Our Kindergartener

Here is our Jack, handsomely dressed on his first day of Kindergarten at Lakeview Academy.  I was nervous about getting up and being ready to leave the house before 8, especially since we needed to talk to Nona and Papa via video phone one the first day, but we made it.  Likely because I told him how embarrassing it is to be late, Jack popped out of bed before seven asking, "Mom, is it time to get up yet?" 

Each day this week when I picked him up I was anxious to hear about what he did.  I wanted a play by play of every minute of the measly two hours and forty-five minutes he was there, but mostly I just got, "It was good."

Though on Thursday when I asked he told me, with a disgruntled expression on his face, "Mom, today I was girl-trapped."  I tried to repress my laughter for fear he wouldn't elaborate, and asked in an only moderately interested tone, "Oh really, what does that mean?"  He then told me that to be girl-trapped was when there is one girl here (pointing on his right side) and one girl here (pointing on his left side) and a boy in the middle, "that was me," then you are girl-trapped.

I didn't cry as I thought I would driving away from school that first day, I was too excited for him.  Or perhaps I just got out all my crying the night before when Jared gave him a blessing.

But I am excited for all the things he will learn and all the new experiences he will have.  Like all mothers, I suppose, I just hope I have poured enough love into him in the last five years that somehow that love will protect him "out there."

I am just so proud of Jack and the little boy he has become.  I am proud of his compassion and his kindness.  I am proud of his studious and sometimes serious nature.  I am just proud to be his mom.

Ode to Classical Music

Please forgive this celebratory outburst. We just bought three pairs of tickets to the symphony and opera (you had to buy three to get 20% off), and I'm high as a kite.

It's funny how many people consider a night at the opera to be genuinely incomprehensible. The next thing said is that we must be really smart and cultured.

Smart? No.

Cultured? We think that's a fantastic goal. But mostly, a night at the opera is a really, really good time.

The difficulty in writing any persuading prose about classical music is the guaranteed inference of elitism. Granted, we wholeheartedly accept that charge in relation to ICE CREAM, but not classical music. Country music, on the other hand - well, let me paraphrase Bob Newhart:

I don’t like country music, but I don’t mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means ‘put down.’

Now that I have clearly defined the music world, we can move on to my wholly un-elitist paean to classical music.

A love of classical music does not come easily, though it does come naturally. I believe we are predisposed to recognize "anything virtuous, lovely or of good report," especially as all share an inspired heritage from the Divine.

My love of classical music originated in a home where my dad's classical LPs were always spinning and, on rare occasions, my mother played it on the piano.

But most who discover classical music (it is a discovery process) do so later in life. It is usually born out of a hunger or an unsatisfied longing. Constant stimuli ironically creates a void - a void that can only be satisfied by things of an eternal nature. To me, classical music (or fine music in general) is next to godliness. Like the Promethean fire stolen from heaven, we have music to remind us of our celestial origins. We gravitate to the holy because we recognize it.

It is my strong belief that our tastes are evolutionary. Very few still eat Chef Boyardee or Smartees. Instead, we discover that we do like mustard and appreciate fine cuisine.

In a fantastic BYU Magazine article, Elder Douglas L. Callister said:

When some music has passed the tests of time and been cherished by the noble and refined, our failure to appreciate it is not an indictment of grand music. The omission is within. If a young person grows up on a steady diet of hamburgers and french fries, he is not likely to become a gourmet. But the fault is not with fine food. He just grew up on something less. Some have grown up on a steady diet of musical french fries.

It is controversial these days to speak in absolutes and say that something is inherently better than another. Who is to say that gourmet food is better than french fries? Well, I love french fries (as can be seen by my girlish figure) but a nice veal marsala is better. I mean no slight to the french fry lover - unless they like french fries and country music.

As with absolutes, it is uncouth today to be a connoisseur and form opinions.

I agree that liking classical music can be a hard thing to do. But that's half the fun for me. I started out liking Pachelbel's Canon in D, wondering why everybody liked Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Now, I still love Pachelbel and still don't like the Rite of Spring. But I have found hundreds of other wonderful pieces to like since then. Perhaps some day I'll understand the Rite of Spring. I'm sure some day I'll be ready for it.

What we don't understand - like the Rite of Spring - we find boring. We find things boring because we are not familiar with them. Just as baseball is boring to those who do not understand the rules, classical music is no different. There is so much there to learn, which again is half the fun.

Would that we were all required to take Music Appreciation 101 both as a youth and then as an adult. Classical music almost requires an introduction, a teacher. Instead, we stumble upon classical music after hearing an amazing score to our favorite movie, commercial, cartoon or muppet performance (see below).

