The Silent I Speaks

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.

Discovery Kids Tornado Lab

The Parent Blogger Network asked if I wanted to review the tornado lab from Discovery Kids Toys.  At first, I passed, thinking that it probably wouldn't interest my 7 year old.  Boy, was I wrong.

We received this a while ago, and my son has had ample time to check it out.  It's become a favorite in our house.  When I asked him to review it, he said, "It's the best toy...EVER."

I should probably explain that he and his dad have become fans of the show "Storm Chasers" on the Discovery Channel, a reality-show about a crew of scientists, a journalist, and a filmmakers that go chasing tornadoes through the mid- and southwest in the springtime.  They have with a jerry-rigged "tornado chaser" armored vehicle that supposedly can sit in the eye of a storm and capture footage of what it happening there.  So far, from what I've seen, they've had some scary near-misses, but the footage eludes them.

Back to the toy.  When my kid opened the box, he jumped up and down and immediately wanted to fill it with water and make it work.  It looks a little like a plastic blender, with some light pieces that float and heavy pieces that sink to the bottom.  When you turn it on, a whirling funnel appears, and the heavy pieces start moving up, and the lighter pieces make their way down the middle of the vortex.  It's pretty amazing.  It has sound effects that simulate the sounds of a tornado, which is kind of spooky and not the usually annoying toy-sounds. The toy comes with a video that explains how tornadoes form, and has footage of actual tornadoes.  The star of the show is a younger meteorologist Josh Wurman, who also stars in "Storm Chasers".

My son was so enamored of this tornado machine, he insisted on taking it to school to do a demonstration.  He and his dad teamed up and explained how tornadoes are formed when high pressure and low pressure mix.  They did a visual demonstration with dad as the high pressure, boy as low pressure.  When the two met and linked arms, they spun around like psychotic square dancing partners and made a tornado.  (I wasn't there for the presentation, but got to see the dry-run at home).  They then showed the tornado machine and let the kids stick their hands in it, turn it on different speeds, and showed how the heavy and the light particles react.  It was quite a hit with the second grade class.

This is an excellent toy for kids 6 and up  It's a fun way to learn about science and weather.  Who knows?  Maybe you have a budding meteorologist in your midst!

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that the first one we received started to leak after 3 days of fairly heavy usage.  I let the PBN folks know, and we received a second one that does not leak.  If you happen to get a leaky one, return it.

Perfect for You

My son Alex went on his first Cub Scout sleepover two weeks ago.  The scouts went to stay overnight inside the fabulous Monterey Bay Aquarium, taking the phrase "sleeping with the fishes" to a whole new meaning. We didn't think he was going to be able to go, since I had to work on Monday and his dad was away on a business trip in China.  At the last minute, the Cubmaster came to the rescue and volunteered to take Alex along with his family.

We hurried around the house, gathering up his gear for the sleepover--a flashlight, a sleeping bag, clean underwear, a toothbrush.  He had his allowance in his wallet, and I gave him an extra $5 so he could buy a souvenir or a snack if he needed to.  He was thrilled to be going and to be on his own.

He returned the next day, triumphant.  The sleepover was a lot of fun, though not much sleeping was done by the 30 or so 8-10 year old boys and parents there.  The fish evidently bang into the side of the glass at night when the lights go out, and someone at the Aquarium forgot to turn off the Muzak.  The noise and the excitement kept the boys up most of the night.  It was quite an adventure, and he loved every minute, despite being a little sleepy the next day.

He carried in with him a small bag from the Aquarium gift shop.  I figured he had bought a toy or a stuffed animal.  He handed it to me, and said, "I got you something!  Open it! Open it!"   He had a look of pure joy and excitement on his face.

I peeked inside the bag, and pulled out a beautiful little glass turtle, trimmed in gold that caught the light. 

"Wow!" I said as I hugged him, "That's beautiful!  I love it.  Thank you so much!"

He thought for a moment and said, "You know, they had different things, like a sea horse and a fish and a starfish.  But I knew a turtle would be perfect for you.  I knew a turtle would make you happiest of all."

He's right.  In all of our travels, we have gone to great lengths to see turtles on land and sea, from the nesting leatherbacks in Costa Rica and green sea turtles in Hawaii to the giant land tortoises in the Seychelles and Galapagos.  Turtles make me happy.  The fact that my son knew that and chose a gift for me based on that, meant more to me than probably any gift I've ever gotten.  I think the best gifts are those that are unexpected and show the giver knows something about you, expecially the small details. 

Thanks for the turtle, Alex.  And thanks for being the thoughtful and generous soul that you are. 

This post is part of the Parent Blogger Network's BlogBlast for Excitations . Cross-posted at The Silent I.

Book Review: New Clothes for New Year's Day

The very nice people at Kane Miller Publishing sent me two books to review a while back, and I published a review of one of them, Yellow Umbrella here.  I loved the second book, New Clothes for New Year's Day by Hyun-joo Bae as well, but sort of forget to post my review.  I was going through some of my son's books today, and came across this lovely book, and thought that it  would make a great holiday gift for a child with a Korean heritage, or for any child or family interested in cultural traditions.

This beautifully illustrated book from South Korea chronicles a young girl's excitement over her family's Lunar New Year celebration. As she dresses for the event, she shows each piece of her elaborate clothing, from the "rainbow-striped jacket" of the hanbok to the silk pouch on a string for luck.  The drawings start out simply, and build in their richness of design and detail as the little girl adds a new piece of clothing.  At the end, the author explains Korean New Year celebrations, including the ceremonial soup that makes everyone a year older.  It is gorgeous book, and one I hope to pass along to my grandchildren some day.

My family didn't celebrate Korean New Year in the traditional way, so this was new to me.  It's wonderful to find a book that explains some of our cultural traditions in a way that both my son and I can enjoy.

Interestingly, when my son interviewed my mother for a school project, he asked her what her favorite holiday memory was, and she said, "New Year's, because I got to wear pretty, new clothes."  Now I know what she was talking about. I think my mother would enjoy this book just as much as I did.

Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book to review.  Cross-posted at The Silent I.

KoreAm Journal: October Issue

The October issue of KoreAm Journal features a piece that I originally wrote for Kimchi Mamas (and cross-posted here) called "As American as Mom and Kimchi". At their request, I reworked it a little, and it is published under the title "Becoming American" in this month's KoreAm Journal.  One of the Kimchi Mamas read the story and submitted it to the magazine with my permission.  I am really honored that they wanted to publish it.

If you're not familiar with this magazine, it's a popular culture magazine for Korean Americans.  It features stories of Korean Americans in business, entertainment, and community leadership roles.  One of the monthly features is "Exiles on Main Street" which highlights personal essays and experiences.  That's where my story fits into this month's issue.

This is the first time I've had anything published in a print magazine, and I'm just thrilled.  My mom is still waiting for me to send her a copy, and now she is convinced she's going to be famous.  I've told her she's already famous in the blogosphere.  Look out Hollywood!  The krajee lady is coming your way!

I'm having a hard time finding extra copies, so if anyone knows a newstand or Korean market that sells this magazine in the San Francisco Bay Area, let me know.