Hero of The Week: Paul Newman

I know this seams like such an obvious and superficial choice for this weeks hero, but Paul Newman is one of the very few big celebrities that I could point to as an example of a great man in Hollywood. If I could choose one person to totally emulate it would be Paul Newman (Cary Grant is a close second). He was just so damn cool without even trying.

Of course there's all his philanthropic work too.

So this week, go pick up a copy of Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, or one of the other great movies he was in and tear into a pack of Newman-O's.

PM4K8

Bitter:Sweet





Santogold



The Mountain Goats

To Do List

An important tool to dealing with ADD is making lists. Unfortunately, the nature of ADD presents a multitude of roadblocks to the mere act of creating and using the list that you need to be anything other than a walking disaster. The production of a list of things I need to do, like fold laundry, vacuum, clean the kitchen, has many enemies in my world.

One is my stubbornness. "I know I need to get this stuff done. Why should I make a list?", I ask myself. I often ignore the obvious answer, "Because the list of things you know is the reset button on the old dusty Nintendo you call a brain. The cartridge is in there but its hard to beat the game if the screen constantly goes all staticy."

Another distraction from making a list is that having to make a list of obvious stuff feels a bit like I'm admitting defeat to my own stupidity. I can admit to my own stupidity. I just can't admit that it is winning.

Then there is the matter of remembering. If I remember to make a list I will probably forget everything that I need to put on it. Then I have to remember that I made a list and where that list is. Grocery lists are a nightmare for me. If I actually remember to make one, I get through about half of what we need before I get distracted and forget to finish it. Most of the time then the half-assed list sits on the counter while I have gotten both boys into the car and we are on the way. If I did managed to get the list into my pocket there is a very good chance it will stay there forgotten until I get home to realize that I forgot most everything on the list.

Ironically one of the big distractions to maintaining a list of what I need to do is the ongoing, constantly in flux, list in my head of what I want to do. This isn't me choosing to do what I want over what I need to do. This is random, most often unrealistic, ideas popping into my head punching the "you have an appointment at 10 am" part of my brain in the voice box. What are some of these synaptic bullies running around in my head right now?

• wanting to take Q to San Francisco to go to the new California Academy of Science.
• grandiose romantic date nights and/or gestures that I do not have the means nor the gumption to bring to fruition.
• getting St. Paul to build a park like this one.
  
• figuring out how to convince Google, the wonderful, thoughtful, and generous company that they are, to give this blogger one of the new Google phones for free.
• wanting to go to the Mixed Blood Theatre's Distracted.
• coming up with a post for the blog where I can mention a few totally unrelated things that I think are super cool.
  

For a good time call...

612-486-5800 and make dinner reservations at Nick and Eddie for your next date night. Nick and Eddie has very good food, a romantic ambiance, friendly waitstaff, and most importantly Absinthe.

After dinner, let the "little green fairy" guide you and your loved one over the bridge into the sculpture garden. Find an unoccupied spot of darkness (harder to find than you may think), duck into the shadows, and make-out like you were 16 again.

Movements

This weekend we moved Ozzi's crib out of our bedroom and into Q's room. Our "thinking" was that his insane, unrelenting screams at night were partly fueled by the fact that he could see us there in our bed. Maybe he wouldn't have the same expectations of Q to cave to his angry, sleep depriving persistance. Or maybe he just knew that he could make Q a screaming offer he couldn't refuse; to join him in braking Mama and Papa's wills, forcing us to move Ozzi to the comforts of our bed and K8's boob.

Our second attempt at getting Q to move out onto the field with his soccer coach and other kids was a success. Our first day of soccer did not go well. Q clung to my leg crying. We had to leave early. What a difference a week filled with kicking the ball around at home and at Mattocks Park, going to a big kid game, phone calls with Grandpa and Grandma, and promises of Izzy's Ice Cream at Java Train can make. He's certainly no Freddy Adu, but he went out there and gave it his easily distracted best. He may have even found himself a new girlfriend via a shared love for picking dandelions. Preschool Soccer could be one of the funniest things I've ever watched.

