Strollerderby : things that are awesome

Free to Be...Again

Amy Kuras — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:02:00 GMT

“Don’t dress your cat in an apron, just cause he’s learning to bake; don’t dress your horse in a nightgown, just ‘cause he can’t stay awake….”

If you are a parent of a certain age, those words are instantly recognizable to you as one of the poems in “Free To be…You and Me.” The stories and songs and poems in that book, I don’t think it’s too much a stretch to say, helped shape the consciousness of a whole generation of people who are currently parenting.

I know I made sure my daughter had a copy of the book as soon as she was old enough for longer stories. I read the book and listened to the record endlessly when I was her age – my own parents recall it fondly from their days of parenting little kids – and now I have the supreme joy of sharing it with my daughter, who loves it as much as I do.

Well, now a new edition is coming out, with updated art, for the book’s 35th anniversary. This should be wonderful – while some of the book’s 1970s illustrations have worn well, some, well, not so much.

But this, the purpose of the book, is as relevant and inspiring as it ever was:

“…each story, each sentence, each word in Free to Be . . . You and Me was written to remind you that you're the hero of your own life adventure, and that you can write your story any way that you dream it can be.”

Coolest Family Portraits Ever

Amy Kuras — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:30:00 GMT

This makes me feel that much more lame for the fact most of my family pictures are done at the local chain-store portrait studio: check out these portraits that photographer Andre Maier takes of his family every six months. Some are based on classical paintings, others are just witty and funny, like the one of his family posed as gallerygoers and artists.

The work is beautiful and sometimes oddly touching, like the one of his family posed as Madonna and child with the Magi. I’m also a sucker for anything, even goofy collections of snapshots, that show families over time as they grow and change and age. There’s another family’s photo collection on the site as well. They seem to be having a lot less fun than the Maiers.

Of course, the fact that they are all stunningly gorgeous helps. Maier’s wife, Sylvia, is an artist as well, so there is all kinds of creativity around their house, I am sure.

He does these for other people, as well as photographs weddings and mitzvahs, so if you’re in NYC definitely check him out. And if you’re in the hinterlands like me, it’s great to spend some time poking around the website.

Eat Your Greasy Bloaters! Or Just Read This Book

Amy Kuras — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:31:00 GMT

Do you know Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong? Do you know what sneedball is?

If so, you're my kind of person. If not, here's some excellent news: Publisher David R Godine has bought the rights to, and reissued, overlooked classic children's books "How Tom Beat Captain Najork and His Retired Sportsmen" and "A Near Thing for Captain Najork."

Aunt Fidget Wonkham-Strong is maiden aunt and guardian to Tom, a boy who likes to fool around. Aunt Fidget, however, disapproved mightily of fooling around and thinks learning off pages of the Nautical Almanac is a much better pastime. When she loses patience with Tom's fooling around, she calls in Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen, who come to town on their pedal-boat to teach Tom a lesson.

This reissue actually happened last year, but somehow I missed it – as a matter of fact I didn’t know there was a followup to the first Captian Najork book. My father read "How Tom Beat Captain Najork…" to my brother and I constantly when we were children, and when we each had kids he tracked down then-out-of-print copies for his grandchildren.

My three-year-old will finally sit still for it, and is beginning to love it as much as I do, probably because of the giggle fits I lapse into whenever I read it. It's a gloriously silly book, full of that sort of surreal
British humor that you either find funny or lame. It was written by Russel Hoban, better known for the Frances books, and illustrated by Quentin Blake, who also illustrated many Roald Dahl novels.

I'd highly recommend checking it out. Hey, it's better than cabbage-and-potato sog.

Why the puppy games are better than the Olympics

Brett Singer — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

OK, that's not true. But if you haven't seen this dopey show on Animal Planet, you're missing out on something very cute.

Here are a few highlights:

1. Commentary: "It's going to be tough to impress the judges." True – because they're goldfish. "This is like a chess match." Indeed – if chess opponents gnawed on the pieces and sniffed each others' butts. Bob Costas doesn't get lines like these.

2. No controversy: As far as we know, the opening ceremonies were real, no protesters, journalists or grandmothers were arrested, and no one is complaining about the puppy's potentially sexist costumes.

3. Who won? Who cares?: They're, you know, dogs. They have no idea where they are or what they're doing. You can still cheer for your favorite breed (the Cocker Spaniel is really cute) but at the end of the day, it's all up to the judges… who are goldfish.

4. Two words: Waterbowl Cam.

Not sure if they're going to air this again or not, if so, I highly recommend watching it. There are a bunch of video clips on Discovery.com; here's one of the Gymnastics event.

source/image: Animal Planet

Other Old Olympians

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

Did Michael Phelps actually win 8 medals?

Michael Phelps to endorse Frosted Flakes

Olympic Athletes To Be Tested . . . For Gender

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Shawn Johnson more mature than her coach

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

IOC orders investigation of Chinese Gymnast's age

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:54:00 GMT

He Kexin won a gold medal in the uneven bars and also contributed to the Chinese beating out the U.S. in the team gymnastics event. She looks really really young, and there have been questions about her age for awhile now. The IOC has begun to formally investigate whether or not, "Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete," because of, "'discrepancies' that have come to light about the age of He Kexin." You kind of have to wonder what took them so long, but apparently someone, described as an "American hacker" by the U.K.-based Times Online, has uncovered documents that offer proof that Kexin is too young.

