Giving Up TV

Are the Sexes Equal?

Top 10 Badass Dad Posts

The most Positive Representation of Fatherhood in the Movies
First there was Atticus Finch (okay, he was first from a book) who showed the strength and difficulty of a single father. Now there's Tatsuo Kusakabe.Well who the hell is that?Tatsuo Kusakabe is the name of the father in the animated Japanese movie "My Neighbor Totoro," written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki in 1988. It reached these shores shortly thereafter in VHS format, and most recently (with a new dub and voice cast) DVD through Studio Ghibli's partnership with Disney in 2006. It reached my house sometime in 2008 via Netflix and it has remained there, not being sent back ever since."My Neighbor Totoro" shows us a Japanese family in the late 50s stru

School Fund Raising and Harsh Indoctrination
My daughter was pretty excited when my wife picked her up from school yesterday. She had just finished an assembly where they showed her "all of the cool prizes" that she could win by selling stuff. In her little folder was a whole catalog full of useless stuff at outrageous prices. Along with that was another catalog of much more useless stuff that she can win just for selling these items. A particular favorite of hers was the stuffed cow you can have for selling 65 items. ("65 items" echoes in the background and fades out). A particular favorite of mine was the choice you get for selling 150 items--either a cell phone with 30(!) prepaid minutes or an actual $100 bill.I know th

Kindergartners Shouldn't be Tested
For that matter, I don't think anyone should be tested in school. I think tests are archaic ways to measure successful learning and at least as arbitrary as the grading system as a whole, but perhaps worse. They create unnecessary anxiety, pressure, and consequences. By no means should kindergartners ever have to take tests.My four year old has had to do 20 minutes of standardized testing for the last two days. She'll be doing it for three days next week as well. And while these test times are mercifully short, they shouldn't be there at all.What does one hope to measure by testing a four year old? The only thing that can be accurately measured by any test is how wel

The Ghost of my Imagination
My daughters can easily find themselves frightened. An odd noise, a dark room, and they easily see the materialization of something unseen, of something other, of something frightening. And it doesn't surprise me that this is the case. Their imaginations are flourishing to such a bright and pretty place, it's not wonder the shadows are all the darker.This morning, while getting my girls in the car for their mom to go get their eyes checked, Luna told me about how her friend, Cheer Rainbow, had a pretend unicorn for a friend. Cheer Rainbow--some sort of a totally ridiculous pony that follows Luna around--is so real to her that she even has her own imaginary friends. Now don't get