Future Poltergeist

A while back I realized that when I hear the kids singing, the songs fall into one of two categories.  Either kids songs, like Itsy Bitsy Spider, or more modern music from the FP Gal, like 'Shake it Off'.  That didn't sit well with me.  One of my parenting duties is to pass on my musical tastes to my children.  To aid in this, I decided to consciously put some earworms from the 80's into their path. To do this, I asked my friends on Facebook for suggestions.  They gave me 30+ comments worth of suggestions and I spent some time (and money) on iTunes and made a disc for the car.  This post is to update what has worked and what hasn't. 1. We Got the Beat, Go-Go's - This one worked.  The kids sing along and sometimes talk about it when it isn't playing. 2. Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper - Maybe the biggest hit of the bunch.  I've caught Felix singing it outside of the car. 3. Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder - A miss, at least so far....

After all the run up to the US Olympic committee, I think I forgot to mention that they actually did get a pick made.  They choose Boston.  The belief is that the US is the front runner for the games because they've gone so long without hosting them.  If Boston wins, it will have been 28 years since the Atlanta games.  Since the US provides a huge amount of the advertising and support, it only makes sense that they'd get good treatment in terms of hosting. Anyway, they've released some pictures of the proposed sites.  It looks pretty good.  I especially like the idea of holding events on famous University grounds.  I look forward to it!

On the ride home today, DF asked me if I know how to cook a salmon.  I don't but he was kind enough to give me the recipe.   Step 1. Get a big fish. Step 2. Peel the skin off. Step 3. Cut it in pieces. Step 4. Leave a big half. Step 5. Put it in the oven in a long pan. Step 6. Cook it for maybe 30 minutes. Step 7. Slice it up into little pieces. Step 8. Eat.

Last week my dad got me a book called 'The Well Trained Mind' ( Amazon link ).  It's basically a book about the educational upbringing of your children with a heavy emphasis on home-schooling.  While I'm not about to go the home-schooling route, the book seems like an excellent plan for those who do.  I'll be using it as a big ol' suggestion box for things to supplement the education the kids are getting at school. One thing that it emphasizes is exposing young children to the myths and stories of the classic world.  This means the Greeks and Egyptians of course, but it also suggests the Babylonians and Chinese and such.  We've touched on some of these but probably not enough. This Sunday we went to the bookstore so that Relia could use her new kids club discount card.  While she was looking at books, I noticed a large bookshelf dedicated to children's versions of the classics.  I grabbed the opportunity and picked up a book of Greek myths.  I s...

There is an interesting NYT article about the proposed stadium for Tokyo's upcoming 2020 Olympics.  They're fighting over the size and cost of the thing and (especially) its post-Olympic future.  Officials here have reacted to the public outcry by reducing the proposed stadium’s size and budget. Ms. Hadid’s earlier version came in at about $2.5 billion, more than twice the $1.1 billion originally allocated for the stadium. The Sport Council at first called for a retractable roof to soundproof future cultural events like concerts. The steep cost of building and maintaining such an apparatus, critics said, would take away valuable materials and financial resources still needed for reconstruction after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. After sustained objections from critics, including Mr. Maki and the 2013 Pritzker winner Toyo Ito, the Japanese government reduced the stadium’s budget to $1.37 billion and its site to 52 acres, down from 71. The revised design ...