On the road again

I know it's been awhile since I last posted. The Boy and I are on the road...again. At the moment, I'm checking in from my Mom's computer in Taft, CA.

"Where's Taft?" you ask.

Google it. I'm too tired right now to convey truly the essence of this wonderland. And I do mean 'wonder', as in I'm constantly left wondering...well...nevermind. It's late, and I don't want to get all riled up before bed.

Besides, I gotta get up early to point our asses toward Santa Cruz, BABY! We'll be visiting with our old roommates (and old SDCCSers) Crystal, Tosh, Israel, and India. We're so excited! It's gonna be great. Of course, on our way back south we'll have to stop in Taft again, but I'll let that annoy me later.

Expect more soon!

If it makes tree-climbing undignified, forget it!

Miss Morgan's Super Stars, 2006-07



My little thank you to the best kindergarten teacher, Morgan Weir.

Thank you, Morgan. I'm sure our kids learned quite a bit with you, but I can tell you that I've learned a lot from you, too!

My Sonshine

Here's an "old" video I dug out of the hard drive. I features a 3 year old Ren and my old roommate's daughter, India (she was in Morgan's class last year and Jacob's this year until her family moved to Santa Cruz); there are also still shots of Ren's Gramma, his Mimi (his maternal gramma), and his Auntie Ariel. The song is Sunshine, as done by Handsome Boy Modeling School. You might want to let the vid fully buffer before playing it (click pause after you click play and wait for the progress bar to turn completely red) so it won't look so choppy. Enjoy!

Bush Mugged in Albania

Why aren’t the Secret Service protecting the President? Why are they allowing the Albanians to get so close and actually ruffle the man’s hair?

And then a commenter (forgive me, your screenname is a little difficult to recreate in a post) pointed out why the Secret Service really wasn’t protecting the President. If you look at the :50 second mark, there’s a watch with a black wristband…at the 1:00 minute mark…it’s no longer there. That’s right, those adoring Albanians–who have actually issued postage with Bush’s face–were mugging the President. Pretty ballsy, if you ask me. After all, look at what he did to a country that actually posed no threat.

Is there nothing this monkey can do without looking like an ass? I swear, I was expecting him to get all Michael Jackson and get up on the roof of one of those Suburbans and do a dance for his fans (?). And what about all that whistling? Isn't that a form of booing in other countries--like at futbol matches? And their chant, "Bushie"...how sweet. I wonder if those Albanians are, as Borat put it, in "support [of] your war of terror"? [emphasis mine]

My first thought was, jeez, couldn't they take more than his watch? But then we'd be stuck with Dr. Evil & his Iron Lung and his wife poised to be considered for the Senate seat in Wyoming. (Cue song, "Unanswered Prayers")

[h/t Nicole Belle @ C&L]

Steroids Scandal Hits Major League Superheroes

Some Humpday Humor for ya, nerd-style...


From Wired.com

May 8, 2007, Metropolis

The Justice League of America responded today to the accusations of doping leveled by former member The Atom's new tell-all book, Small-Time Justice. In it, the diminutive crime fighter accuses his fellow superheroes of various indiscretions and infidelities, but the most controversial chapter in the book deals with steroid abuse. While he stops short of naming names, the context makes it clear to which leaguer he's referring.

"Now ask yourself," he writes. "How does a guy with absolutely no superhuman abilities get to hang out with the most powerful beings in the solar system? When you're busy learning science and picking up detective skills and custom-building cars and special devices, how are you going to find the time to hit the gym as hard as you need to even sit at the same table with Superman and Wonder Woman? Isn't it possible that maybe you're going to look for a little outside help, maybe of a chemical nature?"

I'm surprised Batman didn't have anything to say about this obvious swipe at the Dark Knight. As far as the Green Lantern being fingered as the 'Juicer', I don't buy it. The guy's a genius; an interdimensional genius, at that. I don't think he'd resort to something as crude as steroids.

Why's the Atom being such a little prick? Why doesn't he just go join the Legion of Doom already?

SDCCS "Phoenix Cards"?

There is no spoon
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

(Here you go, Annie...)

So, all you SDCCS parents--and any parents, in general, who are reading this--I had this idea...wait...let me back up a bit...

One of the cool things about using Flickr is that there are a bunch of third-party applications that you can use with your photos. One guy, John Watson, has a website, fd's Flickr Toys with all sorts of cool things to do with your images--from making yourself a Flickr ID badge; to giving your photos a kind of Andy Warhol treatment; to creating, as shown here, trading cards from you photos, à la Pokemon cards (see where I'm going with this?).

The Councilor
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

So I had this idea of making up cards for our kids, not necessarily for trading, but for collecting, y'know? The kids could fill out a blank template, describing themselves--their strengths (or powers, if you will)--what 'element' they most associate with, what their 'kyptonite' is (honey and raisins, for me). On the back of the card could be the school logo... And why just for the kids? We could make up cards for the faculty, staff, and parents, too! How fun would that be?

