The Man: John Coltrane Making a jazz fan of anyone is a challenge. Making a jazz fan of a kid — a child inundated daily with drecky pop music and vapid pop stars — is virtually impossible. But nonetheless, it’s a worthwhile pursuit. Jazz, the close cousin of blues and the father of rock-and-roll, has […]
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, published in 1870, is the fascinating undersea journey brought to us by Jules Verne. Credited as one of the original inspirations of the steampunk movement and brought to the big screen by Disney, this adventure forces man to confront his fears deep under the unexplored oceans using “futuristic” technologies. Jules […]
Introducing your little one to classic music can be challenging if it’s not done the right way. You can never force your kid to like all of your favorite music, no matter how hard you try. And there’s no tried-and-true method for making them fans of your faves. But Motown is a great place to […]
You’ve heard the legend, you’ve seen the latest commercial, and maybe you and your children have ridden the roller coaster. Make no mistake the Yeti is real. Or so thousands of cryptozoologists and the History Channel would have you believe. For many of us, our first experience with the Yeti, aka the Abominable Snowman, is from the movie […]
photo by Edward McGowan While the trend for unapologetically recycling ’80s cartoons is something you either love (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) or hate (those new G.I. Joe movies), you gotta admit: The new Transformers movies are pretty dang awesome. Not to mention, there’s been a bunch of buzz going around recently about the new […]
You thought that the biggest challenge of becoming of a new parent was figuring out where to stash all that baby gear. But the real challenge is figuring out what to do with all that junk when it becomes obsolete. Much of our gently used baby gear can be donated, traded or sold to other families. […]
My father tried explaining Doctor Who when I was far too young to understand it – somewhere between 5 and 10 years old. But some information can burrow under your skin and settle in your subconscious, even while you think you’re not comprehending it — or maybe not even paying attention. Many years later, I […]
The skull. It’s iconic in so many ways, evoking fascination, awe and fear, depending on one’s perspective. Kids normally fall into the first two categories, finding skulls cool, hip and darkly humorous. As they grow, and begin to understand anatomy while learning a little more about folklore and myth, they become a little more concerned […]
Is your tyke constantly rousting you out of bed in the wee hours of the morning seeking comfort and protection from closet-dwelling monsters? Well, what if he or she had a sleepytime companion who could choke-slam the most bloodcurdling boogiemen into oblivion? Granted, this 10-inch plush doll won’t be much help against a legitimate monster […]
Does biostratigraphy excite you? Actually, let’s back up. Do you know what biostratigraphy is? When watching The Land Before Time with the kids, does it annoy you that the dinosaurs are all from different time periods — Apatosaurus and Stegosaurus from in the late Jurassic period, while Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus existed in the late Cretaceous period […]
