My daughter often asks me if a particular animal is a mean or nice animal, often while we are visiting the zoo. My nigh invariable answer is the animal in question is not mean, but in fact is dangerous.
This is not a philosophical distinction or a matter of semantics.
Cruelty and meanness are human characteristics.
Our dubious honor within the animal kingdom is we are stewards of cruelty, visited on our own kind, as well as our environment.
Fun!
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
And in this exhibit we see the rare and peculiar stay-at-home dad!
So I attended the Room Parent Orientation this morning at my daughter's elementary school. I had to keep checking to make sure I didn't have an enormous coffee stain on my shirt, or if I'd left the fly down on my jeans.
But of course, it wasn't my shirt (perfectly conservative thank you very much) or my jeans gathering all the curious and speculative looks...it was my genes. What exactly was a ol' XYer doing in a cafeteria full of room-moms?
Can you in the back hear me?
I was doing the same thing they were, getting involved with our children's infinitely important school years.
Shocking, I know.
And actually, I'm a rank amateur at the gig. The stay-at-home dad of one of my daughter's friend has three kids, and still does a better job of keeping his house in order.
I've learned SO MUCH from him, and from my other friends here. All these little tricks of the trade.
I have to admit, I'm getting better, a little better, all the time.
But of course, it wasn't my shirt (perfectly conservative thank you very much) or my jeans gathering all the curious and speculative looks...it was my genes. What exactly was a ol' XYer doing in a cafeteria full of room-moms?
Can you in the back hear me?
I was doing the same thing they were, getting involved with our children's infinitely important school years.
Shocking, I know.
And actually, I'm a rank amateur at the gig. The stay-at-home dad of one of my daughter's friend has three kids, and still does a better job of keeping his house in order.
I've learned SO MUCH from him, and from my other friends here. All these little tricks of the trade.
I have to admit, I'm getting better, a little better, all the time.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Nothing reinforces the conclusion that one is out of shape...
Like spending two hours in a pool with a bunch of high-school and college age swim instructors.
;)
Yep, I've started as a part-time swim instructor over at the Natatorium. It was a lot of fun to work with the kids as well as the amazing staff from Swim America. Even if it means wearing the bike-shorts that male swimmers wear there. Oh well, at least they're not speedos; that wouldn't be fun for any of the involved parties.
;)
Yep, I've started as a part-time swim instructor over at the Natatorium. It was a lot of fun to work with the kids as well as the amazing staff from Swim America. Even if it means wearing the bike-shorts that male swimmers wear there. Oh well, at least they're not speedos; that wouldn't be fun for any of the involved parties.
A reminder: Pushing Daisies starts tonight
ABC, 7/8pm
If you loved Dead Like me and Wonderfalls, watch Pushing Daisies because you'll most likely love this as well.
If you never saw Dead Like Me or Wonderfalls, please extract yourself from your cave of residence and watch Pushing Daisies because you'll most likely love it.
If you didn't like Dead Like Me or Wonderfalls, well...then you should watch Pushing Daisies, if only because you deserve a chance at redemption. There really is more to TV than the OC.
If you loved Dead Like me and Wonderfalls, watch Pushing Daisies because you'll most likely love this as well.
If you never saw Dead Like Me or Wonderfalls, please extract yourself from your cave of residence and watch Pushing Daisies because you'll most likely love it.
If you didn't like Dead Like Me or Wonderfalls, well...then you should watch Pushing Daisies, if only because you deserve a chance at redemption. There really is more to TV than the OC.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
My tadpole's big day
Today Evie started school-age swim practice. I've watched her grow, in the space of one year, from a preschooler who wouldn't put her head under water (some irrational fear of drowning, I suspect)
to a kick-ass kindergartener who can swim all 4 strokes and hold her breath longer than some adults of my acquaintance. She's an agile little mermaid and a damned fine swimmer, probably a stronger swimmer than I was at her age. Many thanks go out to the fine staff at the Natatorium and the Swim America program.
to a kick-ass kindergartener who can swim all 4 strokes and hold her breath longer than some adults of my acquaintance. She's an agile little mermaid and a damned fine swimmer, probably a stronger swimmer than I was at her age. Many thanks go out to the fine staff at the Natatorium and the Swim America program.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Pushing Daisies and Dead Like Me version 2.0
Pushing Daisies starts this Wednesday on ABC. It's the latest creation of Bryan Fuller, genius who brought us Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. It's starring Lee Pace (the brother from Wonderfalls), Chi McBride (from Boston Public and House), as well as some cutie named Anna Friel. It looks good. Watch it.