We've been moved to find food for Ozzi that is not only healthy but more adventurous in the flavor department than what we can find at Super Target or Mississippi Market. We found it at the Farmers Market. Sweet Cheeks Baby Food is all local and organic and Ozzi seems to love it...

especially the beets, though the movement in his diaper the next day is, well, Vikings Purple. If you're looking for baby food definitely check out Sweet Cheeks.

Hero of The Week: William Yuan

Another Hero of The Week found via GeekDad, 12-year-old William Yuan has developed a solar cell that uses both visible and UV light opening the door to more efficient and cheaper solar energy. 12 YEARS OLD!


If you know of someone that would be a good candidate for Hero of The Week please email me your suggestions at tapirspoop(at)gmail(dot)com.

PM4K8

Finally, a DATENIGHT!!

The Prodigal Son Returns

For the last few weeks I took a brake from blogging while I pondered whether I wanted to continue with it. My life and time on the internet seemed to be taking over more and more time that I should have been spending with the boys, K8, and my real life obligations. Then it turned out, during my little hiatus, I didn't actually get any more done. I just brooded and sulked instead of actively seeking out new adventures and discoveries for me to post about. So, I have returned... or the blog has returned... or, well, I'm not sure if the blog is my prodigal son or if I'm actually the one returning. Either way, here is a quick recap of what I didn't post over the last few weeks:

A good time was had at the lake. Q fell off the dock. K8, Grandpa Doug, and I went for an awesome helicopter ride.

From etc

Ozzi got a much needed haircut.

From etc

Q helped K8 and I celebrate 7 blissful years of marriage.

From etc

Q started preschool.

From etc

Ozzi continues the cycle of abuse at the hands of family furniture. Q still has a nice scar on his lip from his bout with the train table.

From etc

We discovered a farmer at the St. Paul Farmers Market with the best damn Honeycrisp Apples on the planet.

Siji Kids just launched their online store.

Pumpkin Girl's tiesie is featured on inhabitat.

Tiny Decor, a Minneapolis, child centered version of inhabitat, finally launched their online store.

Inhabitat launches Inhabitot, a New York version of Tiny Decor without the fantastic online store.

SAHD's now have a theme song

Children's Book Review: BIG PLANS by Bob Shea and Lane Smith

You know you've got a good kids' book when you can't read it with a baby sleeping in the next room. This book demands to be read ALOUD. Just like the books Lane Smith did with John Scieszka, this book is hilarious, imaginative, and fun for both child and adult.

excerpt:

"PENNSYLVANIA! Build a rocket ship!"
"IDAHO! Make some space suits using the latest potato technology!"
"MISSOURI! Cheer up! You're bringing me down."
"The rest of you, mill about! MILL ABOUT, I say!"

And how can you resist a book that includes a trip to the moon in a rocket built by the Amish?

Big Plans on amazon.

Please sir, may I have some more

I've mentioned FreeRice.com before but it just got even better. It has gone beyond the original vocab and added a whole new slew of subjects. Art, geography, math, chemistry, grammar, and second languages. Now I can train Q to be the dominant Geography Bee Champion he was born to be while helping provide rice to the hungry around the world.

The Office

If this is what a "real job" was like, I would totally want one.


The Great Office War from Runawaybox on Vimeo.

An unfair advantage

If the Minnesota State fair is a fair assessment of this fair state and nation, we're screwed! On the other hand, if the fair is an accurate sampling of the population at large, I am a much better looking individual, compared to the observed average, than my poor self-esteem allows me to believe. That same boost of confidence via the observed average fair-goer ends up being a bit of a trap for me. "I can totally have another deep fried candy bar. I have a long way to go before I look that bad."

Some other highlights of the fair:

Scoring an awesome Current t-shirt.

The best weather for the State Fair ever.

Crazy chickens.