Watching the games, the judging also seemed biased, although that's more subjective. Still, I'm pretty sure I saw a member of the Chinese team fall in one event and not get any deduction, whereas an American who had a similar fall lost points. Béla Károlyi told Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges is obvious," and it was tough to disagree.

Károlyi's wife Marta has attacked the age issue the way her gymnasts attacked their events, and while I think she went a little overboard, I agree that the whole thing is very suspicious.

Would the Chinese government lie about an athlete's age in order to gain a competitive advantage? And if so, what happens? The medals get stripped, but should they be banned from the Olympics for a time after that?

So – how old do you think she looks? 14? 16? Do I hear 12?

Source/image: TimesOnline

They Say: no junk food ads at the Olympics

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Team more mature than coach

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:00:00 GMT

When Béla Károlyi isn't training world-class gymnasts or telling Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges [in this year's Olympic Games] is obvious," he likes to go…hunting.

When I googled Károlyi in an attempt to get the spelling of his name correct, this page was the fourth result. After seeing him comment, often mercilessly, on the various Olympic gymnastic events, I'm going to say that I'm not exactly shocked that one of his leisure activities is hunting big game.

I'm not going to say anything else about this, since, you know, I don't want to get shot.

Images/Source: bigbexotics.com

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Team more mature than coach

Other Old Olympians

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is 41, and Oksana Chusovitina is 33 (and saved her son from leukemia), but they aren't even close to the oldest Olympic athletes in history, or even this year. Most aren't in the more physically strenuous events, but competing in anything at their age is pretty impressive.

* Iain Murray is on the Australian Olympic sailing team, and at age 50 is making his Olympic debut. Murray is Australia's oldest Olympian; Andrew Palfrey, a teammate, is 41 and also competing in his first Olympics.

* Luan Jujie was 50 years old in 1984 when she won a Gold medal in fencing for Canada.

* Susan Nattrass is 57 and currently in Beijing on the Canadian shooting team. In 1976, she became the first woman shooter to compete in the Olympics.

* Hiroshi Hoketsu, a Japanese equestrian, made his Olympic debut in 1964 and is now back for a second time – at age 67.

* Oscar Swahn (Shooting) competed in his last Olympics in 1920 at the age of – are you ready for this? – 72. (He was planning to go in 1924 but he got sick. Wimp.) Over his career, Swahn won three gold medals, two bronze, and a silver in 1920, making him the oldest Olympic medallist ever. Fun fact: his son competed with him in 1908, 1912 and 1920.

For more, see NBCOlympics.com

Image/Source: nbcolympics.com

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Like father like son

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is an inspiration to many, competing in the Olympics at age 41, and winning. But I think the story of Oksana Chusovitina, a German gymnast, might be even more inspiring.

Here's the deal: Oksana is from Uzbekistan. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 3. There were no beds for him in her home country. Because of her gymnastics ability, she was able to move to Germany and join their team, while also getting her little boy the treatment he needed.

He seems to be doing better now, and to make the story even better, she just won a silver medal. She's also 33 years old in a sport where 22 is considered really old. Congratulations to her, and to her son.

Source/image: Detroit Free Press

Olympic Parenting: Oksana Chusovitina and Alisher

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Like father like son

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Back in the year 2000, Dara "Superwoman" Torres was at a swimming camp in California. Two sisters, Sandra and Danielle Fong, were fascinated by her, and the medal she had just won at the Santa Clara International Invitational. So she did what anyone would do: she gave them her medal.

OK, that's not what everyone would do. But it is what Dara did. And now, eight years later, both of the Fong sisters will be competing in the Olympics, although not in swimming. 18-year-old Sandra Fong is on the U.S. shooting team. Danielle Fong, 17, has cerebral palsy and will shoot for the U.S. at the Paralympics in September.

Torres, in case you didn't know, just won a Silver medal – at the age of 41. So yeah, we like her.

Image/source: nytimes.com

Read more:

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Hunka hunka burnin Barbie

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Matthew McConaughey keeps placenta

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Birth inspires lottery ticket purchase

Retarded movie boycott

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Amy Kuras — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

I'll admit it – I have a huge, full-on girlcrush on Dara Torres. She's 41 years old, people, has a body most women half her age would envy, shows both really great sportsmanship (congratulating other swimmers with a big smile, asking the ref to delay the start of qualifying heats so a Swedish swimmer could switch out her ripped suit for a good one) and a tough competitive spirit, and oh yes, is the mom of a two-year-old.

Admittedly, she has significant financial resources – this June story in the New York Times magazine pegs her training costs at around $100,000 per year – and has won only one individual medal, the silver in the 50 meter freestyle she picked up last night.

But I find her enormously inspiring, that someone could come back from childbirth and be not just as good as she once was, but better. I think all of us who’ve struggled a little bit to find our new identities after having children can find some inspiration in that.

I also love that she shows mothers can be healthily competitive, and not just over the stupid stuff we can allow ourselves to get bogged down in like who has the nicest strller or the cutest haircut or the most stylishly attired kid. Most women are smarter than that, and athletes like Torres show how much smarter.

As for me? I am about as unathletic as a person can be (seriously, I once needed stitches from banging my head on a barbell) and the only medals I get are of the "participant" variety. But when I hop on a treadmill at the Y tomorrow, I'll be thinking about her and hoping someday I can kick one-tenth the ass.