Birds and Bees

Instead of waiting and dreading the birds and bees discussion, We're trying to foster some open discussion early, so that sex and reproduction is not seen as such a taboo subject. So I heard about this book on a Dan Savage podcast, we bought it and have read it several times. The drawings are great and there are two characters that carry the story and keep it light hearted. Highly recommended:
 

It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families
Robie H. Harris (Author), Michael Emberley (Illustrator)

Patty Berglund

I never read novels. In the last 20 years I may have read two or three long works of fiction. Many times I would start a book that my wife was reading, just to quit after a few chapters.

I had the desire. In high school read science fiction, and I had some great teachers that planted the reading seed. They had me read many classics that I enjoyed. However, later, in college I turned to non-fiction and stayed strictly in that camp with rare exceptions

So last fall, I saw a David Brooks article about Jonathan Franzen's book Freedom. Brooks thought Franzen's view was too bleak and was too demeaning to the American middle class. But Brooks made me want to read the book.

So for $12.99 I downloaded the book onto my phone. This was my first experience with reading lengthy works on my phone, and I found the experience immersive. Throughout the day, I would read sections so that for several weeks my mind was filled with Patty Berglund. I wasn't really sure why I found the characters so compelling. It had something to do with the current nature of their mindset. They are totally of this time, of my people, so to speak. And of course the writing was excellent. And while I found several faults with the plot and even some dislike for the characters, I had a strong longing to know them, really know them. I kept thinking, why do I care about Patty? She is immature and her looks aren't even really described, yet I think I fell for her. It was a strange feeling.

I read the book straight through ... and then I went back and re-read parts, sometimes several times. Then when I was burned-out on Freedom I moved on to some of Franzen's recommendations, such as The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and The Great Gatsby (which I had read in high school, but didn't really appreciate). Then I read the Corrections, his novel from 2001. All of this on my phone, and each one a kind of immersive experience.

 

"They drive past Port Roosevelt and the valley of ashes where Mr. and Mrs. Wilson live and are stopped by a policeman. Gatsby flashes a card and they are on their way again over the Queensboro Bridge, passing a funeral procession, and across Blackwell's Island."

So, the commonality in these books is that they each capture the essence of the time in which they were written. Gatsby the roaring 20s, Gray Flannel Suit the 50s, the Corrections the 90s, and Freedom, the 2000s. They are also all written by upper middle class white men about the same. Another commonality I think is that they would all make terrible movies. Gray Flannel has a sappy ending which probably helped make it a semi successful movie in the 50s, but Gatsby's strength is in the spareness of the writing. Maybe it could be done kinda as a newsreel. Unfortunately, there is yet another Gatsby movie coming out this year.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit:
Total War Total Living 

I plan on keeping on with the novels. I just finished the Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet, and found it very enjoyable. Not sure what is next. Suggestions welcome.

Personal Changes

I've been blogging a bit less, and this is partly because I have begun a new schedule that involves going to bed earlier and getting much more rest. Much of my blogging is/was done late at night and now there is less time for this.

It's not like I woke up one day and decided to start getting more sleep, it just evolved. Last fall I quit watching late night TV. That felt good. A few months later I quit watching all TV. Not that I watched a lot, but the late shows had become a regular thing for a while.

And then, when the kid's school started in August, I decided to start getting up earlier so that I could do breakfast and spend some time with my son before I left for work. I've found that my son is more of a morning person, and he likes an orderly, quiet morning. That's something I can provide. Taking over the responsibility of getting him ready in the morning has been a smart decision, and has maybe even helped him in school, because I make some big breakfasts and it starts him off calm and with a full belly.

The latest incursion into my blogging time began last month, when I downloaded the Kindle and Nook apps for the iPhone. I am thoroughly enjoying my first ebook, and definitely reading fewer blogs because now when I turn on my phone it is less to read my RSS feed, or Twitter follows, but rather to read a few pages of my book. I kinda miss the chatter, but also enjoy the mental quiet. Also, for the first time I can remember, I am reading a new-release novel. Usually I read non-fiction, and when I read fiction, it is usually some old classic in paperback. But this month I've been reading "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen, which is a big bestseller. I think I'll read another of his soon.

Anyway, just letting you know that things may not be as regular as they once were... Hope you still find it worthwhile to visit.

