Category > Building a Sustainable Baby
We just got word that the Pre-Schooler will be promoted at his day job; his new title will be Kindergartener. This happens next fall. As such, the Pre-Schooler will have to find a new office to work in. We’re hoping for the one in the corner by the water cooler with the windows. Pre-Schooler is currently enrolled at University Primary School in the mornings and Early Learning in the afternoons. He thrives in both locations and we love both …
| This is definitely The Preschooler’s first Christmas. He pulls out each ornament from storage with delight and screams “I WANT TO TOUCH IT!” when I pull out the expensive ones. He has his own side of the tree. He’s aware. And to top it off, some Santa Claus has bestowed a Candy Cane unto him also, and he’s now of course smitten with Santa Claus. Last year I struggled with this sort of stuff, because although my parents rewrite history …
The “No Presents” Birthday Party went great. The little guy still ended up with plenty of presents (around four or five) from family — not too many so that he couldn’t remember what he got. The Preschooler seemed fine with everything. He doesn’t watch any broadcast TV, and I think that is the reason why he doesn’t really know what to want. We used all the glass plates in the house and between the pizza and cake we quickly washed …
This past weekend I took my Music Business students on a field trip to some places in Chicago. On Friday, we visited Thrill Jockey Records, then Touch & Go Records and finally Chicago Recording Company. On Saturday, we visited Electrical Audio Recording Studios, and then the Metro, a great venue in Chicago. I don’t know how much the students liked it, but I was completely in heaven the whole time.
The Preschooler finds himself on the playground with a new friend from the city, and the friend suggests they play “Robbers and Policemen.” “I’ll be the Robber, you be the Policeman!” the new friend shouts. “I’m gonna steal all the money!” The kid screams and does a perfect John Woo sideways double-fingered gun at my child. “BANG! BANG!” a five-year-old mouth shoots. The Preschooler flings his hand back and forth at the criminal in a half-hearted effort to simulate a …
Two completely unrelated things The Husband and I just had our first “date night” this year. We went to see Wire in Chicago at the Metro, the best place in all the US — and possibly Europe — to play a show. The stage is just a tad bit bouncy, perfectly sized so you can run back and forth on it and not run into anyone else, and the sightlines are fantastic; you can see almost anyone in the audience …
The Ex-Toddler’s fifth birthday is coming up. At this point I remember my sister saying of her child, “I cannot believe that time flew by so quickly.” To me, time hasn’t flown by quickly; I feel like I’ve been aware of every moment passing. Maybe it’s because I’m old; the Ex-Toddler — let’s call him “The Preschooler” — has been with me for a very small percentage of my life. I was very used to my life without him, so …
These are the stories that are fascinating me before the election: 1. The research (and subsequent news stories) on how presenting misinformation and then rescinding it only strengthens some people’s belief in the lie. Research now specific to politics is underway. So, trying to turn a belligerent Republican — or Democrat — into someone who reads factcheck.org is a futile effort. This knowledge has lately stopped me from forwarding left-leaning NYTimes op-ed pieces to my poor republican sister who only …
What’s left to say about Sarah Palin? Just some observations about her attackers. I cannot believe the outpouring of hatred towards her I noticed during the days after she was introduced. Every intelligent woman in this town that I came across (and by intelligent, I mean ‘able to breathe on their own’) loathed her. Intelligent men did so a bit more quietly, passively. We all thought “the race is over!”
Well, there’s a new unexpected art project in town — shrouded in secrecy with only a website and manifesto to reveal itself. The collective is called The Fireswallow Project and they “are for art.” They tell us that in the coming weeks, art is going to happen, all around us, unexpectedly, and that they will be the ones providing us with the details.
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Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
eugh….I remember that sex ed class and i’m pretty sure I know the teacher you’re referring to. that place was hell.
Love the story about sex ed at the middle school. That’s what I do every day for my job—it’s so exciting to see students engaged in material many adults and parents assume is above their understanding or maturity level. Thanks for sharing! Oh, and if you…
“Rag Doll” by Aerosmith is a great accompanying song when you are throwing a tennis ball onto the floor to bother the people below you.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/agriculture/2010-09-01/south-farms-taking-aim-birds-noise.html If U of I did any research into repelling birds, they would use a very silent but effective high output LASER instead of adding noise pollution to the already olfactory polluted area http://www.allpestco.com/2009/06/laser-bird-deterrent-or-laser-gun-vs-birds/
“I have some reading to catch up on, poolside.“ Classic.
