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Jan
31
The Coffee Castle
Filed Under Politics | 9 Comments
If you’ve ever attended a parent-teacher conference or had someone recount the experience to you – either because you’re a friend, a relative or the child in question, then you probably know that every child has “strengths” and “areas that need improvement.”
One area in which my kids have never needed improvement is Imagination. They people worlds with governments, good guys, bad guys and pie. Don’t ask – they won’t tell me. But pie plays a very important role in at least one of the imaginary fiefdoms ruled by my twelve year old son. My nine year old daughter was Mayor of Shtookieville for a few years, but then she got mobile and could talk so the twelve year old affected a coup.
(Digression here: A few nights ago, my oldest found some web application that would allow you to type in whatever you wanted and then you could select different voices to say those words. We had him type in, Hello and Welcome to Shtookieville. I couldn’t breathe because I was laughing so hard.)
Sometimes I have to ask my kids to turn down the volume in their imagination (does anyone create quiet, silent imaginary friends anymore?), but as a general rule, I encourage their fantasy play. My oldest and youngest (both boys), were early readers and writers (the oldest is in sixth grade and the youngest is in Kindergarten) and populate their stories – oral and written – with characters named Mrs. Fitzgerald, Funky, Yobbie and The Young Yob. I can barely type for giggling.
My daughter, who is a girl in between two boys, as I was, possesses visual talents. She sees music once and memorizes it, then she practices piano. She has near perfect pitch. And her artwork comes from a set of genes that skipped past me, the same ones that gave her red hair and a peaches and cream complexion.
So yesterday, she came home from school not feeling well (I’d sent her off in the morning, bad mother that I am, with half a dose of Benedryl in her to keep the drippiness at bay), dropped her jacket and backpack and shoes in the laundry room, and proceeded to rest until I declared that it was time to do homework, at which time, I went into the laundry room to retrieve her backpack and that’s when I saw what’s shown at the top of this post: The Coffee Castle.
First: She got an “O” for Outstanding.
Second: No amount of questioning by me elicited a satisfactory response as to why she created a coffee castle, as opposed to a princess’s castle, a sorceror’s castle or White Castle.
However, if you read this post, you will see that fate is, well, fate. And genetic.
And so, I present to you: THE COFFEE CASTLE.
In this view, we see the main castle flanked by two towers. Zelda lives in the tower on the left and Linc (Link?) lives in the tower on the right. I don’t know much about the Zelda games or characters, but I do believe they gave life to the characters held captive in these coffee silos.
NB: My daughter says that this piece of artwork is Busproof. That means that, according to the art teacher, you can hold the base upsidedown and nothing will fall off of it. (I tried; it worked.)
In the main tower lives my daughter. On either side of the front entrance you can see bins that say Coffee on them. I asked my daughter if the bins contain whole beans, ground beans or percolated coffee. She screwed up her face. Which I think means, wtf are you asking me, Mom? So we’re going with already percolated coffee to be dispensed to visitors.
Inside the castle, on the wall which you can view through the door, we see my daughter, holding a staff which, she says, is a swizzle stick for stirring. She, herself, is not holding a cup of coffee. She just rules over everyone who does.
Also inside the castle, which you can’t see, is a frame with a drawing that is a picture of my daughter – her portrait. Every castle purveyor must have a portrait hanging in their castle you know.
On the wall opposite the wall with her portrait, there stands a table with a coffee maker on it and, just above it, a red plaque with yellow bulbs blinking around it. The sign says, “COFFEE MAKER.”
To the left of the coffee maker is the largest of several Coffee Gards, complete with pink feet and blue lids. You can see the outside Coffee Gard that protects the castle from its rear in the picture below, saying, “Hello world” and a pile of coffee underneath the thought bubble.
Frankly, I find the Coffee Gards a little scary, not just because they’re there to guard the coffee, but their lack of arms and faces freak me out.
Who does my daughter think is going to take the coffee? And why is my daughter the resident of the castle?
Is there an art therapist in the blogosphere?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:13 pm January 31st, 2006 in Politics | 9 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
31
The Coffee Castle
Filed Under Politics | 9 Comments
If you’ve ever attended a parent-teacher conference or had someone recount the experience to you – either because you’re a friend, a relative or the child in question, then you probably know that every child has “strengths” and “areas that need improvement.”
One area in which my kids have never needed improvement is Imagination. They people worlds with governments, good guys, bad guys and pie. Don’t ask – they won’t tell me. But pie plays a very important role in at least one of the imaginary fiefdoms ruled by my twelve year old son. My nine year old daughter was Mayor of Shtookieville for a few years, but then she got mobile and could talk so the twelve year old affected a coup.
