Math Lesson: Less Is More

The case for teaching less math in grade school. This article made me feel much much better about not trying to force Eden to learn stuff by rote. Stubborn little Taurus that she is, I've been flirting with turning her against math! She's brilliant and simply needs to understand why on earth she should learn the stuff.

Pilates - It's just like the flu, without all the virus!

I hurt all over. After a year or more, I finally went back to my pilates studio to start over. I had quite forgotten how grueling 50 minutes can be. Now, 9 hours later, I hurt ALL over. I've hardly gotten anything done today because I'm so freaking sore and tired.
But I'll be back Wednesday morning for round two. I want to get in shape!

33 Seconds

It A Gril

Okay, here's another one from slightlywarped.com. Why bakeries should hire English speaking cake decorators.

The Nautilus House

Okay, check this place out. I wouldn't want to live there, but I sure would love to stay a night or two!

Old Man Winter

This morning the sun went behind a cloud and Krista said "Damn, I want it to be sunny and warm today, I'm tired of this cold weather!" I'm in complete agreement with that sentiment, however a few minutes later I came across this collection of COLD WINTER photographs and decided to stop whining. Check it out here, only beware the "next" button at the bottom of the page...that website can be addictive!

The Incredible Artists Soap Box Derby of 1975

Happy Anniversary

Elephant Ride, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Five years ago today our family arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was an exotic beginning of a wonderful three month adventure. Krista's mom, Joyce, was with us all through Thailand and then for a week in Bali. Some years ago I documented our travels in a little blog Thailand Sojourn with photos, travelogue and video clips. I guess I had a lot of time on my hands.
That trip is very important to me. It holds a vast space of rich memory and makes me feel like a more interesting person. That old saying "Wherever you go, there you are" just isn't true.

Fog Catchers Bring Water to Parched Villages

From the National Geographic website: "With a few thousand dollars and some volunteer labor, a village can set up fog-collecting nets that gather hundreds of gallons of water a day—without a single drop of rain falling."
Here's a link!

Hypochondria

I've been "under the weather". I won't go into details, but my lower GI tract seemed to just shut down. Except for the part that sends pain signals to my brain. I've never had anything like this before. Ever. And so my poor deluded mind goes straight to "I've got cancer!" and "It must be a tumor". Actually, my mind was kind enough to wait until the middle of the night.
This isn't unusual for me, to entertain such drastic thoughts. Pretty much every headache is a brain tumor for my overworked imagination. I've long ago stopped taking it seriously. But this was new and made me especially vulnerable.
I'm glad to say I'm almost recovered. I've hardly eaten anything in the last four days. A little yogurt with banana. Some green smoothie that Krista made. And I just heard from my friend Nancy that she's had the same thing, more or less, and it seems to be going around. So I guess I can relax about the tumor and all.

Except that I keep thinking about how totally screwed we'd have been, financially, if I really had had something serious. We do have insurance. But it's essentially 'catastrophic' and we'd end up shelling out a lot of money if something bad really happened.
We've had this policy for at least six years now, and we've never used it. Not once. We've never claimed a penny's worth of service from the bastards. And yet, I have this suspicion we'd be automatically denied coverage if we really needed it.
It's more profitable for them to pay lawyers to find ways to deny payment, or delay payment, so that's what they're doing. It's their fiscal responsibility to their shareholders, after all.

So I'm feeling really ready for the Democrats to pass the PUBLIC OPTION. There's absolutely nothing stopping them, except their allegiance to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Just a nice, simple up or down vote in the Senate.
I've been faxing Obama and Harry Reid this week, demanding action. This might be one of those moments where a few more snowflakes make the avalanche.


Last year about this time, I was just recovering from pretty severe dysentery I picked up in Thailand. For days and days I ate nothing but plain Nancy's yogurt and bananas, and here I am again. Yuk.

Holi

One of my favorite bookmarks is The Big Picture. Here's a link to the most recent photo essay on Holi, the Indian festival of color. Enjoy.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

This is one video that really deserves to go viral. Enjoy!

Fractured Fairy Tales

I ran across this video today and it was a real blast from the past. I don't know if I ever saw it as a kid, but the character voices are intensely familiar. This was part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, which was a whole different animal from Disney and Hannah-Barbera. I'm pretty sure this show began the tradition of including jokes for adults, intended to go right over the heads of the kiddies. These often included references to current events or social trends. But what hit me were the voices.

