Morgan Freeman says:

Don't Be That Guy!

Emily Heist Moss, being sick and tired of the men who harass her and make her feel unsafe in public spaces, writes A Letter To The Guy Who Harassed Me Outside The Bar.

It's a drizzly Friday in Chicago and I'm leaving a bar with my roommate sometime after midnight. We’re on a quest for tacos and we’re discussing the finer points—Should we get pork or beef? From where? How many? — when you decide to make our conversation your business. You’ve been loitering outside...

Don't be that guy - and don't let your sons be that guy either! Check out her awesome piece at Role/Reboot.

Fighting for the Labor Movement

On The Leonard Lopate Show union organizer Jane McAlevey looks at the state of the American labor movement and describes her experiences fighting the bosses and national labor leaders. In Raising Expectations (and Raising Hell): My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement, she tells the story of a number of dramatic organizing and contract victories, and the unconventional strategies that helped achieve them, and looks at ways to revive the labor movement.

Check out the complete audio:

The Effects Of Touchscreens and Social Media On Kids

Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician and the lead author of a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics on the effects of media on children, spoke with New Tech City host Manoush Zomordi about the pluses and minuses of the digital age for kids.

In particular, Brown touches on some of the long-term effects of kids using too much technology.

"Kids who have even one device — one electronic device — in their room, much less two or three, are getting significantly less sleep a night," Brown said.

Putting a 13-Year-Old Child Safely on Facebook

In Putting a 13-Year-Old Child Safely on Facebook Nick Bilton talks about how Facebook's privacy settings can be daunting, even for adults, the social media challenges that face teenagers, and what you can do about them.

This is important for everyone, especially the part on ads. Check it out at The New York Times

NYC Traffic Deaths in Context

On The Brian Lehrer Show Robert Kolker, contributing editor for New York Magazine, discusses his new piece on why traffic deaths are up in NYC, and how the city is trying to make intersections safer.

This show may lead to the healing of years of my own trauma & anxiety.

Eason's Race, My Mission

When Eason was 8 years old he ran in our town's 1 mile Turkey "Fun" Run in 9:30. It wasn't too difficult for him and I suggested that we try the 5k in the following Spring Derby. He did not think he would need to practice, saying that he ran around all the time. I explained that running around casually was not the same as running such a long race. Sure enough when the time came he wound up having to walk almost half the race, finishing 3.1 miles in just over 38 minutes.

The good part is that he agreed to start training.

Thanksgiving 2012

We celebrated Thanksgiving, and we had turkey.

Morality Quiz

I took the Moral Foundations quiz at YourMorals.Org.

In the graph, my scores on each foundation are shown in green (the 1st bar in each set of 3 bars). The scores of all liberals who have taken it are shown in blue (the 2nd bar), and the scores of all conservatives are shown in red (3rd bar). Scores run from 0 (the lowest possible score, you completely reject that foundation) to 5 (the highest possible score, you very strongly endorse that foundation and build much of your morality on top of it).

Elections

I was surprised to learn that I side with Barack Obama more than any other candidate, so even though I'm not 100% with him on many issues, that is who I'm voting for in this election. I expected to side more with Jill Stein, even though I did side more with the Green Party than the Democrat Party, overall.

Try the political quiz yourself.

Boo At The Zoo

We went to Boo At The Zoo with our friends for Halloween.
                                                       
More pictures below

The Future of Learning, Networked Society

Can ICT redefine the way we learn in the Networked Society? Technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share in whole new ways. This dynamic shift in mindset is creating profound change throughout our society. The Future of Learning looks at one part of that change, the potential to redefine how we learn and educate. Watch as we talk with world renowned experts and educators about its potential to shift away from traditional methods of learning based on memorization and repetition to more holistic approaches that focus on individual students' needs and self expression.

The Peak Time for Everything

On The Leonard Lopate Show Sue Shellenbarger, Senior Writer and "Work & Family" Columnist for the Wall Street Journal, explains what the optimal time is for our daily tasks. In her article “The Peak Time for Everything,” Shellenbarger explains new research that suggests that paying attention to the body’s clock can help determine the different times of day most people perform specific tasks best, from creative thinking to resolving conflicts to working out.

Since the show I've been shifting my son's homework to morning hours. Works great! Listen to the entire episode:

The Ultimate Price of Ultimate Freedom

In The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent The New York Times' Chrystia Freeland wrote about how "The top 1 percent cannot evade its share of responsibility for the growing gulf in American society."

She goes on to point out that "the danger America faces today, as the 1 percent pulls away from everyone else and pursues an economic, political and social agenda that will increase that gap even further - ultimately destroying the open system that made America rich and allowed its 1 percent to thrive in the first place."

Akela Campout

Andrea and I joined Eason at Durland Scout Reservation for their akela campout. We went hiking and ate by the fire and slept in our tent.

More pictures below:

Pictures From The Bungalow

We had fun at the bungalow with our cousins and had a bunch of pictures taken by Kamera Ready.

Check out all the pictures and video below:

Boating At The Bungalow

At the bungalow we all had fun on the kayak and the rowboat.
                               
