China: Guanyuan Insect Market

Still editing video.

Here's the latest from our trip, Beijing's Guanyuan insect market. It's kind of like a pet store, but they sell scary stuff that's just in open boxes.



Here's the China index.

Great children's books with Pigs

So I was going to mention some books that the kids (age 3-4.5) really like and then I realized that a lot of them featured pigs as protagonists. So here they are:


The Poppleton series by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mark Teague. These are short chapter books that are quite funny, and the kids get the jokes, some of them silly tricks that the characters play on each other (is that a wart?). Mostly they are about Poppleton, a pig who moves to a small town and has gentle adventures with his friends and neighbors.

If you like the way Teague draws pigs, by the way, you should check out his book Pigsty.

Mr. & Mrs. Pig's Night Out and others by Mary Rayner. These books are out of print, but I found them in the library. The first book tells the story of what happens when the Pig parents get a babysitter who is a wolf. The sequels deal with the family band, an ice cream truck, too much ketchup and other vexing situations.

The Amazing Bone by William Steig. The classic about a pig who finds a talking bone.

Hog Eye by Susan Meddaugh. Illustrated in a style reminiscent of Steig, this book is told by a clever girl pig. She gets captured by a wolf, but because she can read and the wolf can't, she has the upper hand. The first time we read this, Austin actually said, "Is this a library book? Can we buy one to keep?"

Why Do People Kill?

My latest conversation with Austin in the car:

NPR is on.

Austin: Daddy, a lot of people get killed in wars.

Me: Yes. (Turns off radio.)

Silence.

Austin: Why do people kill?

Me (after some thought): Well, if someone is going to hurt them, and they kill that person, that's called self-defense.

Also sometimes people kill to steal something.

Austin: Like pirates.

Me: Yes, pirates kill and steal people's boats.

Austin: Or gold.

Me: And also there are people who are just crazy. None of these are really good reasons for killing, are they?

Austin: No.

Silence.

Austin: Or they're hungry.

Me: What?

Austin: Like, if someone wants to eat a chicken, they kill the chicken. Or if they want turkey, they kill a turkey. Or if they want to make a fire, they chop down a tree.

Me: Yes.

Mari Likes to Sit on People

That's not entirely fair, but as I was looking at some recent photos to post, there seemed to be a trend. The people you might not recognize: Amy Crosson, Elke Cramer, Mary Crosson.

From the album: We Rock the Corn and Tomato Festival.

Mari's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Mari's birthday at a great family run orchard in Berlin, MA. The apples were delicious (especially the Ginger Golds) and we had a great time.

Here's the proof:

Comments, please!

I made my first contribution to a group blog about the Humanities here.

Unfortunately, there are few comments on that blog! If you have time to read the piece and leave a comment, I'd appreciate it since it will make it seem like I've got something interesting to say.

The other thing I should note is that I wrote for the general public, and the rest of the blog seems more targeted at scholars, etc. so maybe my post was too general. What do you think?

Ratatouille

After slagging off Cars, I feel like I should give Pixar props for their latest movie Ratatouille. The reviews have been all positive so what more can I add?

Well, this: there's something really fantastic about the fact that they make you care about Remy and all the other rats individually, but when you seen them scurrying en masse, it's so completely creepy that it turned my stomach. Now that is impressive visual filmmaking.

That's all.

Scott Pilgrim

In other Canadiana news, I've recently read the first three volumes of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim comics from Oni Press. They feature slacker/bass player/moocher Scott Pilgrim and his friends in Toronto as they play in a band, meet new girl and boyfriends, break up, rollerblade through wormholes and have epic hand to hand battles to the death.

The plot involves videogame logic and manga inspired violence but overall, there's a sweet silliness to the characters that is very compelling. My favorite might be Kim the drummer who hates everyone and tries to gain sympathy from another character by telling her that she was "scrap booking" on a Saturday night (she wasn't, really). Scott's wry gay roommate Wallace also ranks highly (he and Scott's new girlfriend have a friendship based on a shared hatred of Scott's ex-).

And again, sounding like a lost Torontonian, I love the background touches of Canadian bands on t-shirts and posters, fight scenes set at Casa Loma or Honest Ed's, and late night discussions at Pizza Pizza or The Second Cup. They've even namechecked the Pacific Mall.

TV: The Pick-Up Artist

I'm ashamed to say, I read this book called The Game by Neil Strauss in the past year or so. The reason? Curiosity. I think I read a New York Times article by Strauss about a guy named Mystery who runs seminars on how to pick up women. And his course of study is based on sociological studies and millions of attempts. Yes, millions -- through the internet, apparently there is a whole subculture of guys who try to talk to women and then post about their success or failure, leading to dozens of other guys to try out the same line on women in a different city or club. (The sociology is all about proximity studies, coming off as non-threatening, etc.)

Oh, and just to make me seem less sick, I should point out that mostly these guys are super shy and just trying to figure out how to talk to a woman and maybe get a phone number. (Strauss' book has more about sex and drugs as he joins this subculture and the group gets crazed [mostly because their girlfriends dump them {duh}].)

The funny thing about all the stuff they teach is that they sound like how Julie and I socialize at weddings where we don't know anybody. Be nice, be different, don't linger.

Recently, one of my favorite TV critics (yes, I have them -- I also like the New Yorker's Tad Friend and Nancy Franklin [who seems really sweet in a special feature on the DVD of I Know Where I'm Going]), Heather Havrilesky of Salon wrote positively about a new show called The Pick-Up Artist, a reality competition featuring Mystery, aka Erik von Markovik.

It's pretty entertaining. The casting of the loser guys is great and they're problems are nicely diverse: "Needs to shed frat boy image" "talks too much" "too nervous around women" "way too energetic." There's also a guy who loves to breakdance at inappropriate times. But one thing that I really enjoy is the fact that Mystery is from Toronto, and I think some of the contestants are, too. The Canadian accent and the overall vibe reminds me of some friends from Toronto. The hidden camera scenes of the guys striking out in bars is also very amusing.

Anyway, there's a video highlight reel on the website (important for those of us without cable -- the show is on VH1).

China's outdoor exercise equipment

In Peter Hessler's Letter from China in the Feb 13 & 20, 2006 New Yorker, he writes:

Not long after I mobed into Little Ju-er, Beijing stepped up its campaign to host the 2008 Games, and traces of Olympic glory began to touch the hutong. In an effort to boost the athleticism and health of average Beijing residents, the government constructed hundreds of outdoor exercise stations. The painted steel equipment is well-intentioned but odd, as if the designer had caught a fleeting glimpse of a gym and then worked from memory. At the exercise stations, people can spin giant wheels with their hands, push big levers that offer no resistance, and swing on pendulums like children at a park.

We found this equipment in other cities as well, including near the first place we stayed in Shanghai. Julie and I kind of liked it; like a playground for adults while the kids played next door.

Here's the video: