.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kQjD4A">
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“I witnessed my sister and her friends do some stuff with those Barbies, and I think we all did,” said Kate McKinnon in <a href="https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/barbie-tickets-are-on-sale-now-watch-the-big-ticket-interview-754838?cmp=SocialOrganic~Fandango~BarbieBigTicketInterview">a June interview with Fandango</a>, widening her eyes at the camera in a way that suggested that the “stuff” was probably pretty dirty. Which isn’t a bad thing, McKinnon insisted: “It’s imagination, it’s a way of expressing your innermost desires, and things that you’re exploring about yourself and about the world. It’s a very good tool for children to have.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oKtUd3">
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“It was a tool of aggression, too,” added Issa Rae in the same interview. “My sister had a <a href="https://www.fashion-doll-guide.com/questions-about-my-size-barbie-dolls.html">My Size Barbie</a>, and I don’t know what it was, maybe because it was close to our size, but we fucked that Barbie up.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="sN0z7t">
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Nearly everyone who plays with Barbie fucks her up in one way or another. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/57335140/The_Simpsons_are_Cool_but_Barbies_a_Minger_The_Role_of_Brands_in_the_Everyday_Lives_of_Junior_School_Children">A 2005 study from the University of Bath led by Agnes Nairn</a> found that children from the ages of 7 up will almost universally describe getting violent with their Barbie dolls with glee and pride. “They’re not particularly cool unless you torture them,” explains one child to an interviewer.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0N2KAf">
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With <em>Barbie</em> now set to become one of the summer’s biggest <a href="https://www.vox.com/movies">movies</a>, the time is ripe to look back to murky childhood memories. Let’s remember exactly what it means to play with Barbie.
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</p>
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<h3 id="4f3CvQ">
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The origins of Barbie
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</h3>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iR39pKmsjbDzXTLaGYwbj5cBKPU=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24796952/headshots_1689780558444.jpg"/> <cite>Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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Left, Mattel’s original 1959 Barbie. Right, a Lilli doll from 1955.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MO7nb3">
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Barbie was invented by Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/">She was inspired</a> (the story goes) by watching her young daughter, Barbara “Barbie” Handler, play with paper dolls of adult women, daydreaming out loud about the kind of woman she would grow up to be. Small Barbara would have loved to play with a fully fledged plastic adult woman doll, Handler realized, but the only three-dimensional dolls available at the time were baby dolls. The market had a gap, and by 1959, Barbie was there to fill it: a doll for girls that would let them practice being grown-up.
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That’s the official creation myth, but there’s another, less wholesome version of the story. Mattel’s first Barbie <a href="https://time.com/3731483/barbie-history/">bears a startling resemblance</a> to a German doll named Lilli, known for her prodigious bosom, platinum blonde hair, and painted-on eyeshadow. Lilli was a character from comic strips, a call girl with a penchant for double entendres. Her spinoff doll line was decidedly for adults. Like the German equivalent of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudflap_girl">mudflap girl</a>, Lilli’s idealized figure made her a popular item to buy at tobacco shops or distribute as a gag gift at bachelor parties. Lillis dangled from the rearview mirrors of men’s cars across the country.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3TSrjN">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=6934821&page=1">According to some historians</a>, Handler noticed Lilli when 15-year-old Barbara became interested in the dolls during a family trip to Switzerland in 1956. Handler took three of the dolls back home with her, and three years later, Barbie was born, blonde and buxom and spackled with cosmetics.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2stSUH">
