They grow up so fast
Posted on 29. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in my life, parenting
My firstborn starts high school next week! It’s amazing how fast the time has flown, but she’s ready, so I’m ready too. I can’t imagine I’ll feel that way when she gets her learner’s permit to drive next summer.
I spent the whole morning at the welcome table at registration. I channelled my New Jersey upbringing and spoke really fast so the kids could get through the line more quickly. It was great to put faces with names, although I’ll never remember the 100’s of kids and dozens of parents I saw/met. (I think everyone should get a tax break for wearing a nametag within city limits.) I love volunteer jobs like this, as it’s sometimes the only way to meet the kids my kids go to school with.
Tomorrow we’ve got the New Family BBQ. I need to attend since I’m PTA president at the jr. high. I don’t know if I have to give a speech, but I’m looking forward to welcoming some new faces and hopefully getting them involved in the school.
Like dominoes falling…
Posted on 27. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites, tv
Yesterday my son spent part of the afternoon lining up dominoes in unique patterns and watching them fall. He has about 100 dominoes, so it kept him busy for awhile.
Afterwards, I looked up “domino” on YouTube to see if there were videos of domino creations there. Of course there were! The best ones combined dominoes, or domino-like objects, with Rube Goldberg-like systems. Our favorite was . It’s a 10-minute long Japanese video that includes a crane, explosions, underwater dominoes and more. It’s amazing.
We’ve seen some other great YouTube videos lately:
- shows the winner of “America’s Got Talent.” This 11-year-old’s performance literally brings me to tears.
- , also from “America’s Got Talent.” How do they do that?
- made me pine for the cat I will never have since my husband is allergic.
- shows an amazing rendition of Pachelbel’s Canon by a 22-year-old South Korean man. I read about it first in the NY Times.
I get by with a little help from my friends…
Posted on 26. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in articles
Here’s my favorite story of the day, from the LA Times.
Help! I See Somebody Help! Not Just Anybody
An American helped foil a burglary in northern Britain while watching a Beatles-related webcam over the Internet, police said.
The Dallas man was using a live camera link to look at Mathew Street, an area of Liverpool synonymous with the Beatles and home to the Cavern Club, where the band regularly played.
He saw intruders apparently breaking into a sporting goods store and called Merseyside police. Officers were dispatched and arrested three suspects.
I recently heard that our local firetowers aren’t manned anymore since they have remote cameras on them. I did a little googling and found that there are webcams in the forest! Here’s a link to one at Mt. Wilson above Pasadena.
Maybe gas station mini-marts should do this…and banks…
Scrubbing movies
Posted on 24. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in movies, religion
Sometimes I wish I could delete certain gratuitous scenes from movies so that I’d feel comfortable having my kids watch them. For example, I’d love to have them watch “Pay it Forward,” but there’s an unnecessary scene that I don’t want them to see.
That’s why CleanFlicks was founded. It would “scrub” a movie by editing out what they deemed to be objectionable scenes, and then sell it to the public along with an original copy of the movie. That way, a movie studio wouldn’t be able to claim that it lost business, and in fact would make money from someone who wouldn’t have otherwise paid for their movie.
I understand, and wish it were legal. However, it’s compromising someone else’s “art,” and could be confusing to the public. So, I agree with the courts when they decided it was illegal. Here’s how Christianity Today (yes, this is the second article of theirs in two days that I cite!) puts it.
No, you’re thieves, the Directors Guild of America responded, and sued for copyright infringement. In early July, the directors won. CleanFlicks does “irreparable injury to the creative artistic expression in the copyrighted movies,” U.S. District Judge Richard P. Matsch wrote. “Their business is illegitimate.”
I guess the best way to encourage studios to put out family-friendly movies is to write letters and mostly to not view objectionable ones. Frankly, even when I don’t take my kids to a movie, I don’t want to see gratuitous scenes. At least I can use the internet (e.g., ScreenIt.com) to check a movie out before I pay money or take time to see it.
“Democratic Senator Barack Obama gets it mostly right.”
Posted on 23. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, books, politics, religion
That’s the subtitle of the current Christianity Today editorial, “God’s Will in the Public Square.” It applauds Obama when he says,
“To say that men and women should not inject their ‘personal morality’ into public policy debates is a practical absurdity; our law is by definition a codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.”