Anyone know any printers that could do something like this? I wonder if Charlie Upham would be able to...hmmm...

4th Annual SDCCS Talent Show

Incredible Flexible Garret
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

Tonight was my son's school talent show. I didn't get very good shots because my flash wasn't strong enough, so I had to try to hold very still when snapping the shutter. I didn't take many pictures, period, because most of the time I was busy clapping or holding my hand to my face in disbelief over the amount of talent in our little school. It was a fantastic event, made all the better by the fact that it was held in the auditorium of what will be our new location next school year. See, for the past five or six years, San Diego Cooperative Charter School (SDCCS) has rented space in a mixed-use, Medical/Office building. Not so great considering some of the mixed-use characters milling around and in-and-out of the building, but what made up for it is its proximity to Balboa Park, one of the jewels of the city. So many field trips have been within walking distance of the school--Museum of Man, Museum of Art, Ruben H. Fleet Science Center, Natural History Museum, just to name a few.

Come September, though, we will be in an actual school, with grass and trees and real classroom-size classrooms and an auditorium/cafeteria and age appropriate play areas! Getting to look inside one of the classrooms, there was something I wasn't immediately able to put my finger on...something different, but good. I mean, it looked like a kindergarten class, but there was something...just at the tip of my...

It didn't smell like pee. I was sold. (Just kidding, the school had me at "Hello", but the no-pee-smell really does it for me!)

I got a chance to talk to the custodian who's been at the site for the last 4 years. I told him the school had a nice feel to it, a nice atmosphere; and he told me it certainly does, that when he goes to work, he doesn't feel like he's going to work. It's a nice place to be, he said, and anyone who has ever worked there has loved it.

Sounds like just the place for our little school!

Super Star Campers!

By the Campfire
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

This past weekend, my son and I joined his kindergarten teacher (the FABULOUS Miss Morgan) and several of the other families in the class for a three-day/two-night camping trip. Located in the Laguna Mountains, we camped at the Laguna/El Prado Campsite, right next to the El Prado Meadow. Ren and I got there a bit after three in the afternoon on Friday, to find the Dreyer/Lockee clan and Erica and Isaiah already set up. It was my first time setting up a tent for myself, so after scoping out how the others had set up (I wouldn't have thought about putting a mat/ground cover in front of the tent flap until I'd dragged in a bunch of dirt) I had our tent pitched in no time (thanks, btw, to Sybil for letting us use their little 3-person tent). It wasn't long before the rest of the Friday-nighters arrived.

El Prado Meadow/Little Laguna Lake
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

Saturday, Matt led us on a hike through the El Prado Meadow, through (the now dry) Little Laguna Lake, down to Big Laguna Lake, which sits in the middle of Laguna Meadow. While the kids waded in the mucky water, looking for frogs, Lynn, Morgan, and Matt entertained us with bear stories (sorry Morgan, but it's such a fun, storytelling shot!).

Big Laguna Lake
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

The hike pretty much did us in, as far as any more physical activity, so we proceeded to eat. And eat.

And eat. We were quite blessed with an over-abundance of food. And good food, at that. Melissa's lentil soup was incredible, as was her apple crisp. I missed out on pizza, but heard it was a hit. Amy grilled up some fabulous portabella mushrooms and cheese, and I must admit that I, for one, quite enjoyed Sue's jello shots and margaritas! Breakfast both mornings was perfect, but I was most glad for the multiple pots of coffee and for Annie graciously letting me use her beautifully crafted mug.

Groovin' by the Campfire
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

The success of the weekend was more than just the children having a good time camping together. Sure, that part was great, especially for my son, who had never been camping before; but these kids spend five days a week together--and we already know how well they get along at school. So yes, that was nice, but what was really cool was seeing how well the grown-ups (or gr'ups) got along.

Along with how well everyone camped together, it was neat to see everyone all together. Generally speaking, I pretty much only see the other kids' moms at school--and online! So it was interesting to see all the dads in one place.

Matt on the National
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

I was particularly glad to be able to hang out with Matt. For those of you who haven't already heard, Matt and I are kungfu brothers from days of yore. I remember meeting both Mac and Emmett when they were infants. Life goes on, though, and while we have boys in the same class, we don't get to hang out quite like before.

It was really cool to sit with him and listen to his stories while he played the guitar. Thanks for letting me play along with you, Matt. My blues harp ain't as smooth as your slide, but it sure was fun.

Sunday Morning Group Photo
Originally uploaded by ebilflindas

Thank you, everyone, for such a great time. In Morgan's words, "it was an unequivocal success!" I couldn't agree more. It was a lot of fun, and I hope we get to do it again soon--didn't I hear someone suggest a beginning-of-the-school-year camp-out?