The end of an era: Curves La Canada shuts down

Posted on 30. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in health, local news, my life

It’s only fitting that today is our first rainy day in what seems like five years, for today is the last day I’ll ever work out at the Curves in La Canada. The landlord raised the rent and is trying to sell the building, anticipating a hefty profit since the new Sport Chalet project down the street is making the property that much more desirable.

That’s no consolation for we loyal Curves women, however. I’ve worked out at Curves 692 times since I joined four years ago, and I credit Curves with helping me to stay at a healthy weight and keep my blood pressure and cholesterol in the healthy range. I am a faithful 6 am attendee, and love knowing that the friends I’ve made will be there to talk to and catch up with. I swear that the best way to find out what’s going on in a community is to work out at the local Curves and start yakking!

Here are a few pictures I took this morning. I promised everyone I’d leave them out of the pictures.

So on Monday, it’s off to the Montrose Curves. At least I won’t have to battle the New Moon Restaurant parking there at 6 am.

“Atonement” movie better than book

Posted on 29. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in books, movies

I had the privilege of seeing a screening of the new movie “Atonement” at the Universal Studios lot last night. I wasn’t optimistic: the book had bored me to tears. I was pleasantly surprised: it turned out to be a very good movie, one I recommend.

Here’s the basic plot, without giving too much away:

An adolescent girl sees her sister in a compromising sexual position with the gardener’s son. She assumes he’s evil. When her cousin is sexually assaulted, the adolescent says she saw the gardener’s son leaving the scene. He’s arrested, and his life and that of the girl’s sister are forever changed.

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy do a fine job acting, as does Saoirse Ronan, the girl who plays young Briony. Vanessa Redgrave is the perfect incarnation of Briony as a mature woman.

Maybe the reason I didn’t like the book was that I listened to it on iTunes, and it was over 14 hours long. It’s much better as a two-hour movie.

As much as I liked it, I wouldn’t recommend it for teens. Cecilia and Robbie consummate their love within minutes of discovering that their attraction is mutual. It’s crucial to the plot, but definitely not the message most teens should see.

Boohoo! I can’t attend the Obama event in LA

Posted on 29. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, politics

I’m officially bummed: I can’t attend the Barack Obama event at the Universal Amphitheatre on December 10th because I need to drive my kids to/from various sports/church events. If you attend, please let me know how it is!

Considering I was probably in preschool or early elementary school, it’s amazing how much I remember about the Nixon campaign event my sister and I attended with our mom back in NJ long ago. I remember hearing “Proud Mary” being sung (could it have really been Creedence Clearwater Revival?) and some comedian whose punch line was “Who ate the baloney?” Random!

Anyway, it’d be cool to see the next president in person. :)

My new favorite font

Posted on 29. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in art, cool websites, work

Some people drink to relax, others do yoga. I prefer to download free fonts. I found a few really cool ones last night, including Ecolier, Cool Dots, and Cicle. But my favorite new one is Petit Latin. I downloaded them all from UrbanFonts.com.

Now to classify them in my FastFontSet program. I’ve set up different categories such as serif, sans serif, cursive, art deco, all caps, etc., so that when I’m looking for a certain type of font it’s easy to find.

I can’t wait to use Petit Latin for something!

I’m not kidding: Chuck Norris endorses Mike Huckabee

Posted on 28. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in politics, videos

“My plan to secure the border? Two words: Chuck Norris.”
- Mike Huckabee, in his most recent ad

I’m not kidding you. Chuck Norris has endorsed Mike Huckabee for President, and the two made a campaign ad together. Here’s :

“Chuck Norris doesn’t endorse. He tells America how it’s gonna be.”

I can’t wait to share this with my kids. They’re obsessed with Chuck Norris jokes.

Maybe Huckabee should endorse Norris? One Christmas many years ago, my then-step-uncle, Wayne LaPierre, told us he was helping manage the political careers of Charlton Heston and (my current Governor) Arnold Schwarzenegger. We laughed out loud. Guess Wayne got the last laugh.

That said, I’m still more impressed that .

