Monthly Archives: December 2008

I’ve just watched a documentary about extreme winter sports: Warren Miller’s Playground.  Skiers cliff diving, half-pipe jumping, snowboarding into trees, parachuting down the north face of Alaskan mountains, etc. Sweet, terrifying athleticism. I am so not extreme. I never caught a wave over eight feet.… Read more

The sleds of our youth are German: a sweet wooden one with a multi-colored webbed seat, and curled runners; and a racing car of red plastic with a sophisticated steering mechanism that includes a wheel and horn. Yesterday my brother and I humped these up… Read more

My four year old is a random trekking companion. But two days ago, we walked for miles through the snow paths and side streets of the South Hill, while Gavin told a story of an avalanche that buried cars and houses and trees. 

Groups… Read more

Stephen S. Hall’s recent article, “Last of the Neanderthals”  http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/10/neanderthals/hall-text 

in the September issue of National Geographic suggests we still have more questions than answers about Neanderthals. Were their tools more than rudimentary, did they paint with colorful pigments, or simply use… Read more

One of the reasons that I dig the animated Sleeping Beauty is that Maleficent is such a great villain. She has horns and a fabulous voice and calls upon all the forces of hell to transform into a medieval dragon. Love it. 

Or Peter Lorre… Read more

I was one of those kids who lectured for her stuffed animals. I’d line them up on the bed, and the chairs, and on the sofa, and use the chalkboard at the front of the “class” to illustrate my lessons. Arithmetic and spelling exercises, story… Read more

In a Greek History class in college, the professor had us read the Iliad and Odyssey, and we’d discuss the cultural clues to Greek life apparent in the text. That class happened to coincide with Latin where we were translating myths and poems and speeches.… Read more