Cooooooooookies!

Giant hunk of bacon on a stick. (to the right of the corndog)

The fine arts building. Awesome as always.

Our internet friend PumpkinGirl winning a crafty ribbon.

Watching Q go ape-shit watching the BMX and skateboard show. (ape-shitting not shown)

Some low points:

The couple that, at 9am, I could smell the booze on from 5 feet away in the livestock birthing building.

The 4H building slowly turning into the Nintendo Wii building. What the hell. 4H being dominated by video games is like the boy scouts being run by people that know nothing about outdoor survival.... oh wait.

We're screwed.

Hero of The Week: Stephen Hibbs...

because I don't know of anyone else that is willing to put this much trust in their 7 year-old.

When so many kids these day have no real knowledge of what their parents do for a living, Hibbs is letting his daughter get truly involved in the family business.



found via geekdad.

Back to school shopping season

As we so often do, the boys and I stopped into Siji Kids while out for a casual stroll through our hood. They seem to be ready for fall with a second mortgage worth of sweet looking duds for the kids. They have a boat load of new stuff from monster republic, one of my favorite kids labels. We talked to Kyle, co-owner with his wife Macy, who showed us a rockin' robot shirt with some old school Space Invaders on the back. This reminded me of Blik. Or at least the kick ass wall decals they have. I forgot the actual Blik name.

Kyle seemed pretty interested in the decals so I jogged my memory and found them online again. Then I went to sijikids.com to get a contact email to forward him a link to blik. While in search of an email address I discovered that Kyle's photo studio, Siji Studios, has one of the coolest and fun to just play with websites I've been to in a while. As if they're not busy enough, the Siji Empire also appears to includes graphic and web design. And to tie all this together, The Siji Blog.

PM4K8 (Pumping Music For K8)

Natalie Portman's Shaved Head (no kidding, that's the groups name) may be one of my new favorite things on this planet.


natalie portman's shaved head - sophisticated side ponytail from thatgo on Vimeo.

Nature Fort 08 August Edition

The fort then:

The fort now:

PBS Hip-Hop Battle

Bob da Builda' & That weird pumpkin dude

VS.

Bert & Ernizzle

DANGER: Loose gravel

You would think the total numbness over most of my knees would serve as a good reminder as to the dangers of loose gravel on streets when hitting it at a high rate of speed on a bicycle. Despite flying over my handle bars when I was 12 and grating the skin on both knees down to something that resembled raw ground beef, I have yet to learn this lesson. I blame the poor learning curve on almost 20 years time and the inherent forgettable nature of numbness.

In my defense, Minnehaha Park is pretty damn dark at 9:30 and a dark road of loose gravel looks pretty similar to a dark road of tarred and packed gravel. Of course, when I say gravel, I mean tiny shards of broken glass engineered to look like gravel. Trust me and my bloodied thumb, Minneapolis streets are paved with little evil shards of glass waiting to collect the flesh of those going foolishly fast through a busy park at night. St. Paul streets on the other hand, are all made of a space age polymer engineered by NASA that contours to your body as you sleep... and they're paved with gold.

Once again my amazing karma/luck/guardian angel/spirit animal/whatever saved me from myself. I have two little scratches that only required the removal of a few bits of rock when I got home. It could have been much worse. If the minivan didn't slam on the brakes as it came barreling around the corner to see me and my bike prone in the middle of the street I would probably be typing this with a stick held between my teeth.



Nice bike ride otherwise. Saw a family of 7 raccoons, a great sunset over Lake Nakomis, a red fox, a big bright full moon, and a plethora of little bats zigzagging through the evening sky.

88 mph and 1.21 Gigawatts

Today at Arty Pants Q met his future self. It appears Q will, in his early 20's, be employed at The Walker reading children's books to kids more interested in the ginormous freight elevator right next to the "story time" area.

Seriously this dude looked exactly like a grown up version of Q and had the same name.

Now where did I put the keys to the DeLorean.