(Digression here: A few nights ago, my oldest found some web application that would allow you to type in whatever you wanted and then you could select different voices to say those words. We had him type in, Hello and Welcome to Shtookieville. I couldn’t breathe because I was laughing so hard.)
Sometimes I have to ask my kids to turn down the volume in their imagination (does anyone create quiet, silent imaginary friends anymore?), but as a general rule, I encourage their fantasy play. My oldest and youngest (both boys), were early readers and writers (the oldest is in sixth grade and the youngest is in Kindergarten) and populate their stories – oral and written – with characters named Mrs. Fitzgerald, Funky, Yobbie and The Young Yob. I can barely type for giggling.
My daughter, who is a girl in between two boys, as I was, possesses visual talents. She sees music once and memorizes it, then she practices piano. She has near perfect pitch. And her artwork comes from a set of genes that skipped past me, the same ones that gave her red hair and a peaches and cream complexion.
So yesterday, she came home from school not feeling well (I’d sent her off in the morning, bad mother that I am, with half a dose of Benedryl in her to keep the drippiness at bay), dropped her jacket and backpack and shoes in the laundry room, and proceeded to rest until I declared that it was time to do homework, at which time, I went into the laundry room to retrieve her backpack and that’s when I saw what’s shown at the top of this post: The Coffee Castle.
First: She got an “O” for Outstanding.
Second: No amount of questioning by me elicited a satisfactory response as to why she created a coffee castle, as opposed to a princess’s castle, a sorceror’s castle or White Castle.
However, if you read this post, you will see that fate is, well, fate. And genetic.
And so, I present to you: THE COFFEE CASTLE.
In this view, we see the main castle flanked by two towers. Zelda lives in the tower on the left and Linc (Link?) lives in the tower on the right. I don’t know much about the Zelda games or characters, but I do believe they gave life to the characters held captive in these coffee silos.
NB: My daughter says that this piece of artwork is Busproof. That means that, according to the art teacher, you can hold the base upsidedown and nothing will fall off of it. (I tried; it worked.)
In the main tower lives my daughter. On either side of the front entrance you can see bins that say Coffee on them. I asked my daughter if the bins contain whole beans, ground beans or percolated coffee. She screwed up her face. Which I think means, wtf are you asking me, Mom? So we’re going with already percolated coffee to be dispensed to visitors.
Inside the castle, on the wall which you can view through the door, we see my daughter, holding a staff which, she says, is a swizzle stick for stirring. She, herself, is not holding a cup of coffee. She just rules over everyone who does.
Also inside the castle, which you can’t see, is a frame with a drawing that is a picture of my daughter – her portrait. Every castle purveyor must have a portrait hanging in their castle you know.
On the wall opposite the wall with her portrait, there stands a table with a coffee maker on it and, just above it, a red plaque with yellow bulbs blinking around it. The sign says, “COFFEE MAKER.”
To the left of the coffee maker is the largest of several Coffee Gards, complete with pink feet and blue lids. You can see the outside Coffee Gard that protects the castle from its rear in the picture below, saying, “Hello world” and a pile of coffee underneath the thought bubble.
Frankly, I find the Coffee Gards a little scary, not just because they’re there to guard the coffee, but their lack of arms and faces freak me out.
Who does my daughter think is going to take the coffee? And why is my daughter the resident of the castle?
Is there an art therapist in the blogosphere?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:13 pm January 31st, 2006 in Politics | 9 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
31
The Coffee Castle
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever attended a parent-teacher conference or had someone recount the experience to you – either because you’re a friend, a relative or the child in question, then you probably know that every child has “strengths” and “areas that need improvement.”
One area in which my kids have never needed improvement is Imagination. They people worlds with governments, good guys, bad guys and pie. Don’t ask – they won’t tell me. But pie plays a very important role in at least one of the imaginary fiefdoms ruled by my twelve year old son. My nine year old daughter was Mayor of Shtookieville for a few years, but then she got mobile and could talk so the twelve year old affected a coup.
(Digression here: A few nights ago, my oldest found some web application that would allow you to type in whatever you wanted and then you could select different voices to say those words. We had him type in, Hello and Welcome to Shtookieville. I couldn’t breathe because I was laughing so hard.)
Sometimes I have to ask my kids to turn down the volume in their imagination (does anyone create quiet, silent imaginary friends anymore?), but as a general rule, I encourage their fantasy play. My oldest and youngest (both boys), were early readers and writers (the oldest is in sixth grade and the youngest is in Kindergarten) and populate their stories – oral and written – with characters named Mrs. Fitzgerald, Funky, Yobbie and The Young Yob. I can barely type for giggling.