Read this before you go to the mall

Posted on 27. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in international, religion, shopping

Here’s the perfect gift for the person who has everything: the gift of giving. Honor someone’s altruistic side by giving to a charity in their name.

Here are some of my favorite options:

• La Canada Presbyterian Church Christmas Market: OK, I’m biased: I’m a member, and I created this portion of their website. You can pay by PayPal for such gifts as school supply kits for Mexican orphans ($5), immunizations for Ugandan children ($30 for 10 kids), employing an inner-city teen ($40/week), freezing weather survival kit for a homeless person ($20) and much, much more. You can print out a colorful gift card from the site to fill out and send to the person you’re honoring.
• Heifer International
• World Vision
• Charity Gift Certificates.org: You purchase the gift certificate, and the person you “give” it to gets to choose which of the 75 charities the money should be allocated to.
• Kiva: “Loans that change lives.” You can give someone a Kiva gift certificate, and they can choose who to loan to.

We’ve found gifts such as these to be especially perfect for grandparents. We send them a nice photo calendar of the kids each year, and supplement it with a gift to one of the Christmas Market items that matches their interests. My stepsister is getting the Charity Gift Certificates for my kids this year, and I’m looking forward to having them choose who to allocate the money to.

We’re so blessed in the U.S., and should always remember to share our blessings.

The customer support message you never want to see

Posted on 27. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, technical

My Calendar Creator 10 program won’t read my calendar file anymore. It’s got over 13 years worth of data on it. Of course, this happened right after I backed up my computer, and it won’t read the backup version either. I tried everything I could think of and that they suggested online, to no avail. I decided to wait until this morning to call customer service.

Unfortunately, here’s the message that popped up when I looked for their phone number:

Web Support only…

To keep pace with current technologies and programs, technical support for the title you have selected is provided exclusively online. Technician-assisted telephone and e-mail support are no longer available.

Gee, thanks, Broderbund. Remind me never to purchase your software again.
So today I became a Google Calendar user. It’s easy to use and share, but it doesn’t print out as nicely as Calendar Creator did. Each even is only allowed one line, instead of wrapping to the next line. Maybe they’ll fix that in the next version.

The uninsured driver who totalled my first car

Posted on 26. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, politics

My first car, a 1973 Toyota Corolla, was a tank. Unfortunately, it couldn’t stand the pressure of running into the pickup truck that suddenly crossed my path on Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles back in 1986.

There was no dispute: it was the other driver’s fault. He freely admitted it. Unfortunately, he was an illegal immigrant without auto insurance. Thankfully, a few weeks before the accident, I’d decided to pay an extra $19 a year for uninsured motorist collision coverage, so I got some money for the car.

If someone’s going to drive, I want them to be a good driver. Unfortunately, if you aren’t able to get your driver’s license, you’re not likely to enroll in driving school and take the steps necessary to become a good driver. Frankly, I don’t care if someone’s an illegal immigrant or not: if they’re going to drive anyway, we should make sure they do all they can to do it right.

A recent Freakonomics blog posting points out that because the driver’s license exam is so impossible to pass in South Africa, many people decide to drive without ever taking the test. As a result, the roads in South Africa have five times the mortality rate per mile than the U.S. has, which is exactly the opposite of the intended effect of their ridiculously strict driver’s tests.

Yes, in an ideal world we’d all be legal and follow all the rules. But if some people are going to break them, we should do what we can to make sure their decision doesn’t hurt the rest of society. Hopefully the states that deny illegal immigrants licenses won’t see more unsafe drivers on the road.

Should churches own sports domes or housing developments?

Posted on 25. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in religion

Watch out, local businesspeople: your local church may be your next competitor. According to Friday’s NYTimes article, Megachurches Add Local Economy to Their Mission, some U.S. megachurches are starting for-profit business ventures.

An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of just over 1,300 of these giant churches shows that their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and a limousine service.

At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some financially formidable congregations are adding residential developments to their holdings. In one such elaborate project, LifeBridge Christian Church, near Longmont, Colo., plans a 313-acre development of upscale homes, retail and office space, a sports arena, housing for the elderly and church buildings.

