tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242237432024-03-13T16:05:26.130-04:00Cranial SoupPeas, carrots, green beans, and gray matter.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-23356868659457177552010-09-07T12:56:00.001-04:002010-09-07T12:56:28.530-04:00The Single Most Important Book I Was Ever Exposed To<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; display: inline" title="Ed Emberley's Make a World" alt="Ed Emberley's Make a World" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/TIZuu9V_RrI/AAAAAAAABFA/Iq9s3pOdf0I/61Sb5CXRA5L._SL160_%5B10%5D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="124" height="160" /></a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=freeprogeboo-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0316789720" width="1" height="1" /> When I was a kid, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank">Ed Emberley's Make a World</a> was a library book that my younger sister and I monopolized. One of us would check it out, and keep it for as long as possible, renewing it for the maximum number of times allowed. Then the other would grab it before the librarian could put it back on the shelf, and repeat the process. </p> <p>We did this for years. I am really surprised my parents never bought us a copy, but to their credit, they remembered this and bought my daughter a copy when she was about 5 years old. </p> <p>Ed Emberley teaches that if you can draw a few basic shapes (circle, square, triangle, lines, dots, and a few numbers and letters), you can draw anything that you can imagine. From building a heart shape from two circles and a triangle to more complicated things like castles, dragons, and even the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_flag" target="_blank">Canadian flag</a>, Ed shows how easy it really is.</p> <p>But it's not "just a drawing book"...it's a whole lot more. It's a child's first technical how-to manual. It sets them on the right path for acquiring the skills needed to self-educate. </p> <p align="center"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93243688@N00/3024269066"><img style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; display: block; border-top: medium none; border-right: medium none" alt="Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make A World" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/3024269066_985b627666_m.jpg" width="240" height="160" /></a></p> <p style="font-size: 0.8em" class="zemanta-img-attribution" align="center">Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/93243688@N00/3024269066">Austin Kleon</a> via Flickr</p> <p></p> <p>It's really good for teaching kids how to follow step-by-step instructions, especially ones that contain no text...a skill that will come in handy later in life if they have to build IKEA furniture. </p> <p>It also teaches a valuable life skill by changing how you look at the world. It teaches that anything in life that seems too complicated and hard to do, is made much easier when you analyze it and break it down into much simpler parts. The earlier in life a child learns this, the more doors will be open to them, and the list of possibilities greatly increased. </p> <p>It's not enough to tell a child that they can accomplish anything in life that they set their mind to. They need to be taught how, and this book is a great place to start.</p> <p> </p> <p><em>Purchasing this book through my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316789720?ie=UTF8&tag=freeprogeboo-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316789720" target="_blank">Amazon affiliate link</a> will not increase your price and is a great way to show your appreciation to me for introducing you to this book.</em></p> <div class="zemanta-related"> <h6 style="font-size: 1em" class="zemanta-related-title">Related articles by Zemanta</h6> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.coolhunting.com/culture/ed-emberley-fri.php">Ed Emberley and Friends</a> (coolhunting.com) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/07/23/draw-a-sasquatch-the.html">Draw a Sasquatch the Ed Emberly Way</a> (boingboing.net) </li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://laist.com/2010/08/04/last_week_to_see_ed_emberley_friend.php">The Creatures, Devils and Weirdos of Ed Emberley & Friends at Scion Space</a> (laist.com) </li> </ul> </div> <div style="margin-top: 10px; height: 15px" class="zemanta-pixie"><img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; float: right; border-left-style: none" class="zemanta-pixie-img" alt="" src="http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=28a5b637-0c11-4b28-b64d-fd0d7d8c4e70" /></div> Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24223743.post-68149356469099459212008-06-28T18:58:00.007-04:002008-12-11T02:24:13.267-05:00Pro-life and Pro-choice Can Be Two Sides of the Same Coin If That Coin Is Education<img style="margin: 20px 10px 0px 0pt; float: left;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SGbMCKjhEDI/AAAAAAAAAWY/F0famoA8mbo/s400/16-week-unborn-baby.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217081555920425010" border="0" /><br />I am both pro-choice and pro-life and the 2 views are not in conflict with each other because I am also very pro-education.<br /><br />In a perfect world, every child would be born to 2 responsible parents that loved it, wanted it, had the means and skills required to take care of it, nurture it, properly educate it, and help it to become a productive member of society.<br /><br />But we don't live in a perfect world, do we?