My daughter, who is a girl in between two boys, as I was, possesses visual talents. She sees music once and memorizes it, then she practices piano. She has near perfect pitch. And her artwork comes from a set of genes that skipped past me, the same ones that gave her red hair and a peaches and cream complexion.
So yesterday, she came home from school not feeling well (I’d sent her off in the morning, bad mother that I am, with half a dose of Benedryl in her to keep the drippiness at bay), dropped her jacket and backpack and shoes in the laundry room, and proceeded to rest until I declared that it was time to do homework, at which time, I went into the laundry room to retrieve her backpack and that’s when I saw what’s shown at the top of this post: The Coffee Castle.
First: She got an “O” for Outstanding.
Second: No amount of questioning by me elicited a satisfactory response as to why she created a coffee castle, as opposed to a princess’s castle, a sorceror’s castle or White Castle.
However, if you read this post, you will see that fate is, well, fate. And genetic.
And so, I present to you: THE COFFEE CASTLE.
In this view, we see the main castle flanked by two towers. Zelda lives in the tower on the left and Linc (Link?) lives in the tower on the right. I don’t know much about the Zelda games or characters, but I do believe they gave life to the characters held captive in these coffee silos.
NB: My daughter says that this piece of artwork is Busproof. That means that, according to the art teacher, you can hold the base upsidedown and nothing will fall off of it. (I tried; it worked.)
In the main tower lives my daughter. On either side of the front entrance you can see bins that say Coffee on them. I asked my daughter if the bins contain whole beans, ground beans or percolated coffee. She screwed up her face. Which I think means, wtf are you asking me, Mom? So we’re going with already percolated coffee to be dispensed to visitors.
Inside the castle, on the wall which you can view through the door, we see my daughter, holding a staff which, she says, is a swizzle stick for stirring. She, herself, is not holding a cup of coffee. She just rules over everyone who does.
Also inside the castle, which you can’t see, is a frame with a drawing that is a picture of my daughter – her portrait. Every castle purveyor must have a portrait hanging in their castle you know.
On the wall opposite the wall with her portrait, there stands a table with a coffee maker on it and, just above it, a red plaque with yellow bulbs blinking around it. The sign says, “COFFEE MAKER.”
To the left of the coffee maker is the largest of several Coffee Gards, complete with pink feet and blue lids. You can see the outside Coffee Gard that protects the castle from its rear in the picture below, saying, “Hello world” and a pile of coffee underneath the thought bubble.
Frankly, I find the Coffee Gards a little scary, not just because they’re there to guard the coffee, but their lack of arms and faces freak me out.
Who does my daughter think is going to take the coffee? And why is my daughter the resident of the castle?
Is there an art therapist in the blogosphere?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:13 pm January 31st, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Jan
31
Those of you in the know probably already knew, but seeing this for the first time woke me up. Just seems like an odd combo. What do I know. Provocative, at least? Hattip to donkey o.d.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:45 pm January 31st, 2006 in Politics | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
31
Those of you in the know probably already knew, but seeing this for the first time woke me up. Just seems like an odd combo. What do I know. Provocative, at least? Hattip to donkey o.d.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:45 am January 31st, 2006 in Politics | 2 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
31
Those of you in the know probably already knew, but seeing this for the first time woke me up. Just seems like an odd combo. What do I know. Provocative, at least? Hattip to donkey o.d.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:45 am January 31st, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Jan
31
Caffeine and a cuddle beat parents any day
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
From the father of a friend of mine, in Montreal.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:21 am January 31st, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
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Jan
30
Caffeine and a cuddle beat parents any day
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
From the father of a friend of mine, in Montreal.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:21 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
From the father of a friend of mine, in Montreal.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:21 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Jan
30
Wendy Wasserstein dies of lymphoma
Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments
Read more here.
Of note: the playwright was predeceased by her sister, who died a few years ago of breast cancer.
I’m telling you, I need some good news, soon. As Wasserstein is quoted saying, “I think if you experience loss, you also on some level try to treasure joy. It can be as simple as going to the ballet or being with your daughter.”
Amen.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:17 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 5 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
Whowhatwherewhenwhyhow
Filed Under Politics | 4 Comments
For people still asking some or all of those questions, I suggest you read this very interesting post on In Context, a website I visit often, and more often when I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening in the Middle East.
Along the same lines, I listened to a caller to 90.3 after 9 today blame everything in the world on Israel. And then he was followed up by a caller who said that he is an evangelical and wants everyone to stop blaming everything in the world on Israel.
