I took my kids to visit their great grandmother and in the two minutes I left them alone in the living room, so I could kiss grandma hello, my daughter (age four and a half) managed to rip out of her brother’s hands the singing monkey he’d just found on the window ledge. He is two and a half. She is bigger and quite often just takes what she wants from him. We tell her that he is going to catch-up — and when he does she won’t be able to get away with stuff like that. Well, since he can’t match her physically yet he’s found a way to deter her.

After he tried unsuccessfully to take back the monkey with force, he bit her. And I mean, he really bit her. By the time I heard my daughter screaming and ran into the living room (which was all of three steps) he’d already moved away, with monkey in hand, victorious.

Being the youngest of three kids I can understand where he is coming from. In fact, part of me thought my daughter deserved the bite, but I couldn’t condone the behavior, by either of them. Plus, there is an anger that kind of takes over when you see your kid hurting, even if maybe they had it coming (a little).

So my son got a time-out and seemed to really feel bad that his sister had a full set of his teeth marks on her bicep (which, by the way, was just short of breaking skin.) They hugged and made-up and there were promises from both sides that there would be no more “taking” and no more biting. All was good in the world — and they were once again best friends. That is, they were best friends until the next night when my daughter wanted to ride the rocking horse my son was on… she got her way and ended up on the horse and then he stood up for himself the only way he knew how. At least this time the teeth marks weren’t so bad.

Tags: family & parenting by Amy Boshnack
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“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster.” –Jonathan Swift

Late winter and early spring is peak oyster season, especially the prized Bluepoint oysters named for Blue Point, Long Island where they originate. They are large and plump and full of flavor. Equally important, they’re one of the most nutritious and well balanced foods you can eat; rich in zinc, iron, calcium, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A.

Urban legend contends that it is unsafe to eat oysters in any month that does not contain the letter R. This is mainly because those are the summer months and before refrigeration it could indeed be dangerous to consume oysters at these times. It is now safe to eat oysters all year round, but the peak months are September-April.

Oysters with garlic butter: Serves 2

Ingredients: 8 Oysters, a stick of butter, salt and pepper, a tsp of minced parsley, a head of garlic, 2 lemon wedges.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Tightly wrap a head of garlic (unpeeled) in aluminum foil. Put it in the oven to roast about 45 minutes. Remove the garlic from the oven, unwrap, and let it cool at room temperature. When its cool enough to touch, squeeze the garlic out of the cloves into a bowl. 

Let a stick of butter soften at room temperature.  When its nice and soft, mash it in the bowl with the garlic. Add a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of minced parsley, and mash it all together with the back of a fork.

Preheat a grill pan (I love the cast iron ones made by Lodge — they work the best and they are inexpensive). Place 8 oysters on the pan and spread the tops of each with the seasoned butter. Grill 4 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serve with a fresh green salad for an easy dinner for two.

Tags: recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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You might be amused by this story from the Smoking Gun (via Drudge) about a woman who called 911 because McDonald’s was out of chicken nuggets. She does seem to have a point, though, and it may be that a crime was in fact committed — sounds like the old McNugget-and-switch to me. Also check out this Smoking Gun post about a man who called 911 because he was unhappy with his Burger King combo meal. The 911 operator actually said, “I know you don’t seriously think that the police need to make Burger King give you food faster.” What, false advertising isn’t a crime? It is called fast food.

Tags: on the law, recipes & food by Scott Stein
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Thanks to the Maverick Philosopher I have become familiar with a Turkish proverb: “He who knows the road does not join the caravan.” It came to mind last week when I was pondering the course this column has so far traced. In particular, it caused me to wonder about the fellow who doesn’t know the road, but doesn’t want to join the caravan, either, who wants to discover the road for himself.

In real life, of course, that could prove dangerous. Luckily, marauding brigands pose no threat for mental excursions. So the premise of this column — to follow a train of thought (a mental roadway if you will) and see where it leads — seems safe enough. Nevertheless, I am almost always surprised to find where I end up.

The quotes I choose for my point of departure are usually ones I think I agree with or at least understand. But writing about them makes it necessary to think about them and thinking about them often leaves me wondering about them. By the time I got to the end of the column I wrote about Lord Falkland’s dictum — “When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change” — I wasn’t at all sure that was always such a good idea.    

