Finding Balance in San Francisco

Darth Vader dueling Superman

A couple more videos from the Star Wars concert we went to for Quinn's birthday:

Darth Vader dueling Superman from kathy hassanein on Vimeo.

I really liked the effect of the screens surrounding the main screen on this one with the instrument close-up. Very pretty.

Across the Stars from kathy hassanein on Vimeo.

Jedi Training from kathy hassanein on Vimeo.

Ryan's 1st Triathlon

Ryan raced in his first triathlon today, a sprint distance up in Sacramento

The athletes started out by swimming across the river (no, the guy way out in front isn't Ryan, but that was an impressive performance)

and then they ran up a sand hill

and transitioned to bike and then run. The boys had a great time watching Daddy race and enjoyed cheering for him.

Good job, Ryan! We're so proud of you.

May the Force Be With You

We just got back from Sacramento, where we saw Star Wars in Concert. The kids were delighted with their first symphony. They were very impressed with the dazzling laser light show, pyrotechnics and video clips from the original movies (all of which the boys have seen at least some part of). It was a great way to expose our young kids to a full symphony orchestra.

We took Quinn for his upcoming 5th birthday, and he's been looking forward to the concert for about 6 weeks. He went in full Darth Vader regalia- Jordan changed a bunch of times- here at our house just before we left he thought of going as a devil, and earlier in the day it was Peter Pan. I explained about those not technically being Star Wars characters, but he wasn't dissuaded.

Here they are, showing off their moves (a cross between Michael Jackson and kung fu)

Shasta joined in the pre-Star Wars concert fun

but Shasta wound up staying in San Francisco with our neighbor Dave and Jordan wound up settling on his Superman pajamas as an outfit. Quinn got a kick out of all of the Star Wars memorabelia

and we enjoyed it. Here's couple low-quality clips from my camera:

Star Wars for Quinn's Birthday from kathy hassanein on Vimeo.

Star Wars - with symphony from kathy hassanein on Vimeo.

The show was a couple hours long, and 3 year old Jordan was getting a little restless toward the end, but overall it was a great experience and I'd recommend it to kids who are 4 or 5 years old and older.

May the Force Be With You!

Bloggers beware- new FTC rules

Yesterday, the FTC published final changes to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, specifically addressing paid bloggers and paid-per-Tweet services. 

Companies, bloggers and other "word of mouth" marketers must disclose any "material connections" (e.g., payments, receipt of merchandise, receipt of service) to consumers.  Because "paid endorsement" is no longer just cash, it might be easy to find yourself afoul of the new rules.

So just beware that if you're blogging or Tweeting and you've received something in return (even free drinks), you may need to disclose that in order to stay in the clear.  These rules are new and will need to be worked through, but someone is going to be made an example of by the regulators. 

 

Hopefully that somebody isn't you.

Pre-schoolers worrying about getting fat?

I've been trying to figure this out- my 3 and 4 year old boys have in recent weeks been worried about getting fat. 

As far as I know, nobody's talked to them about the obesity epidemic in the U.S. or put any pressure on them about weight (they're not, in fact, even remotely heavy).  We're healthy eaters at home (e.g., zero soft drinks, candy, sugar cereal, etc., and many organic fruits and veggies, balanced meals), but not really dieters, so it's not like we're running around counting calories or talking excessively about losing weight or anything.

So the question remains- where are they getting this?  There's a girl at Quinn's school who is overweight and has gotten teased about it (and the class has been lectured about different body types and that it's not nice to make fun of people), but does that explain my 3 year old talking about it too?  There's a Dr. Seuss book (Would You Rather Be A Bullfrog) that has a page that asks if you'd rather be skinny or fat, but their worry about being fat seems to be brought to light when we turn to that page rather, I think, than that page causing the worry.

They've continued to be decent eaters, so part of me would like to sweep it under the rug... but there's a nagging part of me that wonders if I should head this bias/worry off at the pass somehow.  And yet... how would I head it off at the pass even if I wanted to?  They seem to be soaking it up from society at large rather than something I have direct control over.

Any thoughts most welcome.