|
|||
|
|
Regardless of whether the story was true or not, in 1961, Lilli’s parent company G&H sued Mattel for patent infringement. The case was dismissed, and in 1964, Mattel bought G&H’s Lilli copyrights <a href="https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-9th-circuit/1061319.html">for $21,600</a>, or about $200,000 in today’s dollars. Forever after, Lilli would be one of the buried secrets of Barbie: The plastic body little girls are given to practice being grown-up with is the same as the plastic body grown men hang from the rearview mirrors of their cars as a dirty joke.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zQUV62">
|
|||
|
|
At the same time, Barbie’s wholesome all-American image remains the key to her US marketability.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="zjxJcu">
|
|||
|
|
“My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be,” <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/cultural-history-barbie-180982115/">wrote Handler in her 1994 autobiography</a>. “Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” Hence Barbie’s dozens upon dozens of careers: astronaut, ballerina, doctor, president, architect, baseball player, and on and on and on.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qgnqMV">
|
|||
|
|
Yet what people get up to with their Barbies tends to be a little weirder than using them to pretend to be president. Frequently, Barbie games are about sex and violence.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5ZqVha">
|
|||
|
|
“Plenty of us have admitted to dismantling our Barbies in one way or another,” <a href="https://jezebel.com/why-do-we-destroy-our-barbie-dolls-31023463">wrote Jezebel after surveying its commentariat in 2009</a>. “Chewing her delicious feet is the most popular admission, though chopping off her hair, seeing if she can ‘fly’ from the car window, and letting her get ‘a tan’ in the microwave are also on the list.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="x5zeDY">
|
|||
|
|
“How did I — the daughter of a feminist and working woman, myself a future feminist and a generally liberal, Prius-driving recycling lady — play with my Barbie?” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030602038.html">mused Sarah Haskins in the Washington Post the same year</a>. “I took off all her clothes and sent her looking for love. My Barbie got <em>around</em>.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6pT7da">
|
|||
|
|
“I think I <em>mainly</em> did normal stuff like have them go shopping, go to school, go for a drive, etc.,” <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Barbie/comments/10r9trs/howd_you_play_with_your_barbies/">said a Reddit commenter in 2023</a>. “But I always had to do some weird sexual stuff every once in a while. In fact, I was super vindicated when I was playing Barbies for the first time with one of my elementary school friends and it devolved into a lesbian orgy and I was like, ‘omg, I’m not the only weirdo!’”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TXDTZJ">
|
|||
|
|
Other commenters on the thread chimed in with agreement.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QDWxXh">
|
|||
|
|
One who owned the Barbie safe recalled staging robberies and, since she also had a Barbie-sized gun, “staged some murders too.” Of course, in addition, “Ken humped Barbie.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6GOCTI">
|
|||
|
|
“Locked ken in the barbie dreamhouse shower and made my barbies [scissor emoji],” said another.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Gicjdm">
|
|||
|
|
Not every toy gets this kind of treatment. When Nairn ran her 2005 study on how kids react to different toys, she found that they described being more violent with Barbie than with anything else, even the 7-year-old girls. “The most striking thing about the discourse which surrounded the forty year old iconic Barbie was the rejection, hatred and violence which the doll provoked,” Nairn wrote. (Anecdotally, kids also seem to <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/games/2019/01/we-need-talk-about-sims-diary-teenage-psychopath">get weird with Sims</a>, another highly manipulatable representation of adult life, but they don’t feature in Nairn’s study.)
