And here I thought the sequence was entirely CG…
The rudimentary method is quite ingenious, and I’m a bit saddened to learn that the remastered movies have replaced the manual crawl with CG versions.
I wonder if the opening crawl for Flash Gordon (George Lucas’ inspiration for the Star Wars films) was done using the same method?
Via Gizmodo.
It’s amazing what can happen in that time.
 a little seahorse at 2 months |
 a BABY at 5 months |
In light of yesterday’s post regarding The Bubble Wrap Generation, I found it strangely appropriate that I learned about “Take Our Children to the Park…& Leave Them There Day” this morning on the radio.
I was not surprised when my favorite NYC blog, Gothamist, picked up on the story and ignited a furious war among its readers.
Would YOU leave your 9 year-old child alone in Central Park?
Because I think that I would.
My parents taught me independence from a very young age. After teaching me to safely cross the street, to not talk to strangers and never get into an unfamiliar car or building without them, they trusted me to walk the ½ mile to kindergarten every day.
I was a quiet, introverted person as a young child too, so I didn’t go out too much…I much preferred to sit at home and read. However, my sister — my opposite — loved to go out and play with the neighborhood kids. She would spend all day outside without adult supervision, returning in time for dinner, starting at the age of 4.
Did she ever get lost? Yes. But my parents had taught her to seek policemen in case this ever happened, and my sister followed suit. (And the one time she got lost at the beach, she had the common sense to go to a lifeguard…at the age of 3½.)
I think my sister and I turned out okay. Neither of us experienced any major injuries or traumatic incidents while growing up. We both did well in school, attended prestigious universities, and while I am preparing to be a SAHM, my sister is currently working on her PhD in art history and archaeology.
Are we the exception?
I’m genuinely curious as to how my readers grew up. Were you allowed to go out, unsupervised before the age of 10? Were you allowed to tinker in the kitchen by yourselves, preparing food with sharp knives and hot stoves, starting at the age of 6 as my sister and I?
I know that the world is a dangerous place. But the sheltered, over-protected life only seems to have arrived within the last generation or two. Wasn’t the world ALWAYS a dangerous place? What prompted parents to change their ways?
(And again, I’m not looking to spark a debate. If anyone can enlighten me with facts or even theories, I would really appreciate it.)
Going back to the topic of “Take Our Children to the Park…& Leave Them There Day,” I have to agree with Gothamist reader GoldenRuler, who writes:
if you can’t trust your 9 year old – especially an urban 9 yr old – to be in a park or get around the city by herself, then you should question your parenting skills.
ANYTHING can happen at ANY age, and the sooner they learn how to take care of themselves, the better – and how else to help them build their confidence and skills than by letting them venture out alone? this doesn’t necessarily mean you go from holding their hands on the slide to complete abandonment in one day. done gradually, with informative guidance and common sense (i.e., not letting them run to the corner store at 1 AM in east new york), and taking the kid into consideration (all kids mature at different ages and ways) it’s perfectly normal.
I have always had a soft spot for architecture. I mean, who hasn’t seriously considered becoming an architect after reading Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead?
And as cliché as it sounds, Frank Lloyd Wright has always been my favorite architect and Fallingwater my favorite residential building.
Visiting Fallingwater has been on my to-do list for over a decade. Unfortunately, the 6+ hour drive to western Pennsylvania is too daunting for this lazy geek. Perhaps we can make a weekend trip of it years down the road, with kids screaming in the back seat, “Are we there yet?!!”
For now, I can almost feel like I’m there…AND see how it was constructed in this beautiful animation by Cristobal Vila.
Via FlowingData.
P.S. — How could I end this post without once mentioning LEGO® Fallingwater?
I usually don’t like to be at the center of attention, but this made me crack up!
Create your own Twitter Parade at http://isparade.jp/
Via Gizmodo.
The War on Children’s Playgrounds
J thinks that I will be an overly overprotective parent.
I firmly disagree.
I believe that there is an age up to which a child should be protected and nurtured because they just don’t know better. However, we must also educate our children during this period to be aware of dangers, to learn to fend for themselves, and to also take the occasional injury as a learning experience.
And after this age? I will encourage my children to live life and learn from their mistakes. This is not to say that I will let them do whatever they want; rather, I will not be opposed to their taking risks just as long as they are not unreasonable. After all, taking risks starting at a young age is important so that children can realize their own limitations.
I will not be an over-coddling parent.
Living in the “Bubble Wrap Generation,” it saddens me to know that my kids will not be able to have the same childhood that J and I were allowed. Where we were allowed to play outside with friends — without adult supervision — until dark. Where it was not unusual to return home with cuts and scrapes and blood-stained clothes. Where playground injuries were learning experiences, not the cause for lawsuits.