Unlike a missionary, who may help indigenous people start their own businesses as a way to be self-sufficient, these businesses are designed to make money for the church. Assuming that the church pays appropriate taxes for their for-profit arms, it sounds like a good way for a church to raise money to do other good works besides just hitting up their members. (See the Wall Street Journal article The Backlash Against Tithing for why that’s getting tougher.)

And yet, something about this rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it’s because it dilutes the mission of the church, or because it makes the church look like an exclusive investment club. Or perhaps it seems like a risky use of funds, but then again many churches by definition are a risky use of funds. It also bugs me that the church would compete against locals whom they seek to serve.

Any thoughts? Does this trend sound ok to you?

Here’s the best gift for your wife or girlfriend

Posted on 24. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in books, feminism, shopping

Not sure what to get that special lady in your life? Here’s the perfect gift.
I promise you, the book to the right is rated strictly PG. I picked it up at a local store yesterday, and found it to be so hilarious that I purchased it for an upcoming holiday gift exchange.

Here’s what you guys need to do:

2. Read and study the book
3. Attach a handwritten note to the book that says something like,
   “Honey, I read this book cover to cover, and I’ll do my best to satisfy all your fantasies.”
4. Wrap the gift with pretty pink wrapping paper
5. Attach a chocolate to the outside

She’ll be putty in your hands!

Here are what a few of the inner spreads look like:

I’ve heard that studies have found that what many women want most is time. If that’s the case, then the men in this book totally understand that. You can too…

I missed the modeling gene

Posted on 24. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

Back in 1991, when haute couture for me meant Pea in the Pod (sounds better if I say “Pois dans la cosse”) maternity wear, my cousin Diana was modeling de la Renta, Mizrahi, Karan, Gucci, and many other designer’s outfits on the pages of Town & Country magazine.

Last night my sister found a few of the magazines Diana was in when she sorted through some of the boxes I’ve been storing for her in my garage. I scanned the pictures before she brought the magazines back up north with her.

Here’s Diana on the cover of the Feb., 1991 issue of Town & Country:

When I look at her, I see nothing in common with how I look. Somehow I missed any tall genes we have running through our family gene pool, or maybe she got them all from her mother.

You can see more photos here. It’s amazing how much fashions have changed.

Snow day in Pasadena, California

Posted on 24. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in local news, my life

It was probably around 70 degrees when the kids and I turned the corner to see a man making snow on Holly Ave. in Old Town Pasadena today.

I was surprised when my teens begged to return this evening when there would be 30 tons of snow, reindeer, and a train. I happily obliged, and we included a friend and my niece on our adventure.

The snow was pretty packed and slushy by the time we arrived, but people were loving it.

The reindeer didn’t really want to be there, but we appreciated seeing them. They stuck to the center of their enclosure, where people couldn’t touch them.

We didn’t want to wait in line to ride the train, but many others did.

My son and my niece were so enthusiastic that they made a tiny little snowman. After we left, several families brought their little children over to see it. It made it all worthwhile.

Happy Holidays from Southern California!

Yes, we found the best turkey recipe

Posted on 22. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in food, my life

I usually don’t like turkey. I find it to be dry and bland. I’ve concluded that it’s because most turkey isn’t cooked according to Elise.com’s Mom’s Roast Turkey recipe. I followed this recipe today to cook our turkey, and everyone agreed that it was fabulous. It was mostly cooked breast side down, so it was nice and tender. The lemon, carrots and celery, along with the olive oil and salt and pepper rub, pumped it full of flavor. And the whole house smelled wonderful because of the rosemary sprigs that we’d picked from our own yard. Of course, it helped that our fresh turkey was free range, organic, hormone-free, etc. My mom joked that it was like having a hippie meal, with using our rosemary and having such a natural turkey. But of course, this was more like what our ancestors would have had only a few generations back.

Anyway, this turkey recipe was so good I may even make turkey for Christmas!

Best turkey recipe? We’ll see.

Posted on 22. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in food, my life

I typed

best turkey recipe

into Google and the first result was Elise.com’s Mom’s Roast Turkey recipe. The secret is it’s cooked breast side down. I’m going to start making it in a few hours. I’ll let you know how it goes!

