Sunday, August 05, 2007
A Mom's Gotta Do What a Mom's Gotta Do
This morning I wandered up to Young Son's room, ostensibly to retrieve his dirty laundry. Several hours later, I finally brought the laundry down to the basement and threw it in the washing machine.
I got sidetracked, waylaid by the maid that lives inside my body. Flotsam and jetsam builds up in Young Son's room until I simply can't stand it anymore. He is a collector from the word go, which doesn't help in keeping his room tidy. There's too much stuff to put in too little space - and he's got the biggest bedroom in the house. Understand that I was only going to neaten things up a bit, make sure the garbage was thrown away, sweep around the edges. Nothing too serious. Hah! Young Son's room was repainted a year or two ago, but we still hadn't hung any art on the walls. That changed today. He loves all things Asian, so we hung his giant Asian fan, several Asian calendars, his "Wisdom" brush painting picture, and his gentle orange Asian field hat. They look fabulous against the Zen Mist (light yellow-green) walls. There's another picture of brush painting in a black frame that we hung on his small red wall. Very cool.
In the middle of all the straightening and hanging, Daughter came into the room. She is keen on interior design and she thought the room might look better with the furniture rearranged. She drew up a sketchy floor plan and Young Son was agreeable, so the slight cleaning became a major moving project. By the time we were finished - well past lunchtime, according to my stomach - Young Son was amazed at the cleanliness and the space we had created. While I normally leave the kids' rooms in the care of my kids, sometimes a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.
By the way, Young Son did help with all of this. While I may have a crazy maid living inside me, I don't have "Doormat" printed on my forehead.
I got sidetracked, waylaid by the maid that lives inside my body. Flotsam and jetsam builds up in Young Son's room until I simply can't stand it anymore. He is a collector from the word go, which doesn't help in keeping his room tidy. There's too much stuff to put in too little space - and he's got the biggest bedroom in the house. Understand that I was only going to neaten things up a bit, make sure the garbage was thrown away, sweep around the edges. Nothing too serious. Hah! Young Son's room was repainted a year or two ago, but we still hadn't hung any art on the walls. That changed today. He loves all things Asian, so we hung his giant Asian fan, several Asian calendars, his "Wisdom" brush painting picture, and his gentle orange Asian field hat. They look fabulous against the Zen Mist (light yellow-green) walls. There's another picture of brush painting in a black frame that we hung on his small red wall. Very cool.
In the middle of all the straightening and hanging, Daughter came into the room. She is keen on interior design and she thought the room might look better with the furniture rearranged. She drew up a sketchy floor plan and Young Son was agreeable, so the slight cleaning became a major moving project. By the time we were finished - well past lunchtime, according to my stomach - Young Son was amazed at the cleanliness and the space we had created. While I normally leave the kids' rooms in the care of my kids, sometimes a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do.
By the way, Young Son did help with all of this. While I may have a crazy maid living inside me, I don't have "Doormat" printed on my forehead.
Labels: asian art, cleaning, daughter, interior design, kids, young son
Friday, July 27, 2007
Good Question
WCCO, one of the major Twin Cities television stations, has a segment with reporter Ben Tracy called "Good Question." Viewers are invited to email their good questions and Ben tries to find the answers, which are broadcast on the ten o'clock news. The kids and I are always thinking of good questions, but thus far hadn't submitted any . . . until today. I was calling someone long distance yesterday and wondered, why do we have to dial a "1" before long distance phone numbers? So, I submitted my question to Ben Tracy. We'll see if I get a response.
Labels: ben tracy, good question, kids, minnesota, news, telephone number, wcco
Monday, November 20, 2006
FtTP - TV + The Internet
I'm still making my way through the latest Wired Magazine and read an article on YouTube last night, plus one on the creation of lonelygirl15.
As the internet grows more and more social, I'm thinking that maybe these little personal screens we sit in front of are not big enough. Here's what happens in my house: "Mom, come here. Look at this video on YouTube." ... "Mom, come see these cute iPod covers online." ... "Mom, check out this game I'm playing. I've wracked up X number of gold pieces. Now I can buy that cloaking device I want." ... "Honey, check out what I wrote for StoryChat. Here's where the thread starts." I've seen as many as five kids huddled around the fifteen-inch screen I'm currently sitting at.
Juxtapose this with the current trend in personal home theaters wherein the homeowner has a screen large enough to be viewed across a football field. And the techie pundits claim television is dying? I think it's on the verge of a rebirth, but its genetics will come from the internet, pulling directly from success stories such as YouTube and lonelygirl15.
My internet provider and cable company are one in the same. How big a leap would it be to broadcast the internet on TV? My brother used to have WebTV, so it's been done before. Why not have a switching device on the TV that allows it to broadcast either cable or the internet? Why not create easy-to-hold controlling devices - cheap enough for everyone in the family to have - so that watching the internet & selecting a variety of sites can become an even bigger social phenomenon? Imagine the group collaborations, or perhaps the shopping parties, people can have if we wed the internet to a bigger screen.