What sticks in my neck is that most noise (unwanted sound) is a violation of the law. So why is it often so difficult to get the authorities to address the issue? Why are the anti-social elements so protected? These lowlife induviduals now seem to have the…
Spirit echoes - http://www.iainandjane.com/work/silentsound/index.shtml
People are entitled to peace and quiet. That gift has been lost and once lost is hard to regain. Anti-noise activitists fight for everyone’s right to have peace and quiet. Thanks to those that fight for our right to peace and quiet.
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Illinois has simply had no luck at all in these Mizzou games. None. I think maybe we’re do for a couple of bounces to go our way. If we get one or two (or sever or eight) breaks, I think it’s a win.
Jason, Savoy could easily join the CPL tax district, which is probably closer to most Savoy residents than the Tolono library is. But my impression is that Savoy residents as a whole don’t want to pay the cost of the CPL (Tolono’s library taxes are cheaper), even…
Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…
I’ve never gotten the privilege of all the services CPL cardholders get. I just want to be able to go out of my way to drive to the CPL to check out books, pay fines, maybe buy some coffee, and enjoy the library. None of those activities…
These days, there is more to using a library than checking out books. At one time, paying into the Lincoln Trails system probably would cover the expenses incurred by other libraries in the system. Now, with Internet, videos, coffee shops, wireless Internet hubs, etc., I suspect the…
(speaking as a Savoy resident) By paying taxes to support a member of the LTLS, we are paying our “fair share” to use any LTLS library—Tolono, Champaign, Urbana, etc. This is how library systems work. The 6% of CPL’s circulation represented by Tolono users is NOT significant…
I read Timbo’s argument. I think the key word is “speculating.“
I would be interested to hear more about the “word on the street”—how are individual hauling companies fulfilling their promise to recycle?
Timbo makes a smart, sound argument. Reread it.
I joined on 09-09-09 after living here over a year, and having to listen to my dad tell me how his best friend is, like, #27 or something crazy like that, and how said friend never lived further than 50 feet from the Illini Inn while going…
And, I might add, no one is being prevented from using the Champaign library. They are just being asked to pay their fair share if they are going to use it as their primary library.
The equation is pretty simple here. If you want social services, then pay the taxes required to run those social services. These things only work if everyone puts in their fair share. As a heavy user of the Champaign Library, I say bravo to this new policy.
Curtis Orchard is always good for an hour or three, especially if you have rugrats.
What is the increased marginal cost of serving a resident of Savoy or Mahomet? I suspect negligible. What is the increased revenue to be realized by this new policy? I suspect very little. Aside from these financial aspects, what are the most probable results from this new…
Looks like you are also all members of the killer sideburns club.
Thanks for the article, Ben. I was not familiar with this band until now and even though I won’t be able to attend the show on Friday they are now on my radar. A *good* jam band is hard to find, and these folks appear to fill…
Nice article, love the Dead quote in the beginning. If they can get down here to Central FL I’ll definitely be heading out to the show. Some of my friends have finally stopped wincing when I say “jam band.“ I’ve now tried my best at more descriptive…
@Annie: Yeah, my bad. That was the best part! Drinking + memory exercises = fun @Rob: According to Ask the English Teacher, “My dictionary says ‘drunk’ is an archaic past tense of ‘drink.‘“ We’re all about the new grammar around here.
Katie, have the residents of Savoy and Tolono thought about having their taxes raised a little to help their public library expand? That’s a possibility for them. And then everybody wins.
good call on that Herring recording, Josh. Love that version of Exit Music….here’s a clip of the Cinco de Mayo show (from about six months prior). As I recall, this Shakedown went on for roughly a half hour, while getting into the Trampled Underfoot jam in the…
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Sorry, but I am lagging behind on updates to the map. Also, some construction projects were delayed from their original start date. On a more positive note, I am putting together a map of haunted houses in Central Illinois. I have a few plotted already, and I…