How to bond with your kids (and parents!) on holidays

Posted on 22. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life, parenting, shopping

Once we’ve chowed down and cleared the table a bit, we plan on breaking out the Table Topics cards again. This has become a holiday tradition in our house, and people of all ages love it.

We use . The 4″ lucite cube contains a gold mine of 160 questions that just about anyone can answer, such as:

• If you could have one of your wishes granted, what would it be?
• Which TV show would you pick to live inside for a week?
• What would you like to be doing in 10 years?
• How does a person become courageous?
• What do you most admire about your parents? (ooh! Love that one!)

You can play these with people of any age. A few years ago, we even played with my 4-year-old niece, who revealed to us that she’d rather be a cheerleader than get A’s. (!!) You’ll have fun learning lots of new stuff about people you love, and become even closer in the process.

It’s a little pricey at $25.00, but I promise you it’s well worth it. We’ve even played it in the car, on long road trips. It’s much better than having the kids listen to iPods and zone out in the back seat.

Would you pay 20 cents to avoid lost suitcases? Also, tips for avoiding lost luggage.

Posted on 21. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in technical, travel

Despite technological advances, airlines are losing more bags than ever. Today’s NYTimes says that,

One in every 138 checked bags was lost during the first nine months of this year, compared with one in 155 bags a year earlier.

Ouch. If my family of four each carries one bag on a vacation, we’ve got a one in 35 chance that one of our bags will be lost.

There are many things that airlines could do to improve this situation, but one of the easiest would be to implement radio frequency id tags.

American and other domestic airlines have resisted investing in radio frequency identification tags, which are used by big retailers to track inventory and are far more accurate. The tags cost about 20 cents each so it would cost $50,000 a day for American’s 250,000 bags, plus the cost of hardware to read them at each step in the process.

“We don’t lose enough bags to justify that investment,” said Mark Mitchell, American’s managing director of customer experience.

This is the very definition of penny-wise and pound-foolish. I’m sure that every traveler in the world would gladly pay an extra 20 cents for an airline ticket to pay for this. And imagine how much time it would save the airlines from having to track down bags and deliver them to passengers, and how much money it would save in compensating passengers for lost bags.

Very short-sighted, IMHO.

Here are some tips from the NYTimes and About.com to help avoid having your luggage get lost or to get it back quickly if it is:

• Arrive early.
• Put id with your cellphone number on it on your bag and in your bag.
• Include a copy of your tickets and itinerary in the bag.
• Tear off old tags from your bag.
• Carry on whatever you can, but especially important items such as medications and electronic devices.
• Color code your bag with tape, ribbon, etc.
• Lock your bag with a TSA-approved lock.*
• Make sure you’ve given your cellphone to the airline when you get your ticket.
• Know what kind of bag you have.
• Be waiting for your bag.
• If your bag is lost, go to the airline counter. Then, if you can, visit the airport again later to press them to look for it.
• Send presents ahead if possible. In fact, ship your luggage, if you can afford it.
• Try to have receipts for items in your bag. (My note: I wonder if it would help to take a photo of what you’re packing before you load the bag?)

Check out this great Squidoo page for more tips on how to avoid losing your luggage.
* I don’t lock my bag, but once my bag was returned to me with someone else’s lock on it. At 11 pm at night, I was using all the tools in our toolbox to break the darn thing!

Happy traveling!

Obama trumps Clinton

Posted on 21. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in politics

From today’s NYTimes Maureen Dowd column:

At a news conference, the Illinois senator was asked about Hillary Clinton’s attack on his qualifications. Making an economic speech in Knoxville, Iowa, earlier that day, the New York senator had touted her own know-how, saying that “there is one job we can’t afford on-the-job training for — that’s the job of our next president.” Her aides confirmed that she was referring to Obama.

Pressed to respond, Obama offered a zinger feathered with amused disdain: “My understanding was that she wasn’t Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, so I don’t know exactly what experiences she’s claiming.”

Everybody laughed, including Obama.

