Lets talk about GoldieBlox

http://www.goldieblox.com

I have two kids whom I love very much.  I purchase my son dolls and I purchase my daughter legos.  Both of these things are non gender normative but its what they like so I get it for them.

I want to take a second to be clear here.  My daughter get dolls and clothes and hair things too; just like I get my son legos and action figures and video games (which are arguably more normal).  I say this so you understand that I try to get my 11 year old son and soon to be 10 year old daughter things that they like; not things the world thinks they “should” have.

Back on track.  I was recently introduced to GoldieBlox which is a toy AND book series designed by an engineer who decided that there needed to be more toys that focus on spacial skills for those of the female persuasion.  While certain companies have thought to slap a pink coat of paint on their toys clearly designed for males; some have even done a bit of a redesign,  it has become clear that very few (if any) spacial skill toys have been designed for young ladies from the ground up.

I am shocked this has not been done before.  Why has it taken us so long for  somebody to spend their hard earned money and degree to make sure it was actually designed for young women.  Sadly my daughter is a bit old for the series (I will probably still ask her if she wants it anyway) but if this had been available five years ago she would have had it.

I know that the general reading audience for DFTBA* is not one likely to have children but for those of us who do or plan to have in the future please take a second to check out GoldieBlox.  Especially if you have a young lady in your life that might be interested in building and engineering.

~Peeta

Inspiration from a cookie

Can we talk about how fucking perfect this song is by OREO of all companies?  I know its a clever way for them to be able to introduce new products but there is so much more to it. Lets break it down line by line.  Please watch the video first though as all credit goes to Kraft and Oreo.

“Wonder if we tried a new thing…”

• You mean its possible to NOT do things the way you have always done them.  Even when those things are working well for you?  FFS Oreo alone makes Kraft 2 billion dollars a year!  And here they are going to try out some new flavors.  Wonder what would happen if that philosophy was applied to peoples lives.

“… looked inside see what we can bring…”

• Wait, you mean we can bring about these changes from inside?  We don’t have to wait for a focus group or a boss or a teacher or a parent or a preacher or anybody else to tell us that it might be time for a change?  We really can do it on our own??

“… forget who your supposed to be…”

• You mean I don’t have to do things like I have been told ALL the time.  Its okay to think that something needs to change and then enact that change on my own?  Strange.  According to society I am supposed to do things the way they have always been done because they say so.

“… take all your crazy flavors show them off to me…”

• Are you fucking kidding me Kraft?  You mean to say that different might actually be good? You mean that sometimes adding variety is a good thing?  This company has CLEARLY gone mad

“… if we dare to wonder about what holds us down the fears, the doubts…”

• Literal tears at this point.  I have always liked the question “What would you do if you knew, absolutely knew, you could not fail?”; and this is, to me, is another way to ask that question by addressing those things that hold us down and getting rid of them so we cannot fail.

“… Could we spark something, watch it grow, be more wonder filled than we know.”

• Hope.  This is what hope fucking looks like.  The mere possibility that by doing something different than what we have always done and accepting that sometimes change IS, not only good, but the best possible thing.  We just might create a society and culture that is better than the one we were born into.

 

I never thought I would be so inspired by a damn Oreo commercial but I have been and I am glad I have seen it.  Here Oreo’s; take all my damn money.  I hope to help push your profits to double what they have ever been because if you keep coming out with messages like this… maybe, just maybe, some people will change for the better.  Their entire wonderfilled movment is fucking amazing!  Check it!

And HERE is a playlist of YouTubers making music about Oreo (:

 

Good Idea: Bad Idea?

It was the greatest and last idea I had.  The day I thought to egg my mother >.<

This has been a PSA by DFTBAnerd.