Obviously, I’m in the second camp, and I liked some of his examples: Saddam killing Kurds, Saddam killing Shiites, Saddam invading Kuwait.
Israel doesn’t even have oil, you know?
And how about Saudi Arabia? Would anyone like to talk about its role in 9/11 and breeding terrorists?
Feh. I’ve been in a bad way since Hamas won. I think I’m going to blame my persistent depression since then on them.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:34 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
So I was surfing around, using the italicized blog names on Brewed Fresh Daily as a guide. And I surfed over to Dan Hanson’s blog where he mentions a new Red Room Revolution event.
The convergence of what I read and what I hear lately has been uncanny because just before I saw Dan Hanson’s italicized name on BFD, I’d just finished emailing Henry Gomez about his mention in today’s Tech Link item on Cathy Panzica and others going to Israel for a fact-finding trip re: bioscience. That alone is a coincidence – two RRR sightings in just a few minutes.
But, in addition, I spent a year in Israel and one of my program-mates was Scott Zielinger, who heads up Kadima Partners, a group which also looks at possible Israel-Cleveland bioscience connections (here’s a Plain Dealer article about Scott’s endeavors, and others, in this effort). And in fact has brought at least one to the Beachwood area.
Anyway, since I’d read Henry’s piece and it included the RRR mention, and then I surfed to Dan’s blog and saw more RRR info, well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide a link to the RRR event. However, be forewarned, the Program Details link on the event info page that is hosted at the Thompson Hine site didn’t work for me. I’ve emailed the contact person listed to see if I could get a copy emailed to me, or at least be notified when they fix the link.
[UPDATE: The link is fixed and will take you to this pdf of the agenda. Thank you, Christine!]
Last thing: I’d never seen Great Lakes Geek (tagline: Business and Technology News, Events and Resources) before and I like it. It seems to be a great collection of information and event listings. I’m not sure how germane it is to my life, but I like knowing that it exists as a resource.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:57 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Jan
30
Wendy Wasserstein dies of lymphoma
Filed Under Politics | 5 Comments
Read more here.
Of note: the playwright was predeceased by her sister, who died a few years ago of breast cancer.
I’m telling you, I need some good news, soon. As Wasserstein is quoted saying, “I think if you experience loss, you also on some level try to treasure joy. It can be as simple as going to the ballet or being with your daughter.”
Amen.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:17 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 5 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
Exxon Mobil profits rise 27%
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
You’ll be hearing about this all day and night, I’m sure, in the MSM and the blogs. I hope you’re as bothered by it as I am.
I know I live in an economy with an overreliance on oil and so maybe I shouldn’t be bothered by it. But I am.
Is it okay to have 27% profits when my bottom line is shrinking because of how much I pay for gasoline? When I’m spending money to improve efficiency in my home so that I can reduce my utility bills to something reasonable? Why is it that I feel like I have to take steps to reach “reasonable” when, logic would suggest that the companies reaping unreasonable profits should be thinking about reducing their profit margin?
I think I’m missing the gene for how to live in a capitalist society without being miserable about corporate success.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:33 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
Whowhatwherewhenwhyhow
Filed Under Politics | 4 Comments
For people still asking some or all of those questions, I suggest you read this very interesting post on In Context, a website I visit often, and more often when I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening in the Middle East.
Along the same lines, I listened to a caller to 90.3 after 9 today blame everything in the world on Israel. And then he was followed up by a caller who said that he is an evangelical and wants everyone to stop blaming everything in the world on Israel.
Obviously, I’m in the second camp, and I liked some of his examples: Saddam killing Kurds, Saddam killing Shiites, Saddam invading Kuwait.
Israel doesn’t even have oil, you know?
And how about Saudi Arabia? Would anyone like to talk about its role in 9/11 and breeding terrorists?
Feh. I’ve been in a bad way since Hamas won. I think I’m going to blame my persistent depression since then on them.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:34 pm January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
So I was surfing around, using the italicized blog names on Brewed Fresh Daily as a guide. And I surfed over to Dan Hanson’s blog where he mentions a new Red Room Revolution event.
The convergence of what I read and what I hear lately has been uncanny because just before I saw Dan Hanson’s italicized name on BFD, I’d just finished emailing Henry Gomez about his mention in today’s Tech Link item on Cathy Panzica and others going to Israel for a fact-finding trip re: bioscience. That alone is a coincidence – two RRR sightings in just a few minutes.
But, in addition, I spent a year in Israel and one of my program-mates was Scott Zielinger, who heads up Kadima Partners, a group which also looks at possible Israel-Cleveland bioscience connections (here’s a Plain Dealer article about Scott’s endeavors, and others, in this effort). And in fact has brought at least one to the Beachwood area.