I’ve always wondered why people say he’s inexperienced. He’s a Senator, just like Clinton. Dowd’s column goes on to compare more of their experiences, and finds many of Hillary’s to be less than impressive or effective.

Go, Obama!

Kids say the darndest things

Posted on 20. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in art, books

Last night I said, “Kids say the darndest things!” to my teenage son. He looked at me funny, so I ran to the next room and found our tattered copy of the by the same name. It was published in 1957, and contains the best quips from his “House Party” show, where kids between 3 and 11 would answer questions Mr. Linkletter would ask. My son got a kick out of reading it. Here are a few of our favorite quotes:

Give me a haircut like my dad’s – with a hole on top.

When will you reach maturity?
I’ll never get there.
Why not?
Too far away.
What makes you think it’s too far away?
Well, isn’t it an island in the South Pacific?

My folks met in a night club.
What was your father doing?
He was a bartender.
And your mother?
She was attending a PTA meeting.

Do you have a hobby?
I try to get my weekly allowance without doing any work.

One of the best features of the book is that it includes illustrations by Charles Schulz. Yes, THAT Charles Schulz! These drawings include adults and early Snoopy lookalikes. Here are the excerpts that go along with some of my favorite illustrations:

One of the most appealing remarks I’ve heard come out of a child was spoken by a four year old who was expressing the dearest wish of her heart:
I’d like to be king of the United States and have two special maids: The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

My dad won’t even come home week-ends if there’s any work waiting there.

I once had a dog, but he got married and moved to Oakland.

Comedian Laraine Newman was a guest on the show when she was just four years old. Read her hilarious account here.

When my kids were little, we took up my friend Sally’s suggestion and created The Funny Book. It chronicles some of the sillier things my kids said before they became jaded and self-conscious. I’d include some here, but my kids would not be pleased…

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Why isn’t there a simulated driver’s ed video game for teens?

Posted on 19. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in education, my life

Why isn’t there a simulated driving video game for teens? Between all the flight simulators and racing video games out there, you’d think that someone would take the time to develop a program that would depict realistic driving situations for new drivers.

Perhaps such a program exists, but if so, it’s either not readily available or not publicized well.

I’d enthusiastically pay for a program that would remind a driver to slow down when children are playing in the street, come to a complete stop, go the speed limit, etc. It shouldn’t be a thrill game, so there shouldn’t be lots of blood and gore when things go wrong. If there is, kids would be tempted to make things go bad. Instead, the emphasis should be on a realistic driving situation.

Of course, this wouldn’t take the place of actual behind-the-wheel experience. But it would probably make that experience much more productive.

Too bad this will probably be developed after I’ve already taught my kids to drive.

Save the ta-tas

Posted on 18. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in health

We saw the bumper sticker to the right on the way to school last week. I had to explain to the child I was in the car with what “ta-tas” were.

I threatened to get the sticker for my car, and was quickly disabused of that notion. Not a surprise, since my kids didn’t even like the Snoopy sticker on my car. At least they’re ok with the Obama sticker.

Maybe I’ll order a “Ta-Tas Forever” removable tatoo instead. Or maybe I’ll get one for my mom, who’s a breast cancer survivor. (Mom, if you’re reading this, what do you think?)

Bring our troops home from Iran! (Remember, you heard it here second!)

Posted on 18. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in politics

My kids are buzzing about this poster from the December, 2007 issue of MAD Magazine:

Vertigo: much better as a movie than as an illness

Posted on 17. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in health, my life

When I awoke yesterday morning, I was slightly dizzy. I figured it was because I’d had a dream I was on a boat. As it turns out, I probably had the boat dream because I was dizzy.

I was fine the rest of the day, but started feeling tired and dizzy around 8:30 pm, so I went to bed early. I wound up developing a bad case of vertigo, along with an “aura” on the left side of my body, so I went to the Huntington Hospital ER as soon as I felt it was ok to wake my husband up.

They ran lots of tests, including a CAT scan, and thankfully, all turned out normal. They think I have labyrinthitis, and put me on meclizine. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but I do need to visit my primary care physican on Monday. Wikipedia says one of the causes can be an allergy. I had an allergic reaction to the hors-d’oeuvres at the conference I attended on Wednesday night, and took some Claritin for it. I just took some more.