Someone somewhere is surely already working on this . . . .
As the internet grows more and more social, I'm thinking that maybe these little personal screens we sit in front of are not big enough. Here's what happens in my house: "Mom, come here. Look at this video on YouTube." ... "Mom, come see these cute iPod covers online." ... "Mom, check out this game I'm playing. I've wracked up X number of gold pieces. Now I can buy that cloaking device I want." ... "Honey, check out what I wrote for StoryChat. Here's where the thread starts." I've seen as many as five kids huddled around the fifteen-inch screen I'm currently sitting at.
Juxtapose this with the current trend in personal home theaters wherein the homeowner has a screen large enough to be viewed across a football field. And the techie pundits claim television is dying? I think it's on the verge of a rebirth, but its genetics will come from the internet, pulling directly from success stories such as YouTube and lonelygirl15.
My internet provider and cable company are one in the same. How big a leap would it be to broadcast the internet on TV? My brother used to have WebTV, so it's been done before. Why not have a switching device on the TV that allows it to broadcast either cable or the internet? Why not create easy-to-hold controlling devices - cheap enough for everyone in the family to have - so that watching the internet & selecting a variety of sites can become an even bigger social phenomenon? Imagine the group collaborations, or perhaps the shopping parties, people can have if we wed the internet to a bigger screen.
Someone somewhere is surely already working on this . . . .
Labels: FtTP, husband, internet, kids, technology, tv, wired, youtube
Friday, November 10, 2006
Kids These Days
I'm going to sound like a grousey old person for a moment.
My youngest son came to me the other day - bored. Ho hum. He wants something interesting to do. He's tired of being entertained with the computer, the TV, the video game consoles. This is a kid who's fascinated with all sorts of stuff - Japanese culture, Norse myths, Green Day, just to name a few, so it's rather odd to hear that he's bored. I told him he needs a hobby and started running through the things I used to do as a kid, back in the "good old days," when we didn't have so much electronic distraction. My electronic distractions were record & cassette players, radio & TV. I was a teenager when MTV came on the air. I listened to Duran Duran (Duran-squared for die-hard fans) and Ultravox incessently.
Even with this incessant listening, I had time to draw, read, learn embroidery (not very well--ripping up the instruction book didn't help), teach myself how to make a marionette, read, crochet, plot astrology charts, read, take part in afterschool theater, go bike riding, hang with friends, make and collect bookmarks, and read. I messed with making "old" paper using tea bags and coffee grounds in the upstairs shower. I even burned the edges to give the paper a more distressed look. Then I used a sheet to write a poem in my fanciest handwriting. (I still have blank sheets of this paper, plus the one with the poem, which is called "The Tree Stands Alone.")
It dawned on me as I was relaying the story about making paper to my son that maybe he doesn't have enough hands-on, physical hobbies. There's something very satisfying about interacting with items in a physical way. How many kids these days, through their constant interaction with electronica, are missing this? How many will figure out that this is a fabulous solution for that doppy-headed feeling electronica induces? It's about balance.
I imagine that adults used to say that "kids these days" phrase about me and my cohorts when we were kids, so I'm sure kids these days will figure things out in their own time. But, we adults needn't be lax, either. We should be doing our part to introduce our children to a variety of activities - whatever it is we think they might be missing. I, for one, will be showing my son that old paper. I've also discovered an old calligraphy pen and some ink that he might like to experiment with. Maybe he can make that leather-bound book he so desires to have and overcome that boredom.
My youngest son came to me the other day - bored. Ho hum. He wants something interesting to do. He's tired of being entertained with the computer, the TV, the video game consoles. This is a kid who's fascinated with all sorts of stuff - Japanese culture, Norse myths, Green Day, just to name a few, so it's rather odd to hear that he's bored. I told him he needs a hobby and started running through the things I used to do as a kid, back in the "good old days," when we didn't have so much electronic distraction. My electronic distractions were record & cassette players, radio & TV. I was a teenager when MTV came on the air. I listened to Duran Duran (Duran-squared for die-hard fans) and Ultravox incessently.
Even with this incessant listening, I had time to draw, read, learn embroidery (not very well--ripping up the instruction book didn't help), teach myself how to make a marionette, read, crochet, plot astrology charts, read, take part in afterschool theater, go bike riding, hang with friends, make and collect bookmarks, and read. I messed with making "old" paper using tea bags and coffee grounds in the upstairs shower. I even burned the edges to give the paper a more distressed look. Then I used a sheet to write a poem in my fanciest handwriting. (I still have blank sheets of this paper, plus the one with the poem, which is called "The Tree Stands Alone.")