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qXMpac">
|
|||
|
|
Something about Barbie seems to spark more sadism than all the other contents of the toy box. Yet at the same time, Barbie is beloved to the point of ubiquity. <a href="https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-shopping/barbie-collectors-long-island-nscv34kq">Mattel estimates</a> that more than 100 Barbies are purchased in 150 countries every minute.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UqwQdr">
|
|||
|
|
So why do we use Barbie like this?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="DhUQCe">
|
|||
|
|
The semiotics of Barbie
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r4SbAMOLBDVNsqy3oOO_vC0qve4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24796939/179187268.jpg"/> <cite>Yvonne Hemsey/Getty Images</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Girls playing with “Totally Hair” Barbies are photographed in 1992 in New York City.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="39goZN">
|
|||
|
|
In their study, Nairn et al repeatedly ask the children they’re talking to why they hate Barbie in particular. They tend to give fairly consistent responses: Barbie, the children declare, is for babies and girly girls, and this is what makes her uncool, revolting, in need of mutilation. The children know, after all, what Barbie is for. She exists to teach young girls how to be feminine women.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pjnwFC">
|
|||
|
|
In his 1977 book <em>The Uses of Enchantment</em>, child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim theorizes that children need to use symbols and story tellings — often darkly violent and sexual ones — in order to process their emotions about ideas they don’t yet fully understand. That, he writes, is why it’s so important for children to hear fairy tales in their dark and bloody pre-<a href="https://www.vox.com/disney">Disney</a> forms.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="br9duB">
|
|||
|
|
It’s for this reason that children tend to find the vengeful elements of old fairy tales gratifying rather than disturbing, as they often are for adults. A child nursing a grudge against a parent can be satisfied by hearing about how Snow White’s evil stepmother was forced to dance in red-hot iron slippers until she burned to death. A child who feels ashamed of their own misbehavior can comfort themselves by hearing about how Cinderella’s wicked stepsisters were justly punished for their own bad deeds.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GkhAxk">
|
|||
|
|
For Bettelheim, toys are central to this kind of unconscious processing, because they are physical objects that can become symbols of whatever problem the child is facing.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xs9Thz">
|
|||
|
|
“The child must somehow distance himself from the content of his unconscious and see it as something external to him, to have any sort of mastery over it,” Bettelheim writes. “In normal play, objects such as dolls and toy animals are used to embody various aspects of the child’s personality which are too complex, unacceptable, and contradictory for him to handle. This permits a child’s ego to gain some mastery over these elements.” Barbie, with her small scale and her many tiny accessories, is an ideal object for a child to have mastery over: so small and cute <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2018/12/cute-aggression-why-i-want-to-smoosh-this-sweet-baby-seal.html">you just want to rip her to pieces</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="LtYCd8">
|
|||
|
|
For little girls, Barbie is one of the most potent symbols there is of the problem of being an adult woman. Her impossible body is a three-dimensional dirty joke. Grown-ups tell you that all her careers make her beautiful and empowering, but all your peers know that her femininity makes her humiliating. You’re supposed to want to be her; you’re supposed to think she’s stupid. You’re supposed to want to be a woman who men think is attractive; you’re supposed to think that women men find attractive are stupid.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2ZTOGw">
|
|||
|
|
You rip her apart; you make her have sex; what else can you do with her? What else can you do with the problem of what you’re going to grow up to face?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1iO19b">
|
|||
|
|
So in the end, Mattel was right back in 1959. Barbie, beautiful Barbie, we made believe that we were you.
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>Traveling with a baby? Here’s what you need.</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sAYmU9a7QjN2fTp_XrRg05SGzck=/480x0:3360x2160/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72467970/vox_baby.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Naomi Elliott
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
12 products that’ll make your trip so much easier.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vSTXC7">
|
|||
|
|
For expecting parents, travel can seem like one of those parts of life that’s off the table after having a baby. The ability to be spontaneous, to just pack a carry-on bag and head to some far-off destination for a few days, to run around exploring new cities, restaurants, beaches — all of it seems impossible. It doesn’t help that many parents and grandparents who have been there before will warn you to travel now, “while you still can!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwDuEc">
|
|||
|
|
But as the parent of a now-16-month-old, I can say from experience that this is categorically false. I’ve now taken my daughter on many trips, including flights to the Midwest and Canada, and road trips to upstate New York and Washington, DC. The first trips we took were nerve-wracking: Did we pack all the right things for her? Would she sleep okay in the new place, thus allowing us, her parents, to sleep okay? Did we remember every possible item we might need to have at arm’s reach in the event of catastrophe while in transit?
