Brian’s Brain

Great trip to the zoo

10 01 2012

At this point in our lives, trips to the zoo are so commonplace that I don’t bother writing about them. However, the weekend before last, we had a particularly nice trip. We ran into old friends:

And the animals were unusually photogenic.

What’s that? You’ve never seen a wolf picture from me before? Well… that’s right. In five years of bringing a camera to the zoo, I don’t have a single picture of a wolf. Most times we don’t get to that part of the zoo, or when we do, everybody’s napping. Not this time!

(And there are more where that came from!)

So all in all, a really nice trip and a really nice way to start 2012. Even if it made me think that at least one of us would be happier in a wolf pack.

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Categories : Family Outings

Mind Like a Sponge for Lyrics

4 01 2012

Alex now has a favorite album: Peaceful, the World Lays me Down by Noah and the Whale. It’s full of catchy and upbeat tunes. He started absorbing the music by osmosis as I piped the music through our Sonos player. It’s one of my favorite albums.

But here’s the thing: When I listen to music, I hardly pay attention to lyrics at all. Not so with Alex. He’s now learning and singing the lyrics that I’ve been ignoring, like the opening verses of Jocasta:

When the baby’s born
Let’s turn it to the snow
So that ice will surely grow
Over weak and brittle bones

Let’s leave it to the wolves
So their teeth turn it to food.
Its flesh keeps them alive
As death helps life survive

The world can be kind in its own way…

It’s really an excellent song, on many levels… but it’s a little disturbing to hear a five year old sing it. (Alas, much of the album pairs catchy music with dark lyrics. Nothing’s safe.)

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Categories : Alex

Scar

2 01 2012

Sure, that redhead looks innocent enough. But see that scratch under Alex’s eye? It’s from Patrick, who without warning or provocation attacked his brother’s face. (Aside from a few minutes of crying, Alex was OK, and I now get to tease Alex that he looks like Scar from The Lion King. Alex then corrects me. “No, Dad, Scar’s scratch went through his eye, like this.” Then he draws an imaginary line from above his right eyebrow down to the top of his cheekbone. He’s very precise.)

As for Patrick: He actually shows signs of maturing. October was a rocky month. (Those who saw us during our trip to Virginia know that well enough!) But the last several weeks, Patrick’s been very even-tempered and upbeat. Our trip to Minnesota stands out in particular: Patrick was much, much better behaved than he was on either our summer vacation or our trip to Virginia. But every now and then he does something unexpected, like deliver this scratch.

I imagine this is what it must be like for one of those crazy animal people buy a tiger cub and bring him home. He may live in your house, eat your food, and act cuddly most of the time… but the day always comes when you remember he has claws and is a wild animal at heart.

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Categories : Alex, Patrick

Bye Bye, Barnes and Noble

1 01 2012

The Barnes and Noble at University Village was one of my top five favorite bookstores. (Rounding out the list: Powell’s in Portland, Elliott Bay Books, Third Place Books, and the University Bookstore.) They had an astounding selection of fiction, photo books, computer science books, and for a brief glorious period, they had a great classical music selection. When I first moved to Seattle fifteen years ago, before I knew a single soul in the city, I’d pass the hours browsing through that store. Both our kids loved the bookstore, too, which had a great children’s book section complete with a train table.

Yesterday, the store closed. I took the kids over for one last stroll through the store. (Plus, I had to use up some old gift cards that had been sitting in a desk drawer.) The store was oddly empty… they’ve been removing shelves and stock for a few weeks now. A few employees seemed to have a good time; they were taking photos of one another and I saw at least one piggy-back ride. The customers had a harder time. Over and over, I heard different people mutter, “This is sad!” (I said it once myself.) And I saw one woman walking through the children’s section, crying.

Oh well. Long live the ebook era, I guess!

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Categories : Uncategorized

Maybe teaching him to write isn’t such a good idea…

12 12 2011

Alex picked up a new habit this weekend. When he gets mad at me, he picks up a pen and a stack of purple post-its. He then writes “dad” or “you dad”, crosses it out, and then sticks the post it on something… the bathroom door, the refrigerator, anything.

The power of the written word at work!

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Categories : Alex

Pictures from this weekend

12 12 2011

Yes, there are stories behind each of these… but they’ll have to wait until I have more time.

Patrick tries out ice skating for the first time:

And Alex has run away to join a pirate family. Watch your valuables.

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Categories : Family Outings

Scientist or Troublemaker?

27 11 2011

Those who know me on Facebook read this earlier today:

First casualty of the season: Patrick wanted to know what was inside a snow globe, so he whacked it against the wooden back of our Stickley couch. Now he knows.

What I didn’t capture on Facebook was the simple, matter-of-fact conversation I had with Patrick after I cleaned up the water, broken glass, and bits of fake snow from our couch.

Me: Patrick, why did you do that?

Patrick: Because I wanted to see what was inside.

Me: What did you think would happen if you hit it?

Patrick: It would break.

I didn’t really know what to say. Everything unfolded exactly according to Patrick’s plan. He wanted to know what was inside, so he wanted to break the snow globe, so he did. All in a few seconds.

I later tried to explain that I didn’t want him trying anything like that again. Beyond the mess, I told him that broken glass was dangerous, that it could cut him, and it made me scared when I thought of him getting cut. He thought about that for a moment, and then he said, “Like that time I ran out into the street, and the car was coming, and it saw me? Like how you were scared then?” (This particular incident happened months ago.)

“Yes, Patrick, like then.”

I wonder if I’ll ever figure out how his mind works.

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Categories : Patrick