The absolute can’t miss stops along Route 66. Hopefully they’ll still be around when Monki is old enough we can take her on the trip. In the meantime, the folks are planning a 66 jaunt next summer, so here’s something for you guys to map out.
Source: Guide | Roadtrippers
So at 3:30 in the morning on July 12th, Rasa wakes me up to say “it really hurts” and we should probably go to the hospital. Granted, we were scheduled to be there at 7am anyway, so our 3:30 wake up call was only 90 minutes ahead of schedule. Turns out, we needed the extra time because when your wife is in labor, the movies just don’t do it justice. There’s no madcap dashing about trying to flag down cabs or traffic cops pulling you over only to turn on the sirens and lead you to the hospital once they’ve learned the full extent of your situation. Nope. It’s a lot of coaxing someone who can barely walk down three flights of stairs and calling a friend to come and make sure the dog gets taken out so you don’t come home to an “extra” surprise. Continue reading “The Monki Has Landed”
“In 1980, science fiction writer and editor Ben Bova told a group of women writers, ‘Neither as writers nor as readers have you raised the level of science fiction a notch. Women have written a lot of books about dragons and unicorns, but damned few about future worlds in which adult problems are addressed’.”
In Women Who Pretended to Be Men to Publish Scifi Books, we get a nice list of the varied and fascinating female authors who, in order to not alienate male readers, had to pretend (at least on paper) to be men.
As the soon to be father of a daughter, and as a science fiction lover, I find this despicable in a number of ways. So please, read the article. Then click over to Amazon or, better yet, hit up your local book store. Do yourself a favor and grab some books for summer reading. You can thank me later.
Happy Father’s Day!! As this is my last year of NOT being a father, we decided to take a little time and seek some advice from the best father I know – mine!
This short interview is a condensed form of a conversation we had (and I assume we will continue to have).
Thanks, Pop! You mean the world to me!
And hey, since the world of print is limiting, here’s a couple of bonus shots of us from when I was a wee one:
Continue reading “DAVID: Father’s Day”
I love this! Sure, most of us know we can use these books to teach bigger concepts. I’m sure the authors knew it, too. But having it all codified and with lesson plans makes it so much easier!
Stories that are great for learning to read can teach all kinds of things — from philosophy to financial literacy.
Source: Green Eggs, Ham And Metaphysics: Teaching Hard Ideas With Children’s Books | WBEZ
When I was a kid, and I’d see various professional athletes retire from the game and then show up in TV and films (often as wooden caricatures of themselves), I used to make a joke. At the time I was involved in theatre and would say “I’m gonna be an actor until I’m about 35 or so… Then I’m going to become a professional athlete.”
Funny, right? Continue reading “Wasted on the young…”
So here’s the deal: I’m slacking on my book reviews. Not that I haven’t been reading (or listening) to lots of books – in fact, I’m one book ahead where I need to be to complete my 70 book Goodreads challenge.
But I’ve bean bad about doing weekly reviews of individual books so I’m giving myself a break and allowing for Short Book Reviews of an assembled grouping. Without further ado, then, here’s the latest batch of books. Continue reading “Review: Keller’s Fedora, Difficult Men, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others”
In Lithuania, the idea of a baby shower doesn’t really exist and since we’re so far away from friends and family in the States, we just figured on not doing anything to celebrate the pre-birth of our little Monki.
But people have been asking what we need or what they can get us, so we made our Amazon registry, our Etsy list (which, yes, is filled with fun geeky things because as long as we still control what she wears, she’ll wear geek chic – if she doesn’t like it, she’ll just have to get to the point where she can tell us), and even a Pinterest board to show all the things we’re thinking of for our little girl. Continue reading “Virtual Baby Shower”
Rasa and I have a mixed household. Aside from coming from two different generations and two different cultures with two different languages, we also have mixed views on social media. For myself, I’m fairly active on Facebook and Instagram and Goodreads among others. I have no problem with letting the world know where I am or what I think of that place. Rasa, on the other hand, has no social media footprint at all. In the technological world of our AI Overlords, she doesn’t exist (outside of this blog where, for all you know, she might just be a matrix-like construction of my imagination). Continue reading “Well… we have a pronoun”
Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but we’re gonna have a baby soon. I know, big surprise, right? What’s been surprising to me is my own reaction to this whole baby thing. Right now, like that infamous cat, the child exists in a quantum state. It is neither here, nor non-existent. But more importantly, the possibilities for Speck are endless at this moment. Or at least, my thoughts on the possibilities. At this point, Speck can still be a rock and roll star (despite neither of its parents having any noticeable musical skills). Continue reading “Schrödingers Child”
One of the great things about living centrally located in Europe is that nothing is very far away – and generally not that expensive to get to. If you’re like Monika, you can find amazing deals (she boasts about a roundtrip from Sweden to Italy, via Frankfurt, for little more than a euro each way). But even if you don’t have her luck, you can get some pretty amazing deals which allow you to see new countries or revisit old ones. Continue reading “Reimagining London 2016”
While the debate about when spring actually starts, yesterday, Easter Sunday, was a truly lovely day. We decided to take a much needed break from work and go for a walk. And we decided to take Laika with us. Continue reading “Sunday in the park with a reluctant dog”
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
To be perfectly honest, I bought this book when we found out we were pregnant. The baby was no more than a speck at that point but I figured I should start getting books for the little one. And I’d seen the movie so this seemed like a safe bet. Continue reading “Review: Nim’s Island”
Week 23 and things are heating up, literally. Speck is about 29cm long and growing daily. Rasa is experiencing a textbook pregnancy, meaning if the book (we’re using the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, which we like better than the super scary What to Expect When You’re Expecting) says you might experience this, she’s experiencing it. Weird cravings (eating potato chips which she hates), muscle cramps, nausea earlier, low blood pressure, all of it. Continue reading “Dolphin Spotting”
So, we’re having a baby, right?
We’re in week 20, half way along, and it’s pretty spectacular. Rasa is showing, has been for a few weeks now, and the baby is kicking its little heart out. We figure Speck is going to be either a ninja, kung fu master or drummer at this rate. We also expect it to come out with perfect muscle tone and prepared to run a 100 meter dash. Continue reading “Naming Rites”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 