The Silent I Speaks

La Loop: Functional Jewelry

I'm nearsighted, so I wear glasses.  I don't need them all the time, just when driving or watching movies. The problem is, when I'm not wearing them, I tend to leave them lying around. This leads to frantic searches for lost glasses, and more than a few times, damaged glasses from people sitting on them by accident.

So, when I received an offer to try out La Loop, it looked like something I could actually use. La Loop looks like the very popular circle neckaces, but of sturdy material that you can hang your glasses on.  The one I received was the "Sport Loop", a hot pink elastic band with a plastic ring attached to it.  It's the kind of thing you could wear to the beach and use for your sunglasses, or while biking or hiking.

I don't have many shirts that go with a hot pink plastic ring, so I wore it with a white t-shirt around the house.  It was very practical.  I always knew where my glasses where when I needed them.  When I had my glasses on, I wasn't aware I had the necklace on.

I had previously tried a beaded chain that attached to the earpieces of my glasses.  I ended up with guacamole-covered glasses when I reached for dip while wearing my glasses this way. With La Loop, the glasses lay flatter against your chest, so they don't dangle.  Plus, I didn't feel like the reincarnation of Marian the Libarian like I did with the chain.

Overall, I like La Loop. On the website, there are some that look like fashion jewelry, with freshwater pearls and gemstones.  In fact, I may buy a fancier one and wear it to work.  Mother's Day is just around the corner, so maybe I'll drop a not-so-subtle hint to the family to consider getting me one of the  Smokey Glass. Thanks to La Loop for letting me try out the Sport Loop!

La LOOP ranges in price from $20 -$250 and are available at www.laloop.com or 1.877-505-1500. (hint, hint).

Game Review: Wii Boogie Superstar

Thanks to the Parent Bloggers Network, we received a free copy of Boogie Superstar with Microphone for the Wii to try out and review.  It came with a cool Logitech microphone that plugs into the back of the Wii.

Since last Christmas, our family has been pretty much addicted to the Wii, the Wii Fit, and all things Wii-related.  We didn't want to buy a game console because we knew that once we did, Alex would probably never see blue sky and fresh air again.  With the Wii, we all play and enjoy many of the games as a family.

Wii Boogie Superstar is one of those that the entire family can enjoy.  That is, if you are from a family of hams who like to sing and pretend to dance.  That would be us. 

According to the elaborate introduction, the contestants on Boogie Superstar were selected for their killer karaoke and elaborate dance moves and have been whisked off to a remote island to compete in a song and dance contest.  Think "American Idol" meets "So You Think You Can Dance" meets "Temptation Island."  Well, maybe not the last one.

Contestants can choose from pop, urban, or techno and select songs from these genres.  You can do a combo of dancing and singing, or just dancing or just singing.  I haven't quite mastered the rhythm it takes to swing the Wii remote in the proper configuration for the dance moves, so I generally skip the dance part, and go straight for the karaoke.

When we first got this, I thought all the songs were made up just for the Wii.  Then I heard a number of them on the radio and realized that I was just out of touch.  I had no idea Leona Lewis was popular until I saw her singing my favorite Wii Boogie Superstar song, "Bleeding Love" on "Dancing with the Stars" last week.  Natasha Beddingfield is apparently also very popular, because the game came with a poster of her. Thank goodness for "Dancing with the Stars" or I wouldn't know who she was either.

The game is rated E10 for 10 and over due to some mature lyrics.  I guess we haven't unlocked those yet, because the songs we've heard are pretty mild, or have particularly salty language removed.  Alex is 8, and I have no problem with him playing this game and singing along to the lyrics.  It would be nice if the game had a feature that allowed parents to de-select certain songs that they might find objectionable. Maybe they can work on that for the sequel.  It's nice to have a game where no one gets shot with a laser, gun, paint pod, or toilet plunger.