It’s sad to think that my kids might never experience a playground
like this. Doesn’t it look fun?
Now, every playdate is carefully orchestrated by parents and the kids watched over with hawk-like eyes. Playgrounds are boring affairs with no nooks and crannies, no high swings or slides, or even sand. (When was the last time you saw a metal merry-go-round or a seesaw at a public playground?) No kids play outside anymore, and when asked why, parents will often respond, “No one else lets their kids play outside, so my kids will be bored anyway.”
It is no surprise that childhood obesity rates are an all-time high.
We live in an age where our nation is ruled by the fear of lawsuits. After all, a broken arm can fetch up to $100,000 (after paying the attorney fees) if the injury occurred on a playground. If that happened in my generation, the child would have gotten a tongue-lashing from the parents for being careless, then taken to the hospital with no involvement from the legal system.
There comes a point when the idea of “being safe” becomes an obsession to the point where it becomes impossible to have any kind of enjoyment in life.
I will not cover my kids in bubble wrap.
When I was little, I asked my mother what love is.
“Love is something you give away. But unlike other things, the more you give the more you receive in return. If you give one, you get two. If you give two, you get four, and so on. But you shouldn’t give love just for the sake of getting more. You should love as God loves us.”
This statement has had a profound impact on me since I was that curious little girl of four.
Perhaps this is the reason I still cite Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree as one of my favorite books of all time.
A few years ago, I attended my cousin’s daughter’s 1-year birthday party and I decided to gift The Giving Tree, along with a couple of other Shel Silverstein books, as a present.
A younger cousin decided to flip through The Giving Tree when the celebrations began winding down. He had never read, or even heard of the book before, so I awaited his finishing the book with great anticipation.
“Wow, that was DEPRESSING!” he declared as he closed the book shut with a flourish.
“What are you talking about? It’s a great book that teaches the concept of unconditional love, either from parents or from God. It’s one of my favorites!” I countered.
“Yeah, I get that. But don’t you think it’s too dreary for little kids?”
“No…”
However, I did see his point. And I was reminded of this incident once again when I read this quote from Ryan Gosling on Best Week Ever regarding The Giving Tree:
That book is so f**ked up; that story’s the worst. I mean, at the end the tree is a stump and the old guy just sitting on him; he’s just used him to death, and you’re supposed to want to be the tree? F**k you. You be the tree. I don’t want to be the tree.
I was taken back, and shocked further to read that the author of the post, as well as the majority of commentered, agreed with Gosling that The Giving Tree is a depressing, “f**ked up” book.
What say you? Do you think that The Giving Tree is a depressing book?
I can definitely see how people would think so; we live in an imperfect, cynical world. As humans, we are incapable of perfect, unconditional love. Additionally, attempting to love someone with the type of love described in the book has the potential to have devastating effects — whether through heartbreak, unnecessary sacrifice, and/or devaluation of oneself.
But I still stand firm that we should strive for perfect love, as God loves us.
Just as my mother taught me 26 years ago.
And I plan on teaching my kids this important lesson too.
I know that I constantly chide J for acting immature, but whenever I see him with Comang I can’t help but just know that he will make a wonderful father to our little girl.
photo taken with my Moto Droid, edited with Totally Rad actions
The best relationship advice I’ve ever been given is, “Do not marry a man unless you would be proud if your son turned out just like him.” I’d be over the moon if our future son(s) turn out like J, and I’d be pretty damn proud if our daughter takes after him too.
I know that I have a good 4 months to go before baby girl is ready to come sliding out of my hoo-ha, but this topic has been weighing heavily on my mind.
The essay below is a popular one in the BabyCenter boards, has been posted in numerous threads and is a topic of much discussion. Take a look…
The Lemon Clot Essay by Sharon1964
You will be leaking out of places you don’t want to leak out of. Do you really want to stand up from the couch and have your father’s parents see that not only have you bled through your pad, but the blood is now running down your leg. Do you really want to say, “honey, can you come with me to the bathroom, I am bleeding all over and I feel a huge bloodclot coming out”… in front of them? Contrast that to “mom, I need your help please, now, I’m bleeding all over!” Does your husband really understand the volume of stuff that will be coming out of you, the possibility of lemon-sized clots of blood? Not 2-dimensional lemon-sized, but huge, round, 3-dimensional lemon-sized?
How many bathrooms do you have? If only one, do you REALLY want to have to make it “guest-level clean” every time you leave it? Do you really want this gang of people ogling your diaper-sized pads, peribottle, tucks pads, and all the other supplies that will be in the bathroom? Even if you have two bathrooms, that means you can’t use the main bathroom, because you still have to leave it “guest-level clean” every time you use it.
