It's been almost 5 days without internet and half of my neighborhood is still without power! In the eight years we've lived in the Pacific Northwest, I've never seen such outages! But... internet is back and I love technology :) So, here's the latest cute antics and I'll get caught up!
Cute antics:
• "I knew that pacifically that basketball he liked." (That would be "especially". He was telling me how he traded a ball on the recess playground because he knew which one was another kid's favorite.)
• singing "Oh my god, I'm the best kid around in the universe!" (He's been playing with semicolons and actually used one correctly. When I told him how long it took me to understand semicolons, this was his response.)
• responding to my statement that "I've got to figure out what's going on with this body of mine."[headaches] with, "Oh, it's being hazardous to your health."
• requesting, "Would you gore me with a fang or a sword or a scimitar or a knife?" (?!?!?!)
• during one of his rare bored comments, I suggested the Persians against the Greeks with legos and then I wondered if he had Greeks yet and he said, "Nope, I'm still at the Mycaneans."
• trying to close the hot dog package with tape
Decked out in three shirts, three pants, and three pairs of socks so he could independently explore the beginning snows of the blizzard
When I was doing a brief scan of Facebook, I saw this note from Yaron Brook:
I almost never recommend books on this page. I am not a literary expert and don't like making recommendations about things I am not expert in. However, I just finished a book that is so anti-modern, that is - it is so benevolent, pro-mind, pro-business, pro-life, with not a hint of cynicism -- that I have to recommend it to you. If you want to experience the world as it should be (and to some extent once was) then read this novel:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003WUYPYW/ref=docs-os-doi_0
I was intrigued and reserved the audio version from the library. After finishing, I recommended it to my dad (an avid reader) and an engineering friend and then... I just kept thinking about all the endearing aspects of this novel and all the different ways it enchanted me.
I love the way the main character treats children with respect and kindness. He is so tentative and yet he approaches his niece with the honesty, warmth, and a genuine view of her as worthy of being engaged rationally. There's a moment early on when he shares some frightening news in what I find an absolutely perfect parenting moment. I was all grins and just so impressed with finding this moment in literature.
I love that the main character is an independent thinker without coming across as a conspicuous hero. He evaluates his brother's actions for himself and decides what he thinks. He acknowledges feelings like fear and thinks for himself about what his next best action should be. He shows attention to detail, doing things right, because he has evaluated the results of both choices. Finally, he chooses his career in a manner that disregards consideration of norms- he focuses on what will make him most happy and achieves that feat.
I love that this book shows a man doing something totally out of his norm, but totally consistent with his character, and... succeeding. The main character is not the only one that does this; the simple captain also achieves this kind of success. Dr. Brook is correct that this book presents a gloriously benevolent story. I think the lesson is there for everyone that such successes are possible to virtuous people pursuing rational values. Again, this book does not present virtuous people as super heroes, but regular people thinking independently and making their own choices.
So, I recommend this book to everyone. I'd never heard of the author (Nevil Shute) before, but I just finished listened to another one of his novels (A Town Like Alice) which was also delightful (but not as much so as Trustee from the Toolroom). Here's to literature that nurtures us to introspect, learn, and grow.
It's so pretty outside with snow borders on everything, but not much depth. For the last two days, we've had these brief blizzards where we get an inch and then it melts and then six hours later the same thing happens. It's perfect weather for snuggling at home, but it's not that cold if you need to go out :)
• after another homework session where he was cranky and showing poor effort, I commented "It seems like you're saying to yourself. 'I hate this. I want it to be over.' and then you take it out on me and neither of us are happy about that." I suggested he say to himself, "I'm going to do this once and I'm going to do it well." He paused, looked thoughtful, and then drawled, "Ya… I think that you have a point there."
• requesting, "Would you let me squirm!"
• when poked in the stomach for being obnoxious, he giggled "I like that insult!"
• reading about farrows in a tree while reading the Greek myths, Cameron interrupted and said, "Farrows! We're not anywhere near Egypt!"
• rough housing so his shirt got pulled up, he declared "You are really making me very exposed."
• laughing exuberantly when I pointed out Orpheus and Cerberus are like fluffy and the trio in Harry Potter (He thought Rowling had made it up completely and felt like he was now in on the secret.)
• bargaining with himself, "Three pieces of cheese and a touch of rosemary for M&Ms."
[Mom watching has he has a teaspoon of some spice and downs it. Tosses the spoon in the sink and bolts to gulp a cup of water.]
