Now, that's a cute kid!

I do my best to avoid The News. But today, somehow, I heard the same story twice. The first time I felt my blog post response rising. The second time, I decided to write it. The news bit: the unexpected — cough, cough — rise of Down’s Syndrome babies born between 1979 and 2003. Scientists were surprised. I’m not.

And here’’s why: the years for the increase (about 1% per year, for a total of 31% increase) correlate almost exactly with the Millennial gen’s birth years (1982 – 200?2/3/4?). A few months back, I wrote a robust post on societal attitudes toward children, child birth and child rearing as impacted by generations and generational theory. It’s called The Terrible Octomom, and it’s a good background for the subject.

Almost 40% of Millennials are first-borns in their families, with many of their mothers having waited to later in life (post 35) to start a family (influence #1). Influence #2 is Millennials are special babies to their parents. And to Society. While the report suggests that as Down’s Syndrome kids are integrated more and given better medical treatment more women chose to bring to term, even knowing from genetic testing, a DS baby.

This is not a comment about that choice, right or wrong. Life quality. Nothing in that realm. I’m looking at this through the lens of generational theory. The other influence that had this number rise is that the babies were Milllennials, and so were born in an era when babies are special. All babies.

And all babies, while important and let’s pray, are loved, it’s the attitude toward children, childbearing and childrearing toward  that changes in each generational season. (That adult attitude toward children is one of the primary influences in shaping generations. It’s really important stuff.)

I can guar-an-teeeeeeeeeeee you that the number of DS babies will start to drop in the years between 2004-2024(ish). Why? Very simply because the next gen is the Artist gen, the Homeland gen, and they are the gen born in Winter. As such, they are always a smaller generation. It’s just the cycle. And cycles cycle; that’s what they do.

Again, I recommend reading my post, The Terrible Octomom, for  a generation-oriented perspective on the subject. And Dave Sohigian created a helpful, 7-min video about generational seasons.

Photo from http://www.thespeciallife.com/

I had my first-ever Bowen treatment this evening. The therapy had been recommended to me a few years back, but I couldn’t find a local practitioner. Then my path crossed with BodyWise Physical Therapy, off BrokenLand Pkwy in Columbia. Ariana, the key gal there, offers Bowen. So, I scheduled an appointment.

Now, for as much as I’m an adept researcher, I often don’t research things before I experience them. (I once went to Namibia for three weeks and did nary a bit of research before going.) I discovered that Bowen is simple and small muscle rotations with gaps of several minutes where the practitioner leaves the room while the practionee’s body recalibrates to the new experiences. Doesn’t sound terribly impressive, but I’m a fan of the concept that small changes can make big differences, so I was game.

I loved it.

It was so gentle. So simple. And deeply, deeply relaxing. I found myself feeling unexpectedly peaceful and happy, not a buoyant and jumpy happy, but a calm and easy happy. And I feel good.

Ariana, the biz owner and Bowen practitioner, is also very pretty. She has a prettiness that is inside-outside-and-both. Looking at her face and eyes, watching how she moves, experiencing the space she’s created for her business, there’s an authenticity which runs from who she is to what she does to how she does and why she does it.

If you’re in the DC-Balt-VA area and are looking for a Bowen practitioner, I recommend Bodywise Physical Therapy in Columbia, Md. Here’s a short video explaining Bowen for pain relief –

On word of @stevenfisher, I turned my attention to the TV show Glee. (Thank you, hulu.) What I was struck with right away — above and beyond the characters and unfolding story — was the dead-on accuracy of the generational depiction of today’s Americans generations.

While GenX grew up in high school with The Breakfast Club being a most iconic movie for the state of high-school-ness, Glee is the equal opposite. In The Breakfast Club, a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse, come together for one day because they are united by being in trouble by the Idiotic Adults who put them in detention. They find tribe and connection and then disband completely after the event. Diversity, connection for a moment, and back on to their own paths.

