Kirk blAug

This coming Wednesday, December 28, Michelle Hickman is calling for a nationwide "nurse-in" to take place in Target stores all over. It stemmed from her experience being harassed by Target employees for breastfeeding in, according to her, a nice quiet corner, under a blanket in a Houston store. She was asked to move to a dressing room to finish feeding her baby: I was Christmas shopping with a basket full of items when my infant woke up hungry, so I found a remote area of the store in the ladies clothing department close to the fitting rooms and sat Indian style on the floor next to my basket and a display of jeans and nursed my hungry baby with a blanket completely covering him. Briefly I will say that 2 female employees came and verbally asked me to move. The 2nd one told me that Target employees had been told/trained to interrupt nursing and to redirect mothers to the fitting rooms. Even after I informed the 2nd employee of my legal right to nurse in public she still sugg

This is how you know that the consumerism of Christmas is the least of the problems with your kid: Demanding Mekeeda Austin, 13, warned Father Christmas that he will be 'killed' if he fails to deliver at least two of her long list of lavish gifts. This is pretty pathetic. What was on said list you ask? Oh nothing much. Just a Blackberry, money, a designer sweater, high-top Converse sneakers, Austin Mahone or Justin Bieber (the real-life version), or designer sunglasses. I think the quickest way to correct this is to give her a lump of coal and let her go journey to the North Pole and try to find the object of her threat. She says, "I don't see any problem with the letter, I want all of these things and I don't see why I shouldn't get them." Her mother thought it was funny, and intends to indulge her daughters wishes: "When I first found the letter I thought it was funny, now I think I better get her what she wants, the last thing I want is for her to

There is this "war" that creeps up every year in recent years about Christmas and who gets to celebrate it and what it is all about and where it came from. I, frankly, do not care what your reason is for celebrating, I think you should do it if you like. If you do not feel like celebrating, do not. It really is that simple, but it always has to get complicated with some people who want to own it and make people not in their group feel like the outsiders that those in said group want to believe that they are. Merry Christmas vs Happy Holidays Last weeks Post Secret included the image that you see to your left. I think it is great and I tend to do just the same when confronted. I was at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert a few days ago and someone on the stage who represented a local radio station said, "Happy Holidays!" Some guy behind me, apparently feeling uncomfortably awkward at the knowledge of the existence of human beings who may celebrate something other tha

I recently wrote here about how our family treats the Santa Claus character as we would treat any other fictional character. I also mentioned that there are good arguments for propagating the lie from a critical thinking standpoint. An excerpt from Parenting Beyond Belief was posted on Dale McGowan's blog that does a very good job of making that argument : Santa Claus, my secular friends, is the greatest gift a rational worldview ever had. Our culture has constructed a silly and temporary myth parallel to its silly and permanent one. They share a striking number of characteristics, yet the one is cast aside halfway through childhood. And a good thing, too: A middle-aged father looking mournfully up the chimbly along with his sobbing children on yet another giftless Christmas morning would be a sure candidate for a very soft room. This culturally pervasive myth is meant to be figured out, designed with an expiration date, after which consumption is universally frowned upon. While

Because the thing that I really want is to cart my kids around on my back all the time. It is called, The Daddle and it is available from Amazon for the low price of $35.99 This comes from an actual saddle manufacture by the name of Cashel . I hope this does not become a trend, but there are a few amusing customer reviews: Wanderwoman says: Please note that this Daddle is Western Style and will not be appropriate for those trained in the English Father Riding Method whereby one holds a rein in each hand and posts the trot. If you are looking forward to father jumping, father fox hunting, father polo or daddy dressage you will not be able to use this Daddle. Western Daddle riders hold the reins with one hand, and sit the trot. The pommel or horn on this Daddle is meant to hold a lariat which is useful when roping cattle or other competing or unruly fathers.

When my generation hears the word "phone" we tend to think of something that derived from the telephone. That is, an electronic device that is used to transmit audio conversations between two or more parties. Some from my generation may have extended the definition to include the functions of a smartphone but still tend to think of it as primarily an audio transmission device. My son's generation will not think of an audio device. For example, when my son plays with something that he imagines is a phone, he uses it to do a variety of things. He uses it for audio transmission, but he also, in his imagination, uses it for playing games, watching videos, taking pictures, and more. He might as well be pretending that it is an iPod Touch. He certainly does not need to have a phone to provide all of the functions on the device that he is calling a phone. It has been years since the primary function on my mobile device has been the phone. Before I had a smartphone, I used the ce

Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one Today is the 31st anniversary of the day that John Lennon was shot by Mark David Chapman. The song Imagine still inspires an deep felt emotional response every time I hear it. When thinking of my favorite music artists, Lennon does not cross my mind. I do not like choosing favorites when it comes to something like a song, but if

Since moving here, to the St. Louis area, I have probably had pizza for about 50% of the meals I have eaten. Not all of these times have been pizza in the St. Louis style, but many have. St. Louis style is super thin yeast free crust and the use of Provel cheese, then cut into squares instead of slices. Provel is a fusion of provolone, Swiss, and white Cheddar cheeses that was developed by a St. Louis firm called Costa Grocery in the 1950s. In my humble opinion, it is the best cheese anyone could put on a pizza. It is a little more stringy than mozzarella that is typically used on pizza. It is not widely available outside the St. Louis area. The thin crust is cracker like in consistency which reminds me of a lavash. I have enjoyed St. Louis pizza several sources. The frozen pizza option comes from Dogtown Pizza and tastes really great for a frozen pizza. For delivery, I have been enjoying Imo's Pizza . Several sit down restaurants I have visited have offered St. Louis style pizza.

Yesterday was the birthday of our dog, Sunny. Our tradition with our dogs on their birthdays is to get them a cheeseburger and fries. We typically got this special treat from Runza , but with no Runza restaurant anywhere within at least a four hour drive, I settled for the fast food restaurant nearest our house. This was McDonalds . I do not go to McDonalds very often. My taste buds just do not agree with it. I have gotten a Happy Meal for Jupiter from there before, however. The time that I did, they had two classifications of toys. When they asked me which sex my child was. I queried as to the strange nature of asking such a question before providing me with a lunch for my son. They responded by informing me that they needed to know if they should give me a girls toy or a boys toy. I stated that there is no such thing, but knowing that it was not the employees decision to attribute gender to toys, I also told them that Jupiter was a boy so that they could get on with the rest of the p

When I was young my parents followed a tradition which I imagine was passed down to them from their parents who received the tradition from their parents before them and so on for a generation or two before them. I am of course talking about the yearly tradition of deceiving their gullible offspring with myths of a jolly man who lives at the North Pole. I fell for it. They were fairly elaborate to the point of even having a man dressed up as a Santa come to the front door one year. This of course sparked my suspicion a little. Why the front door and not the chimney? Though I do not remember what it was, a satisfactory explanation was given and I continued to believe in it. Eventually I did finally figure it all out, mostly through ridicule from schoolmates and my 3rd grade teacher for still believing it. I did not take the news well. I did not understand that my parents, who regularly told me that lying is wrong and makes Jesus cry, would keep up such an elaborate and ultimately pointl

This scene in How The Grinch Stole Christmas has always bugged me. I can not figure out how the Grinch ended up with a three dimensional suit by cutting one two dimensional piece of cloth. I remember back to one of the first times that I watched the show thinking, "What?!? But... that just does not work!" Perhaps back in 1966 kids were not so intuitive with things like this. Maybe they really thought that a tailor could take a piece of cloth such as this and make something that would cover both back and front of a body. Perhaps the Grinch cut another piece for the hat and coat off camera. I do not know what Chuck Jones and Ted Geisel were thinking, but it still bugs me every time I see it.

I was going to write something today, but then I got sidetracked and played with iMovie instead. Enjoy!