"It scalded my throat."
[I showed him rosemary is greenish, but he insisted it was red… like on eggs. Andrew used to put paprika on eggs. I showed him the paprika and then identified his "rosemary" as… cayenne pepper.]
• sending a thank you note for lego figurines he wrote, "The lego people got turned into the persian Empire. Except one who was turned into the best French lieutenant."
• placing his fingers like on the home row and tapping his ribs, "I'm typing on them."
Enjoying a gluten-free chocolate volcano cake… he had me cut it into quarters and heat each piece so he could relish it in sections.
As we've finally reached Athens in our ancient history class, I've begun reading the Greek Myths to my kiddo again. He wasn't ready before, but he certainly is now and we're making it a nightly snuggle time :)
• my friend Jason has put together a cool website connecting those people who want to read Ayn Rand books but can't afford it with those willing to donate: http://freeobjectivistbooks.org/
• commenting when I didn't get the dice roll I wanted, "Your wish has been ignored."
• sticking the thermometer in his belly button and saying, "My tummy is 97.6."
• asking, "Did the Jews invent scissors?" (I'm not sure where that came from. We were opening a box. He added, "Maybe they could use scimitars." We clearly missed some connection there.)
• after hearing that Jews were in every country he said, "Oh, Jews are conquering everybody." (Um, we had a little history review about Jewish history not involving much conquering.)
• proposing that we go to visit my parents and spend the night in the Ritz. [I grabbed the iPhone to let him consider the use of his funds and found the Ritz in San Francisco cost 400-700 dollars per night.] We had fun imagining and Cameron finally concluded, "We're not going to the Ritz."
• contemplating the Middle East situation he got this exasperated voice and declared, "Alright, let's take the founding fathers and substitute them for these presidents Teddy and Truman and Wilson and.. " (He went on and was quite clear that the founding fathers needed to live at least a thousand years so he'd be happier with history.)
• finishing shuffling the cards and calling me from the kitchen, "Parcheesi has descended from interest. 'Hit the Deck' has ascended to interest. Will your excellency come over please?"
Before Parcheesi "descended from interest"
Arriving to listen to Greek myths wearing a pajama top on his top and a different pajama top on his bottom… I'm used to the backwards and inside out clothing, but this was different.
Fever, chills, nausea, aches and pains... poor kid! He's spent hours listening to me read and watching Daddy play Zelda.
He had me smiling when he said he wanted a time changer so he could go forwards from being sick to when he's healed. Then he pondered and figured that he would be sick some time in the future and he'd be closer to that. I love this kid's jiffy thinking :) Other cute antics:
• his parents' dinner prep conversation amused him… Andrew was preparing the turkey when some pieces escaped and he laughed,
"Run away organs!"
Then this giant bag of bay leaves got away from me and I laughed, "Cowabunga bay leaves!"
• getting "so excited I went in the wrong door" when he was looking for the bathroom before opening presents Christmas morning
• responding to his father's purchase of an $80 glorified box with, "Dad, you're…." (The tone of voice clearly said "crazy" and Andrew and I were laughing so hard we cried. Apparently, Andrew was testing the TapBuy product and didn't get around to canceling the order in time.)
Here's the latest cute antics, fun links, and I'll append the holiday letter which got out late via regular mail (so will make for some slightly belated holiday cheer)! Here's to a glorious holiday season :)
Cute antics:
• pulling off his socks at his athlete mentor's house and starting a conversation about socks, "I don't like socks. Socks are obnoxious. [pause for thought] They are criminals." (Well, he's his father's son! Socks almost never last more than a few minutes after either of them get home.)
• an old picture of him playing naked in the back yard came up on my screen saver and he commented, "I'm naked? I'm not always naked."
• responding to the interaction of Andrew teasing me and me saying Hey! with a mumbled, "Improper!" (After laughing because we thought he was referring to the teasing, we laughed again when we found out he was referring to me saying "Hey". Whenever a person says, "Hey", Flat Stanley's mom always says, "Hay is for horses.")
• coining a new term for small, "minisceropic". (It's a combination of minuscule and microscopic.)
• trying to wheedle my phone out of my hands by saying, "Could I help you play some toy bot [one of his favorite iPhone games]. I could advise you. You wouldn't be completely helpless." (Subtle, so subtle!)
