par·a·dox noun \ˈper-ə-ˌdäks, ˈpa-rə-\ : something (such as a situation) that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible Ben went through a Phantom of the Opera phase a while back, after reading a kid version of the story at school, and made the mask, and … Continue reading Before These Moments Slip Away
Movies
Pre-Pubescent Insanity
I wish anyone had been able to explain these changes to me as a young person. I just thought I was crazy. It's all perfectly normal. It's absolutely completely normal to hit pre-puberty and feel like all is lost and you have no grip on reality.
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Monkeys Flinging Poop, Friends Visiting and other Poetic Adventures
"Not Cool, Robert Frost!" It has been all the rage on the internet, at Ted Talks, on the Late Night Circuit - all over the place. If you have not yet seen The Pep Talk, by Kid President, please, go see it now. I will wait. My kids and I have watched this so many … Continue reading Monkeys Flinging Poop, Friends Visiting and other Poetic Adventures
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Such a Golden, Ruffled Dreamworld; Such a Blue, Blue Sea!
It was a Poet-Philosopher's Dream - to watch Life of Pi tonight with my family. To watch the beautiful interpretation of delving into oneself to learn about the great unknowns, the enormous out there, the big questions, the tiger, the vegetarian, the sea and the sky and the storm and the quiet. Oh, such a … Continue reading Such a Golden, Ruffled Dreamworld; Such a Blue, Blue Sea!
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“Your Life is an Occasion: Rise to It!”
Suddenly, I'm not tired anymore. My last day at my job was a week and a half ago and I've been sick, and voiceless ever since my first day home. That was not the entrance into this new life of working from home that I was expecting. But it was a transition period. I needed … Continue reading “Your Life is an Occasion: Rise to It!”
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Would we have been Friends if we’d Met when we were Kids?
In a radio interview with movie director Robert Zemeckis, I learned about the origin of the movie, Back to the Future. Robert and his writing buddy were talking about their fathers, and their relationships with their fathers, and wondering if they had met their dads when they were kids, if they would have been friends. That … Continue reading Would we have been Friends if we’d Met when we were Kids?
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Day after Wild Things – The Effects
Ben is extra sweet and sensitive today. I am extra sweet and sensitive today. Bean is always sweet and sensitive. He is such a show-off. The rest of us are often all up in our own heads. We can be very poetic about how much we love one another and still get snappy the … Continue reading Day after Wild Things – The Effects
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Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are
"I'll eat you up, I love you so!" Where the Wild Things Are, based on the classic children's story by Maurice Sendak, was a treat for both children and adults in our house. For me, the mom, seeing into a world that was created by Max, was deeply moving and sad. He wanted to be … Continue reading Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are
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First Ever “Family Friendly Movie Review” – Linky
This is Super Exciting to be Hosting the First Ever Family Friendly Movie Reviews. I hope you'll add your link and then put a comment in the comment section to let us know you are participating: Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here! This preview will disappear when the widget is … Continue reading First Ever “Family Friendly Movie Review” – Linky
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Great and Simple Images that Open our Hearts
"There's a great — with the significant risk of sounding a bit pretentious — there's a great Camus quote, in which he says something like, I may paraphrase, but, 'A man's work is nothing more or less than the slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple … Continue reading Great and Simple Images that Open our Hearts
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Popcorn & Snuggle Time – Family Movie Reviews
What I would love to do is have a weekly Family Movie Night Review. Sunday would be a great day to check in, so that whether you do Friday Night Movie Night in your family, or Saturday Night Movie Night - either way, end of weekend, Sunday, we could share our reflections. We don't have … Continue reading Popcorn & Snuggle Time – Family Movie Reviews
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Canning Tomatoes, while being Lost in Paris most of the Day
Saturday Night we watched a movie with the boys called Flyboys, about American pilots flying for the French in WWI. It mostly focused on the flying, but there were moments that showed the devastation of war, the displaced families, the star-crossed lovers and the heartbreak of it. The boys missed most of that, but it … Continue reading Canning Tomatoes, while being Lost in Paris most of the Day
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“Mommy, Can I Dance in a Dumpster?”
This is not the scene from SYTYCD - it was just the best semi-related picture I could find!It has been a long week. One thing I love about when the days start getting shorter, and the kids aren't running around outside until almost nine o'clock at night, is that we can start doing Friday Night movie … Continue reading “Mommy, Can I Dance in a Dumpster?”
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I have boys. I will get used to bugs. I just will.
What was I thinking - teaching my kids about Bugs? Seriously, did I contemplate the repercussions of this wise move for even a moment? As we got started on the Classification of Animals section of What Your Third Grader Needs to Know, the part my kids got all wound up about was learning to tell bugs apart … Continue reading I have boys. I will get used to bugs. I just will.
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The Salt Flats
For a Friday Night Movie night not long ago, we watched, The World's Fastest Indian, the story of Burt Munro and his Indian Motorcycle and the story of him setting land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Ben has been obsessed with it ever since. Tonight, he built a miniature, including canning salt sprinkled … Continue reading The Salt Flats
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With Great Success and Aplomb
Bean being outfitted as a Knight for Jousting We are starting early at raising our boys to be Renaissance Men! A renaissance man or polymath is a person who is skilled in multiple fields or multiple disciplines, and who has a broad base of knowledge. The term renaissance man is largely based on the various … Continue reading With Great Success and Aplomb
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Ben’s First Film
We worked all day! First we watched a Behind the Scenes video on the Monsters, Inc. DVD that showed the filmmakers creating storyboards. Ben worked in his two-story playhouse (that was on property when we got here... we can't take credit for it being cool!), and turned it into his Film Studio.We did all the … Continue reading Ben’s First Film
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Screenplay for a Horror Movie
Last night, Ben had to crawl in bed with me - at nearly seven years old - and snuggle because his imagination was scaring him. Who knows where this is coming from? We don't watch scary shows or even that much TV. Sometimes on weekends, Ben will watch a car show with his dad. Yesterday, … Continue reading Screenplay for a Horror Movie
