Happy Birthday, Jack

My little guy turned 4 on Tuesday. Wow. He got a Darth "Tater" Mr. Potato Head (complete with what he calls a "light saver"), a Wall-E game for his Leapster and some Spiderman stickers from his sister (OK, so we're suckers for pop-culture marketing...).

Speaking of pop culture, we then treated Jack to an outing to see Space Chimps, which was jampacked with plenty of grownup-directed humor but goofy enough to keep the both Kate and Jack giggling in their seats. 

Letter to the Editor: Circus

Phyllis Elliott of Santa Monica writes:

With your focus on good parenting, I found the calendar promotion in the July issue of Ringling Bros. Circus unfortunate. The elephants in the photo were separated from their families in infancy, chained and beaten over a period of weeks with bullhooks (heavy bats with a stabbing implement on one end) to break their spirits. They then spend their lives in isolation, forced into unnatural behavior to ear-splitting amplified music, transported through heat and cold, and chained at all times when not performing.

Ringling trainers have been videotaped beating the elephants unmercifully. They also stab them behind the ears, in the feet, and in the rectum and genitals where the wounds are not visible to audiences. Animals are forced to perform while sick.  They develop foot and joint problems from lack of normal exercise and are in constant pain until they die an early death.

Ringling has been cited by the USDA for countless violations, but pays the fines rather than improving its treatment of the animals.  This is not an organization that deserves your support. Please refer to documentation at http://www.circuses.com/ringling.asp and do not promote circuses unless they are animal-free.

Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts.

 

Letter to the Editor: Getty Villa

Christina Jamieson of Los Angeles writes:

I saw that you had listed the Getty Villa as a place to take children in your link to Free Museum Days.

 We visited the Getty Villa in Feb. 2008 and found it was decidedly NOT child-friendly. My 3-year-old son and I were constantly harassed and ushered out of every room by over-zealous volunteers in the Getty Villa and herded over to the small, one-room Family Forum. The security guards were not responsible for this; it was the docents and volunteers who made our visit so unpleasant.  Our son is energetic but not destructive.  After a couple of hours of harassment we were desperate to leave that unhappy place.

Even when we were trying to leave and my son and I were waiting outside the museum in the vicinity of the outdoor theater for my husband and older daughter to join us, a volunteer rapidly strode up to my son within minutes and told him that sliding and lying down on the slate floor was not allowed. He was just sliding on his knees to lie down for a brief moment near the steps.  In the mean time many stylish visitors clattered past on the precious slate flooring in hard-soled boots and high-heeled shoes. Children are obviously not to be seen or heard or even to be present at the Getty Villa.

There should be a clear warning on the Getty Villa web site discouraging young children from visiting the Getty Villa. They should, in fact, have an outright ban on children under 15 since they already try to practice this policy this on innocent children that stray into this sham of a museum. In retrospect, I strongly object to the mixed message of having a "Family Forum" room at the Getty Villa. The activities in the room were interesting but children and their parents became virtual prisoners there since we were actively removed from all other areas.

We have enjoyed visiting many other museums in Los Angeles and around the world including the LACMA and Getty Center since both the children were babies and have never been treated this way.  We will not go back to the Getty Villa which we found to be an overly protected, "Emperor's new clothes" of a museum and will tell our friends with children not to bother either.

Comments? Feel free to share your experiences!

Home Again, Home Again

Steve, Kate and Jack are back in the nest, safe and sound. This postcard arrived the day after they got home and is only one reason I worry myself into a lather when my little chicks are out of sight.




If you have trouble reading rushed 8-year-old writing, here's the translation:

I love you.

I am going to jump off a cliff.

Love,

Kate

Danged Scale

I've managed to stick to this "lower-calorie" "diet" for nearly nine days. So far, here are the stats:

• Average calorie intake per day: 1436.25


• Average steps in a day on the pedometer: 3788.29 (just over a mile)


• Pounds lost: 0.5

Zero point five? And let me just stress the "ZERO" part. What's up with that? It hasn't been a horrible sacrifice; no major drop in calories, really. But come on! I expected at least a solid pound.

So, I've submitted my quandary to the "Health-e" blog next-door; we'll see if the experts over there have any tips.