• spraying air freshener on his chest so he smelled like a citrus grove
• listening to me read these directions:
"How are these words alike? Add more. hand, hands, foot, feet…"
and continuing, "cardiovascular system, cardiovascular systems!"
(This kid is just too darn delightful :) )
• getting a little confused about a particular term… he came back from playing with his athlete mentor and told me he'd seen a "silent duck" (That would be slam dunk.)
• telling me he turned a tree stump into lemonade. (It took me a minute, but they had turned this stump into a balance beam and he saw this as like when Junie B. Jones turns lemons into lemonade i.e. making something pleasant from something not.)
• bringing home a diagram about different holidays with this written under Los Pasosts "baby Gzos" and this written under Hanukah "no babes".
• "It's about time you be cautious!" (Talking to good guy on the screen who was in danger in a Hitchcock film.)
• "Mt Rushmore is not supposed to be a jungle gym!" (Commenting on the movie North by Northwest)
As I was doing my monthly review of my Getting Things Done System, I came across my roll of "nurturing-self". This is what I have written:
Purpose: I want to enjoy the happiness of living my life. I will nuture myself when challenges and stresses make that more difficult.
Vision: I will always have that reserve of inner strength that comes from self esteem and self valuing. I will care and nuture my self as one of my primary responsibilties as a human being. I will enjoy gathering together ideas for ways to achieve this goal and anticipating the pleasures to come. I will take time to pay attention to my emotions. I will address any feelings of stress, anger, guilt, or sadness promptly so they have no time to grow into big problems. I will focus my attention on cherishing the joys of living.
This is the time of year when keeping everything organized is especially helpful to me. I love that I'm always clear that I'm using my limited time as a match for what I think is most important, which really helps me be able to deal well with what I can't get done too.
Underneath my "vision", I have goals (1-2 year, 3-5 year, lifetime) and underneath those I have actions that help me make the goals come to pass which help me reach my vision. I also have the "someday maybe" section where I keep track of ideas that I don't want to do yet, but may help me fulfill this vision in the future. So, for example, under this vision:
1-2 Year Goals contains "Invest in monthly massage"
3-5 Year Goals contains "Go to OCON again"
Lifetime Goals contains "Return to New Zealand, include the south island"
Someday Maybe Contains "Try out playing a trumpet or other horn"
When I go through these organized lists, I reconnect with my rolls, goals, visions, and the ways I am going to live an efficacious life. I have parenting, spouse, owner, and teacher rolls among others which each have this rich process there for me use as a tool. And, as a pre-requisite to doing any of the others well, nurturing myself, being my own best friend, is at the top of that list. I'd love to hear what others do to nurture themselves during the holidays. Here's to a delightful season with many joyful moments.
Welcome to the December 8, 2011 edition of objectivist round up. As a good December quote, I thought I'd share this entry from the Ayn Rand Lexicon:
[In answer to the question of whether it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas:]
Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men—a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property (though it is supposed to be part, but is a largely unobserved part) of the Christian religion.
The charming aspect of Christmas is the fact that it expresses good will in a cheerful, happy, benevolent, non-sacrificial way. One says: “Merry Christmas”—not “Weep and Repent.” And the good will is expressed in a material, earthlyform—by giving presents to one’s friends, or by sending them cards in token of remembrance . . . .
The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been commercialized. The gift-buying . . . stimulates an enormous outpouring of ingenuity in the creation of products devoted to a single purpose: to give men pleasure. And the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions—the Christmas trees, the winking lights, the glittering colors—provide the city with a spectacular display, which only “commercial greed” could afford to give us. One would have to be terribly depressed to resist the wonderful gaiety of that spectacle.
Here's to a delightful holiday season and, now, on with the round up:
C.W. presents Current Decline in the Availability of Pharmaceuticals posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "We can see the impact of government controlled medicine today in the European problems in paying for drugs. It is a big deal in several countries and is getting worse. There are some similar problems in the U.S. It could spread."
Joseph Kellard presents Newspaper Story Reunites POWs posted at The American Individualist, saying, "A story I wrote in 2003 about two World War II POWs that reunited after one veteran read a story about a fellow vet and recalled meeting him in a German prison camp 58 years earlier."
Ross England presents I Won!/Read Atlas Shrugged! posted at Think Twice, saying, "I post a link to my winning entry in ARI's Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest, and I encourage my readers to read Atlas Shrugged."
Diana Hsieh presents Winter Dogs Will Wrestle posted at NoodleFood, saying, "Our crazy dogs wrestle and play in the snow! It happens many times each day, but I can't help but smile whenever I see it."