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y9i1vO">
|
|||
|
|
With each successive trip, though, we got more and more confident. Each time, we learned a little bit more about how to optimize our travel routine. We learned what items we needed and what we would be fine without. We learned that you should definitely pack a lot of wet wipes, and that navigating the airport is a lot easier with a lightweight travel stroller than with your big everyday stroller.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZTqX63">
|
|||
|
|
You can absolutely travel with a baby, as long as you accept that it will look a little bit different from the way you traveled before. And one of the ways it looks different — besides having to juggle your vacation plans around the baby’s nap schedule — is that you need a lot of gear.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q9eBjF">
|
|||
|
|
Specifically, there are a number of things that can make traveling with a baby or toddler much, much easier. There is a wide world of products out there, some of which are for making plane travel smoother, while others make vacation at your eventual destination more enjoyable. Wading through the options can be overwhelming, and it’s hard to know which products are worth the money and/or packing space.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="plMZry">
|
|||
|
|
The recommendations we’ve put together — by talking to travel experts, <a href="https://www.vox.com/parenting">parenting</a> specialists, and seasoned moms and dads on the Vox staff — are not meant to be one-size-fits-all. Pick and choose what feels most useful and valuable to you based on your travel style and budget. You might, for instance, be totally fine skipping a travel high chair if you don’t mind having your baby sit on your lap for meals. You might feel your regular stroller works well enough for vacation and you don’t need a travel stroller.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="dSdSQQ">
|
|||
|
|
And remember: You don’t always have to spend money to get these products. A secret of modern parenting is there is a whole economy of parents swapping baby and kid stuff they’re done with. Ask friends and family who have kids older than yours if they have what you need, or source from a neighborhood parent group or local <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/21427525/buy-nothing-gifting-facebook-groups-community-money-borrow-lend-trade">Buy Nothing group</a>. If you’re able to get (or borrow!) something for free, that can be more valuable than having the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/12/11/18134598/best-of-everything">“best” brand</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="qy3SqI">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Things to pack that are genuinely useful </strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="PL9fEv">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel stroller</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iUexCs">
|
|||
|
|
That perfect stroller that you spent months researching and selecting before the baby was born? It may not be very well-suited to traveling, particularly if it’s a big, heavy model. When traveling, you want something that’s lightweight and compact, since you’ll need to fold up the stroller when going through TSA checkpoints and when gate-checking it.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OLN6XI">
|
|||
|
|
All of this means traveling will be easier if you get a second stroller specifically designed for travel. There are two kinds: <strong>travel strollers</strong>, which generally fold up into thirds in a little compact rectangle, and <strong>umbrella strollers</strong>, which tend to be cheaper than travel strollers and fold up more like a long stick or umbrella shape.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FegkkH">
|
|||
|
|
I have the Summer Infant 3DLite stroller, which is a relatively inexpensive, light umbrella stroller. This thing has gotten us through trips big and small.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iKM5ww">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Lite-Convenience-Stroller/dp/B00O20OCVC"><em>Summer Infant 3DLite stroller</em></a>,<em> $79</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="h6u61U">
|
|||
|
|
For a travel stroller, Vox audio producer Victoria Chamberlin recommends the GB Pockit+ All-Terrain stroller: “We took this to Germany, Scotland, and Italy. It folds to half the size of a rolly suitcase and can go under most seats and in all overhead compartments,” Chamberlin said. “Highly recommend if you have an international flight connection because if you gate check a stroller, you will not get it back until your final destination. When we got stranded in London overnight, I was very happy I had this in my hot hands.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="96ZeF6">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gb-Pockit-All-Terrain-Velvet-Black/dp/B07RGLBX41"><em>GB Pockit+ All-Terrain Stroller</em></a><em>, $280</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HNFrnY">
|
|||
|
|
And Corinne McDermott, author of the travel website <a href="https://havebabywilltravel.com/">Have Baby Will Travel</a>, recommends just bringing your regular stroller on trips, provided it can play double duty. “It’s not necessary to purchase a second stroller specifically for travel if your main one works well,” McDermott says. “A stroller is not just a stroller when it comes to travel with babies and little kids. It is a bed, a high chair, a buggy for all of your stuff, and a baby jail for when you need to know your baby is in a secure spot while your hands are full and attention is elsewhere. Our beloved stroller was the UPPAbaby Vista, which was our everyday stroller that worked great for travel. It is easy to maneuver, the basket holds a lot, it’s high enough to push up to a table for mealtimes, and the deep recline was great for naps.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xcz0wP">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/UPPAbaby-Vista-V2-Stroller-0320-VIS-US-BRY/dp/B07Z6YPZYJ/"><em>UppaBaby Vista V2 Stroller</em></a><em>, $969</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="uquQcT">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel car seat</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mqAzEr">