Anyway, since I’d read Henry’s piece and it included the RRR mention, and then I surfed to Dan’s blog and saw more RRR info, well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide a link to the RRR event. However, be forewarned, the Program Details link on the event info page that is hosted at the Thompson Hine site didn’t work for me. I’ve emailed the contact person listed to see if I could get a copy emailed to me, or at least be notified when they fix the link.
[UPDATE: The link is fixed and will take you to this pdf of the agenda. Thank you, Christine!]
Last thing: I’d never seen Great Lakes Geek (tagline: Business and Technology News, Events and Resources) before and I like it. It seems to be a great collection of information and event listings. I’m not sure how germane it is to my life, but I like knowing that it exists as a resource.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:57 am January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 1 Comment
Print This Post
Jan
30
Wendy Wasserstein dies of lymphoma
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Read more here.
Of note: the playwright was predeceased by her sister, who died a few years ago of breast cancer.
I’m telling you, I need some good news, soon. As Wasserstein is quoted saying, “I think if you experience loss, you also on some level try to treasure joy. It can be as simple as going to the ballet or being with your daughter.”
Amen.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:17 am January 30th, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Jan
30
Whowhatwherewhenwhyhow
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
For people still asking some or all of those questions, I suggest you read this very interesting post on In Context, a website I visit often, and more often when I’m trying to make sense of what’s happening in the Middle East.
Along the same lines, I listened to a caller to 90.3 after 9 today blame everything in the world on Israel. And then he was followed up by a caller who said that he is an evangelical and wants everyone to stop blaming everything in the world on Israel.
Obviously, I’m in the second camp, and I liked some of his examples: Saddam killing Kurds, Saddam killing Shiites, Saddam invading Kuwait.
Israel doesn’t even have oil, you know?
And how about Saudi Arabia? Would anyone like to talk about its role in 9/11 and breeding terrorists?
Feh. I’ve been in a bad way since Hamas won. I think I’m going to blame my persistent depression since then on them.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:34 am January 30th, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Jan
30
Exxon Mobil profits rise 27%
Filed Under Politics | 6 Comments
You’ll be hearing about this all day and night, I’m sure, in the MSM and the blogs. I hope you’re as bothered by it as I am.
I know I live in an economy with an overreliance on oil and so maybe I shouldn’t be bothered by it. But I am.
Is it okay to have 27% profits when my bottom line is shrinking because of how much I pay for gasoline? When I’m spending money to improve efficiency in my home so that I can reduce my utility bills to something reasonable? Why is it that I feel like I have to take steps to reach “reasonable” when, logic would suggest that the companies reaping unreasonable profits should be thinking about reducing their profit margin?
I think I’m missing the gene for how to live in a capitalist society without being miserable about corporate success.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:33 am January 30th, 2006 in Politics | 6 Comments
Print This Post
Jan
30
The Armchair Entrepreneur
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
So I was surfing around, using the italicized blog names on Brewed Fresh Daily as a guide. And I surfed over to Dan Hanson’s blog where he mentions a new Red Room Revolution event.
The convergence of what I read and what I hear lately has been uncanny because just before I saw Dan Hanson’s italicized name on BFD, I’d just finished emailing Henry Gomez about his mention in today’s Tech Link item on Cathy Panzica and others going to Israel for a fact-finding trip re: bioscience. That alone is a coincidence – two RRR sightings in just a few minutes.
But, in addition, I spent a year in Israel and one of my program-mates was Scott Zielinger, who heads up Kadima Partners, a group which also looks at possible Israel-Cleveland bioscience connections (here’s a Plain Dealer article about Scott’s endeavors, and others, in this effort). And in fact has brought at least one to the Beachwood area.
Anyway, since I’d read Henry’s piece and it included the RRR mention, and then I surfed to Dan’s blog and saw more RRR info, well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t provide a link to the RRR event. However, be forewarned, the Program Details link on the event info page that is hosted at the Thompson Hine site didn’t work for me. I’ve emailed the contact person listed to see if I could get a copy emailed to me, or at least be notified when they fix the link.
[UPDATE: The link is fixed and will take you to this pdf of the agenda. Thank you, Christine!]
Last thing: I’d never seen Great Lakes Geek (tagline: Business and Technology News, Events and Resources) before and I like it. It seems to be a great collection of information and event listings. I’m not sure how germane it is to my life, but I like knowing that it exists as a resource.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:57 am January 30th, 2006 in Politics | Please comment
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