Kirk blAug

Yesterday morning while at the park with the boys, Jupiter suggested that we play superheroes. Since he was wearing a Batman shirt, Jupiter wanted to be Batman. In keeping with the theme of the moment, Tsunami decided to be Robin. Jupiter then asked which hero I would choose to be. I told him that I wanted to be Alfred. "We are playing super heroes, dad!" Jupiter replied. I argued, "Alfred is essential to the hero that is Batman. In fact without Alfred, I do not think there could even be a Batman as you know and love." To be honest, I had never actually thought of Alfred in this way until the moment I made the argument. But I think it holds true. How many times has Alfred been there for Batman in ways that were essential to his task? I think plenty. Without Alfred, I do not think that millionaire, Bruce Wayne, could keep his identity a secret. Alfred has covered for him often. There have even been instances where Alfred has put on the bat suit in order make ...

Boys playing with dolls is supposedly taboo in American culture, but in reality the toy industry caters to it. What I mean when I say that the toy industry caters to the idea of boys playing with dolls is a product cleverly (or perhaps not so cleverly) disguised under the product category of "action figures." What I imagine is really looked down on in boys who play with "girls" dolls. When I was a young boy I had a few different sets of these action figures. I had a Batman , which I recently passed down to Jupiter, who was also a dress up doll as he is able to switch out from his costume to Bruce Wayne. I had a Pee-Wee Herman action figure complete with his pal Chairy from the Pee-Wee's Playhouse series. I also had all four Ghostbusters action figures and some ghosts for them to trap complete with the Ghostbuster's House (dollhouse) and a Ghostbusters car. These are only some of the various action figures I spent my childhood playing with. I was not alon...

We seem to hear the ice cream van that drives through our neighborhood pretty often. By the time we actually get out there, money in hand, it is usually gone or too far away. After living in this neighborhood for over a year though, we finally caught up with it. Jupiter seems mesmerized by his choice of a Batman Pop.