When Everything's a Ray Gun

ComicCon 020
Originally uploaded by willdleeesq

Parent: Go ahead and take off my belt now, it's time to get dressed. It's too big for you anyway.

Child: It's not a belt. It's a Waistonator.

Captain Non-Obvious

the "florida-keys-jump"!
Originally uploaded by renaldo_tr

Free association, kid-style:

Parent: Point to the pictures that rhyme with sock.

Child: Clock, lock, rock...

Parent: Can we rhyme any words with the other pictures? What rhymes with cheese?

Child: Florida Keys...

Here Be Kid-Friendly, Good Gender Role-Modeling Dragons

I've been living under a parental rock apparently; have only just discovered Jane and the Dragon.

Jane and the Dragon statue from WETA by popculturegeek.com

Fantastic character voicing, dramatic (but not too scary) story lines, machinima-esque animation (motion capture, turns out), a girl training to be a knight, and one big, quirk-filled dragon. It doesn't look like the show's still in production, but it's on DVD and the books look fun too.

More info, games, etc.

• Jane and the Dragon Royal Archives
• Jane and the Dragon
• a Weta workshop creation
• on qubo.com

Work life balance - check ✓

We all want that perfect patchwork of personal and professional activity, but how do we get it, and more importantly, how do we know it's happened?

Broken Heart by David Goehring (CarbonNYC)

As of this morning I'm there. How? Finishing preschool Valentines and attending kids' Valentine tea have equal footing on my schedule with conference calls, research, writing, and presentation prep. (The laundry bridge remains to be crossed when we come to it.)

[Update:] My office just received a very special delivery.

Well Socialized

Bear in mind we don't live in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, or even a remotely proximate area code.

Mouthing off by borrowed time | demi-brooke

My son — who's five — and I happened to sit down next to John Remy the other day at the yogurt shop. John (who writes a very thoughtful blog) was on his laptop, on Twitter (@johnremy), which my son apparently/instantly recognized. His opening conversational salvo? "Do you know my mom on Facebook?"



It's possible we should get out more.