Edward Cline presents Portrait of a Police State posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "The chief thrust of this article is that none of this would occur, or even be thought "necessary," if we had eliminated states that sponsor terrorism after 9/11. But when one reads the text of Senate Bill 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), one gets the impression that many in positions of power and influence, particularly Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, have a vested interest in sustaining an indefinite "war" against terrorism."
Ari Armstrong presents My Year In Review posted at Free Colorado, saying, "Reviews my year's work writing articles, posting videos, and more."
Blazing Truth presents Financing of Public Goods in a Free Market Society posted at Blazing Truth, saying, "Who says Public Goods can't be financed without taxes? Here's 15 ways to fund roads and healthcare without forced coercion from the State. Let's be more imaginative."
Atul Kapur presents The Certainty in Quantum Physics posted at Wit Lab, saying, "In layman terms, I explain why rather than being a refutation of factual knowledge, quantum physics is a testament to the fact that knowledge is possible, and can be obtained with certainty."
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using our carnival submission form.
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"This is more of a musing post because I'm not sure where our parenting practices will end up. So, as a new parent, it's no big deal for my infant to see me naked. Changing a dirty shirt, getting into pajamas, I didn't hide from his baby gaze. Fast forward to toddlerhood and it was helpful for him to see us using the bathroom as part of toilet training. Again, no big deal for us to help him change dirty clothing or to change our own. Now, I have a six year old and I would have thought that, by now, nudity would be different. To my surprise, it's still the same. Literally, naked's not news. He can dress and bathe himself, but if we're both ready to rinse off hot tub chemicals at the same time, we'll get into my shower together for two minutes (it's the only one with a hand-held sprayer). If I'm changing into pajamas and he comes in with a question, I don't duck behind a door or sternly invoke the privacy card. Basically, he has complete comfort with the body as something not to be hidden and as something normal. These interactions have remained consistently positive.
Now, I'm curious when this is going to change? I can imagine it will get to a point where our current openness is no longer appropriate i.e. a teenager might have a confusing response..."
So, now I have an eight year old and things are changing. Now, if he changes he'll streak! He'll run naked between bathroom and bedroom instead of the non-issue stroll. He always closes bathroom doors and he doesn't want to change into a bathing suit in front of me. The interesting thing is that it's all on his side. I mean, he doesn't care if I'm changing and being naked is still "not news" to him regarding me, but he finds privacy more important for him. He still has no shame in his body, it's just that the privacy issue has become more important to him. It's really curious how one sided this is and I've asked him if it bothers him when he finds me changing. He says it doesn't, but I did ask him to let me know if at some point it does. I'm sure our privacy norms will adjust at some point.
As I wrote last time, "Clearly, there is a connection between nudity and sexuality at some point. I don't want him to be confused when he starts making that connection. For now, I'll observe and enjoy how purely joyous he feels within his own body." I'm thinking that I'll keep the same approach that has been working. This is a really an intriguing process to watch him developing new understanding of what is private and what he doesn't want to share. I love that this is happening without him feeling embarrassed or ashamed of his body.
Aside from this week's Objectivist Round Up, I have lots of cute antics to share from my kiddo who lays on the smiles:
• "Barbarian is my best curse word."
• responding to our statement that he was a little guy and one glass of wine was enough with a muttered, "Little guy. Harumph!"
• when I was talking about the next adventure story I was going to read him I said it was creepy and he said, "Creeeeeeepy? I love creepy!"
• "I hate eating on the job, but I have to keep up my strength while I'm looking." (He was searching for clues like Nate the Great when he decided he needed a snack.)
• making a sour face with a full pucker when taking a sip of whiskey and saying, "Ohhhh, so good!" (For some reason, he really wanted to like it, but all the body language didn't match the words!)
• telling me, "I conjecture that I'll breathe tomorrow." (Clearly enjoying our Sherlock Holmes reading!)
• trying to catch me at hangman with the word "punctual"
• getting a full crowd laugh when he joined us at a debate. He knows so much about history, so we thought we'd give it a try. We only told him our job in the debate was to listen to the "verbal battle" and see what we each thought made sense. When the debater speaking for individual rights (Brook) was responding to the big government debater, Brook said that it was true that the system today was wanted by most Americans and nobody agreed with him to which my kiddo piped up shrilly, "I DO!" (That's my confident, independent thinker.)