However, it takes issue with Obama when he says,
“I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or [invoke] God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”
Here’s how they say it. Note that overall, they’re pleased that he’s trying to reconcile his faith with his public service:
“What Lincoln, King, and others did, however, was use a variety of reasons—some religious, some pragmatic—to motivate social change. Thus, listeners with or without a religious bent could find some reason to buy into the cause. America remains a profoundly religious nation and far and away a Judeo-Christian nation. It may not be enough to use only religious reasoning, but as the rise of the Religious Right has demonstrated, it is not enough to cast political arguments in the language of power and rights either. The American people want not only political, but also moral leadership—leadership that understands some issues transcend political pragmatism.
Still, Obama deserves credit for saying what few politicians on the Left dare say. In fact, his speech just might persuade reluctant politicians to check their fears and prejudices. In a subsequent blog entry, Zorn admitted that he might have a blind spot on the subject and “that blind spot … threatens to leave me, and others, out of the conversation Obama wants to start.”
Thanks to leaders like King and Lincoln, this conversation won’t start from scratch.”
This reminds me of a passage we heard in Rob Bell’s on the way up to church camp last week. He spoke about how many things that are good and truthful in the world aren’t found in the Bible, even though they’re created by God. For example, the laughter of a baby, or how psychologists can figure out how humans behave. I think that my views on various political issues are based not only on what I think God would want, but on basic truths about how to express love for fellow humans and how human behavior works. In other words, I think my views are logical also.
Anyway, I think Barack Obama is terrific, and can’t wait to vote for him for President someday…
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Poisonous spider outside window?
Posted on 22. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in my life
When we returned from vacation a few days ago, my son noticed that a rather large and scary-looking spider had spun a web right outside his window. We got out our spider books and went on the internet, and identified it most likely as a Brown Recluse Spider, which is very poisonous. However, we’re not experts, and internet research shows that Brown Recluse Spiders don’t even live in California. Maybe it was another type of recluse spider.
The next morning it was gone, but then it appeared with a totally new web last night. I took the picture to the right. The violin shape on the abdomen looked like that on a black widow. (Which we’ve also had.)
I wasn’t going to kill it, but a friend who lives in the mountains advised me that they’re so poisonous that I should. So, I used ant spray, and that didn’t do any good, and then resorted to a stick to get it down and heavy clogs to stomp on it.
Now my mom can visit again. She hates spiders. Hopefully she won’t read this blog entry.
I felt guilty about killing it until I read this:
Because Brown Recluses like to live in heated homes, bites occur year round. And in just hours, a bite from the highly venomous Brown Recluse spider can create blisters and cause tissue damage to both people and pets within hours after the initial bite. Necrosis (death of cells) sets in quickly and the result is a very painful and gruesome “flesh-rotting” wound. Bites from Brown Recluse spiders can cause amputations, severe pain and in rare cases, death.
I still feel guilty if it wasn’t a poisonous spider. Anyone with spider expertise out there?
Shark retrieved from water by children
Posted on 19. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in environment
Here’s a picture of the shark that kids from church camp removed from the water in Santa Cruz the other day:
It was only about 2′ long, and I think it was a spiny dogfish. There was an extremely large school of small fish (sardines? anchovies?) near shore, so the shark must have been attracted to them. Unfortunately, the pelicans were attracted to the shark, and mercilessly attacked it. By the time the kids found the shark, it was missing the right side of its cheek and was nearly dead.
Church camp
Posted on 17. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in my life, religion, travel
We’re wrapping up a weeklong vacation in Northern California. The main purpose of the trip was to attend the La Canada Presbyterian Church all-church camp at Mission Springs in Scott’s Valley, but we visited friends and relatives on the way there and back. Here are some highlights:
- Visiting my sister and her family in Marin County, where they have decided to live even though they’d promised they’d return to La Canada. My daughter fell in love with the area, and is now saying she might prefer Berkeley over Columbia, if she has the choice. I’m for that – better to be near than far!
- Visiting my friend Sandra and her family in Burlingame. Her husband, Dan, just started as rabbi at the local temple there. I wish we all lived closer!
- Biking at Stanford. It’s by far the best way to see the campus.
As for church camp, we enjoyed hearing Old Testament lessons by speaker Dr. Peter Whitelock from the Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church, followed by New Testament reactions from his father-in-law, the former pastor of our church, Gary Demarest. My favorite one was the last one, where they talked about Joseph and forgiveness.
We all enjoyed relaxing, getting to know people from the church better, and having fun hanging out in Santa Cruz and around the camp. It’s no wonder it’s the 5th year in a row we’ve gone!
ShakespeaRe-Told
Posted on 16. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in tv
Nothing brings Shakespeare’s plays alive more than placing them in a modern setting. The BBC series ShakespeaRe-Told does an excellent job of staying true to the Bard’s stories while being completely entertaining. We watched “Much Ado About Nothing” recently, and were riveted by this tale set in a contemporary British newsroom. “Macbeth” is waiting for us on Tivo, and we’re looking forward to seeing “The Taming of the Shrew”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “A Waste of Shame” in the next few weeks. We can’t wait!
