3D cinema for the optically challenged

Wearing two pairs of glasses at the same time can be tricky. So, if you need glasses for everyday seeing-activities and want to catch a 3D movie, you have to adapt to the challenge.

Cartoon of a girl with glasses on, holding 3D glasses in her hand.

Here are three methods I’ve road-tested, with varying degrees of success:

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Predilection for fiction

Cartoon of a garbage bin with high heels, books and cans inside.

I have a friend who no longer reads novels.

She used to, but that was before we knew each other. When we met, she had a pile of books stacked next to her coffee table, up to the height of my thigh.  She’d read all of them, except the one on top, which she’d gotten partway through and stopped reading – not only it, but all fiction, altogether.

A few months back she did a spring clean and the books disappeared along with the expired cans of food, obsolete paperwork and an incredible array of shoes that were easy on the eye but extremely unkind on the feet.

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The knuckle sandwich epiphany

Back in the days Before Technology, when I was growing up, we entertained ourselves by interacting with other kids.

This usually involved riding bikes or climbing trees, making up games or going to imaginary places. But sometimes we’d talk about Really Important Stuff like –
Cartoon of a kid saying, "If you could wish for anything in the world, what would you wish for?"I would nearly always answer –
Cartoon of a little girl with a halo above her head saying, "World peace."

Or sometimes –
Cartoon of a little girl with angel wings saying, "An end to world poverty."Keep in mind, it was the 80s.

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The pursuit of sportiness

As a child, I had the misfortune of being labelled the brainy one. My younger brother scored the accolade of being sporty.

Don’t get me wrong, I saw my smartitude as a wonderful thing. When I grew up, I wanted to become a doctor and get a PhD and end world poverty. But I was less thrilled that braininess seemed to rule out the possibility of having any sporting prowess whatsoever.
Drawing of a little girl in school uniform getting hit in the head by a soccer ball.

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New hope for sufferers of smiling

Photo of a girl smiling broadly.

Smiling can damage youthful skin

Life is full of reasons to smile, but expressing joy can cause lines to form around your eyes and mouth.

Now, thanks to advances in medical technology, you may be able stop smiling altogether and prevent the unsightly damage it causes to your skin.

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Why humans love fire

A few years ago, my son spotted a remote control helicopter out the back of a charity shop as we dropped off some clothes. He immediately wanted to buy it.

Unfortunately, the bloke at the store said he couldn’t sell it to us. Because it was a potentially dangerous, untested electronic item, he was supposed to throw it away.

However, he mused, perhaps he could trust us to take it and throw it away for him? Wink wink nudge nudge.

My son joyfully brought the helicopter home, powered it up and launched it high in the air on its maiden flight. It span briefly at its apex, burst into flames and plummeted to the ground, smashing on impact.

Far from being disappointed, he was thrilled by the unexpected outcome.
Drawing of a boy holiding a remote control and looking up at a burning helicopter, saying "It's on fire!!"
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Bending the rules

Soon after returning from our European adventure, my boyfriend and I were telling travel stories to a group of friends. We were explaining how we had serendipitously found ourselves across the road from the Arc de Triomphe one evening, courtesy of yet another wheelchair versus public transport complication.

When we got to the part about crossing the infamously busy Place Charles de Gaulle intersection, one of our workmates interrupted to say, “But you’re not allowed to cross the road there! You’re meant to use the pedestrian underpass.”Photo of the Arc de Triomphe behind a nearly empty street.

“Nonetheless,” I countered, “We did cross there…” and my boyfriend continued the story.

Afterwards, I chuckled to think that someone would feel compelled to stop a narrative dead in its tracks simply to highlight a breach of pedestrian protocols.

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When you know you are falling

There’s a stretch of sweet terrain between anxiety and depression that feels almost like bliss. Because when I find myself there, the tumult of anxiety falls quiet.

Drawing of a girl looking worried, with negative words swirling around her.Drawing of a girl cupping her hand to her ear, with the words "Everything is shhhhh" above her.

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