Thinking is for Losers

I just finished a satisfying home-improvement job. I have a list of at least a dozen similar projects, some quite big. This blog post is mostly a reminder to myself that building is better than browsing the internet, writing a blog or reading a book. Better to live your life than read or write about it.

I was talking to our herdshare farmer the other day, and he commented that he was helping his brother build his house. And they were making quick work of it, just the two of them. And this reminded me that I once had that attitude.... that I can just go out and build it. And, Ive seen lots of people in the city take a vacant building or a vacant lot, and make a home for their family.

Most people work their whole lives to own their house. But we have made the whole building enterprise too specialized but at the same time too generic. People think about resale value instead of putting themselves into their home. And what do those paperboard houses look like now, with the overgrown grass, faded vinyl siding and rotted wood deck? Are they real homes, or are they just drywall rooms for our stuff?

This reminds me of another person I just heard about. Houses are so cheap around town, that this guy decided to just buy one and use it for his personal storage unit. He was tired of paying $200 a month to store all his junk. So why not buy a house for $9,000 instead?

But seriously, everyone should once in their life build a house, or save one from demolition, rehab it, expand it. It is the most rewarding work. I guarantee you that no one who is building their own house suffers from depression. Physically constructing a home is the complete antidote to malaise. And better yet, do the work with your life-mate, and you build strong loving memories. What couple can divorce, when their home is the physical embodiment of so many happy memories of them working together?

Quit thinking about it, get off your ass and make it happen.

Charley Harper for Kids

When I think of my favorite things Cincinnati, Charley Harper is pretty far up the list. When I was a kid, I recall the Cincinnati Nature Center using a lot of his images as membership decals and such. The federal building has a great mosaic, as well as Miami University.

Now Ammo books has started to release a number of titles for kids, including the ABC book you see here. This quickly made my "must buy" list, and the boy loves it. It's not perfect. It is very thick (by far the thickest board book we own) and there are a couple annoying errors. First there is "I is for Iguana" which clearly has a picture of a Komodo Dragon, and then "P is for Penguin" which has a picture of a Murre, not a penguin. But I still love it. There is also a skinny version that has different pictures (and does not make those two errors). In addition, there is a Charley Harper 123s and Charley Harper Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles.

For simplicity I have linked to the products on Amazon, and have also set up a quick store with all the Charley Harper for Kids I could find on Amazon. However, I encourage you to check them out in person. I know Joseph-Beth has a number of the titles in their excellent kids section, and feel free to add any other local sources in the comments.

Soft City

I come out of a formica kabab-house alone after lunch, my head prickly with retsina. The air outside is a sunny swirl of exhaust fumes; that faint, smoky-turquoise big city colour. I stand on the pavement waiting to cross at the lights. Suddenly I know that I don't know the direction of the traffic. Do cars here drive on the left or the right hand side of the road? A cluster of Italian au pair girls, their voices mellow and labial, like a chorus escaped from an opera, pass me; I hear, in the crowd, an adenoidal Nebraskan contralto, twangy as a jew's harp. Turned to a dizzied tourist myself, forgetful and jet-shocked, I have to hunt in my head for the language spoken here.

...You're a balloonist adrift, and you need anchors to tether you down.

A sociologist, I suppose would see these as classic symptoms of alienation, more evidence to add to the already fat dossier on the evils of urban life. I feel more hospitable towards them. For at moments like this, the city goes soft; it awaits the imprint of an identity. For better or worse, it invites you to remake it, to consolidate it into a shape you can live in. You too. Decide who you are, and the city will again assume a fixed form around you... - Soft City, Jonathan Raban, 1974

Aggressive Boys

We're not sure if we have issues with our boy, or if he is just being a boy.

Of course, being my wife's son, he is quite handsome, and he has deep emotion and I think he connects well with other boys. But everything with him is a competition. He wants to fight, and he wants to win. And when he doesn't, he rages.

It's hard for me to relate to this, because I don't think I was like this. He really gets aggressive while playing sports or doing anything. Everything is a competition. I can see him looking around and seeing how he fits in the world, how he compares to the other kids at school or on the soccer team.

Maybe this book "Raising Cain", would have some relavence.

Gifted Child Epidemic

Sandra Tsing Lo has a book out Mother on Fire in which she recounts her efforts to get her 4 year old into a prestigious preschool, and after being rejected finds success in the local public school.

Especially amusing in The Juggle's story is the the Parent Magazine Poll in which 70% of the respondents believe their child is Gifted.