Perhaps even more interesting — at least to me — is the direction in which the sequence of columns has taken me. After all, one quote often leads to another and the choice is bound to reflect my own preferences and predilections. But one is not always as conscious of those as one might suppose. The columns I have so far written make plain that certain leitmotifs govern my thinking.

I am suspicious of systems of thought. [Read more →]

Tags: religion & philosophy, that's what he said, by Frank Wilson by Frank Wilson
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My husband flew in from Tampa last night and thankfully beat the massive snow storm hitting the east coast. As is normal routine when he travels, as soon as he is on the ground in his destination city and allowed to put on his cell phone, he sends me a text message. Ever since the “Miracle on the Hudson” flight I await these a little more eagerly. Last night the text read, “Just landed. There is a medical emergency on board… We need to remain on the plane until the paramedics remove the passenger.” Five minutes later I got another text from him saying “They just brought in paddles. Feel like I’m on ER.”

He called about 15 minutes later to say he was off the plane and really shaken up; the passenger, seated about 20 rows behind him, didn’t make it. He told me he was going to take it real slow coming home and all he wanted to do was hug the kids.

Apparently what really got him, aside from seeing a body bag being rolled off the plane, was the fact that there were a number of children seated right near the soon-to-be deceased passenger. He said the children ranged in age from about three to twelve and they watched the whole scene, start to finish. Watching those children walk off the plane with their parents, hysterical crying by what they just witnessed, tore my husband up. Not to mention being given a reason to think about his own mortality.

Death happens all around us but we try to shield our children (and sometimes ourselves) by its reality. I wonder if those kids were able to get to sleep last night and I wonder about the lasting images they will have of this passenger dying in front of them. I am guessing things like this don’t happen that often on planes — or maybe it’s just that we don’t hear about them.

Tags: family & parenting, health & medical by Amy Boshnack
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As a college professor I believe that most students are hard working and honest, but invariably there are those who are not. My official policy is as follows: If I catch you cheating, you fail the course, not just the assignment. Harsh? Yes. Unfair? No. [Read more →]

Tags: damned lies, education by Terrence Cheng
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Almost half of tested samples of High Fructose Corn Syrup contain mercury, according to two recent U.S. studies done by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. High Fructose Corn Syrup can be found in everything from English Muffins to Yogurt. In the past 25 years, we have seen a dramatic increase in the use of HFCS in our food; in fact a 4,000 percent per capita increase of HFCS production since 1973. It now accounts for 40 % of all added sweeteners used in the American diet. Chances are very good that you and/or your children ate something containing HFCS today.

The past 25 years have also seen an explosion in autism rates in the U.S. Autism is a complex developmental disorder diagnosed in 1 out of every 150 American children. Ten years ago that statistic was 1 out of every 500. While no one knows what causes autism, there is considerable research showing that elevated rates of mercury and other environmental toxins may play a significant role in the surge of autistic American children. While we may not be able to make a definitive statement about causation in the average child, there certainly seems to be a connection between immuno-deficient children developing autism when exposed to increased levels of environmental toxins. 

[Read more →]

Tags: health & medical, recipes & food by Jessica Alfreds
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10. Turns out he once beat a man to death with a sockful of nickels

9. Feels it’s a bad career move to have his name associated in any way with the U.S. economy

8. Known among his personal staff as “Mr. Hands”

7. Decided he just couldn’t work with Obama after reading the details of Obama’s proposed plan to adopt a Portuguese water dog

6. Revealed he once tried to peddle his influence directly on eBay

5. Hasn’t paid his taxes since the first Darren on Bewitched

4. Once shared a bathroom stall with Larry Craig

3. Told that the position involved lots of math, and he hates math!

2. Caught with his actual hand in a real cookie jar

1. Finally realized there just isn’t any commerce left!

Tags: Bob Sullivan's top ten everything, politics & government by Bob Sullivan
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Chesterfield County, Virginia, is facing some tough times.  While that hardly makes the area unique, it is of particular interest because the school district is facing a massive $52 million shortfall and is looking to cut over 300 positions from the public schools.

The district comprises 38 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, 11 high schools, and a technical center.  If the cuts were distributed evenly, it would come out to nearly 5 positions per school.  And in government work, seniority and tenure mean a lot, so the newest teachers are the ones who will most likely be on the streets.

A recent letter to the Editor of the Chesterfield Observer suggests it be done differently: [Read more →]

Tags: all work, education by Jason Sterlace
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