More pictures and video below:

Mitt Romney's Kryptonite

In 'Are You Better Off?' The Answer Is Less Clear Than It Was in 1980 Mark Landler and John Harwood write "Mitt Romney is hoping the question that helped Ronald Reagan turn around an election will be political kryptonite for President Obama. But it's not so simple in 2012."

Check out the entire piece in The New York Times.

First Day Of School

These are my kids off to their first day of school. Future doctor and physicist...maybe. We'll see.                                                       

Coping Skills and How Children Succeed

When our oldest kids were two, I remember a mom asking me about "the terrible twos", and if Eason was acting up a lot recently, but he hadn't been. Later she showed me an article explaining the terrible twos, and why it was common behavior for two year olds who are having difficulty with the increased expectations that are placed on them relatively suddenly, because of their increased speech development.

Everyone loves work-life balance, or do they?

In Straightening Out the Work-Life Balance Hannah Seligson says - "Some American employees expect that their workplaces will accommodate the demands of their children. But workers who have to pick up the slack are not always happy about it."

Check out her piece at The New York Times.

The Lord Of The Rings

Eason and I started reading Lord Of The Rings this weekend. He wanted to skip the prologue, but I wouldn't let him. Things picked up in Chapter 1.

Labor Day Push-Ups

Labor Day seemed like a good day for us to continue work on our Koguma Dojo push-up challenge.

In about an hour I did 250 push-ups (sets of 60/60/60/70) and Eason did 95 (sets of 20/20/25/30). We each did a set every ten minutes.

Here is a video of Eason doing push-ups from December 12, 2011:

Chronicles of Narnia

Last night I started reading the Chronicles of Narnia to Andi. (Of course Eason is listening.) I hope she likes it.                                     

Judy Moody

I finished reading Judy Moody to Andi this weekend. I don't know if it was as good as Stink, but we all really like it, even Eason.                                               

This Is How We Roll In The Summer

When you're a Kamander this is how you roll. It's a tough life, but we work hard and play hard.

More pictures below:

Romney Critics & Supporters

Republican National Convention

Jonathan Capehart, of the Washington Post, was on The Leonard Lopate Show discussing the speeches so far at the Republican National Convention and how the week in Tampa shaped the election.

Revolt of the Rich

In Revolt of the Rich - Our financial elites are the new secessionists, Mike Lofgren writes "It was 1993, during congressional debate over the North American Free Trade Agreement. I was having lunch with a staffer for one of the rare Republican congressmen who opposed the policy of so-called free."

Check out the entire piece in The American Conservative.

Washington, DC

We swung by Washington, DC on the way home.

We saw the white house, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.

More pictures below:

Water Country USA

We went to Water Country USA, and Eason and I went on both of these Vanish Point rides. CRAZIEST RIDE EVER!!!

Eason's back got scraped up from The Drop. It was really a lousy ride. But all the other rides were lots of fun.

Buckroe Beach

We had a great beach day at Buckroe Beach.                                                       

The New New Deal

Michael Grunwald, senior national correspondent for Time Magazine and the author of The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era,  writes in his new book about how the stimulus package was far more effective than acknowledged.

He discussed it on The Brian Lehrer Show:

Kids Enjoying Colonial Williamsburg

At Colonial Williamsburg for Eason's birthday. My mom got Eason the rifle he always wanted and the hat Andi picked out.

More pictures below:

Raising Successful Children (Is It Easier Than It Sounds?)

In the NY Times' Raising Successful Children, Madeline Levine, author of “Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success” asks "Is there really anything wrong with a kind of “overparenting lite”?"

She goes on to say:

The happiest, most successful children have parents who do not do for them what they are capable of doing, or almost capable of doing; and their parents do not do things for them that satisfy their own needs rather than the needs of the child.

Unnecessary intervention makes your child feel bad about himself (if he’s young) or angry at you (if he’s a teenager.)

Check out the whole article at The New York Times.

My Message To Camp Counselors

At the beginning of this summer the director of my daughter's camp asked some parents to come and speak to their staff about what we expect from the staff and camp, any fears we might have (made up or real), good or bad experiences that we have had and why.

I wasn't be able to go attend, but I did send an email with what I would have liked to say:

Parting Words From Osborn's Zeppie: Don't Complain

This June is the final school year for Osborn Principal, Clarita Zeppie. I was pleased to read Ms. Zeppie's message on the school website, however, in the school year's final Osborn Weekly newsletter she wrote:

Mother's Day at Big Daddy's

We went to Big Daddy's for Mother's Day with all the moms. Afterwards my mom and I went to see Dark Shadows, while everyone else went to the museum.

More pictures below:

Blue Water Grill

We took my mom to Blue Water Grill for her birthday.

More pictures below:                                                  

Gym Etiquette & Pet Peeves - A.K.A. Why #PeopleAtMyGymSuck

Gym etiquette isn’t hard to understand. It isn’t hard to grasp. It’s really just common sense. You already learned everything you needed to know back in kindergarten. Pick up after yourself. Put your toys away when you’re done using them. Learn how to share. Don’t hog all the best toys for yourself. Don’t distract others who are working. So you see, the gym really is a lot like kindergarten. I guess that’s why I feel so at home there… That, and when I’m all done with my workouts I get a snack and a nap. Yup. Just like Kindergarten.

Aviva's Happy Birthday Surprise

We surprised Aviva with breakfast on her birthday.

Check out the video below: