We’ve had this posted on our refrigerator for years; I just found the original on the web (click on “Bill of Rights” in the left-hand column).

My favorites:

Because it is the most character-building, two-letter word in the English language, children have the right to hear their parents say “No” at least three times a day.

Children have a right to scream all they want over the decisions their parents make, albeit their parents have the right to confine said screaming to certain areas of their homes.

Because it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, children have the right to hear their parents say “Because I said so” on a regular and frequent basis.

Children have the right to learn early in their lives that obedience to legitimate authority is not optional, that there are consequences for disobedience, and that said consequences are memorable and, therefore, persuasive.

Following upon Craig’s statement that our choice of Sonny and Cher’s Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (among other songs) from ITMS had raised his opinion of our musical taste, I decided to shoot the horse altogether. So I’m going to take a tour through our iTunes music library and drop a few words about some of the things I find (the track counts are approximate):
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I never got into the whole Napster music-sharing thing. It’s not that I dislike music; I do, even if I don’t talk about it much. All I really know how to say about music is “I like this,” and “I dislike that.” I’d feel like a real poser if I tried writing a serious music review. But I’ve got a sizeable CD collection, most of which has been ripped onto my laptop’s hard drive so I can listen to it there and on my iPod. And there’s always music I don’t have that I wish I did.

But as a (mildly) aspiring author, I have this thing about intellectual property. I might choose to give my intellectual property away for free–but it’s still mine. I wrote it, and I like to think that if things were different I could sell it and get paid for it. (And, in fact, that’s what I do for a living–create and sell intellectual property. They call it “software development”.) So I had something of a moral objection to Napster and its ilk. The point was moot though; in Napster’s hey-day I had a dial-up connection, and Life’s Too Short to spend it downloading music on a dial-up connection.

Then along came Apple and its iTunes Music Store. And though I’ve had a Macintosh computer and an iPod for quite some time now, I’ve not really paid much attention to the iTunes Music Store. We had that dial-up connection until just recently, and downloading music from Apple over a dial-up line isn’t any more fun than downloading it via Napster. But on top of that, I still had an objection to downloading tunes–technical this time, rather than moral. It’s all about Digital Rights Management.

I have hundreds of CDs. I can play them on any CD player in the world. I can rip them to play on my iPod, and put the physical CDs away. If CD players appear to be going the way of the dodo, Fair Use allows me to copy the content of those CDs onto new media, just as I can do with the forty or fifty LPs I still own. If I decide that I no longer like Apple I can throw away my Mac and my iPod, but a new computer and somebody else’s music player, and re-rip all of those CDs in a new format.

In other words, I’ve put a lot of money into my music library, and open standards allow me to protect my investment. And thanks to my iPod, I’m still listening to music I bought over twenty years ago.

So what about music downloaded from the iTunes Music Store? It’s encoded in Apple’s proprietary AAC format; and it’s locked so that it will play only on a small number of computers. Via iTunes I can change it from one computer to another, which is nice–so long as Apple continues to run ITMS, and so long as the AAC format is still supported. In short, music downloaded legally from ITMS is no kind of investment.

(Yes, I know, there are programs that will remove the DRM codes from ITMS music files. I have the same moral objection to that that I had to Napster. Though if Apple shut down ITMS I might change my mind about that.)

But yesterday Jane mentioned some songs she used to like when she was a kid that she hadn’t heard for years. And it occurred to me that (now that we’ve got DSL) ITMS would be a nice way to acquire recordings of golden oldies that we’d never buy an entire album for. If I were going to buy an entire album I’d still rather get it on CD, but for the odd song the DRM issues weren’t that big a deal.

So this morning Jane and I went looking for odd songs. Here’s what we came up with (and I shudder to think what this tells you about us):

In the Summertime, by Mungo Jerry. I didn’t exactly go looking for this one, but I happened upon it, and that riff is just so darned catchy–DOOT-da-DOOT-do-do-DO-do-DO-do-DOOT.

Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves, by Sonny and Cher. This was one of Jane’s picks; she actually had this entire album when she was a kid. I drew the line at Half-Breed, though. Somethings are better left dead and buried. Which leads us to…

Frankenstein, by the Edgar Winter Group. What can I say? It’s a classic rock jam.

Ballroom Blitz, by Sweet. I have no excuse for this one, except that it’s thoroughly silly. I read something about Sweet the other idea; apparently the band’s from our local area, and they’re still around. I gather they’ve had more musical styles than Spinal Type. (Does anybody else remember Love Is Like Oxygen? Eeeuuuuuw.)

Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress). And here’s the best of the lot, the only song by the Hollies I have any desire to listen to these days. The ironic thing is that it’s entirely different than their usual sugary-sweet over-produced style. As I understand it, they needed a B-side really quick so they went into the studio, pulled out all the stops, and just thrashed this one out. They figured no one would ever listen to it, and it’s the best song they ever recorded.

So there you have it.

Hmmm. It just occurred to me that we don’t have a recording of Pink Cadillac either…..

This book has been on my shelf awhile. Part of me rebels against analyzing
Tolkien’s work since I think it should be just read and enjoyed for it’s own
sake. On the other hand, after reading this book some of what I found
puzzling in Lord of the Rings makes more sense than it did before. Shippey
wrote this book as an answer to the critics of Tolkien making an argument
that it is a much more scholarly work than it appears on the surface to be.
And it was the genius of Tolkein that he could write stories with very
scholarly roots that hold lasting appeal to the mass market.

What this book puts across so strongly is that Tolkien created the languages
of Middle Earth before he created the place. And he thought up the places
before he thought up the story lines. It’s a very upside down way of writing
and but it accounts for the consistency throughout the different works. Tom
Bombadil, whom I have always found to be a problematic addition to the plot
of Lord of the Rings, was created much earlier than the story of Frodo and
Sam. And while he rightly isn’t part of the plot line as a whole, he is an
important character to the world of the story since he demonstrates the
agedness of Middle Earth. He is the Oldest, older than Sauron, Gandalf and
the Elves. He “is,” as Goldberry says of him.

Shippey also attempts to explain how Tolkien infused his own Christian
beliefs into Middle Earth without making it an overtly Christian story. I’ve
read other thoughts on that subject but nothing at the depth that this books
looks at. He points out images from the Bible that end up in the story—the
cock crowing is one that comes to mind. Rereading it, I’m surprised I missed
some of them.

He also writes about the later years in Tolkien’s writing and how his
conception of Middle Earth evolved over time, causing problems for him as an
author. He had to maintain consistency with older, published writing and
while continuing to work on the world he created. Middle Earth for Tolkien
was a life long project not captured in one or two published works. It
mostly existed in his mind and we are treated to a glimpse of it in his
writings.

I unfortunately haven’t read The Simarillion, which is discussed in the last
few chapters of the book. It’s something I plan on doing in the near future.
Then, of course, I’ll go back and read the relevant chapters in this book
again. I’m glad I kept it on the shelf rather than tossing it into the
“sell at the used bookstore” box.

Today’s my birthday, and so first thing this morning I was awakened by all of my kids piling on the bed (well, except for the four-month-old). And little Anne, who will be three on Saturday, was so excited she stood up to dance and fell over the footboard onto her head.

We didn’t realize that she had fallen on her head, at first; we thought she had landed on her back or behind and gotten the wind knocked out of her. She cried for a while, and then seemed to be better.

After a while she started to cry again, and didn’t want to eat breakfast; she just wanted to be held. Eventually we discovered that her head hurt, and we put a bag of frozen peas on it for a while. It helped a little, but she remained listless and clingy, and continued to cry if we put her down. And then, not long ago, she threw up all over herself.

Jane called the pediatrician, who recommended that we take her to the Emergency Room. So Jane and Anne are, as I type, off to the Emergency Room; I’m at home with the rest of the kids.

I have to congratulate David and James–we were scheduled to go to Lego Land California today, and although I expected them to throw a fit, they are taking it very well.

I’ll post an update when I have more information.

UPDATE: She’s fine–no concussion, though she needs to take it easy today. Plus, the hospital gave her a teddy bear to help her feel better. (David got one just like it when he broke his arm at about the same age.)

UPDATE: In fact, Anne seemed so like her normal happy self after she got home that we threw caution to the winds and went to Lego Land anyway. We had a delightful time and got home very late (for us) and everyone will be completely wiped out tomorrow, but it was worth it.

Rose Wilder Lane is the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder of the Little House
books fame. She also wrote books about homesteading in the Dakotas which are
now reprinted by The University of Nebraska Press under the Bison Books
logo. And if I remember correctly there was a short lived TV series in the
70’s or early 80’s based upon this book.

Anyone who is familiar with the Little House books will find much that is
similar in this book. David Beaton and his new bride, Mary, take up the
government on the offer of free land in the west. The story is of their
first five years homesteading 300 acres of land, living in a sod hut,
surviving tornados and blizzards and childbirth. It’s a compelling story.
It’s much grimmer than Laura’s telling of the same events in the Little
House books. Mary gets tired and cranky. There is often not enough food.
Cabin fever is a problem in winter. Children freeze in blizzards. Horses are
stolen. And yet there is satisfaction in surviving and finally beginning to
prosper. David and Mary stick together as a team similar to the matched
Morgans that David is so proud of. It’s also just a good, clean adventure
story written for adults but eminently suitable for young folks. If you can
find it, it’s worth reading if only to remind you to be grateful for your
washing machine and indoor plumbing.

I hate comment spam with a passion. However, there’s one guy who spams me regularly who at least has a sense of humor; and I’m rather amused by his tacit admission that comment spam isn’t meant to be read by people. As an example, here’s the text of a comment he posted this morning:

I love tramadol even though I have no idea what it is. And this sentence is just filler.

The word in italics was a web address, of course, but I removed it.

be sorted @ nimbo.net

Even if I weren’t a muggle, I’d still be a nerd. Not that I expected anything different.

(Via The Grey Monk.)

When I read kid books, I try to keep in mind the way the child would read
them. Children, in my experience, read primarily for story line and dramatic
telling. They don’t pay attention to imagery, foreshadowing or any other of
the many literary devices that can make books compelling. And that’s OK.
It’s the way I read many books also. However, there are occasionally
children’s books with deeper themes that catch my attention and then I begin
to pay attention to what I call the deliberateness of the author. Those are
the books I talk about with my kids. And they are the books I give away as
gifts at Christmas and birthday time. I have a feeling there are 3 or 4 kids
who will be getting this series for Christmas this year.

Moody writes about his childhood in Colorado, Boston and Maine. When the
series opens, his family has moved to Colorado to farm in hopes that the
dryer climate will help cure his father’s TB acquired from working in the
textile mills of the East. Little Britches is a homesteading story told from
the viewpoint of a 9 year old boy, Ralph, nicknamed “Little Britches” by the
cowboys on a nearby ranch. The family struggles to make it on the farm with
poor land and very little water. There are disasters and good times but
through it all is a deep sense of the value of every member of the family.
Ingenuity and hardwork are portrayed as positives in this book and although
the family doesn’t make it on the farm, it’s not for lack of trying.

Man Of The Family picks up where Little Britches
left off. Father has died
of complications from pneumonia leaving Mother with 4 kids to feed and 4
months pregnant. They move to town and again pull together as a family
working odd jobs, raising food and keeping body and soul together as best
they can. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on hard work and the blessing
of having enough to eat and a warm place to live.

The Home Ranch is a side story briefly mentioned in
Man of the Family
when Ralph takes a job, for a man’s wage of a dollar a day, at a cattle
ranch as a cowboy. It’s a great story with horses and storms and cowboys who
take him under their wing teaching him what he needs to do to work like a
man. Part of what makes this book so much fun is the mentoring he gets from
the older men.

Mary Emma and Company takes the family back to Boston. Mother has been
subpoenaed in Colorado to give evidence against a horse thief that she knows
is up to be hung based upon her testimony. Her principles won’t allow her to
send a man to the gallows so the whole family goes back to Boston to avoid
the consequences of the trial. Here she must find a new way to support the
family and Ralph must find his own place in a very different world than the
one he is used to. Ralph gets a job after school and Mother and Grace,
Ralph’s older sister, take in laundry to keep food on the table.
Unfortunately, what seemed normal activities in Colorado don’t quite fly in
the city and Ralph keeps finding himself in trouble both in school and out.

The Fields of Home has Ralph going to his grandfather’s farm in Maine to
keep him out of trouble. Here he has to deal with his crusty, cantankerous
grandfather who cant seem to adjust to anything new and makes life miserable
for Ralph. This book is about how both of them learn to get along and bridge
the gap in the generations. And it’s on the farm in Maine that Ralph finally
realizes that he needs to work with the soil and animals to be content.

I loved these books. They celebrate values like pride in the quality of your
work and perseverance in the face of hard times. The kids in these books
know who they are and how important they are to the survival of the family.
Moody could have made the books seem glum and grim but he rather emphasizes
the joy in living and working and being with family. Mother sings as she
works and Ralph is very proud of his reputation as a kid who can work like a
man. It’s refreshing to read. They’d make great read alouds for parents to
share with their children.

Phil has the winner of this year’s Bulwer-Lytton contest; it’s a good ‘un.

I actually entered one of the early Bulwer-Lytton contests, back when I was in college. I didn’t win anything. I didn’t get a Dishonorable Mention. I guess my writing just wasn’t bad enough. Pout.