Calling All First Grade Girls
Top-Secret Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B. (And Me!) is a book that Emma just loves. There is a whole series of Junie B. books that the kids really relate to because “she” thinks a lot like they do. I discovered this book when my friend Mary and her daughter Ashley were telling me how much they liked it, and how Emma would love it too. I thought they were right and gave the book to Emma for Christmas. It is still one of her favorites. Inside are entries with a page that “Junie B.” wrote, and on the next page is a space for Emma to write what she thinks. There are also entries for artwork and your favorite jokes and nicknames. Junie B. lists her favorite food as Fruit Loops—the kids get a laugh out of that one every time. Emma took a wallet sized school picture and cut out her face which we taped on the front cover and it looks so cute. Emma loves to write in it, and I think she has finished filling in the pages, but I still catch her erasing and rewriting entries. Either she has changed her mind or figured a better way to write it, I’m not sure. I think it is the perfect way to get kids to write about who they are and get some confidence in expressing themselves. With Junie B’s entry there too, it gets them thinking about clever answers, not just a bland yes or no. Highly recommended!
Preschool Twister
A few times we have played a family game of Twister as a fun activity. The kids all laugh and it is a silly game that makes us happy. The other day Hannah wanted to play it, and we had more fun than I expected. It turned out to be a nice teaching tool too. She loved putting her hands and feet on the colored dots as I called out, “put your hand on green, put your foot on red…” We’re not quite to rights and lefts yet, but what a fun way for her to practice her colors, her coordination, and get a little bit of exercise. It can be kind of like yoga with all of the stretching in crazy poses, right? Hannah and I took turns and she loved telling me what to do too. Sabrina had a blast slapping the mat and laughing as she crawled around. Who would have guessed Twister would be not only fun, but have a teaching purpose too?
Alcohol and Tobacco Worse Than Drugs
Study: Alcohol, Tobacco Worse Than Drugs
By MARIA CHENG
The Associated Press
Friday, March 23, 2007; 3:41 AM
LONDON — New “landmark” research finds that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous than some illegal drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy and should be classified as such in legal systems, according to a new British study.
In research published Friday in The Lancet magazine, Professor David Nutt of Britain’s Bristol University and colleagues proposed a new framework for the classification of harmful substances, based on the actual risks posed to society. Their ranking listed alcohol and tobacco among the top 10 most dangerous substances.
Nutt and colleagues used three factors to determine the harm associated with any drug: the physical harm to the user, the drug’s potential for addiction, and the impact on society of drug use. The researchers asked two groups of experts psychiatrists specializing in addiction and legal or police officials with scientific or medical expertise to assign scores to 20 different drugs, including heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, amphetamines, and LSD.
Nutt and his colleagues then calculated the drugs’ overall rankings. In the end, the experts agreed with each other but not with the existing British classification of dangerous substances.
Heroin and cocaine were ranked most dangerous, followed by barbiturates and street methadone. Alcohol was the fifth-most harmful drug and tobacco the ninth most harmful. Cannabis came in 11th, and near the bottom of the list was Ecstasy.
According to existing British and U.S. drug policy, alcohol and tobacco are legal, while cannabis and Ecstasy are both illegal. Previous reports, including a study from a parliamentary committee last year, have questioned the scientific rationale for Britain’s drug classification system.
“The current drug system is ill thought-out and arbitrary,” said Nutt, referring to the United Kingdom’s practice of assigning drugs to three distinct divisions, ostensibly based on the drugs’ potential for harm. “The exclusion of alcohol and tobacco from the Misuse of Drugs Act is, from a scientific perspective, arbitrary,” write Nutt and his colleagues in The Lancet.
Tobacco causes 40 percent of all hospital illnesses, while alcohol is blamed for more than half of all visits to hospital emergency rooms. The substances also harm society in other ways, damaging families and occupying police services.
Nutt hopes that the research will provoke debate within the UK and beyond about how drugs including socially acceptable drugs such as alcohol should be regulated. While different countries use different markers to classify dangerous drugs, none use a system like the one proposed by Nutt’s study, which he hopes could serve as a framework for international authorities.
“This is a landmark paper,” said Dr. Leslie Iversen, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University. Iversen was not connected to the research. “It is the first real step towards an evidence-based classification of drugs.” He added that based on the paper’s results, alcohol and tobacco could not reasonably be excluded.
“The rankings also suggest the need for better regulation of the more harmful drugs that are currently legal, i.e. tobacco and alcohol,” wrote Wayne Hall, of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, in an accompanying Lancet commentary. Hall was not involved with Nutt’s paper.
While experts agreed that criminalizing alcohol and tobacco would be challenging, they said that governments should review the penalties imposed for drug abuse and try to make them more reflective of the actual risks and damages involved.
Nutt called for more education so that people were aware of the risks of various drugs. “All drugs are dangerous,” he said. “Even the ones people know and love and use every day.”
