The Silent "I"

LIVE From Lavabeds National Park...

Frank and Alex are taking a father-son bonding road trip this weekend, up to Mt. Shasta and Lava Beds National Monument in Northern California.  When they arrived at Lava Beds National Monument, they called me and told me to look at the webcam that the park provides at the Visitor's Center.  There, you see Alex in a green shirt, looking like a cactus.  It took a while, but I noticed Frank there to the left.  Nothing like wearing clothes that match the scenery.

So far, Alex's report was that they went into a cave that had lights.  He had been hoping for one he could use his cool LED flashlight in, but this one was equipped with lighting. I asked what else he saw, and he said, "Stalactites.  Here, they call them lavacicles.  You know, like Popsicles, only made out of lava."

At least he's learning something.

Photo: From the Live Webcam at Lava Beds National Monument.

Healthcare 4 Every 1: New Video

My brother' Troy's production company Collection Agency Films just produced this cartoon illustrating the need for universal healthcare and some of the pitfalls of the current system.  Check out Healthcare4Every1 for more information.  Healthcare4Every1 is a Connecticut group urging people to take action in the fight for universal healthcare.

Cross-posted at MOMocrats.

My Korean Mom, The Sitcom: Easter Redux

Mom: Guess what?  I'm in a play for Easter.
Me:  Again? Are you dancing and falling on the ground this year?
Mom:  What? No, not that.  I'm playing an angel.  You believe that?
Me: So you're playing against type?
Mom:  What is that supposed to mean?
Me:  Never mind.  What's the play about?
Mom: Well, there's these two groups, and people have to decide.  You go with one group, and you go to Jesus.  You go with the other group, you go to the Devil.  One group drinks and does drugs and has a good old time, and the other group, you know, does nice things.

Peace Vigil: Better to Light A Candle...

Like many people across the US, my family attended a vigil for peace in our town.  The vigils were organized on a mass scale by Moveon.org.  In our town, people gathered in front of City Hall, held signs, lit candles, and formed small circles of rememberance, small circles of light.

My husband and 7-year old son and I are veterans of a number of peace rallies since the war in Iraq began five years ago.  My husand and son traveled to Washington, DC last year to participate in one of the largest demonstratons since the war began, marching one cold day from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon.  That day, a pro-war protester handed my son an American flag as he walked by, and he carried it proudly.  The anti-war people were somewhat appalled by this gesture, and separated themselves from him.  To us, protesting is part of being American, and our son carried his flag proudly.  Isn't the right to free speech one of the rights we're supposedly sending our young men and women to die for?

Why is it considered unpatriotic to exercise the freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution?  I would posit that the most patriotic acts of all are those in which we raise our voices in opposition to tyranny and oppression, those acts in which we stand together so we don't fall apart. 

Fun with Personal Security!

I mentioned previously that I went to an event for bloggers sponsored by the nice people at Staples, featuring Bill Stanton, Today Show personality and security expert.  I've been meaning to share the information that we learned there, but have been caught up with all the political stuff going on got distracted.

It was a fun event, and I enjoyed getting to hang out with some of my favorite bloggers, like CityMama, TechMama, Bad Kitty, Momma to LG, and Not Just A Working Mom.  Some of us carpooled up together, and it was great to catch up.  I also met some new people, like Lesley of Your TV 20.

I went in expecting something on tightening up your on-line identity, but the talk was much more focused on personal security and identity theft.  Bill gave some good tips on protecting your home and property, and illustrated it with stories of staged crimes that he had set up on the Today Show and Dateline to see how people react. He has staged burglaries in the middle of the day, child abductions, and other crimes and amazingly, no one really batted an eyelash to help.  This isn't news exactly, but still makes you wonder what you would do in this situation.  I think most people are concerned that if they get involved, they might get injured themselves or something might happen to their kids.  I'd like to think that if I saw a child being harmed in someway, I'd step in.

The 5 Stages of Campaign Denials

What happens when a political ally goes bad?  From Samantha Power to Geraldine Ferraro (not to mention Louis Farrakhan and Roseanne Barr), the campaigns have had to deal with support that is less than supportive.  From what we've seen recently, the spin cycle goes a little something like this:

Stage 1:  Denial 

"There's no way she said that.  You must be misquoting her or taking it out of context. It's regrettable if she said that."

Stage 2: Anger

"I reject and denounce her for saying that."

Stage 3: Bargaining

"Don't be mad at me; she said it."

Stage 4: Depression 

"It is too bad that she said that.  I could have really used her support in the coming months. It's sad when a friend goes bad."

Stage 5: Acceptance

  "Geraldine who?"

Cross-posted at MOMocrats.

Zula Patrol: Science for Kids

I received a copy of The Zula Patrol:  Explore Space DVD from my friends at Parent Bloggers Network  to review.  I hadn't actually heard of this show before the DVD arrived, but since we love all things science-y in our house, I thought we'd give it a whirl.

I sat down last night with the house expert on TV shows for kids, Alex, who at seven has quite a discerning palate for television.  He first harumphed that he didn't like this show because it was Rated G, which meant it was "for babies." 

"I like PG," he stated very matter-of-factly.  I told him he needed to just keep on watching and ignore the fact that it was rated G.

The show features a cast of fanciful CGI images that are round, smooth, and non-threatening aliens, and a host of talking planets.  The one bad guy is more comical than scary, so I don't think this would frighten smaller kids. They intersperse lessons on science (in this case, space) with little cartoon vignettes. The lesson in the first one was an explaination of how the moon reflects light on the earth.  Each segment is followed by a "Multo Moment," which is a review quiz on what was learned at the begining."

I learned a couple of things that I didn't know about the solar system from the show.  For example, did you know that Jupiter has 11 moons?  One of them, Io, has the most active volcanoes in the solar system.  Did you know that the moons of Mars are not round, but sort of lumpy, like potatoes?  I thought that was cool.

My critic-in-training was not as impressed.  Alex said,  "That orange alien is always trying to be Mr. Smartypants.  I don't like the talking planets."

On the plus side, Alex did remark at the end, "I like these shows on the DVD more than the ones I saw on TV.   I like that you get to learn stuff.  I learned about the planets, Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter, Mars, Earth.  OK, Pluto is not a planet, but maybe it will be in the future."

Maybe they should explain that Pluto is not going to grow up to be a planet someday.  Otherwise, I'd say the show was a hit, even for a jaded seven year old.

Cross-posted at The Silent I Speaks, my review blog.

A Natural Born Running Mate

At the end of 8th grade, I decided to run for Freshman Class President.  I narrowly won the election over a popular cheerleader whom everyone else thought was a shoe-in.  She was one of the ruling clique, dated the quarterback, and had a rich dad who drove a Corvette.  I was the brainy girl who organized charity events, had a motley, socially-awkward crew of equally brainy boys and girls, and whose dad drove a sensible Ford. I was deemed "exotic" due to my mixed Korean-Caucasian heritage, and thought the football team was full of hormonal nimrods. 

I put together a coalition of voters, befriending stoners, brainiacs, nerds, freaks, and pretty much everyone outside the social realm of the "in-crowd."  We were legion and we were pissed.  My message of "hope for the disenfranchised" and "change from the status quo" was well-received by people who were tired of being looked down upon by the ruling elite.  It was a sweet, sweet victory.

Our history teacher and class advisor was also the official vote-counter and announced my win.  Letting my political success go to my head, I joyfully told him, "Next stop, the White House!"

He laughed, and said, "I'd love to see you in the White House, but I'm afraid you would be disqualified since you were not a 'natural born citizen.'  The Constitution requires that you be born on American soil, and you were born in Korea, right?"