I like to think of that scene in Mr. Holland's Opus where he introduced the music class to Beethoven's 7th symphony (2nd movement) while telling them about Beethoven's struggle with deafness. They, like you, were hooked!

Said Oscar Wilde:

“After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own.”

If this sounds rehearsed, it is because we discuss this frequently at home. Diahan loves country music and french fries. She admirably tries to humor my classical music evangelism and even lets me play it at home.

Unfortunately, she is not yet a true believer - though she loves going to the opera. She agrees with me in theory, but her honky tonk heart is hard.

Between you and me, I'm not sure I'd want it any other way.

* * * * * *

For years I gave away classical CDs like candy - my own attempt at being Mr. Holland. And even now, I would like nothing more than for everyone to go with us to hear Beethoven's 9th performed live. In case we don't see you there, I have included a nice rendition of the Ode to Joy finale, among others.

P.S. Just so you know that I'm not a complete square, I own a gun, love Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash and long walks on the beach - in that order.

* * * * * *

T-Ball

I have countless memories of playing all kinds of sports, but especially fast-pitch in the summer. In fact, the team I played for since I was 12, the LC Market Spinnerz, got together last year for a reunion. Here is a picture of all of us girls and our beloved coach, Bob Krause, who was also my best friend's dad. I love this man. The more I know about what it takes to be a parent and what it takes to be a coach, the more amazing this man becomes- he coached us every summer for 8 or 9 years- pitching just about every practice pitch as well, might I add.

Anyway, enough about me, this is really about Jack, and his first experience with baseball. In short, it was hilarious. So much funnier than soccer where everyone kind of runs around anyway,

baseball actually has more of an order to things, and when the kids are running the wrong way, fielding balls when they are supposed to be running the bases, and of course, just generally not paying attention at all- was priceless.

These pictures were taken by Aunt Denise, clearly the photographer in my family, when she was here visiting. Grandpa and Grandma Linda were also able to come to some games to form Jack's cheering section (and Henry's entertainment station). They even took us out to Arctic Circle afterwards! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

And now for the video. I spent way too much time on it, but I'm sure it doesn't show.

My Darwin's Point

While on the subject of Darwin (see previous post), why don't we dig a little deeper, get a little more personal and ask, "what does that nook on your ear really do?"

Or, "why do I have extra teeth coming in that the dentist says I don't need?" And, "how do I benefit from making my arm hair stand on end?"

Surely these are thoughts all of us have had at some point when thinking about ourselves in the evolutionary scheme of things. And while some of us seem more closely related to primitive apes than others (you know who you are), all of us may just have an evolutionary crime scene  right inside us!

You've likely heard that the appendix is good for nothing - except for getting inflamed and thereby being removed. And you likely think I'm going to cite this as the first in a list of vestigial organs. But I'm not. I mention it as a red herring.

Some scientists now think the appendix does have a valid use today as a reservoir of beneficial bacteria, ever ready to refill your intestines after the unexpected "flushing" of the bowels. (Red herring aside, I just wanted to say "flushing" of the bowels. I love puns!)

A vestigial organ is a body part that once had a function but is now the equivalent of wings on an ostrich. Darwin pointed to these as the foundation of his theory on evolution - organs once necessary for survival but now completely useless.

Here is a by-no-means-exhaustive list of believed vestigial organs.

Goose Bumps

While technically more of a reflex than an anatomical structure, goose bumps still qualify. Goose bumps/pimples/flesh (watch for a future poll) occur when the tiny muscle at the base of the hair follicle contracts, causing the hair to stand straight.

Perhaps you recognize this reflex from your pet keets keets (get it? Parakeets - pair of keets). Feathered animals do this to create a layer of insulating warm air in cold weather, or to puff up the feather in self defense.

Wisdom Teeth

Wisdom teeth are common among primates - and dentists don't need to take theirs out. It is believed that our mouths get overcrowded because the homo sapiens' body size rapidly downsized.  And that our diets don't wear out our teeth nearly as bad as before. Too much Jell-O.

Tail Bone (coccyx)

Did you know that there have been over 100 babies born with with tails? Believed to originally have been a vestige of the mammalian tail, the coccyx now anchors your anus in place. So this is a case of an organ changing functions from the outdated to the very helpful.

Not only that, the coccyx usually is formed of four fused vertebrae - but not always. It is very common to find the coccyx with three to five vertebrae.

Darwin's Point

My mother used to cite a node on my ear as proof that I am her child. It now appears that the very feature she shares with me, we both share with our uncle monkey.

The Darwin's point is thought to be the vestige of a joint that allowed the top part of the ancestral ear to swivel or flop down over the ear.

