That time of year...

To haul out the ice skates, and practice 3-turns, Mohawks and half-flips. This morning we all went to the local outdoor skating rink, which has reopened after the summer, for Kevin's lesson. David and I skated out on the big rink. Whee... gliding, leaning, swirling... it's fun. Closely related to flying a plane. (Actually, most of the men in Nancy's Minneapolis ice-dance club are also pilots.)

I'm inevitably rusty, after only skating once between April and October. My 3-turns were bad today... poor form, and I nearly stumbled into a 6-year-old. But my endurance and power are returning. My thighs and calves are IMO my best physical feature... I can leg-press 500 lbs. And jumps were actually okay, today... I landed both the waltz jump and half-flip.

David now uses hockey skates, but dropped out of the beginning class. James had pursued figure skating for five years, but this year he's doing hockey instead. Typically, for a nearly-teenaged boy (who already stands taller than patgreene!

Last night Pat and I went to dinner... and did a *lot* of processing. Exhausting, but we covered much. This afternoon I sat and caught up on email and LJ and hung out with Pat while she watched the horse races. Off to Costco for 2-weekly shopping now -- if Pat wishes, a movie tonight.

(no subject)

Happy birthday, joedecker!

Misogynistic candy?

While in Gibraltar two weeks ago, I was looking for examples of British culture... not Milton or Shakespeare, but the sort of ephemeral culture that one can buy in a convenience store. Digestive biscuits. Tabloids. Bovril. And a couple of yellow-foiled candy bars... "Yorkies", some kind of honeycomb bar. Their slogan, blazoned across the bottom: "It's Not For Girls!" accompanied by a red slash through a miniskirted figure with a purse. On the reverse, next to the nutritional information was a smaller no-females icon with the slogan "Don't Feed The Birds!".

The latter is mystifying... unless somehow bird = woman in Yorkshire slang. The candy was made by Nestle, at an address in York. For anyone reading from the UK... have you seen this? Is this kind of perceived anti-female sentiment commonplace in advertising there? Am I reading too much into a simple confectionery?