The guy who had a CAT scan before me had been shot in the leg. The blood was seeping through his bandage. He was in a lot of pain even though he was pretty drugged up. The CAT scan technician said he sees about one shooting a week. He said he also sees lots of pedestrians come through that have been hit by cars. It reminded me of when I had my tonsils out as a kid, and shared the children’s ward with a boy who’d lost 3/4 of his limbs by playing on a train track. Nothing like seeing someone in worse shape to appreciate your own good fortune.

I was at the ER for about five hours. Thank goodness I remembered to bring my iPod.

It wouldn’t surprise me if I have a genetic predisposition for vertigo. My mom has had it, and my paternal grandmother had it for a few years before she died. Yuk. I shouldn’t complain, as there are far worse things I could have a gene for.

Note: The illustration above comes from Art Linkletter’s 1957 book, Kids Say the Darnedest Things. It was drawn by Charles Schulz. It perfectly captures what vertigo felt like to me.

Hear the new Steven Curtis Chapman song that brought me to tears

Posted on 16. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in music

Here I was, finally getting some work done, when a song played on my iTunes that actually brought me to tears. Steven Curtis Chapman’s new song, Cinderella, really touched a nerve. It’s about a father who teaches his daughter to dance before big events. Here are some of the lyrics:

She says he’s a nice guy and I’d be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, “Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancin’
Oh please, Daddy, please!”

Chorus:
So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
‘Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don’t want to miss even one song
‘Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she’ll be gone

She will be gone

It’s an upbeat song in 3/4 time, so it really makes you feel like you’re dancing.

Note to self: perfect song for (many years hence) the father-daughter dance at my daughter’s wedding. Yeesh – I’m crying even as I write that sentence!!

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Is this the real life, is this just fantasy? Kids in virtual worlds

Posted on 15. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in education, non-profits, parenting, startling statistics, technical

Have you ever heard of Teen Second Life? I hadn’t until last night, when I attended the Common Sense Media conference “What are Kids Learning in Virtual Worlds? The Wonders and the Worries” at USC. Teen Second Life is one of several virtual world websites aimed at kids that were discussed by a distinguished panel of guests.

I mentioned the conference at Parent Ed. today, and some of the parents had never heard of a virtual world. A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment where your 2-D or 3-D character, or avatar, interacts with other avatars, earns points or currency, purchases goods, works, plays, and does many other things you can do in the real world.

After the panel spoke, I viewed demonstrations of many of the sites. Here are my biggest takeaways from this event:

• The sites for the youngest kids, Club Penguin and Webkinz, are safe for kids. However, parents should be concerned about the lack of educational value, the emphasis on consumerism, and the amount of time kids want to spend on them.
• Private school kids that live far from each other sometimes “meet” online to play games together.
• Whyville was the most educational site I saw. It makes kids solve science problems to get points.
• Girls greatly outnumber boys in the kid virtual worlds.
• Teen Second Life appears to be safe. I loved the virtual Holocaust Museum that a group of teens created for the site.
• Although Teen Second Life is several years old, it only has about 2,000 members, whereas (adult) Second Life has millions. I was also told that most of the Teen Second Life members also have Second Life accounts.
• The title bar at the top of Teen Second Life says “Second Life.” When I asked how a parent could be sure that their kid was on Teen Second Life, and not Second Life for adults, I was told that the parent should see if there’s cursing going on. “So, a parent needs to look over the child’s shoulder for several minutes to wait and see this?” Au contraire: the cursing is so rampant that you should be able to tell right away. The young man who was answering my questions said that, by his estimation, about 95% of what goes on in Second Life is sexual.

So what’s a parent to do?

• If your child wants to use one of these kid sites, decide whether you think it’s like a “gateway drug.” If they get used to spending time on a youth virtual world site, will they want to move up to a more adult site when they get older? Is that ok with you?
• If you decide to consider letting them on a youth virtual world site, learn as much about that site as possible. Play along with your child so you can see how he or she is interacting online.
• Make sure to teach your child about internet safety, and about what to do about online bullying.
• Consider restricting how much time your child can spend online.
• Most of all, KEEP THE COMPUTER IN A PUBLIC SPACE!!!