Air travel
Posted on 11. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in books, international, politics, travel
IMHO, if someone wants to blow up an airline, eventually they’ll figure out how to do it. Are we doing enough thinking outside the box to figure out how to stop them from wanting to do it? Of course, I’m no politician, and I’m very tolerant. Still, it seems like we aren’t doing enough to address the root causes of discontent.
No books on airplanes? Ouch!
Cautiously optimistic about getting a bookstore in La Canada
Posted on 09. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in books, politics, shopping
I sat through over three hours of the 5.5 hour city council meeting on Monday night so that I could make my plea to them to be flexible regarding design plans for the Town Center project so that we’d get a bookstore there. The council acted judiciously, stating that they all would love to see a bookstore there, but would still like certain requirements met. The compromise they hammered out in the end will hopefully make the bookstore (Borders? Barnes & Noble?) happy.
You can read more about it in today’s Foothill Leader. Here’s an excerpt:
Mattix couldn’t guarantee a patio at the corner, but said he will work with the prospective retailer to see if the floor level can be lowered. The council tweaked a building-B condition to allow the lowering of the floor level, a two-story option, or an entrance, which if not on Foothill, is at least close to it, subject to approval of the City Council and the Design Review Commission.
Kiva – loans that change lives
Posted on 08. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in international
I think microlending is a terrific idea. The concept is that if you can lend someone a small, targeted amount of money so that they can start or enhance their own business, that little bit of money can go a long way in changing peoples’ lives.
Even so, I always figured that microlending would be done by people with lots of money. That was until I heard of Kiva. If you’ve got at least $25.00 and a Paypal account, you too can be a microlender. Just donate to one of the third-world entrepreneurs they profile on the site, and if all goes well they’ll pay you back your money. Then, you can donate again!
I loaned some money to Angel Peralta (see picture) so that he can expand his retail food business in Ecuador. What I donated helped complete the loan he needed. Now I can’t wait to hear how he does! It’s probably a human trait to want to know something about the people you give to. But, it’s still important to give to causes even when you don’t know all the personal stories.
Matioli visit
Posted on 06. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in food, international, my life, religion
We had a wonderful time this afternoon hosting a barbeque / swim party for the Matioli family. They’re from Brazil, but are missionaries in Kenya that our church sponsors. Our daughter emailed their younger son last year from church camp because he was one of the only kids on the missionary list that’s the same age as her. This was the first time the Matioli boys have ever visited the U.S., so we thought it was fitting that we should get to know the family better.
Ricardo and Diamantina, the parents, had amazing stories to tell about their ministry in Kenya. The boys told us stories about their school there, their classmates and the exotic (to us) animals they see on a regular basis. The reason the family is visiting now is that the older son is entering college here in the U.S. – and he hasn’t even seen the campus yet! We loved getting to know the family better, and feel privileged that they visited.
Thank goodness we went the extra step and made our (amazing, IMHO) marinated chicken and steak! Ricardo said it reminded him of Brazil, and that he’d been afraid that an American barbeque would just include burgers and sausages. Besides our two families, about 10 other church members showed up. It was great to get to know them better too!
I think I’m brave to include the picture above. My legs are so pale they practically glow! :shock:
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream
Posted on 04. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in my life
(That’s a quote from Edgar Allen Poe.)
Why do we try to interpret dreams? I think it’s because they’re often as intense as they are unusual, and seem like they must come from somewhere.
Last night I dreamed that I was in our old Pasadena house with all five of my children’s living grandparents. I went to the kitchen sink, and a giant owl and its child showed up at the kitchen window. I touched the window near the owls’ beaks, and they touched the window back. Then, the adult owl flew away, and then came back again. Of course, I kept calling for others to come see, but they didn’t make it in time. Finally, the adult owl flew away. I kept tapping on the glass for the child owl, but all of a sudden it jumped back, turned into a flat surface, and disintegrated.
Then my alarm went off, so that’s why I remember it so well.
Of course, when I looked up “owl in dreams” on Google, there were over 1.8 million entries. (My 6 am workout buddies were amazed that I did this before I saw them this morning!) The results are conflicting:
The owl is the archetype of wisdom in many cultures’ parables. The owl is often a sign of longevity, as well as knowledge. This knowledge pertains especially to the future and the mysteries of the night. You may be seeking such knowledge or be receiving an oracle hinting that you may be in possession of such knowledge.