One unintended benefit of this game is that it is actually helping Alex practice his reading skills.  When you do the singing, you have to follow the words at the bottom of the screen, and he is doing quite well following along. 

So far, Alex is beating me on most of the game.  I'm waiting to exact my revenge when they issue the "Wii Boogie Superstar: 80's Edition".  At least, I hope they plan to do that.  I'm not sure how much more urban-techno-pop I can take. 

I asked Alex for his unbiased review of this game and he said, "It's excellent!"

I guess that just about sums it up for me, too. 

MOMocrats Swag-O-Rama Raffle

The MOMocrats are doing a raffle to earn money to go to the Democratic National Convention.  Take your chances by looking at our fantastic gift bags over at the Help A Mama Swag-o-Rama Site. Just choose the prize packages you want to bid on, put them in your shopping cart using the paypal widget, and check out when you're done. We'll notify the winners on Saturday, August 9.  Proceeds go toward helping the MOMocrats pay travel expenses to get to and from the DNC.

I promise I'll stop the begging for the MOMocrats as soon as we get back from the Democratic National Convention.

If you have a blog and want to help us advertise the raffle, just put this code on your sidebar:

<p><a target="_blank" href="http://momocrats.typepad.com/raffle"><img border="0" alt="MOMocrats Swag-O-Rama Raffle" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/steph-trey/swagoramabigcopy.jpg" /></a></p>

THANKS!

How I Learned to Love the Michelin Man

If you want to see this video & post, you have to check it out over here. 

Sorry!  BlogHer Ad Rules.

Staples Presents: 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.

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.

Disney Comes to the SV

When we went to Los Angeles in January, we didn't have time to stop at Disneyland.  We didn't tell Alex that we were close to the Land of Mouse, otherwise we would have never heard the end of it.  In our travels, we've been to six Disney parks (Disneyland, California Adventure, Disney World, Epcot, Tokyo Disney and Disney Sea), and each one was a memorable experience. 

I think my favorite has to be Disney Sea, the companion park to Tokyo Disney, with it's around-the-world sea coast theme.  It's a truly amazing place, even though Alex threw the mother of all meltdowns at the turn-of-the-century Cape Cod attraction.  Still, it's a place I'd recommend to anyone visiting Tokyo.  I'd love to go back now that he's older and less prone to throwing popcorn out of a stroller at unsuspecting Japanese children.

We were fortunate to be invited to a Disney party this weekend, thrown by the wonderful women of the Silicon Valley Moms Blog and Disney.  When I told Frank about it, he said, "What exactly does one do at a Disney party?"

I had to admit, I had no idea.

Want to Go to Martinique?

I'm entered in a travel story contest over at France Guide.com. The winner gets a 7 day all-expenses paid trip to the sunny island of Martinique.  If you vote, you are entered into a drawing to win a similar trip for yourself.  So, click on over here and vote for me.  My story is called "Stuck Outside Narsaq with the Qarqortoq Blues Again" and you might have to hunt for it. Maybe I'll see you on the beach in Martinique!

Cross-posted at The Silent I.

The Ultimate Tea Diet

I got a free copy of The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mark "Dr. Tea" Ukra from Parent Bloggers Network to review.  I was interested because I need to lose weight, and thought this might be the push I needed to get going.  I'm not exactly sure how it got to be the end of January without me actually starting a diet, but eventually, I'll get around to it. 

I did read the book, and followed some of the advice, but not whole-heartedly.  I think it would probably work, not because tea is some miracle drug, but because it advocates sensible eating, exercise, and a reduction of caffeine.

He starts out by recommending weaning yourself off of coffee by replacing it with tea that you like--any tea will do.  I did this part, and found that I really enjoyed the tea.  I didn't get the normal caffeine-withdrawal headache I normally get when I stop drinking coffee cold-turkey. 

