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A Better World

  Children learn what they live. Howard County Nature Preschool Sing-Along Circle This short video was shared on YouTube by the North American Association for Environmental Education.  Although it’s labeled as a Sing-Along Circle, I’d say only about the last five seconds or so show the sing-along. What you have here is a one minute and forty-nine second introduction to world of the Nature Center Preschool.  There’s no explanatory narration. The pictures tell the story. We see children exploring the natural environment at the school’s home at Historic Belmont Park, and engaging in hands-on activities in their indoor classroom. The Howard County Nature Preschool is an initiative of the Howard County Conservancy It has been a hard week for many of us who have been contemplating and mourning how childhood can somehow transform into violence and degradation. I invite you to immerse yourself in a different world for a moment. Take a few deep breaths. Imagine a better world. Chi...
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Eventful and Hopeful

  The day is going to start out damp but it doesn’t look like a total loss.  That’s not  a scientific analysis but rather a hopeful prediction. The Farmers Markets in Clarksville and Old Ellicott City are happening as usual. The Oakland Mills Fall Festival kicks off at 11 am with a performance by the Oakland Mills High School Band. (I’ll be the one giving people the death stare if they chat during the performance.) I’m must say I’m disappointed that Old Ellicott City hasn’t moved on from its Hogwarts-centric autumn event.  From the following comment on Facebook it looks like I’m not the only one: Isn't it time to move this event past Harry Potter? There's so much more out there in the magical books oeuvre. Make it so, folks.  Word of warning: There’s an enormous event at the center of town this weekend which just might impact traffic? Just a thought to consider as you plan your day. Looking towards tomorrow, here’s another good reason to head to Clarksville Comm...
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F ³: Committed to the Bit

  Some things you learn in school. Some things you learn on the job, or from books.  Some things you learn from your kids. I refer to the expression, “commitment to the bit.” As in, “You have to admire their commitment to the bit.” My kid, in turn, very likely learned that term because of the amassed body of work known as the Vlogbrothers . John and Hank Green - - brothers in real life - - began a video blog in 2007 with the intent to pass communications back and forth on a regular basis.  They’re still doing it. Along the way they’ve done silly things, addressed serious issues, built community, and transformed a desire for change by turning it into a zany approach both to learning initiatives and to philanthropic ventures.  I missed all of this but my kid did not. They were watching YouTube at the height of vlogbrothers phenomenon. It’s only in the last year or so that I discovered them and realized the connection to a world that my youngest and their friends had be...
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The Twisted Mindset of the In Crowd

  Did you ever really want to be one of the Cool Kids? I did, once upon a time. Let’s think about that today. What are the qualities that make you “in” with the In Crowd? What would you do to gain that status? What would you do to hold on to it? What makes a group of people feel emboldened to do horrible, demeaning things to a helpless individual? Why are they almost always men? The persistent reporting by student journalists at Cornell has brought those questions to a wider audience over the last week.  As we’ve been trying to process those horrors another story has hit local news which feels eerily similar to me. Howard High School JV football players charged after locker room bullying,   Blair Sabol, WMAR 2 News This quote from the mother of the victim is shattering. “He's been beaten, battered, kidnapped, assaulted, sexually assaulted, false imprisonment, robbed," Bridges said. "I would like charges pressed to the full extent of what occurred to my child." Both ...
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Pursued by Mahjong

  I can’t remember the exact date that it first struck. It was definitely during the summer, though. Or maybe when a friend shared a post from the library system. I started out thinking it might make a good blog post but the amount of information coming my way got overwhelming pretty quickly. I feared that I didn’t know enough to do it justice. Apparently I don’t get a choice in the matter because it just. Won’t. Give. Up.  You can run but you can’t hide.  No matter how hard I have tried to get away from this topic it was determined to pursue me. Did you know there’s a class offered through HCC? And then the topic popped up on the CNN podcast Engagement Party (Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro) . Take a look at the last line of the synopsis for the August 21st episode: RushTok is Southern Soft Power This week, the internet turned its eyes to an annual 2020s tradition: watching freshman girls rush sororities at big Southern state schools via an endless stream of social videos. Wh...
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Autumn in the Neighborhood

  It’s coming. It’s one of my favorite days of the year and now it’s just around the corner. That’s right,  it’s the Oakland Mills Fall Festival: this Saturday, October 3rd, from 11 am to 3 pm. The festivities begin with the music of the Oakland Mills High School Band in front of the Other Barn. If you don’t know which one is the Other Barn, it’s right across from the Dunkin.   You can visit the Fall Festival website to learn more about the Children’s Area, Entertainment, Food, and Vendors. I see that the OMHS Food Pantry folks will be there so bring some non perishable food items to donate if you can. Oh! Here’s something interesting. The Oakland Mills Fall Festival is connected to Howard County’s Walktober initiative . Come enjoy the Festival and get your steps in, too. Interested? Follow this link for a code to join.  There will be festival food vendors on hand in case you are hungry. Plus there are always OM’s own restaurants to try, as well as a chance to exp...
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The Beautiful View

  So you’re selling your house. You definitely want to show it off to its best advantage. Let’s take this example from the BBC Panel Show QI. A charming, three bedroom cottage in Kent. Potential buyers who turned up to view the home were greeted with a remarkably different view. The estate agent failed to inform the public that the property was 100 yards from Europe’s largest nuclear power station. More importantly, they took the real estate listing photos facing the other direction.* (This was in 2009. Dungeness Power Station is no longer in use due to operational issues.) Aside from the rather daunting view, there are an assortment of documented safety concerns in living close to a nuclear power plant. And that’s assuming the plant is running as designed. The risks go up dramatically in emergency/malfunction situations. I must say, I probably wouldn’t buy that house. Now let’s talk about something closer to home. Do you remember when I  wrote earlier  about the proposed...
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