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As per Indian thought, to see or hear an owl in your dreams portends ill luck and is considered inauspicious. If you see such a dream you are warned to be very careful. You could fall ill or lose money. Your reputation could also suffer and you could land up in an embarrassing situation. Should you see a dead owl, it is a good omen as it means that you have narrowly missed the ill fate which was coming your way.
As per western thought, to hear the hooting of an owl warns you of an unexpected death. If you see such a dream you are warned to take appropriate precautions. Some bad tidings concerning loved ones far away could follow such a dream. Seeing a dead owl denotes a narrow escape from illness or death. To see an owl in your dreams warns you of enemies who are working secretly to malign your character.
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To see an owl in your dream, symbolizes wisdom, insight and virtue. The owl is also synonymous with death and darkness.
To hear the hoot of an owl, denotes disappointments and forewarns that death creeps closely in the wake of joy and health.
To see a dead owl, signifies a narrow escape from desperate illness and death. Death in this sense may also represent a symbolic death, as in an important transition in life.
So, either I’m wise, or unlucky, or someone’s about to die, or someone will narrowly escape death. Or, none of the above, if dreams don’t mean anything.
There was a fascinating article in yesterday’s Wall St. Journal by Jeffrey Zaslow entitled, “For Many Bereaved Families, ‘Visits’ From Late Loved Ones Provide Solace.” Many people cherish visits from deceased loved ones in their dreams, and sometimes those “visits” even help the living to resolve certain issues. I can sympathize, as dreams can seem very real.
I feel sorry for people that don’t remember their dreams. It’s as if they’re missing out on part of their lives.
The world is a good place
Posted on 03. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in cool websites
The last two posts were depressing, so it’s appropriate that today’s is more optimistic. Former college classmate Daryn Kagan is leaving CNN on September 1st to devote herself to launching darynkagan.com, a website devoted to telling inspirational stories. The site is scheduled to launch on Nov. 13th.
Here’s what the AP story has to say,
“I think there is a void in the straight news business now, (which is) lacking a certain spirituality,” Kagan told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I think most people live in a space where they are looking for meaning in life and good in the world and that is not necessarily reflected in straight news coverage right now.”
Kagan said the site is not affiliated with any religious group, although she certainly welcomes people who are religious to visit. She expects to include audio, video and print reports.
The content will be similar to that featured in “Your Spirit,” a regular segment on her CNN program. Within the past month, for example, she has profiled Daniel Gottlieb, a quadriplegic who wrote letters to his autistic grandson collected in the book “Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lesson on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life.” She also interviewed a laid-off flight attendant who walks the streets of Atlanta twirling a baton.
Good for her! She’s absolutely right – there’s a lot of really good stuff going on in the world. This reminds me of The Week’s feature called, “It wasn’t all bad.” I’m looking forward to checking in on her site in a few months. Go, Daryn!
It’s a sad day for puppies
Posted on 02. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in articles, international
I won’t share the following news story with my sweet terrier: China kills 50,000 dogs in campaign against rabies. I guess everything in China is big, so it shouldn’t surprise me that they’d kill so many dogs to get rid of rabies. Why not give the dogs shots to prevent it?
Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then beat the animals to death, the reports said.
Owners were offered 63 cents per animal to kill their own dogs before the teams were sent in, they said.
The killings were widely discussed on the Internet, with both legal scholars and animal rights activists criticizing them as crude and cold-blooded. The World Health Organization said more emphasis needed to be placed on rabies prevention.
The official newspaper Legal Daily blasted the killings as an ”extraordinarily crude, cold-blooded and lazy way for the government to deal with epidemic disease.”
I can’t even imagine…
Rock-a-bye baby, on the freeway…
Posted on 02. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in travel
Scary story of the day, from the Pasadena Star News, about a poll of 1,048 drivers by the Pew Research Center:
6 percent said they had fallen asleep while driving in the past year
Amazing that they’re still alive to say that…hope I don’t have to share the road with any of them!
A health plan each month keeps the doctor away
Posted on 01. Aug, 2006 by kchristieh in health, my life
My husband’s office started offering healthcare benefits today, so I figured it was time to find a good in-network doctor and schedule a physical. The top several doctors recommended to me turned out to have “concierge” plans now: you pay approximately $150 a month per person above insurance, and the doctor gives you extra-long visits, housecalls, 24/7 service, etc. Sounds great, but we can’t afford that. If I were a doctor, I’d probably want to do that too, as it would allow me to practice medicine the way that serves patients best.
Hopefully I’ll find some wonderful, less entrepreneurial doctor…
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