Glee features today’s Millennials in high school. In their diversity (white, black, asian, gay, obese, handicapped, jock, jew, bad boy, goody-two-shoes… and so) , they find union, team work, happiness and a collective sense of purpose and value. As well, the GenX glee club teacher wants to do a good job and bring value to his students and has to fight a ruthless Boomer gym teacher. (Can I get an amen, GenXers? Really, you’re not imagining it at all if you find some of your Boomer colleagues ruthless about protecting their turf.)

But back to the Millennials and their natural orientation toward peer relationships, coming together and collective power. I find these few minutes of the Hairography episode, in which they sing The Beatle’s Imagine, to be absolutely on target for expressing in song and vision the heart space of Millennials. For those of you who love and/or find yourself baffled by Millennials, go to this show (the 11th episode) and 31:18 minutes in. Watch the song. Feel the feeling, and be one step closer to understanding the Millennial mindset. (Hurry, the hulu.com link won’t last forever.)

I swear, this is a true headline of a Letter to the Ed in The Columbia Flier. Spoken by a man (whom I know personally) who claims his tenure in Columbia (35 years) makes him grounded in the right to speak for the “we” of Columbia. Me, I’ve got 37 years in Columbia, but who’s counting.

Heck, if we’re going to count any years, let’s count FUTURE years, as in, who will probably live more years. I think I’d win over my once-groovy-now-boring-n-lame-ass ex-social-studies teacher who wrote the letter to ed titled such.

Mercy, if the best leadership you can offer on a subject is in the direction of calcification, shut up. Nobody wants to hear from you. Well, I of “nobody” doesn’t at least.

And, let’s get real. Had said once-groovy ex-social-studies-teacher-of-mine really wanted “boring,” he would have/could have moved 35 years ago to a community abutting Columbia: one that had been built in the ’50s. But, I don’t think he wanted boring 35 years ago.  My guess, at one point, he did want “new” and “emerging” and “vibrant.” Now, his voice is the voice of an old man, afraid to change with the times.

Oh, and I’m giving a shout out to the many equally older Columbians who are active and involved in getting some vibe and vibrancy back in our town, too. I’m just tired of the righteousness of long-time residents who claim that boring is the best future.

Alas. Maybe, they pro-calcification people are right. Maybe, like my best friend just did last month, it’s time for me to move. She moved to San Francisco. Now, that place has some vibe.

If you like the work of Hair Flair for Hope, consider purchasing a cap base for one of the wigs. They’re $15 and donations can be paid via Paypal to hair.flair.hope@gmail.com. While Hair Flair for Hope is not an official 501(c)3, they are a registered volunteer with  The Children’s National Medical Center and the org will process cash donations and provide receipts for tax deductions, if you’d like.

Consider if you will a creative, filled-with-lotsa-love, personable way to help a child with cancer have a very different experience of their hair with a cash donation to Hair Flair for Hope.

And not just any yarn. The thicker the yarn the better. The bolder the colors, the better. Also needed are some neutral hair-colored yarns such as brown, burgundy, red and blonde, but NOT grays, pastels, gray-blues or whites unless they are special (sparkly, glittery, fluffy)

My friend and hair-flair gal extraordinaire could use your help for a project she’s doing for chemo recipients at The Children’s National Medical Center. Her request is below, but before I post that, let me tell you where you can mail your yarn donation:

Sherri Sosslau
Hair Flair for Hope
PO Box 7660
Washington, DC 20044-7660.

Sherri’s email address, if you need it and to make cash donations via PayPal. You can become a fan of Hair Flair for Hope’s Facebook page, too.

From Sherri

Many of you are aware of my costuming endeavors and that I make yarn & ribbon wigs for dancers, costume-wearers and women looking for a unique yet temporary beautiful look. Recently, I decided to focus all of my energy on a charitable purpose:  making fun yarn wigs for kids, teens and young women who have lost their hair to chemotherapy.  Last week, The Children’s Hopsital (now called the Children’s National Medical Center) has asked to be the recipient of my wigs.  Now I must crank out a large number of hand-crafted wigs in short order for the holidays. In the spring, when flu season is behind us The CNMC can open their doors to visitors, I will be bringing wig-making workshops directly to the kids. Since this project is 100% non-funded, labor intensive and will be ongoing, I’m relying on the good will of friends, neighbors and knitters to help me!  Should you wish to get involved, here are a few no-cost ways that you can get involved:

1.  SUPPLIES NEEDED:  I need yarns of all types and textures.  With the exception of a few colors, such as gray, white, cream, pastels and non-vibrant blues), I can use it!  Bold colors (purples, reds, greens, oranges, bright pinks), fun yarn (glittery, variegated colors, etc…) and natural colors (browns, tans, burgundies, rusts, purples) are most useful and in shorter supply.  Knitters, partial skeins or unmatched dye lots are welcome.

