One of the reasons people go back to Disneyland and Disney World over and over again is that they’re always changing. There is always something new to see, especially around various holidays. This year, in the Grand Canyon Concourse of Disney World’s Contemporary Resort in Florida there is a 17-foot tall gingerbread tree. Not a wooden tree that just kinda looks like it’s made of gingerbread but a real, honest-to-yummy-goodness gingerbread tree.
Archive for December, 2010
Gingerbread, Disney Style
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010Teacher Tapes Student To Desk; Gets Off Scotch Free
Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
One would like to think that we’ve evolved beyond the use of corporal punishment in our public schools but it appears that’s not entirely true. Even if teachers aren’t rapping on knuckles with wooden rulers, some are still using pain and humiliation in order to maintain order and instill discipline. Not surprisingly, some parents take offense at this.
Kids Banned From Playing In The Snow
Monday, December 6th, 2010
“I’m a trained risk assessor,” says one parent “and this is not a health and safety issue.” That’s the point of view most parents would take, I think. In fact, some pay a lot of money just so their kids can enjoy this activity. But what is this situation that is so dangerous that some schools in Scotland are banning it? Playing in the snow, of course, because snow is, well, wet and cold.
The Internet Christmas Tree
Sunday, December 5th, 2010
I remember, from my childhood, going out into the woods with my parents, finding the perfect tree, and cutting it down to bring home. We did that once. That was far too rough and rugged for my parents — their idea of roughing it was Opera in the Park. So they bought a plastic tree with little plastic bunches of green pine needles that kept falling off the brown plastic branches and we never had a real tree again.
What Schools Must Have
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
As insane as it might seem, when times are tough, economically, it’s always education — the future of our society, our country, even our species — that seems to get cut first. School nurses get laid off, along with librarians and counselors. Art classes are pretty much gone, as are the band and orchestras of our youth. There’s no money for after school activities and lunches are made off-site and trucked in like military MREs. Now, however, a California court has ruled that there is one part of the school day that simply can’t be cut, regardless of how bad a fiscal crisis a school district is facing.
The Easy Gene
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
If you want to know if your kids are going to be the sort that sleep around or the kind that prefers long-term relationships, you might just want to have them get a DNA test. Even if they’re still too young to know about such things, you can still get some idea of what they’ll be like. And, if you’re not happy with what you find out, it’s your own fault. After all, they got their genes from you.
The Odious Ogre
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer. I loved the exploration of the dual meanings of words — jumping to the Island of Conclusions, for example — as well as the idea that there is so much to do and to explore in the world that one need never be bored. Sadly, though, there was only the one book; Harry Potter got 7 volumes but Milo only one. While that hasn’t exactly changed, there is good news for Tollbooth fans.
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