My teens said they don’t know anyone who is active in a virtual world. The parents of teens I polled today didn’t either, so I’m guessing it’s not a big issue for teens in our community. I think we wear the teens out with schoolwork and other activities, and the ones who aren’t worn out from those are choosing to do other things. On the other hand, my impression is that many of the younger girls are spending lots of time on Webkinz. Perhaps parents of tweens are the ones who should really get educated on this issue.
Virtual worlds are here to stay, and aren’t all bad. Responsible parents should make sure to know what they’re about before they’re asked to make a snap decision.

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My imaginary cross-country tour

Posted on 14. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in my life

I had a friend in high school who had stock in McDonald’s. He had a mission to visit every McDonald’s in America. I had another friend whose family would visit a different major league ballpark on each family vacation. I’ve even heard about an ambitious soul who is attempting to visit every Starbucks in the world.

I think it would be fun to visit every state and have a meal with a college classmate in each city I visit. I just finished writing my longest class correspondent column ever – 1,753 words, covering 41 classmates. I’m so bummed that I didn’t get to meet all of these neat people when I was in college, but that wasn’t likely with 1,600 people in our class. I meet new people at each reunion, but it would be great to connect with even more.

Now to cross my fingers that the magazine doesn’t ding me for going over the 1,500 word limit!

Santa doesn’t visit our house

Posted on 13. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in cool websites, my life, things that bug me

When I was little, my parents made such a big deal out of Santa Claus that he even visited our house one December afternoon. My sister and I had no idea that it was a relative in the Santa suit. We were true believers, and did everything we could to make sure we didn’t get coal in our stockings.

Our fantasy world came crashing down when Janet Whittaker, our friend from down the street, told us that Santa didn’t exist. I was devastated. To my parents’ credit, they fessed up, and from then on Santa became a game, with the rule being “if you don’t believe, you won’t receive.”

When I became a parent, I swore that I wouldn’t lie to my kids about Santa. I want them to be able to trust what I say, and think that if I lie about some things, why should they believe the others? So Santa doesn’t visit our house, unless my sister (who clearly wasn’t as traumatized by Miss Whittaker as I was) and her kids are visiting at Christmas. The Easter Bunny doesn’t visit here either. We pretend the Tooth Fairy visits, but the kids have known all along she’s a ruse. They just pretend so they can get money. I think we’re done paying off baby teeth at this point anyway.

It’s much easier not to lie about Santa. I don’t have to create elaborate stories to explain how he travels so fast and knows so much. I don’t need to keep track of which wrapping paper comes from him, or give him cookies on Christmas Eve. My kids have been instructed never to wreck the customs of other families by telling their kids the truth. Another benefit is that my kids know who to thank for their gifts, so I think it’s helped them appreciate their parents more at Christmas.

If I did maintain the Santa lie, I’d probably use the letter-writing services of “Become Santa For Your Kids.” You can fill out a form with your kids accomplishments, wishlist and a p.s. They’ll use it to send your child a customized letter from Santa postmarked “North Pole.” It costs $9.95.

I think this has potential. You could send one to your beau, telling them where to look for a ring. Or you could send one to an employee, hinting at a bonus. The possibilities are endless…

New resource for parents to evaluate video games launches

Posted on 12. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in parenting, shopping

When I was at eToys, we got to meet the ESRB folks who were launching the new videogame rating system. Thank goodness for that system, as the E, T, and M ratings have proven to be a critical factor in whether I let my son buy certain videogames. Often it’s the only information we have to go on, as most videogame reviews sound more like sales pitches, designed to entice you to purchase the game.

Today a great new videogame review site launched: What They Play. According to the LA Times,

Its reviews are matter-of-fact, cutting straight to the potentially edgy portions of games. In “BioShock,” a post-apocalyptic science-fiction action game that some critics have called “amazing,” the site unflinchingly describes a scene where players can either save a possessed young girl or “harvest” her for more points, leaving her dead.