If you are interested in pursuing a further study of vestigial organs, both in man and beast, you may want to consider the vomeronasal organ, hind leg bones in whales, men's nipples, or the blind fish Astyanax mexicanus.  All make for a very interesting read.

Conclusion

It is our joint personal belief that God and evolution are not mutually exclusive, but that the latter is a tool of the Former. Both body and spirit are vital to Man's eternal existence. But where the immutable spirit was born of God, the body is after His image. Therefore, we believe it is possible that God employed natural means to arrive at the form of Man, but not the culmination of Man, which is spirit and body.

Inherit the Wind

 

"He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart." - Proverbs 11:29

A good satire  is timeless by virtue of its utility to the changing times.

Consider Gulliver's Travels: originally written as a parody of the then prevalent "traveler's tales" literary sub-genre, it has been since portrayed as pro-Soviet propaganda and, more currently, a criticism of religious intolerance (among other things).

Borrowing greatly from the satire is the roman à clef (sorry: thinly disguised fiction based on real life people/events).

Inherit the Wind is one of those good romans à clef, relevant to the original subject as well as today's applicable targets.

See, we've been watching so many new movies lately (Persopolis, Waitress, Once, Blue's Clues, etc.) that this week we made a selection from the Hollywood archives - a proper showing of what great cinema looks like.

The historical context for Inherit the Wind was the Scopes monkey trial of 1925, though the authors' parallel was the raging McCarthyism of the 1950s.

As you recall, the Scopes monkey trial tested a Tennessee law banning the teaching of evolution in the classroom. A circus from the beginning, the trial attracted the biggest political and legal names of the era, including the populist William Jennings Bryan and legal beagle Clarence Darrow. It turned out to be a duel of epic and national proportions, dramatically and earnestly captured in the movie at hand.

At first glance, it would be easy to describe the movie as a diatribe against evolutionists and fundamentalism. But as the brilliant ending subtly illustrates, it is a defense of all of the above: evolution, Darwinism, fundamentalism, agnosticism, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

It is a defense of the right to think - and rarely is there a movie equal to the task.

The rapid fire dialogue is the real star, though Spencer Tracy is amazing and Gene Kelly (as you've never seen him before - not dancing!) practically steals the show as the wise cracking allusion to H. L. Mencken - see the first clip below.

I don't quite remember how I came across Inherit the Wind and the play from which it was adapted. It was likely an English teacher of mine - or someone equally subversive.

Now it is our pleasure to share one of our all time movie favorites. More than likely, you'll read into the movie your own parallels - as a good roman à clef allows - because, heaven knows, there are some easy targets out there.

Of course, here is the obligatory note to friends: it's in black and white and all talk. But let us know what you think once you have watched it.

Now to whet your palate with YouTube clips before you rent the movie:

 

Gene Kelly as E. K. Hornbeck, the fictional equivalent of H.L. Mencken, introducing himself and setting the stage for the upcoming trial.

 

Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond, the fictional equivalent of Clarence Darrow, makes an impassioned speech on the futility of the trial.

Armadillidium Vulgare

Armadillidium vulgare is a crustacean who has ventured out from under the deep blue sea to explore and conquer life on land.  Retaining his gills from his days as a sea-fairing soul, he now likes to live in damp dark places and can most often be found under rocks or in mulch or other such moist places. 

These are a family creature, each child mating and making its home only 10 to 100 meters from its parents where they will live out their whopping two to three year life span.

But their most defining feature, and surely what makes them the object of so much attention at my house, is their unique response to stimulus.  While many of us would like to curl up in a tiny ball whenever we are unduly dealt with, this little guy actually can and does almost perfectly symmetrically.

Of course, the creature I am profiling is the winner of our poll, the Potato Bug (insert fanfare)!!  Yes, hands down, the Potato Bug was the winner of our poll with Roly Poly coming in an easy second to the Pill Bug which was a pathetic third. 

Jared claims Potato Bug won because I have many of my dear Washington friends chiming in and the usage of these terms is regional.  Of course when I stated that I have talked to many a native Utahan who prefers the term Potato Bug, he had to go dig up this very interesting map that shows the regional usage of each term (green is Potato Bug, purple is Roly Poly).  And, low and behold, the term Roly Poly is actually far more widespread, though both terms are used in the Northwest, and in Utah.  But, luckily for me, we didn't poll the entire US, just the fabulous people who read our blog.

Sadly, because Roly Poly is the predominate term used here in my small world , and because every time we are outside I can hear Henry scream with glee, "Ooahh!!  A Roly Poly!!" I have to now call it a Roly Poly, but, it will always be a Potato Bug to me, and gladly, to most of you.