It dawned on me as I was relaying the story about making paper to my son that maybe he doesn't have enough hands-on, physical hobbies. There's something very satisfying about interacting with items in a physical way. How many kids these days, through their constant interaction with electronica, are missing this? How many will figure out that this is a fabulous solution for that doppy-headed feeling electronica induces? It's about balance.
I imagine that adults used to say that "kids these days" phrase about me and my cohorts when we were kids, so I'm sure kids these days will figure things out in their own time. But, we adults needn't be lax, either. We should be doing our part to introduce our children to a variety of activities - whatever it is we think they might be missing. I, for one, will be showing my son that old paper. I've also discovered an old calligraphy pen and some ink that he might like to experiment with. Maybe he can make that leather-bound book he so desires to have and overcome that boredom.
Labels: astrology, boredom, duran duran, green day, hobbies, kids, poetry, ultravox
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Music from Overseas
My kids and their friends (who else?) introduced me to these videos on YouTube today. One is from the Romanian group O-Zone with their song Dragostea Din Tei , also called Numa Numa. Have a listen and you'll know why it's called that. Very catchy. (The video link I've selected is a karaoke version, so you can see the words. If you can translate O-Zone's website, more power to you. My Romanian language skills are woefully lacking.)
The other is Ievan Polkka for Alex. Ievan Polkka translates to Eva's Polka and is a traditional Finnish story song. The singers in the video are remarkable. Happy listening!
The other is Ievan Polkka for Alex. Ievan Polkka translates to Eva's Polka and is a traditional Finnish story song. The singers in the video are remarkable. Happy listening!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Too Many Thoughts
The trouble with wanting to do a blog and not doing it right away, when the thought strikes, is that too many ideas back up and I don't know what to cover first. I have a notebook filling up with thoughts I want to post. Yesterday's post was not in my notebook and an utter fluke. Not really. I find so many fascinating, creative things that I want to comment on that the Brackenwood series was just one in a long line of cool stuff in this world.
I'm changing my tagline again. Yesterday it was "Better than Neezuls." Today it is "Thoughts on creativity, writing & life, commentary about other creative beings, and some ideas thrown in for good measure." Yes, it's wordy. I beseech the heavens to send me something cool and pithy, but I'm not going to push it. That's exactly when creativity leaves the room.
Today was a writing day for me. Mondays usually are. I'm off work, the kids are in school, the husband is studying for college. I clear my slate of household chores over the weekend so I can get right to work on Monday. If something happens that prevents me from writing, I practically vibrate in frustration. It's not a pretty sight. I've talked to another writer in my writers group who says the same thing. Writing is like breathing for us. Gotta do it. My brother, an IT security tech by profession, a musician by desire, told me about his need for three or four hours of uninterupted studio time. Time to get set up. Time to warm up. Time to get in the zone. Time to lose track of time and really get something accomplished. Sounds like a writer's life to me.
I finished a story today. Something that's been in the works for a month or so. It's called "As Above, Not So Below" and I envision it as an illustrated story. After seeing the Bitey of Brackenwood series, I can imagine who I'd like to have illustrate it. There's another artist, I can't quite recall his pen name, Grimsley I think, who illustrated a collection of four of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, whose style would work well with the story. The premise of "As Above, Not So Below" is nature's reclamation of the stuff we people make. I use pavement as my example in the story, but it happens with barns and bridges and tools and fabric.
I'm changing my tagline again. Yesterday it was "Better than Neezuls." Today it is "Thoughts on creativity, writing & life, commentary about other creative beings, and some ideas thrown in for good measure." Yes, it's wordy. I beseech the heavens to send me something cool and pithy, but I'm not going to push it. That's exactly when creativity leaves the room.
Today was a writing day for me. Mondays usually are. I'm off work, the kids are in school, the husband is studying for college. I clear my slate of household chores over the weekend so I can get right to work on Monday. If something happens that prevents me from writing, I practically vibrate in frustration. It's not a pretty sight. I've talked to another writer in my writers group who says the same thing. Writing is like breathing for us. Gotta do it. My brother, an IT security tech by profession, a musician by desire, told me about his need for three or four hours of uninterupted studio time. Time to get set up. Time to warm up. Time to get in the zone. Time to lose track of time and really get something accomplished. Sounds like a writer's life to me.
I finished a story today. Something that's been in the works for a month or so. It's called "As Above, Not So Below" and I envision it as an illustrated story. After seeing the Bitey of Brackenwood series, I can imagine who I'd like to have illustrate it. There's another artist, I can't quite recall his pen name, Grimsley I think, who illustrated a collection of four of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, whose style would work well with the story. The premise of "As Above, Not So Below" is nature's reclamation of the stuff we people make. I use pavement as my example in the story, but it happens with barns and bridges and tools and fabric.
Labels: bitey, blog, brother, creative, creativity, edgar allan poe, entropy, husband, idea, kids, story, tagline, writing