<br /><br />And people do make mistakes. That is why there are erasers on pencils and backspace keys on keyboards...and abortion.<br /><br />Unless and until we can find a way to eliminate the mistakes before they are made, then the eraser is still needed, and the backspace key...and abortion, and all of those will continue to exist.<br /><br />If you want to end abortions, then end the mistakes that lead to them...by educating people to make better choices.<br /><br />Instead of telling kids that babies come from the stork or by swallowing watermelon seeds, start at an early age and tell them where they <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> come from.<br /><br />And don't tie the hands of educators that want to provide children with knowledge by forbidding them from teaching how the human body works, how and why pregnancies occur, how one can prevent pregnancies. This is valuable information they will need, even if they do wait until marriage to have sex.<br /><br />Arming your kids with the facts doesn't lead to wild orgies of teens having sex. On the contrary... Show a classroom full of 14 year olds a video of a live birth, with a nice close-up of the woman's twat opening wide to pass the head of a baby, and it's likely to scare the crap out of them and give them something to think about and make them not want to have sex for at least a year.<br /><br />Telling them about birth control choices and making them available prevents them from getting pregnant, in the event that they do decide to be sexually active. And don't forget to educate them on the psycological effects of abortion and the lingering effects it has on the mind of the mother that decides to take that route, so they won't see abortion as a first line birth control choice.<br /><br />Do whatever it takes to change the attitudes of young women who regard taking care of a baby as being all fun and games, like playing house, or playing with baby dolls, so they don't deliberately get pregnant with a child they are unable and unprepared to care for. And make them understand that caring for a child isn't like caring for a pet dog, cat, or hamster. They need to understand this before they get pregnant with the first one and not find out after the fact, which can lead to aborting a second pregnancy.<br /><br />Give them enough information and better choices and they won't make so many damn mistakes that lead to abortion. There is so much to consider <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> getting pregnant. Teach them this and don't wait till after the fact to tell them. End abortion by ending unwanted pregnancies...end unwanted pregnancies with knowledge and understanding.<br /><br />If my daughter made a mistake, which is highly unlikely because I have educated her myself, I would hope she would seriously consider giving her baby a chance at life, like I did, but I would also hope she would make that choice after careful consideration about what kind of life that baby would have and how it would impact hers, and exactly how she will provide for it and not eventually become a burden to her child at the same time. But in the end, the choice is hers and not mine, and I don't have the right to make that choice for her. If my daughter decides she is not ready to be a mother, than I am not ready to be a grandmother, as well.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.livingwithbugs.com/pubic_lice.html"><img style="margin: 20px 0px 0px 10px; float: right;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qlCAUZtia6Q/SGbPHJ03MzI/AAAAAAAAAWg/a70aannmeRo/s400/crab_louse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5217084940158972722" border="0" /></a><br />Whether you like the definition or not, babies are perfect parasites, by the technical <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?parasite">definition of what a parasite is</a>, and not one that can be cured with a little bit of medicated soap.(funny how we don't see "save the <a href="http://www.livingwithbugs.com/pubic_lice.html">pubic lice</a>" protests, huh?)<br /><br />Parenthood is a permanent condition. When you decide to have a baby, you are stuck with it and it's effects for life, not just till it becomes legally an adult. Even if your child dies before you do, you don't stop being a parent...you just become the parent of a dead child.<br /><br />I wonder how many old women died from falling out of bed, severe bone fractures caused by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoporosis">osteoporosis</a> that began with a baby leeching the calcium from their bones when they were young.<br /><br />Yes, you may have contributed to the cause of death of your mother by your actions before you were born. Kids also need to know and understand things like this before they get pregnant.<br /><br />And just like you can't end typos by outlawing backspace keys, you can't end unwanted pregnancies or abortions by making it illegal...you only end <span style="font-style: italic;">legal</span> abortions, driving women to seek their abortions <span style="font-style: italic;">illegally</span>, putting them at great risk of death by having an abortion performed by an untrained person in a tattoo parlor or butcher shop, or doing it themselves with a coat hanger at home, rather than a nice safe medical clinic by a trained doctor.<br /><br />Outlawing abortion can kill both your daughters and grandchildren at the same time, which is much worse than just losing your grandchildren, and I would never forgive the one that takes my precious daughter away from me with their thoughtless laws.Apphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04973805741360160102noreply@blogger.com0