Throwing Marshmallows

Yes, I am still alive. Just lots of stuff going on in real life. Hope to get back to posting soon.

In the meantime, saw this comic in several places and had to laugh out loud. The truth hurts I guess…

Be sure to check the xkcd archives…lots of hilarious stuff there!

I have been reading Unshelved for over a year now and realized that I don’t think I have ever mentioned it here.

For book-lovers and wanna-be librarians (like me!) it is a must read. A comic set in a fictitious library. I have it set so that I receive a daily email or you can subscribe to the feed. The characters are fun and the strip takes on issues such as censorship and recently the issue of judging books based on controversial viewpoints of the author rather than on the book itself. Yes, I am a book geek.

To read more about webcomics, check out this Unshelved blog post which explains a bit about the ins and outs of comics:

But there’s a downside to our control-freak existance. And that is that webcomics aren’t as discoverable (or let’s say, differently discoverable). You probably discovered Unshelved because a friend or coworker recommended it, or you followed a link from a listserv or blog. But many others followed that link and weren’t compelled to return by what they saw. I am a little sad that there aren’t hundreds of thousands of people who read our strip in their paper day after day, slowly gaining a taste for our style of humor. Nor are there folks who start reading our strip because they picked up a paper at the barber and start reading it. It’s a lost opportunity. I’m not sure how much, but I do wish we had a way to reach a broad and highly diverse audience day after day.

Bottom line: all in all we like being on the web, and it’s been years since we seriously discussed the possibility of newspaper syndication. But we are almost completely dependent on our readers to expand our audience. Thanks to everyone who has told a friend or coworker, or blogged about us, or posted to a listserv, or skywritten “unshelved.com” above the Superbowl. Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Well, it isn’t skywriting, but I am doing my part. Go check them out.

I came across the Arrow of Time today and found it utterly fascinating! (HT: Photojojo) An Argentinian photographer, Diego Goldberg takes headshots of each member of his family on June 16th of every year. Starting in 1976 (just he and his wife) and continuing through 2007, it shows not only how his family grew, but how they aged as well.

Be sure to check out his three boys…each one has a year when they make the jump from looking like a “boy” to looking like a “man”. I also got a kick out of how much his wife’s hairstyle changed and how much his did not.

I guess as homeschoolers, this is something that we might want to think about…if our kids were in school, we could get the “school pictures” which would chronicle our kids as they grow. I think that there is something to be said about taking pictures in the same place each year…

I have accidentally done this a bit over the years:

Taken in 2003 (the boys were 6 and 3 years old)

Taken in 2005 (Boys were 8 and 5 years old)

Taken 2007 (Boys were 10 and 7 years old)

I think that I want to do something a bit more consciously…I will have to think on that. I had hoped to take pictures at the end of every summer on our dock, but so far have only managed to remember to do it for two years…

Taken 2004 (Boys were 7 and 4 years old)

Taken 2006 (Boys were 9 and 6 years old). Two years sure does make a difference! And for the sake of full disclosure, I forgot to take the picture at the end of the summer so ended up taking it when we were down for Christmas!

I also have to remember to try to take the picture from the same angle…I think it would have a better effect…

Hope that you all enjoyed my walk down memory lane…which seems very appropriate since Kyle turned 8 years old today! Happy Birthday to my little guy (who is not so little any more!)

When I read things like this, I really wish that Benjamin Franklin was still around to remind us that:

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

I find it very ironic that the same George Bush that said in his State of the Union speech “On matters of justice, we must trust in the wisdom of our founders and empower judges who understand that the Constitution means what it says.” seems to totally miss the whole idea of separation of powers and the idea that the president is not above the law.

Hmm….now there is a thought.

Meg always seems to find fun memes and I was looking for a good “Valentine’s Day” post, so figured that I would jump in.

1. What is his name? Jeffrey Charles

2. How long have you been together? 21 years (married 16 years, dated about 5) yes, we met young (I was 18, he was 21).

3. How long did you date? As mentioned above, about 5 years. Started dating at the end of my freshman year in college (1987)

4. How old is he? Will be 43 in just about a week

5. Who eats more? He does.

6. Who said I love you first? I think that he did…actually he said that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me first. He also was ready to start a family first. But he has always had the patience to wait for me.

7. Who’s Taller? He is…but I am 5′2″ so that is not saying much (he is 6′0″).

8. Who can sing better? I can. But that is not really saying much either.

9. Who is smarter? We each have our areas of expertise. I would not marry someone who wasn’t smart! (He had the right answer when I asked him though…he said that I was…so that shows you that he is pretty danged smart!)