2.  TIME NEEDED:  I need help assembling the wigs.  It is my goal to make 50 wigs by 12/15.  Please join me for a fun and worthy exchange.  I’ll teach you a new skill (the crazy art of wig-making out of mixed fibers) and you will make a wig out of the materials I have on hand to leave behind as a donation for someone who has lost their hair to chemotherapy.  I’ll be hosting three wig-making workshops on the following dates:

Sunday 11/29 10:30am – 2:30pm
Sunday 12/13 4pm – 8pm

3.  SPREAD THE WORD:  If you do not have any yarn on hand to donate and do not have the time to come make a wig, perhaps you are willing to spread the word to others?  If you work in an organization that runs a charitable drive for supplies, you could ask your co-workers or customers to donate their unwanted yarn.

Please consider joining me for one of these workshops. Please RSVP so I know how many people to expect.  All you need to bring is yourself and pair of scissors. I will have everything else on hand. I will keep you full and happy (pizza and brownies are on me).

Best,

Sherri

How can you not love a federal government gal who speaks and tweets in LOL Cats language. This is from a friend and one of my favorite bloggers.

Oh, but the power of the human voice. I got this message with a Firefox error of sorts. How refreshing in a world of 404s and such. More of this.

It’s been months since I’ve blogged about smoothies. I don’t think my fruit intake isn’t that high, actually. Summer, yes. Lots. Fall, apples and pears. Winter: citrus and pomegranates and cranberries (are they a fruit) in season. So, while I don’t desire nightly fruit smoothies in the fall and winter, I do like to puree things in general. (That last statement might be worthy of psychological exploration. Hmm.) Anyhoo, I love my Vitamix, and I love to find real-food recipes that I can puree to bits and create a yummy dish. (Trust someone who’s been there: it’s quite possible to take something tasty, puree it, and end up with something very not-tasty.)

Here is one of my hands-down favorite purees: Sweet potatoe and apple. I’m bringing it to the thanksgiving holiday potluck at my j-o-b tomorrow, along with another more sugary sweet potato dish.

The ingredients include –

• sweet potatoes
• tart apples
• lime juice
• honey
• yogurt
• melted butter

The recipe I use is here. If you feel so called, enjoy. If you have a j-o-b where I have a j-o-b, perhaps you’ll sample a bit tomorrow.

Rock on.

Pic from http://www.foodnetwork.com/

This question was in my email inbox today. I’m going to answer it publicly:

The Q:
Jessie, I came across your post looking for context for an art review I’m working on. I’m writing about an artist my age (mid 30s) who, like a remarkable number of GenX artists, fills his paintings with toys, cartoons, video game motifs, etc. I can’t think of anything comparable in the artwork and pop culture of the boomers. Is it possible that ours is a more nostalgic generation- and why? Your thoughts would be very welcome!

Bummer. Can't find the original blog where I found this Barbie art. UPDATE: http://twurl.nl/oe8jyl - Thx to Michelle Dunn for finding this!

The A. Well, My A:
Interesting question. I think what you’re observing has less to do with nostalgia and more to do with the desire to express oneself by making use of what is considered useless, i.e. trashed toys. That said, well, one could argue that using scrap metal or found wood is the same phenomenon of using existing “leftover” resources. So, let’s look a little deeper as to why using toys from childhood  seems to resonate with GenXers and GenX artists.