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This article was sent to me by my Dad and it is extremely interesting and thought provoking. I doubt that it will change much in our society because social drinking is so much a part of big business and socializing. However, smoking has seemed to lose it’s appeal, so maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised. (No comments on Professor Nutt’s ironic name!)
Read MoreA Jon Stewart Tribute Post
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I am a HUGE fan of Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show. I think he’s filled a void and given a voice to a viewpoint and a political position that was rarely seen in the media before, but sorely needed. He’s made a point to attack the idea that there are only two sides to any political debate, either the “radical right” or the “loony left”. I see him as an advocate for the moderates—the thoughtful, informed and active moderates; those that can see both the good and the bad (and the ridiculous) in both parties; those that want good people with good ideas to lead the country, not just “their side”.
I certainly don’t agree with everything he says, and that’s okay. I think one of his biggest contributions has been to show how to disagree without being disagreeable, how to have completely different fundamental beliefs from someone else but still show them respect and have a genuine interest in understanding how they came to have those beliefs. It also doesn’t hurt that he, and the rest of the show, can be really, really funny.
Here are a few clips to some great Jon Stewart moments (in the interests of space, I’m just doing links instead of embedding the video). Let me know what you think, and if you don’t think they’re great… I, uh… *thinking to myself: what would Jon Stewart do?*… I guess I can respect your different viewpoint.
Jon Stewart discusses the Duke lacrosse story. I can’t resist this one, it’s got Duke and “the law” in it. Also, keep in mind that Nancy Grace is a lawyer and former prosecutor.
Jon Stewart looks at law school rankings. Another one I couldn’t resist. This is a clip from just the other day that looks at Regent Law School and the mystery of why so many of its graduates work in the current administration.
Jon Stewart on Crossfire. This appearance by Jon Stewart on CNN’s “debate” show caused a real stir when it happened and became a large factor in CNN’s decision to cancel the show. You can also click here for other clips of the appearance and one of Jon Stewart talking about it on his show the next day.
Jon Stewart interviewed by Charlie Rose. A short clip of Jon talking with Duke Law alum, Charlie Rose, about the process he and his staff go through in putting together their show.
Jon Stewart’s bit at the Emmys. Jon was a presenter at the Emmy Awards shortly after the whole Hurricane Katrina mess and he put together a clip that was “censored” by CBS. The video quality isn’t great but it’s the only version I could find of it.
Jon Stewart interviewed by Bill O’Reilly. Jon defends his show against The Big Kahuna. I actually think they both did pretty well in this interview. An interesting footnote here is that in the interview, Bill O’Reilly refers to Daily Show viewers as “stoned slackers”. In the interim between this interview and when Bill O’Reilly appeared on The Daily Show as a guest a few weeks later, Comedy Central commissioned a survey and found out that the average Daily Show viewer had more formal education than an O’Reilly Factor viewer.
Jon Stewart’s monologue right after 9/11. This is from the first Daily Show episode after the 9/11 attacks. A deeply moving speech. This is Jon Stewart at his finest and is probably one of the things he’ll be most remembered for.
Read MoreFor Uncle Jed and Cousin Scott
Hannah is flossing! She emptied the whole container to do it, but she loves to floss her teeth. This isn’t the first time she has done this, but it is the first time she looked this cute when she did. I thought you two dentists would appreciate this picture the most.
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But That’s Not Fun!
Recently it has come to my attention that our older children have little concept of what it means to work. On Saturday, they were asking what fun thing we would do that day, and when I answered that today we were catching up on work around the house- I was met with moans and whines, “but Mom, Saturday is supposed to be a fun family day!” How did this happen? How is it that my children are expecting to be entertained all of the time, and have to be lectured and prodded and bribed every time there is work to be done? I suppose a certain amount of that is typical, and don’t get me wrong, they are good kids, but I had reached a point of serious frustration. How are these kids going to grow up and make their own way in the world? Isn’t that one of my principle jobs as a parent? I tried to explain that my job is to teach them how to work so they can grow up and live on their own. To which I get the answer: “you’re mean.”
Shortly after this conversation with the kids I went and vented to my sweet husband. He told me he would take care of things and I went to take a shower. As I was gathering my things I heard him sit the kids down and start logically explaining why it’s important to help out and that today would be a work day. He was about twenty seconds in when one child, who shall remain nameless, interrupted and said with a sigh, “Is your speech over yet?” Well, that was the end of nice, logical Daddy, and I had to laugh because he was taking over so I wouldn’t lose my temper. I heard in a very loud voice, “Your day is over!” followed by tears from all of the kids. And then it really became a workday. They did one job after another all day long until dinner time.
I tried to start a chore chart and it hasn’t gone well. After school there just isn’t much time after homework and classes to do much else. I feel a little guilty too because I want them to have some free time to just play. I have found myself being more of a nag than before, and the kids are still resisting. Please, if you have any ideas for chore solutions tell me! I want them to have regular responsibilities and feel that they not only contribute, but are a necessary part of the family.
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