10. Who does the laundry? We both do.

11. Who pays the bills? We have both done it at different times. He does them now (mostly through auto-bill pay to simplify things) which is fine with me.

12. Who sleeps on the right side? From which perspective? Looking at it while you are lying down, I do. And yes, it matters.
13. Who mows the lawn? A great guy that we found through neighbors. I used to mow it before the boys and I started spending our summers in Ocean City. I know, we have a rough life.

14. Who cooks dinner? Too complicated to explain.

15. Who drives? Definitely Jeff. I hate driving and he hates being a passenger. Works great.

16. Who is more stubborn? Most definitely me.

17. Who kissed who first? He most definitely kissed me first…after doing a heck of a lot of flirting…the tease…

18. Who asked who out first? We met when we each pledged the band sorority and fraternity at Va Tech. We got together at a party and did not have a “date” until a little while later. What he mostly remembers from that date was how slow I eat.

19. Who proposed? Jeff - we had dinner at The Farmhouse (just about the only local “fancy” restaurant) and then he took me back to the Va Tech duckpond to ask me.

20. Who has more friends? I do. I am the extrovert in the family.

21. Who is more sensitive? I am.

22. Who has more siblings? Neither…we each have 1 brother.

23. Who wears the pants? Definitely NOT going there…

I recently found a picture taken at the Marching Virginian’s Band Formal sometime after we had gotten engaged. I need to figure out how to scan it so I can post it. It is scary how young we look (not to mention that great “big” 80s hair thing that I had going).

I realized that I forgot to link to a post that I had up at Life Without School back in December, called To Label or Not to Label.

One of the issues that I have seen many homeschoolers wrestle with (and have wrestled with myself) is when and if you should have your child evaluated. How do you know if the problem that your child is having is a “real issue” or if it is just that he follows a different, normal-for-him development timetable? I know that I worried about having my child “labeled”, yet I also worried about “missing” something important.

This is an issue that many homeschoolers wrestle with. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that we do not have to depend on the “experts” to tell us what our child needs. But sometimes it helps to get an outside opinion. The trick is trusting and educating yourself enough to know which is which.

I have been in the Obama camp for awhile now and hope to pull together some of my favorite links and speeches soon.

In the meantime and on the eve of the Virginia primary, I thought that I would put out a few things for those who might still be undecided.

Governor Tim Kaine sent out an email that actually hits on my main reasons for supporting Barack:

Barack Obama has an excellence of character, intellect and judgment that America needs. His natural inclination is to bring people together to face the tough challenges that often divide us. This was his skill as a community organizer, attorney, state legislator and U.S. Senator. I have also been impressed by Barack’s calm demeanor in the face of triumph and challenge and his ability to pick great people to give him advice. His intelligence is confident and it allows him to adjust and change when presented with new data or important points of view that he may not have originally considered.

People are tired of the same old bickering, gridlock and division. They are tired of politics being defined as “who we’re afraid of and who we’re mad at.” Americans are an optimistic people who want to do great things and feel good about our country. Barack has the positive and inclusive spirit that is the best match for who we are as a people, and where we want to go. He has strong views, but he does not demean others who think differently. Instead, he treats people—even political opponents—with respect and looks for opportunities to build coalitions for change.

And you can also hear why you should support him in Barack’s own words from an event yesterday in Alexandria:

And if anyone needs yard signs, bumper stickers or buttons let me know! I might be able to rustle some up and would love to help spread the word!

Happy voting tomorrow and here’s keeping my fingers crossed. It is so exciting to finally be voting for a candidate rather than against one!

One of the advantages to living where we do is the wealth of museums, many of which offer homeschool classes.

One such class was the Geodesic Dome class that Jason took at the National Building Museum. This the second class that we took and it was a lot of fun. The class was for 5th-8th graders, so Kyle spent the day with his friends Sean and Ray. They ended up going to the Natural History Museum which, being a major animal-lover, Kyle simply ate up. (Did I mention we have tons of great museums around here?)

It was actually kind of fun to be one-on-one with Jason. We grabbed a bite to eat afterwards and drove through Chinatown.

The class was a lot of fun…the Building Museum has a great history. It was built in 1881 and served originally as the Pension Bureau. It was also used to host the many Inaugural Balls.

One of the things that always hits me when we visit Washington DC is that it was a good thing that many of the federal buildings were built a long time ago, because if they were being built today, I do not think that they would be any where near as grand.