Ukra explains the different types of teas, and has some recipes for cooking with tea that went from things that sounded good to bizarre.  I have not been cooking much lately, so I didn't get to try the recipes yet.  I haven't followed the diet carefully, but it seems as thought what he is recommending is not terribly radical.  It couldn't hurt, and seems much more enjoyable than South Beach or some of the other popular diets out there. 

I enjoyed reading the final section of the book, which is a history of tea throughout the world.  It's interesting to me that so many different cultures enjoy tea in different ways, and in some, it's an almost religious experience.  It reminded me of our travels around the world, and how tea time in England is a completely different cultural experience than the tea house I visited in Beijing, that came complete with sipping lessons. We had the chance to participate in a Japanese tea ceremony some years ago, and it struck me then that ritual was somehow as nourishing and warm as the tea itself.

I liked the folksy no-nonsense tone of the book.  He isn't offering any miracle solutions, just some dietary instruction, recipes, and a great enthusiasm for tea.  He didn't recommend any particular tea for optimal results, just a general switch from coffee/soda to tea.

He claims that tea contains much less caffeine than coffee, but I have to say the biggest caffeine buzz I ever got was drinking green tea in Japan.  I don't know what was in it, but I felt like I was vibrating at one point.  It's not the same thing we have here, and the taste was quite different. 

So, if you're looking to lose a few pounds in a not-terribly-stressful way, check out The Ultimate Tea Diet.  Whether or not you lose weight, it just might soothe your soul.

Cross-posted at The Silent I.

Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience

Yesterday was Frank's birthday, and what he wanted to do on his special day was go to see the Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience stage show.  Since you only turn 48 once, I decided to indulge him and go along.  Alex, of course, was thrilled.

Alex and Frank are big fans of the Chased by Dinosaurs BBC series.  If you're not familar with it, a guy named Nigel Marven takes a trip back in time to visit with dinosaurs.  It's a very well done series, and the dinosaurs really come to life with a combination of CGI, puppetry, and animatronics.  Nigel get into a few scrapes now and then, just to make it interesting.  He's like the Steve Irwin of the Jurassic era.

They've taken this concept and turned it into a live-action stage show, with an "archaeologist" guide and some life-sized dinosaurs that move, make noises, and act a lot like what I imagine dinosaurs would be like.  The host explains the different periods, from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, and the famous Jurassic in between.  The big finale is the T-Rex, which stops and bellows at the audience.

The interesting thing about the show is the way the dinosaurs move. The small raptors are manned by a person and you can see their legs sticking out from the costumes, but its not at all like a big stuffed Barney.  It's actually pretty convincing.  The person inside is controlling a number of different features, from the tail to the head movements.

The big dinosaurs, like the impressive brachiosaurus, come out on a t-bar on the ground with a person inside a little capsule under the dinosaur who drives the whole thing.  The legs move up and and down, and the head and tail are controlled as well.  The big ones were pretty impressive, and not bad actors as well.

Most of the kids in the audience found it a bit too loud, especially when the T-Rex roared at the audience.  Alex spent most of the second act with his fingers in his ears.  Though there were quite a few really small kids in attendance, I didn't hear anyone crying.  I wouldn't take a child (of any age) who is particularly noise-sensitive.  It was a little scary, but no blood was shed, and no dinosaurs were harmed in the making of this stage production.

When we got to the arena, Alex said, "Isn't this where the Sharks play?" I told him that it was the same arena, and he said, "So the dinosaurs will be ice skating?"  I'm sure if the producers had thought of that, they would have been.

I have to say, I thought this was one of the more asinine ideas for a stage show that I'd ever heard of, but then again, if Bob the Builder can have a show, why not the less cuddly ankylasaurus?  Personally, I'm waiting for Journeyman: The Musical.  Actually, I'd be happy if Journeyman just survives the entire TV season, since I'm one of about six people who watch that show.  My love for Journeyman is an entire blog post in itself.

The show is on at  HP Pavilion in San Jose through December 30, then moves on to Sacramento and Portland and other places around the country.  Click here to order tickets.