|
|||
|
|
One of the most annoying things about traveling with a baby is that you need to lug your car seat around everywhere if you plan to take a taxi or ride in any car at all. You could try bringing your regular car seat if it’s small, like an infant car seat — but otherwise, most parents I know recommend leaving the heavy convertible car seat in your car and getting a much lighter travel version.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pDMg8T">
|
|||
|
|
Vox video managing producer Val Lapinski recommends the Cosco Scenera Next, a travel car seat that weighs just 10 pounds. Says Val: “It’s ubiquitous for a reason — it weighs nothing.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pKVipV">
|
|||
|
|
After having a miserable time dragging our bulky convertible car seat through Newark Airport and around our destination of Toronto, my husband and I bought the Cosco car seat upon Val’s recommendation to use for our future travels. Just a month later, we took it on a trip to Chicago and immediately knew it had been worth it. It was much lighter and easier to carry around; my husband’s shoulders were grateful.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nqCdwz">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://goto.walmart.com/c/482924/1749763/9383?subId1=VoxBabyTravel071723&sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fip%2FCosco-Scenera-NEXT-Convertible-Car-Seat-Otto%2F41126739&tid=0&returnUrl=%2F&veh=aff"><em>Cosco Scenera Next car seat</em></a><em>, $60</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="BTtHA2">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel bags for both the car seat and stroller</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Rx1VRN">
|
|||
|
|
If you’re flying, most <a href="https://www.vox.com/travel">airlines</a> allow you to gate-check a stroller and a car seat for free. But items can be damaged during the gate-check process, so it’s a good idea to invest in travel bags to protect them from scratches and other wear and tear. I have these simple red bags from J.L. Childress.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="onakIu">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Childress-Gate-Check-Bag-Seats/dp/B000RRD7UG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=NNL49701W86A&keywords=jl+childress+bag&qid=1688321662&s=baby-products&sprefix=jl+childress+bag%2Cbaby-products%2C75&sr=1-3"><em>J.L. Childress Car Seat Gate Check Bag</em></a><em>, $20</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GX605p">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003554H9M/ref=twister_B08HWM9YP8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1"><em>J.L. Childress Stroller Gate Check Bag</em></a><em>, $23</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="BuJ4lu">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>A lightweight baby carrier</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="yCi3ei">
|
|||
|
|
If your baby is still small enough for <a href="https://www.webmd.com/baby/what-is-baby-wearing">babywearing</a>, bring a carrier — it’s nice for carrying the baby around the airport once you check or gate-check your stroller, and it’ll be helpful when you want to do short outings where a stroller might feel cumbersome, like going to a restaurant.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PB40HA">
|
|||
|
|
Emily Oster, an economist and author of the parenting books<em> </em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Better-Conventional-Pregnancy-Wrong/dp/0143125702"><em>Expecting Better</em>,</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cribsheet-Data-Driven-Relaxed-Parenting-Preschool/dp/0525559256/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1689365336&sr=1-1"><em>Cribsheet</em></a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Firm-Data-Driven-Decision-ParentData-ebook/dp/B08NY5MG5P?ref_=ast_author_dp"><em>The Family Firm</em></a>, recommends the BityBean carrier: “It’s a very lightweight baby carrier that goes front or back and can range from a very small baby up through a 2-year-old. I spent many an hour in the back of an airplane flight bouncing a kid in this thing. Generally, in my view, the less gear the better, so this was a big win when we discovered it.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uSTyUg">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://goto.walmart.com/c/482924/1749763/9383?subId1=VoxBabyTravel071723&sourceid=imp_000011112222333344&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.walmart.com%2Fip%2FBityBean-UltraCompact-Baby-Carrier-Lime-Green%2F41051687&tid=0&returnUrl=%2F&veh=aff"><em>BityBean Ultra Compact Baby Carrier</em></a><em>, $70</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="dENROd">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel crib </strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Tjn5EJ">
|
|||
|
|
Unless you’re staying somewhere that offers a crib, you will need a travel crib that folds up compactly and is easy to carry around to provide a safe sleep space for your baby.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZwS9Us">
|
|||
|
|