I don’t think in this day and age you would be able to justify that kind of elaborateness for a federal building. The architecture of the buildings is just incredible. Even office buildings like the IRS (in my working days I used be an IT consultant and worked downtown in the IRS building) have grand exteriors, sweepingly wide hallways and tons of marble and pillars and gorgeous accents.

But I digress. The class started out with a bit of lecture about the history of the building as well as a discussion about different roof types and the pros and cons of each.

Some of the kids demonstrated a”dome ceiling”

Then came the fun part! Building a geodesic dome in the lobby of the museum.

The dome got higher…

And higher…

And definitely took a team effort.

Until finally…

The dome was complete!

A few more pushes to make sure it was stable (and to see how strong it became once all the pieces were in place)…

Finished up with a little bit of lecture (made more fun because it was in the dome). And we were done!

It definitely does not get more “hands on” than this. Jason really enjoyed himself as did I. I have even more pictures of the class up over at flickr if you want to check them out.

After the class we walked around a bit and I took more pictures of some neat buildings outside the museum. I hope to have time to work on them and get some up soon.

I was working on a blog post about a fun geodesic dome class at the National Building Museum that Jason took a week ago, and am finding that I want to take a bit more time with it to be able to include links and pictures and whatnot. But it is getting late and I really have been trying to be good about not staying up late. It makes a big difference in my day when I can get a good nights sleep.

So that post will have to wait. And you get this one instead. And I am off to bed…

Seems like video previews of upcoming books are the new trend in Child’s Lit. The latest is for the latest Percy Jackson book, The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 4) which comes out in May 2008.

This has been a series that the boys and I have both thoroughly enjoyed and we are looking forward to it.

This review is way over due…last spring, Sheila of Wands and Worlds contacted me and asked if I would like a review copy of The Dark Dreamweaver which was being released in paperback. It looked like fun, so I took her up on her offer. Jason and I started reading it (and after a brief break for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) finished it this summer. Unfortunately, writing the review has taken a bit longer (obviously!) and for that I apologize.

From the website:

Eleven-year-old David is suffering from nightmares. Over and over again, he dreams about a strange, bear-like man with black eyes. He’s not the only one; an epidemic of nightmares seems to have infected the Earth. David takes matters into his own hands and embarks on an adventure to Remin, a land powered by dreams. Aided by a caterpillar wizard, a jellyfish-man, two wise-cracking water serpents, and several other unusual characters, he sets out to find and confront the evil wizard who is causing the nightmares. The challenges that he encounters will require all of his intelligence, his courage, and most of all, his imagination.

On the whole, both Jason and I both enjoyed this book. I found the storyline very interesting and different. The characters were enjoyable and very unique. From an adult perspective, I thought that it could have used a bit more editing as it had some quirks that I found a bit distracting (compound sentences that repeated the same word being one). So I think that I will let this series be one that Jason can read on his own. He is curious where the characters will go in the next book.

Jason’s review:

The Dark Dreamweaver is about a boy, David who finds a caterpillar wizard, Houdin from Remin, the magical dream world. David must help save the dream world from a dark dreamweaver, hence the name The Dark Dreamweaver.

I liked the dream world of Remin and I liked the characters especially Sir Heads Alot who kept taking his heads off and replacing them with other heads. And just so that you know, they were little manikin heads so he did not have to kill anything or use real heads.

I would recommend this book to other kids.

and Jason

Kim over at Relaxed Homeschool is hosting Unschooling Voices #12.

Wherever you live in this fine, big country-or adjoining country- chances are pretty good that you will spend February 1st gazing out the window at some snow or rain. If that is the case, then you have found the perfect antidote to all of that boring shoveling or digging around for raincoats. Why not sit on your duff a little bit longer and read these many great posts by unschoolers about why they unschool, how they unschool, what types of things will get you verbally pummeled on unschooling listsserves, how to transition from schoolish ways to unschooly ones and so forth? There is no shortage of ideas here and lots of fun and images to keep you unaware of the vitamin D that has been gradually oozing out of your system since late November.

Enjoy!

Not June recently had a post, Should Boys Be Homeschooled and then followed it up today with additional comments on Girls Rule? I loved her pictures of her boys learning “in boy fashion” so I thought that I would add our own pics to the mix. Needless to say, I love homeschooling boys!

So Jason’s best friend Jack from Ocean City came up this afternoon to help celebrate a belated 11th birthday for Jason. They are having a blast.

So far they have done a little of everything…some legos, some pokemon, some Age of Empires, some sword fighting, some pizza, some cake, some air hockey, some laughing, some joking and a lot of fun.

Now the question is how to get them to go to sleep…