The San Francisco company has plans to start websites taking a similar approach to movies, music and books.

It sounds like a Screenit.com for videogames. BTW, you can also see excellent videogame reviews at CommonSenseMedia.

I can’t wait until they review books. You can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it’s teen chick-lit.

Thanks, Sara, for making sure I saw this article!

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Screenit backs me up in forbidding R-rated movie

Posted on 11. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in movies, parenting

It’s a tough season for teen boys who want to go to the movies. Either you’re stuck with juvenile movies like Bee Movie, or stupid movies like Fred Claus. So it’s not surprising that you’d want to see an R-rated movie like American Gangster.

That’s what happened at our house last night. I didn’t want our 14-year-old to see American Gangster, but my husband wasn’t convinced, and was starting to give me grief for not being flexible. Thank goodness for Screenit.com. It’s backed me up many times before, and it came through again. All I had to do was log in, find American Gangster, and read the following details about the movie out loud to my husband:

• We see a bare-breasted woman serving up heroin to a man at Frank’s place
• We see various nude or scantily clad women sorting drugs at Frank’s place (we hear they are nude so that they can’t steal any of the product).

The site described many more scenes, but these two were enough for my husband to agree that this movie wasn’t appropriate for our son. Frankly, I don’t think it sounds appropriate for anyone.

There are many movie review sites for parents out there, but I’ve found Screenit.com to consistently cover more movies with more detailed reviews than any of the others. I’m a paid subscriber, and figure that I’m happy to pay to support their mission.

Here are some of the best parent movie review sites I’ve found. Many are free, and when I visited them to get their links for this post, I was impressed by how good many have become. Please let me know if you have any others to recommend!

• Screenit.com
• Kids-in-Mind
• Common Sense Media
• Plugged in Online
• Parent Previews
• Dove Foundation

Some of these sites review other media, such as video games, music or books. You can learn more by clicking here.

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I saw human sacrifice coming, so I delivered the brownies

Posted on 10. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in movies

So much for my relaxing evening of tv viewing last night. We decided to watch the recording of Apocalypto we have on our Tivo. The first part was fine, with bucolic scenes of peaceful Mayan villagers. Then, the invaders came, and things got so ugly that my heart raced and I had to leave. I decided it was the right time to deliver brownies to my daughter and her friends, who were hanging out a few blocks away.

Each time I peeked my head back in, the movie was still too horrific for me. My husband had no problem with it. Perhaps he really does have Mayan blood running in his veins. Once I read the Wikipedia entry, I figured out where I could start watching again. The portions I watched gave me a good sense of what life was like in that time and place.

It was ok that I didn’t watch the whole movie. It allowed me to work on the school directory.

Here are some movies that we’ve seen recently that I DO recommend:

• The Illusionist
  A cabinetmaker’s son falls in love with a duchess but is forbidden to see her. He moves away, becomes a renowned magician, and makes contact with her again. It’s a much better movie than this description would suggest, trust me.
• Wordplay
  We almost didn’t watch this documentary about rabid crossword puzzlers. We’ve seen so many movies about spelling bees and other contests that we figured this was more of the same. In a way it was, but it was still quite intriguing. The people all tried so hard, and seemed so sincere. Will Shortz’s passion for his craft is infectious!
• Legally Blonde: The Musical
  I have a sophisticated friend who went to NYC last spring and saw four or five Broadway shows in one week. (!) She saw the hottest shows, but she said that Legally Blonde was by far the best. It aired recently on MTV, and she’s right: it’s got great music, witty lyrics, and terrific acting. I usually don’t like to see things twice, but even after seeing it on television I’d love to see it in person.

Enjoy!

How to make perfect brownies

Posted on 09. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in food

You need:

• Ghirardelli brownie mix

We used our pan for the first time this afternoon, and the brownies came out absolutely perfect. They have just the right balance of crispy edges and soft interiors, and were easy to remove from the pan when we used the little spatula that came with it. Forget making brownies from scratch: we’ve had people ask for our recipe when we’ve used this mix.

Too bad there’s not a Brownie Diet.

Here’s what the pan looks like. Within a few hours, these brownies will be history.