The Graco Pack ’n Play is beloved by many parents (including myself). It’s easy to assemble, fold up, carry, and store, and comes with a bassinet attachment for younger babies.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6OCano">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Playard-Stratus/dp/B00PTL3TOO/ref=sr_1_3?crid=JVW72MXRDHG7&keywords=graco+pack+n+play&qid=1688322126&sprefix=graco+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840"><em>Graco Pack ’n Play Playard</em></a><em>, $80</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="I7ldHL">
|
|||
|
|
Chamberlin recommends the Guava Lotus travel crib: “This is way lighter and easier to put together than a pack and play, and takes up less space as a backpack than similar models. Also, it has a bassinet insert you can get if your baby is that little.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VfgePf">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Travel-Crib-Lightweight-Comfortable/dp/B00AKKDSNG"><em>Guava Lotus Travel Crib</em></a><em>, $249</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="76ju8W">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel high chair</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EBhgPE">
|
|||
|
|
You most likely already have a high chair at home, but when traveling, you might want one that’s easy to collapse and carry.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Xnsxfv">
|
|||
|
|
Says Chamberlin: “This is our go-to travel high chair. It is good for the floor, and also attaches to a dining chair. And if you take the tray off, it’s a camp chair. We have used it for travel to visit family, camping, and hotels.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lcw0lS">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Portable-Booster-Chair/dp/B08N6C7M5Q/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3DGJJBEAZG9W5&keywords=hiccapop%2Btravel%2Bchair&qid=1684854571&sprefix=hiccapop%2Btravel%2Bchair%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-3&th=1"><em>Summer Infant Portable Booster Chair</em></a><em>, $30 </em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="bhXvV2">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Baby headphones, if you’re into screen time</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UdkEMG">
|
|||
|
|
Screen time can be a godsend on vacation when you want to have a nice dinner at a restaurant and need your toddler to sit still and be quiet for a little while. Bring your iPad with preloaded shows, but don’t forget baby headphones so the rest of the restaurant’s patrons don’t have to listen to Ms. Rachel. I use these.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aI9Ya0">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09D3RH18B?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_J32HMQP7CXGRVQ59SENK"><em>BuddyPhones Explore+ Headphones</em></a><em>, $30 </em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="mclDtg">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Portable white noise machine</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="R5vUt6">
|
|||
|
|
One of the most important keys to a successful vacation with your baby is sleep. Maintaining a baby’s sleep schedule and making sure they get adequate naps and good sleep at night, even in a new setting, is crucial. If you use a white noise machine at home as many parents do, then you likely want a small portable one to pack on vacation. I use this one, which is chargeable and has a little hook that makes it easy to strap onto your stroller or car seat for naps on the go, too.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kUMnpU">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Yogasleep-Portable-Soothing-Rechargeable-Baby-Safe/dp/B01D50RYSC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=G6U0H1PA45D&keywords=portable+white+noise+machine&qid=1688322590&sprefix=portable+white+%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-5"><em>Yogasleep Hushh Portable White Noise Machine</em></a><em>, $27 </em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="TY2pRA">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Portable blackout curtains</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mhlkBz">
|
|||
|
|
Many kids need total darkness to be able to sleep, and the varying light situation in hotels and Airbnbs can wreak havoc on daytime naps. Many Vox parents recommend portable blackout curtains to create that perfect darkness — everyone will be happier if the baby has had a solid nap.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kamffM">
|
|||
|
|
Catherine Spangler, a supervising producer on Vox’s video team, says: “These blackout curtains with suction cups have been lifesavers across three continents for us.” The suction cups make them easy to attach to any window, and they’re lightweight and easy to fold up and throw into your carry-on bag.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fwcdXB">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tommee-Tippee-Sleeptime-Portable-591075/dp/B08GFWXPPH/?th=1"><em>Tommee Tippee Portable Blackout Curtains</em></a><em>, $19</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="q1QSQR">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>A diaper bag that holds everything you need for the flight</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wT4ux2">
|
|||
|
|
A diaper bag that holds and organizes all the essentials you might need in flight — from diapers and wipes to snacks and bottles and the iPad and headphones and an extra change of clothes — is important to a less stressful flight.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Fj702Z">
|
|||
|
|