Haagen-Dazs: Round V

When presented with a choice of variously appealing foods - say okra and a New York Strip steak - I'll always eat the okra first. I find okra mildly disgusting (though I've got a very tough gag reflex), but I much prefer not ending a meal on a bad note. It's the "Eat-The-Sandwich-Bread-Crust First" Theory.

Why? Just to get the awful part out of the way and enjoy the balance. I'm confident this is a universal theory. I'm confident all my theories are universal - especially if Diahan doesn't share them. She's always the exception. Not me.

But there's the rub. Our Haagen-Dazs extravaganza has not followed the ubiquitous "Bread Crust" theory. In fact, we suspect the opposite has happened. Considering many of the flavors remaining, we fear we have left the worst for last.

The normal, run of the mill, gourmet yet blasé (hey, that rhymes) flavors remain - most of which are available in abundantly cheaper iterations: the fruits and the staples - i.e. the strawberries and the butter pecans of the ice cream world.

Hopefully we are wrong.

Only we will tell.

Vanilla Swiss Almond

Presentation: Vanilla ice cream with, at first glance, too few chocolate covered almonds. Don't worry, however. They're all at the bottom (wallowing in the self knowledge that they're gross).

Flavor Intensity: After a bit of research, we noted that the vanilla is the same used in the Haagen-Dazs chocolate covered bars. This research involved eating the chocolate bars, too. It is pure, unadulterated vanilla. Diahan loves it. She wants to marry it. I find it boring. The problem here is the chocolate covering the almonds. Gone is the rich, cocoa infused chocolates of yester-pint. The imposter is a chalky knock off reminiscent of semi-sweet baking chips. More like semi-bad. We spit them back out.

Texture: Vanilla is reliable, if not predictable. Chocolate is dry and chalky. Almonds are crisp and fresh.

Sweetness: The vanilla is the better for the milk and cream. Very mild and not too sweet.

Scraping the Bottom: 40 - 60%. We won't buy this again, even though we both love chocolate covered almonds.

Overall Rating of 1 - 5: Diahan. 2.5. Jared, 2

Amazon Valley Chocolate (Reserve Flavor)

Presentation: Dark, brown chocolate.

Flavor Intensity: Speaking of cocoa infusion (see above tongue lashing), never have we experienced - in frozen form - a chocolate so decadent. The label we kept coming back to was "truffle." If you like chocolate truffles, more precisely the innards of a chocolate truffle, then this is for you. Smooth cocoa. Rich, but not of the dark chocolate variety. This is a very surprising find.

Texture: Creamy and smooth. Not grainy or bitter.

Sweetness: Certainly not to be called sweet. Very potent brew.

Scraping the Bottom: 100%. This is John and Kira's quality chocolate (Consumer Reports number one rated chocolatier in the country - and we agree).

Overall Rating of 1 - 5: Diahan, 4.5. Jared, 4.5. No full "5" as it is still just chocolate.

Pineapple Coconut

Presentation: Cream colored ice cream with small pieces of pineapple and coconut scattered about.

Flavor Intensity: Have we ever mentioned we like it when alcohol is added to ice cream? Ever so much more when it is Rum. Don't let the name of this flavor fool you. It is really Piña Colada, and it is scrum-dilly-dilly-umptious. We strongly believe the secret ingredient (next to the not-so-secret RUM) is coconut milk; it adds a creamy, milky base which is perfectly accented by the slight pineapple flavor. The floating pineapple chunks are naturally sweet, if a little weak themselves.

Texture: The shredded coconut is hardly noticeable (for the coconut averse). Pineapple is firm and small.

Sweetness: Dairy, coconut and Rum provide layers of warm flavor. Not as sweet as the quantity of pineapple might lead you to believe.

Scraping the Bottom: 100%

Overall Rating of 1 - 5: Diahan. 4.5. Jared, 4

Mango

Presentation: Yellow ice cream with ginormous chunks of mango.

Flavor Intensity: The mango flavor is usually very difficult for confectioners to get right - usually hollow and overly sweet. Haagen-Dazs clearly needed to boost the mango flavor (which they did very well) given the addition of orange and lemon juice concentrate. The result is an amazingly natural flavor. The problem is . . . well, it's still nothing special. Mango is an exotic flavor - but we find it too ordinary. The chunks o' mango are distracting and quite bland, reinforcing how difficult it is to get even the real fruit to taste like a fresh mango should. Or perhaps we have no idea what a mango should taste like and are taken by the idea of the mango?

Texture: Frozen mango does no favors to flavor.

Sweetness: Far too sweet.

Scraping the Bottom: 0 - 20%. The kids will love it, though.

Overall Rating of 1 - 5: Diahan, 2. Jared, 2