Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 497

Dancing beyond imagination

In light of yesterday’s events, I’m going to spend the next couple days posting only items that sent my heart soaring a bit, and perhaps yours as well.

In that spirit, I give you this:

Baby Dragon

In the process of sleep training Charlie, our six-month old son, we have been allowing him to cry it out for up to thirty minutes at a stretch.

The boy can really scream. It’s not always easy.

As a result, the poor baby cried himself hoarse one night. Even though he cannot yet speak, his goo goos and gah gahs are clearly scratchy, making him sound like one of the baby dragons from Game of Thrones.

Baby Dragon. Charlie’s new nickname. Think it will stick?

 

Just in case you were still questioning the existence of climate change…

Jason Kottke sums up the debate nicely:

The supposed debate among scientists over climate change has melted faster than the polar ice caps. National Science Board member James Lawrence Powell looked at all the related peer-reviewed scientific papers over the last several years. Twenty-four of those articles rejected the notion of climate change. Out of 14,000.

So let this be clear: There is no scientific controversy over this. Climate change denial is purely, 100 percent made-up political and corporate-sponsored crap.

A holiday gift idea that is unusual, renewable, charitable and might gleefully annoy the materialistic moron in your life.

My classroom operates a microloan account through Kiva that has been funded over the years by students through the sale of poetry. We have a total of $250 that we loan to small business owners and entrepreneurs around the world, focusing primarily on third world nations where our money can do the most good.

Whenever we have money available to loan, my students spend a couple hours researching prospective loan applicants on Kiva’s website, choosing possible recipients for our loan and writing proposals that are then read to the class. We debate the merits of each proposal and ultimately decide to whom our money will be lent via a vote.

My students love the process. The ability to make a tangible difference in another person’s life is a powerful experience for them, and the time spent learning about these struggling entrepreneurs provides a greater perspective and understanding of the world beyond our borders.

It has also led to a possible holiday gift idea:

In lieu of a traditional gift, why not open a microloan account on someone’s behalf via an organization like Kiva and provide enough funding for the recipient to begin making loans? Kiva requires loans to be made in $25 increments, so for a relatively small amount of money, you can give a friend or loved one the gift of gift giving. There are even microloan organizations that allow for the lender to charge a nominal interest rate, meaning your gift could continue to grow for the recipient as the money continues to be lent.

I love this idea for both children and adults. It’s unusual, it provides the recipient with a renewable experience, it serves as a counter to the materialism and commercialism that dominate so much of holiday gift giving. and it does not contribute to the accumulation of stuff in a person’s home.

It’s the perfect gift.

Moreover, there is a decent chance that this particular gift would be poorly received by the gift-obsessed, materialistic moron who insists on traditional, quid pro quo gift giving.

You know who I mean. Right? That less-than-enlightened person in your life who remembers every gift that he or she has ever received and attempts to infer your intentions and level of affection based upon the quality and cost of the gift. 

In exchange for the cashmere sweater that he or she has given you, this particular breed of materialistic friend or relative expects something of similar value and quality in return. Offering the ability to loan $50 to a dressmaker in Guatemala or a fruit picker in Pakistan might annoy this kind of person, which makes the gift even more appealing in my eyes.

Poking and prodding and provoking the materialistic can be great fun, and even better, it’s al for a worthy cause.

"I stole, cheated and made fires."

Great childhood. Even better interview.

The “I told you so” calendar is rooted in rhetoric. Its apparent pettiness is simply an unexpected byproduct.

I was recently criticized for the creation of my “I told you so” calendar. It was described as mean, petty and hyper competitive.

I can understand this perception, and while there may be a smidgen of truth to these claims, the real reason for the existence of my “I told you so” calendar is simple accountability.

As a person who thrives on rhetoric and argumentation, I encounter people on an almost daily basis who are willing to toss around absurd notions, make unlikely predictions and offer ridiculous assurances in order to make a point or win an argument. Knowing full well that their ideas cannot be proven wrong until some point in the distant future, these people have the freedom to say whatever they hell they want to gain an edge. In the face of logic and reason, these people often respond with emotion, desperation and lunacy.

Yet they routinely get away with their flawed rhetoric because in the everyday exchange of ideas and opinions, there is no accountability. People are allowed to say almost anything they want in order to win they day, knowing full well that no one is fact-checking their absurdity.

A perfect example of this occurred for me in the realm of parenting. Prior to the birth of my children, I was assured by many people that I would someday suffer the same parental indignities that they were on an everyday basis.

My children would be sleeping in my bed off and on until they were at least three years old. 

I would never again see the interior of a movie theater.

I wouldn’t sleep well for at least five years.

My days of attending Patriots games would swiftly come to an end with the birth of my children.

These parental doomsayers seemed to thrive on the chance to cast as many negative aspersions as possible, and each time I tried to refute their claims, I was greeted with responses like, “You’re not a parent yet, so you don’t understand” and “You’re so naïve” and “You just wait and see.”

It was easy for these parents to make these claims. They were admittedly much more experienced with parenting than me, but more importantly, they were not burdened by accountability. My babies were months and years away from existing, so these naysayers possessed the freedom to say whatever they wanted. There was no mechanism to reengage in this debate once these naysayers had been prove wrong.

The “I told you so” calendar serves that purpose. It adds a layer of fact-checking and accountability to discourse that would otherwise be absent. It prevents someone from supporting their opinion with flawed logic or making an unlikely and oftentimes ridiculous prediction without the possibility that someone may someday highlight their inaccuracy and stupidity. It serves as balance to the bravado and arrogance of those who believe that their future view of the world is right and just at all times.   

And yes, it may seem mean and petty at times, and it might also serve my competitive nature, but these are merely byproducts of a system that is designed to add accountability to the occasional absurdity of daily discourse.

It’s too easy to spout nonsense in today’s world in order to win an argument or at least extract yourself from an debate that you are losing.

No more.

This is the true purpose of the “I told you so” calendar.

She dances like her mother

I like nothing better in the world than watching my wife dance. While there is a seeming endless supply of reasons to love her, the dancing alone might have been enough for me.

It appears that Clara has inherited her mother’s ability to move.

A touch of OCD perhaps?

Her father has been accused to having a slight case of obsessive compulsive disorder, so is it any surprise that I found my daughter’s little people lined up in order by height?

   

Who am I to deny my daughter this female rite of passage?

It was cold outside. Frigid, even. And it was damp, too. Nasty weather.

I was getting Clara ready to leave the house. She was fed and dressed, and all she needed was a pair of shoes. I grabbed sneakers appropriate for the weather and began strapping them to her feet.

She rejected them, insisting on a pair of shoes more suited for a summer day. Shoes that would not provide her feet with the adequate protection that the weather demanded.

I let her wear her summer shoes without complaint.

I learned a long time ago that regardless of what doctors or boyfriends or husbands may say, women will continue to wear shoes that are damaging to their feet and unsuited for the conditions because they think they look good.

Who am I to deny my daughter this seemingly female rite of the non-sensible shoe?

The definition of taking yourself way too seriously

Only two people at Kentucky Friend Chicken know the secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices, and they are not allowed to travel together for security reasons.