My Favorites

pajareando, originally uploaded by charquipunk.

One of the great things about Flickr is being able to choose favorites from other folk's photographs. I think I've got a pretty awesome collection and you can watch it as a slideshow! Just click this link and let 'er rip. I've pretty much got the content edited down to PG (or maybe PG-13).
Enjoy!

This Time Last Year....

old sukhotai (67), originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

This time last year I was heading home from Thailand, my teeth all fixed and my heart full of adventure. I also brought back a suitcase and a big box full of cool junk I'd gotten at the various markets. I guess I really do love shopping.
This photo was taken on our family trip some five years ago. Despite having been severely ill (from bad food) and despite the intense muggy heat, look how happy Krista looks here. That place was truly magical.
I would return to Thailand in a heartbeat. Or Bali. Or I'd love to try some new places. But these days I'm really focused on my career and building up my private practice. Our only travel plans, currently, are for Yosemite in May. It really is convenient living in one of the most beautiful places on Earth sometimes.

Bored

Yesterday I was in and out a lot. I had clients and then a group at my office. Everytime I'd come home the girls would be in new costumes, with new face paint.
Eden has two best friends, Aja and Zoe (a to z!) and they are both stunningly beautiful, in very different ways.
With their theatrical face paint, these pretty little 11 and 12 year old girls suddenly looked much older. Not Eden so much. I found it a little bit terrifying. Just a bit.

Tonight India and I went over to visit Meredith and Steve, for a knitting lesson. India wants to knit hats and tonight was her very beginning. I have a feeling we'll be hip deep in hats by Thanksgiving time. India is prolific, but so far has knitted only scarves.

This afternoon I decided to write a book. It will most likely be a very short book, but I'm determined to write it. I was given a very good idea and I want to do something with it. More on this later.
photo by Aja

Monday

Me, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

Apparently there was some sort of big sporting event yesterday. It was beautiful here, our first really sunny day. Jerry and I visited an absolutely gorgeous property out near Graton to consult on the building of a cob oven. We got a tour of the 30 acres of vinyards, rolling pasture and deep redwood grove, complete with running creek. Very dreamy.
Due to the big game, it was a fantastic day for a bike ride and walking around our neighborhood. We were out at 7pm and all the church bells were ringing. I said "well, I guess the Saints won. A victory for the christians". Just a lucky guess.
Eden took this photo of me and I monkeyed around with it. I was thinking of using it for my business photo, instead of the more serious one India took years back. So far reviews have not been good.

Opening to the Light

Opening to the Light, originally uploaded by Robbi Baba.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus

We saw this film today. It's the sort that really makes use of the big screen. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be in theaters much longer. Apparently it was a big flop, despite the fabulous visuals sets and the eye candy actors. I loved it. The rather disjointed plot didn't bother me at all, though I could see how it would annoy some people.
I loved the whole Steampunk Gothic Victorian Underbelly feel of the film and thought Tom Waits was inspired as The Devil. His "bargains" with Dr. Parnassus were so very slippery. The tag team of actors who played Tony (Heath Ledger having died during filming) were all incredibly handsome and seamlessly morphed into the character. The gal who played Valentina was also perfect, with her surreal heart shaped face, huge eyes and nascent sexuality.
Forget the plot! If you can make see this one in the theater, by all means go for it.

Rainy Saturday Afternoon

The days pass so quickly by now. The illusion of time is supreme, and the sensation of being immersed in this 3D world so realistic. The children grow and mature and change in ways I can't even comprehend. My hair is turning gray in places and the laugh lines around my eyes grow ever deeper. There seems to be a future, always approaching, but growing more and more fluid, as I spend more and more of my awareness engaged with this present moment. It's like there's a current of beauty rushing past, and some days I can dip my hand down into it.

I'm reminded of that old Zen story, about the fellow who was running from a hungry tiger, only to fall over a sheer cliff. He managed to grab onto a vine and arrest his fall about half way down. As he looked below he saw a second tiger, pacing back and forth, waiting for him. Far above the first tiger was peering over the edge. Closer above him, just out of reach, two mice were nibbling through the vine that supported him. One was white and other black. Then he noticed that a berry was growing on the vine. How sweet it tasted!