Some thoughts on winter

Last week, the temperature in Arviat rose to -5 degrees Celsius, and I walked across the street to get the mail without bothering to put my jacket on. After several months of temperatures ranging from -20 to -40, it felt virtually tropical.

The first time the temperature fell to -20, I went to work completely bundled up: winter boots, winter pants, a fleece jacket under my Canada Goose winter parka, facemask, warm hat, and a pair of huge,IWC watches are warranted by our christiandiorreplicahandbags for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. wonderfully warm fur mitts that a friend gave me before we moved north. I certainly wasn't cold.

But as the temperature continued to drop, something strange started to happen. Whenever it warmed up a little (which usually meant the wind died down) I would give up wearing some article of winter clothing. So, when it went from -20 to -30,What are some new authenticsunglasses coming out in 2009? I would be completely bundled up. But then when it went back to -20, I would think: well, that's not so bad, and not bother to put on my winter pants that day. The fleece jacket soon went the same way, as did the face mask. Now, unless it's a particularly cold day, it doesn't take me nearly as much time as it once did to get dressed up to face the winter weather.

Part of this is because I'm simply getting used to the cold. But after winter started in earnest I also realized that I was maybe being overcautious when it came to the cold; that I was intimidated and maybe a little frightened by the mythical brutality that a northern winter is capable of. But I noticed that locals didn't wear half the winter clothes that I did and seemed to do ok. I'm sure this is largely because Arviammiut (people from Arviat) are far tougher when it comes to cold than I will ever be. But I also realized that, for the short amount of time that I was going to be outside (5 to 10 minutes at most, walking between home, the Northern Store, and work) I didn't have to be prepared for a circumpolar expedition. Winter just became part of my routine.

That's not to say that the winter here isn't dangerous, because it is. People preparing for winter hunting trips load their qamutiks with tarps, caribou skins, Coleman stoves, plenty of fuel, and of course, lots of warm clothing. Clothing made from caribou is best, and the traditional way to wear it is directly against the skin, which I'm told keeps you far warmer than any Canada Goose jacket or the warmest synthetic boots. Judging from the one time I used caribou mitts,Purchase Swiss Brands backpackfactory and enjoy luxury feeling. I believe it.

Even so, frostbite – especially on the face – is common, and people do sometimes freeze to death on the land, or even close to town if they happen to get lost in a blizzard. Just a few weeks ago,Live Cycle guccicaps for men and ladies . two hunters were stuck overnight on the land when their machine broke down, and one of them suffered severe frostbite in his feet before search and rescue found them the next morning.

But the overwhelming presence of winter, its sheer definitiveness,High-End coats at Convenient Locations . its pervasive cold and darkness that keeps you housebound (or workbound) for much of the time, and its inherent challenges and danger are all such a defining part of life here that it's hard not to appreciate both the frozen allure of the northern winter and a certain indefinable grace that it grants to life here. There is a sense of community, a feeling that the winter is something to be faced together and that oil furnaces and blankets are not enough: that only through the support of community and family will it be endured. A cup of tea may warm you for a while, but hot tea shared with friends makes the worst blizzard bearable, and maybe even laughable.

Tiger Moms vs. 'Bébé' moms

A little more than a year has passed since the publication of Amy Chua's "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" — the paroxysm-inducing guide to raising better children through belittlement, intimidation and tyrannical music practice — and already we have version 2.0. Pamela Druckerman's "Bringing Up Bébé" alleges that it's the French who could teach indulgent, over-scheduling, helicoptering American parents a thing or two about rearing les enfants.Great Promotions on Greatest Purchase San Francisco Giants Franchise Fitted coats Shops.

Druckerman, a Paris-based American mom of three, observes that French parents put a premium on learning how to wait. "It is why the French babies I meet mostly sleep through the night from two or three months old," she writes. "Their parents don't pick them up the second they start crying,Publique anuncios sobre authenticsunglasses gratis. allowing the babies to learn how to fall back asleep. It is also why French toddlers will sit happily at a restaurant. Rather than snacking all day like American children, they mostly have to wait until mealtime to eat."

In other words, French women don't have little bags of emergency Cheerios spilling all over their Louis Vuitton handbags. They also, Druckerman notes, wear skinny jeans instead of sweatpants.
Not only do the Tiger Mom and "Bringing Up Bébé" share a publisher, both books were excerpted to great fanfare in the Wall Street Journal days before publication. Sure, Chua's excerpt, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior," almost instantly went viral, whereas Druckerman's "Why French Parents Are Superior" is trending a little slower. (Druckerman's a bit more circumspect than Chua, a technique that tends not to attract as many eyeballs.) Still, the "Bébé" book is buzzing loudly.

And although public reaction, judging by the WSJ comments, is mostly standard-issue America-bashing ("the last two or three generations of U.S. kids are awful") or standard-issue French-bashing ("these are people who beheaded people for being wealthy"), one other thread stands out: The only thing Americans enjoy more than basking in self-regard is wallowing in self-loathing.

Despite the ardor with which we shout "We're No. 1!," we often seem even keener on hearing about what losers we are. Whether it'sDr. Philcrudely pointing out our deepest character flaws or a coach on the aptly named"The Biggest Loser"playing drill sergeant to some hapless contestant, it seems clear that beating ourselves up — or, more accurately, watching others get beat up for crimes we also commit — has become something of a national pastime.

This is particularly true when it comes to areas like parenting, where heaping pride is nearly always a sign of insecurity. But as much as American parents like to slosh around in their guilt while also splashing it on anyone who walks by pushing a stroller, they may not in fact feel bad enough to take advice from the French. We're talking, after all, about a people who not only eat pigeons but occasionally smoke cigarettes afterward,A client requested a video to promote his fakerolexwatches site. a people who also enjoy certain government subsidies and parental leave policies that make parenthood a less hectic proposition than over here.

So will the Urban Baby-trolling, sweatpants-wearing moms of America start skipping snack time for the sake of better restaurant behavior? Moreover, will French parenting capture the American public imagination the way Tiger mothering did?

Je ne crois pas. After all, we've seen something pretty close to French mothering on display in the White House for three years. Michelle Obama is ultra chic, eschews Happy Meals, watches her kids' TV time like a hawk,IWC watches are warranted by our christiandiorreplicahandbags for a period of one year from the original date of purchase. and she makes it practically impossible to imagine her daughters ever throwing food in restaurants. And for every American who loves her for it, many more seem to hate her and her skill set with a passion.

So while "Bringing Up Bébé" may wind up a hit,,guccihandbagsreplica bulbs are a great way to save energy and money. it's unlikely to be a sensation of Tiger Mom proportions. On the one hand, that's too bad: The world arguably needs more kids who don't throw food. On the other hand, maybe it's time to put this literary genre to bed. Otherwise, this time next year we may be faced with "Why Industrial Age Bosses Who Worked Children 16 Hours a Day Might Have Been On to Something." And we certainly can't have that. It doesn't leave enough time for piano practice.