Do they really plan to do something other than hold the baby, pass the baby around, and sit around expecting you guys to wait on them? Are they going to sit and stare at you? Thirty minutes after they arrive, and baby wants to breastfeed, are they going to quickly and willingly LEAVE your home so that you can breastfeed in the privacy and comfort of your space? Or are they going to hang around outside, waiting for you to be done, and knocking every so often wanting to know if they can come back in? Yeah, that’s great for breastfeeding.
Or better yet, are they going to blow you off, saying “it’s no big deal”, and expect you to breastfeed in front of them? Even experienced moms need several weeks of practice to get good at it, so to speak, so that they can breastfeed wherever they want. Learning to breastfeed is not a time for people to ogle and stare at you.
When your breasts are engorged and painful and you want NOTHING to touch them, what then? Does your dh think it will be okay for his dad to stare at your huge naked breasts as you walk around topless?
What if your birth is smack in the middle of their trip? So what are they going to do the first few days, before baby? Are they going to sit and stare at you, waiting for the big moment? Then what? Are they going to camp out in your hospital room every day, all day? Yeah, that’s great for resting. What happens when you leave the hospital and they beat you to your own home, and all you want to do is lay down in your own bed? Are they going to leave graciously, or are they going to sit in your living room, eating your food, messing up your house, and making noise, so you can’t nap?
Does your DH normally allow people to invite themselves over to visit you guys without even ASKING? You guys are setting yourselves up for a lifetime of this. Then you will be blamed when you try to tell them that it is not a good time for you.
Does your DH understand ANY of these things?? Does he not understand that it is NOT about entertaining guests, but about recovery from a major medical procedure (either vaginal or c-section)? Does he not understand that you just grew another human being in your body, and will have just gone through the process of getting it out?? This is going to be an exhausting, messy, wildly hormonal time. Does he not get that??
******************************************
Who Can Even be on the List to be Considered to Stay at Your Home After Childbirth by Sharon1964
You know, nobody gets to stay in your home after birth unless they are helpful. So is his mother going to…. wash your bloody underwear in the sink? Clean and disinfect your toilet and perhaps the bathroom floor after you spend time in there? Clean up lemon size blood clots that come out of your vagina if you need help? Get hot washcloths and lay them on your naked engorged breasts? Hold a cold wet washcloth on the back of your neck when you break out in a sweat all over?
Is she going to cook for you and clean for you and do the laundry, and make sure you are stocked with diapers and wipes and clean blankets? Is she going to allow you to breastfeed in private in your own living room by either going to her room or going outside? Is she going to allow you to pick up your own crying baby? Is she going to ASK you if you would like her to get the baby for you since you may be sore? Is she going to disappear when you want alone time with your new baby and your husband? Is she going to refrain from giving you advice but instead ask you what you need?
And what’s his dad going to do? Is he going to cut the grass and take out the garbage and make runs to the store for juice and milk? Is he going to wash the car or walk the dog or change the cat litter box?
No? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
My family, who lives 45 mins away, has already agreed that they will not come for visits after the birth unless I ask first. My mother will make me tons of 미역국 (mi-yuk-gook, or Korean seaweed soup, which is traditionally served to new mothers to replenish and clean their blood supply) and will deliver lots of other food that I may be craving. If I end up having a c-section, or a very difficult delivery, I may even ask her to stay with us for a few days until I am mobile.
J’s parents will most likely visit for at least 2-3 months, but they will not be staying with us because the guest room will be turned into a nursery (they will be staying at J’s brother’s place which is 10 mins away). However, they have expressed that they would like to visit as much as possible because they don’t want to leave me alone with the baby when J goes back to work.
The problem with this is that as much as their intentions are well-meaning, I am not so sure that I want my in-laws (or anyone, for that matter) around for extended periods of time after I give birth — for the reasons stated in the Lemon Clot Essay, and because I am a very introverted person who likes and needs my alone time.
I am also concerned that I am at higher risk for post-partum depression due to my history with major depression. While my family is fully aware and understanding of my depression, I’m pretty sure that my in-laws do not even know about it. I would be forcing myself to mask my emotions and symptoms, adding a lot of stress to my already-fragile body and psyche.
And as caring as my MIL can be, she just isn’t my mother. I can never ask her to scrub the stains from my underwear, or to apply warm compresses to my breasts…or to even freely show her my breasts!
However, I don’t want to deny them of their first grandchild either, especially seeing as they live so far away…
How did all moms handle family, in-laws, and friends visiting after birth? What would you recommend?
Even if you are not a mom, how would you handle the situation?
I like books, gadgets, spicy food, and art. I dislike shopping, hot weather, and the laws of entropy. Although I am a self-proclaimed computer nerd, I still have a love for handbags and makeup... and I am always teetering on high heels. To learn more about me, visit the "About" page.
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