To start, Genxers have a different understanding of environmental destruction than Boomers do. There are a few basic reasons for this:  1) Genxers grew up in an era where environmental issues and Save Mother Earth was a louder issue than it was during Boomers’ childhoods. 2) More importantly, GenXers tend to orient intuitively toward a world view of systems, complexities and intricacies, while Boomers orient toward values. So GenXers have a different relationship to each toy that got thrown away as playing an intricate role in a bigger scheme, whereas Boomers typically would orient toward a desire to make a BIG change with environmental issues. And 3), the archetypal role that GenXers play in the four-part cycle is to hit each phase of life at “the worst” time. While GenXers were in childhood and hearing about pollution and environmental problems, their experience of adults was that adults didn’t have their hands on the wheels. And that things were falling apart pretty quickly. So their “uh-oh” feeling about the destruction of environmental systems registers in a different part of their psyches than for other generations.

See, even if Boomers had been exposed in childhood to the same level of bad The Earth is Going to Die news, they wouldn’t process it the same and form the same world view. Why? Because Boomer children grew up in a world where adults were very much in charge. And Millennials, well, they expect to be The Heroes who will solve big problems — regardless of the severity, and to do so with a smile and lots of support (and money) from adults/government/systems. So, they’re probably a little excited about yet-another big problem to solve. (They don’t know how they’ll do it, per se, but goldangit, if, in their midlife years, they rally their troops — and they will — they can solve, or at least alter the the course of, a situation.)

Boomers, while most would argue passionately that they care even more about the environment — tend to orient more toward a world of values, vision and spiritual awareness. So the Boomer view of environmental issues sounds more like “Save the Whales.” A big value, a big vision and heck, a whole lot of big spirituality, if you know much about whales and cetaceans. GenXers tend to orient toward small-gap solutions that require little external support (because GenXers generally don’t expect support from adults/government/Society). GenXers orient more toward personal style and expressing their values through functional choice, with less emphasis on Big Vision.

I also think that GenXers using childhood toys in their art is more therapeutic than nostalgic. While this is a guess, it makes sense inside of generational theory.GenXers experience childhood in an era (the Summer Era, or The Unraveling, using generational theory terms) when adults are rather care-free (read: negligent) toward children. So, perhaps using toys as a base material in their now-that-I’m-an-adult art is therapeutic: A way to go back in time and be in relationship to a childhood that was hurried, hurried, hurried toward adulthood.

And while there may be some political statement in terms of expressing an anti-consumerism of sorts, I do believe that using toys in art is fundamentally a desire to re-use materials otherwise considered trash; this is a high value for many GenXers. Not that Boomers and other generations can’t care about and be sincerely engaged and effective in environmental issues/protection/betterment/etc., but it’s more that the thing to look for is the GenXer desire to re-use that which is considered waste. (Think Burning Man and the costumes/art there!)

Barbie Death Camp at Burning Man.

Also, the phenomenon of “nostalgia for one’s childhood” — if I understand it — doesn’t really emerge until one has crossed into midlife. Of course, anyone can have nostalgia for a time and era passed, but, to me, the concept of using childhood toys in art for nostalgia’s sake isn’t the root of the desire. A piece, a branch, but not the root. This using of toys in art was a phenomenon, if I’ve got my cultural pulse right, that ascended in frequency in the last 20 years or so. Which means, it’s likely about to fade, as cultural preferences shift in a very big way about every 20 years.

It’s interesting to me that you would ask this question now. A week or so ago, I was watching a video made from footage taken at Burning Man 2009. It featured a whole lot of Barbies (see the pic here). My mind scanned the image that I saw, and I felt that the massive Barbie art was a classic expression of GenX in young adults. And while the artist about whom you’re asking the question is a GenX who is still in young adulthood (the latter half of it, but still …), the generation of GenXers has crossed over into mid-life (which starts around age 42). It’s the early wavers of a generation who start to redefine how that generation will create its imprint on that phase of life.

You may find it worth a look to notice as Millennials replace GenXers in young adulthood and become the new and emerging artists, how they redefine the art scene and what is considered “fresh.” My guess: for Millennials, it won’t have much to do with toys from their childhood. They’re about public spaces, civil engineering, being out, peer connected, government structures, big business, big shows/performances/glamour. Big, glitzy and featuring THEM!

Hope this helps.