-
Looking for an Interesting Read? Or Listen?
I was walking the dog this morning, in the dark, waiting for her to poop, (carrying my bag, and yes, I cleaned it up after), and listening to my beautiful little iPod Nano. I love listening to music, but even more, I like listening to podcasts. So I was listening to an NPR show that I downloaded from Audible.com, To the Best Of Our Knowledge. This show was called Fact or Fiction, and the first guest was a woman named Christine Wicker, who has gone out and interviewed people about their beliefs in magic. People who actually think they are vampires, werewolves, whatever. It was pretty interesting. So, if you’re…
-
It’s fun having a 9 year old…
Maya: I like looking at pictures. Mama: Pictures of family? Maya: All pictures. Mama: Pictures of flowers? Maya: ALL PICTURES. Mama: Pictures of buttholes? Maya: That’s it! You’re Going Down! (commence the tickle fight…) Then again…she has always been fun. When she was about 5, and I was tickling her, she came out with this: “Get your hands off of me, you Damn Dirty Ape!” (that stopped the tickling…I was laughing too hard.)
-
Surfing in the Bay Area?
I don’t surf, and I don’t really watch people surf, but if you’re not from around here, you may not have heard about an annual surfing contest called Maverick’s. The contest first started in 1999, and is held once a year. When conditions are right to create the huge (up to 50 feet) swells, the word goes out, and participants have about 24 hours to get here and get their game on. If you’re a surfing geek and kind of interested in what is so unique about this area that creates such huge waves, read all about it on SFGate. By the way, if you’re NOT from here, the waves…
-
Another Useless Bit of Trivia….
Ted’s friend/sometimes coworker, Ramzi, called Ted last night to ask him who wrote the lyrics to “New York, New York”. Somehow, I thought that song was OLD. Like from the 1940s or 1950’s or something. Nope. I never knew it was written for the 1977 (ok, still almost 30 years old, but really, not what I meant) film, New York, New York, and starring Robert De Niro and Liza Minelli, directed by Martin Scorcese. Actually, I never knew that such a movie existed. Live and learn. Thanks Ramzi, for the question, and thanks to NPR for the info. 🙂
-
Proof of the Apocolypse?
Or maybe I just found everyone’s Christmas gifts this year? Hmmm. I’ll have to think about it. Maybe both. In the meantime, ponder this: Old Silly Putty Face (As I used to call him when I was 10) has a new album of old songs from the 50s, and it is #1 on Billboard’s Pop Album chart. Wow.
-
I Love California
Sunny High: 70° Low: 43° Ignore the Earthquakes, Traffic, Mudslides, Droughts, $600,000 Condos, Poverty in the Valley, etc. On a day like this, it’s just a great place to be. I mean, come on….It’s FEBRUARY.
-
I Miss Bill Clinton
I was in the car listening to Talk of the Nation on NPR, and there was a segment on the funeral services for Coretta Scott King. They played the speaches of President Bush and President Clinton one after the other, and the difference was amazing. Bush sounded so forced and uncomfortable…Clinton sounded so relaxed, like he was at home. I don’t think it’s because Bush doesn’t respect King or her legacy. I just don’t think he’s a good speaker. And Clinton is a gifted speaker, able to sound like a regular person without ‘dumbing himself down’ or anything like that. I don’t know if Bush dumbs himself down, or if…
-
Bragging…
We recently found out that Maya did well on her GATE assessment exam…that’s Gifted and Talented Education program, for those of you who aren’t parents around here. For kids her age, that means she gets to miss three days of school in March and go to a Nature Center close by. For kids in middle school, there are several options, including a Literary Magazine, Model United Nations, Mock Legislature, Newscope, and Sixth Grade Science Seminars. In High School they learn about Writing the College Essay. I don’t know if that means writing essays for college applications, or the much more useful skill of writing papers for college. Ted is a…
-
Sick?
Is this the winter of our discontent? Distempter? I don’t know. Maya told me this morning that she doesn’t want to go to school today, because she feels ‘queasy’. I wasn’t sure what to do, because the LAST time she felt queasy, she was definately sick. But she could also just be tired, because Saturday night she was at a sleepover with a bunch of girlscout friends, and yesterday she went on a field trip on a boat on the Delta, and we didn’t get home until about 6:30, and she was tired. Would she fake it? She’s not much of a faker, but I could see her getting herself…
-
Water Babies…
I like this picture. It’s so different from swimming lessons that Maya has taken…
-
The Trouble with Boys? Or the Trouble with Schools?
Have you read about Newsweek’s article on “The Trouble with Boys“? Well, BitchPhD had some interesting points to make, and I can’t say it any better than she did, so I’ll just say, “Go, Bitch, Go!”
-
Weekend Wrap Up
Saturday, I went to the movies with Autumn’s Mom. We went to see “Walk the Line“. I’ve never been a big Johnny Cash fan, mostly because I’m not really into country music. Nothing against him. So, not being a fan, I didn’t know anything about him, except that he wore a lot of black, was married to June Carter (I only knew that because they died so close together a couple of years ago), and that he….well, that’s all I knew. The movie was really good…I definately enjoyed it. Very interesting, very well done. Did he come off looking perfect? No, far from it. It’s the story of his romancing…
-
The Man Owns Us….
Just finished the taxes. I feel kind of like this guy…not the bull, the other one.
-
Why My Daughter is “Underprivileged”…thankfully
From the truly nausiating world of people-with-more-money-than-God-who-should-learn-about-charity-or-savings-or-maybe-just-give-me-some-of-it, comes this column from Salon, on the hyperconsumeristic spending habits of very wealthy parents of overindulged infants.My favorite quote? “…and what’s more anxiety-provoking than, My god, I have a baby?” Or maybe: “I have never seen a clearer acknowledgement that children have been reduced to accessories.” I believe you have to have a subscription to Salon to read the whole article, so I’ll copy and paste it into my ‘comments’ section, in case you’re interested. 🙂 And I know what you’ll say…”My goodness, who cares.” And you’re right, except for the editorial comment that I feel sorry for these poor kids, and the…
-
Rambling Thoughts on MySpace, et. al.
I was listening to my favorite radio station this morning, and they were talking about “MySpace.com”, and whether it is dangerous for kids or not. One man called in and said that he doesn’t think that legislating or policing the site is the ultimate answer, because kids are smarter than we are, and if they’re going to do something, they’re going to do it. So, the key is to TEACH your kids what is safe, what isn’t, and why. Teach them why they shouldn’t want to do something, like go meet people that they’ve only met online, because it might not be safe. Coincidentally, I just started a new book,…