I noticed on IMDB that Dead Like Me is being resuscitated...without Mandy Patinkin and Bryan Fuller. I'm excited but cautious.
I noticed on IMDB that Dead Like Me is being resuscitated...without Mandy Patinkin and Bryan Fuller. I'm excited but cautious.
The error of over-association
So I'm watching Ed Zwick's video journal for The Last Samurai, and thinking about how people sometimes (spelled o-f-t-e-n) over-associate products, be they movies, music, or actual hard merchandise, with one or more of the principle elements. When the trailers for The Last Samurai were first released I remember a great public sigh of "oh, another Tom Cruise vehicle". It really bothered me at the time, just as it bothered me when people refer to Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet as "Mel Gibson's Hamlet".
Now this isn't meant to be a treatise defending the work of film-makers verses that of actors, so bear with me.
People get hung up on the personal characteristics of celebrities and other public figures and then transfer feelings about those characteristics to an associated product.
Tom Cruise may be a bit of a weirdo with the Scientology thing, but he's an accomplished actor and it's an error in judgment to assume that his personal oddness is going to somehow taint the movie.
Mel Gibson, again, the high-profile Catholic that folks either love to hate or hate to love, but guess what folks? He's been an arch-conservative all his career (likely all his life). It's only recently that he's started to let it bleed over into his public life. None of that really has anything to do with his ability to act.
-Prince: The man is freaky, there's no real doubt; he's also a phenomenally talented musician.
-Emeril Lugassi: His flamboyant manner may grate on me but I'm not going to refuse to try one of his recipes.
-Lindsay Lohan: err...OK, I got nothing here.
If you get caught up in the personal oddities of these people (and others) you run the risk of missing out on some of those rare jewels of art and experience. You need to be willing to move past their foibles and appreciate their work.
On a closing note, The Last Samurai was not Tom Cruise's film, although I think he did a fine job playing his part. It was Edward Zwick's film. The Last Temptation of Christ, now that was Gibson's baby. If you liked it he deserves credit; if you didn't, feel free to send him a care package of monkey poop.
Now this isn't meant to be a treatise defending the work of film-makers verses that of actors, so bear with me.
People get hung up on the personal characteristics of celebrities and other public figures and then transfer feelings about those characteristics to an associated product.
Tom Cruise may be a bit of a weirdo with the Scientology thing, but he's an accomplished actor and it's an error in judgment to assume that his personal oddness is going to somehow taint the movie.
Mel Gibson, again, the high-profile Catholic that folks either love to hate or hate to love, but guess what folks? He's been an arch-conservative all his career (likely all his life). It's only recently that he's started to let it bleed over into his public life. None of that really has anything to do with his ability to act.
-Prince: The man is freaky, there's no real doubt; he's also a phenomenally talented musician.
-Emeril Lugassi: His flamboyant manner may grate on me but I'm not going to refuse to try one of his recipes.
-Lindsay Lohan: err...OK, I got nothing here.
If you get caught up in the personal oddities of these people (and others) you run the risk of missing out on some of those rare jewels of art and experience. You need to be willing to move past their foibles and appreciate their work.
On a closing note, The Last Samurai was not Tom Cruise's film, although I think he did a fine job playing his part. It was Edward Zwick's film. The Last Temptation of Christ, now that was Gibson's baby. If you liked it he deserves credit; if you didn't, feel free to send him a care package of monkey poop.
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