Your everyday bag might work, but Jessica Darrington, who runs the baby travel <a href="https://whereisbriggs.com/">website</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/whereisbriggs/">Instagram</a> Where Is Briggs, also recommends the ultra-structured travel diaper bag from No Reception Club. Says Darrington: “This diaper bag has been a game changer when traveling with a baby because it has kept all of our gear organized. I’m amazed at everything I can fit inside and love that this bag counts as a personal item and can go under the seat in front of me on the airplane.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nYET91">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://noreceptionclub.com/products/backpack-getaway"><em>No Reception Club “The Getaway” Bag</em></a><em>, $235</em>
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="CyL0mV">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Things you can probably skip bringing</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="QbRvmq">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Tons of diapers</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wL91hG">
|
|||
|
|
Save your suitcase space and bring only enough diapers to get you through the trip — you can always buy more diapers when you arrive at your destination.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="SrrUv2">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>The SlumberPod</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PMFmd1">
|
|||
|
|
As far as I can tell, this is basically <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7PBRZX5/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2C95I5AB4CX49&psc=1">a tent for babies to sleep in</a>, but the entire $180 tent is made of blackout shades. Some parents I know love it, but we’ve never invested in one — portable blackout shades have worked just fine for us and are much cheaper.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h4 id="ysH3CK">
|
|||
|
|
<strong>Travel baby monitor</strong>
|
|||
|
|
</h4>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WAqsZ4">
|
|||
|
|
Travel baby monitors are things that exist, but there are also a million baby monitor apps that turn devices like iPads, with cameras and microphones, into monitors that stream to your phone. Save your money and skip buying a travel-specific device.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right">
|
|||
|
|
<div id="ESXH1a">
|
|||
|
|
<div>
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
</div></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Will the Indian Supercross Racing League take off in October?</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Hyderabad Race Club postpones opening day’s races</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Chillilady, Win My Luv, Accumulate, Acaster and Spectacular catch the eye</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Indian Supercross Racing League opens rider registration for auction</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kohli is real inspiration for so many players: Dravid</strong> - Kohli will join Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid himself and MS Dhoni as the fourth Indian to play 500 international matches in the second and final Test against the West Indies</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sri Chithira Thirunal’s death anniversary observed</strong> -</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Godavari continues to rise all along its river course from Basar to Bhadrachalam</strong> - Water close to first flood warning level in Bhadrachalam</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>SC refers Delhi ordinance case to Constitution Bench</strong> - Reference coincides with a new Parliament session where the ordinance will be introduced; SC refuses hearing before Article 370 case; Delhi carrying out witch hunt against bureaucrats, says Home Ministry</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ahmedabad court rejects Teesta Setalvad’s discharge plea in 2002 riots evidence fabrication case</strong> - The Supreme Court on July 19 set aside an order of the Gujarat High Court on July 1 directing Teesta Setalvad to surrender immediately in the case</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Aavin to tie up with IIM-Tiruchi, Anna University to improve overall functioning: T.N. Dairy Minister</strong> - Minister Mano Thangaraj said MoUs would be signed with the premier academic institutions to help the milk major improve its financial, HR, transportation, energy consumption and product enhancement systems, among other aspects</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Ukraine war: Wheat prices soar after Russia threatens ships</strong> - Russia announces it will treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as potential military targets.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Police search for suspected lion roaming Berlin area</strong> - Residents in the south-western outskirts of Berlin are being told to stay indoors.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Spain’s snap election revives issue of national unity</strong> - Catalans weigh up possible outcomes of Sunday’s poll and its impact on the independence movement.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Watch: Protesters set fire to Swedish embassy in Baghdad</strong> - Hundreds of people have stormed Sweden’s embassy in Iraq to protest a planned burning of the Quran.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>European outcry forces US economist to drop top job</strong> - Fiona Scott Morton pulls out of the EU role of Chief Competition Economist amid a storm of criticism.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Unity’s visionOS support has started to roll out—here’s how it works</strong> - A closed beta will admit developers gradually over the coming weeks. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955171">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study claims ChatGPT is losing capability, but some experts aren’t convinced</strong> - Either way, experts think OpenAI should be less opaque about its AI model architecture. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1954989">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Google’s new security pilot program will ban employee Internet access</strong> - You can’t get hacked if you aren’t on the Internet. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955186">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Florida malaria outbreak still going with local cases now at 7</strong> - Local officials are still working to apply insecticide by air, trucks, and crews. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955210">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>FTC rewrites rules on Big Tech mergers with aim to ease monopoly-busting</strong> - Merger rules currently stacked in favor of monopolists, critics say. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1955103">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>What do woman call men with huge cocks?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
I knew you had to click to check
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/gruenesmaenchen"> /u/gruenesmaenchen </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154ermd/what_do_woman_call_men_with_huge_cocks/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154ermd/what_do_woman_call_men_with_huge_cocks/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A husband and wife were having dinner</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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They were at a very fine restaurant when this absolutely stunning young woman comes over to their table, gives the husband a big kiss, says she’ll see him later and walks away.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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His wife glares at him and says, “Who the hell was that?”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Oh,” replies the husband, “she’s my mistress.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Well, that’s the last straw,” says the wife. “I’ve had enough, I want a divorce.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“I can understand that,” replies her husband, “but remember, if we get a divorce it will mean no more shopping trips to Paris, no more wintering in Barbados, no more summers in Tuscany, no more Infinities and Lexuses in the garage and no more yacht club. But the decision is yours.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Just then, a mutual friend enters the restaurant with a gorgeous babe on his arm.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Who’s that woman with Jim?” asks the wife.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“That’s his mistress,” says her husband.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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“Ours is prettier,” she replies.
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</p>
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</div>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/CrimsonAvenger_ZA"> /u/CrimsonAvenger_ZA </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154gv8q/a_husband_and_wife_were_having_dinner/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154gv8q/a_husband_and_wife_were_having_dinner/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>[NSFW] Recently, I asked a woman what she’d like to see in a man and she said “honesty”. She asked me what I’d like to see in a woman and I said…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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My penis
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</p>
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</div>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/chopselmcity"> /u/chopselmcity </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154bx9o/nsfw_recently_i_asked_a_woman_what_shed_like_to/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154bx9o/nsfw_recently_i_asked_a_woman_what_shed_like_to/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Why do the French eat snails?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Because they don’t like fast food.
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</p>
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</div>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/MercyReign"> /u/MercyReign </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154d3zm/why_do_the_french_eat_snails/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154d3zm/why_do_the_french_eat_snails/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>I just finished the book “101 mating positions”, and I was really disappointed.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF --></p>
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Turns out—-it’s a book about chess.
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</p>
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</div>
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<!-- SC_ON -->
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/porichoygupto"> /u/porichoygupto </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154807w/i_just_finished_the_book_101_mating_positions_and/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/154807w/i_just_finished_the_book_101_mating_positions_and/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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</ul>
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