End Scene

Character motivation: Ecstatic.

Applaus-applause.

Showtime!

Locals ... if you are in town this weekend ... please considering attending Valatie Youth Theatre's production of Seussical Jr. at the Valatie Community Theatre, 3031 Main St., Valatie.

Showtimes are tonight through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Annabel is proud as pie to be a Citizen of Whoville.

Regular or decaf?

Even Stormtroopers get coffee breaks.

Building the "Gwen Ifill Tower"

Because public television needs more aliens, munitions and an elevator.

A lesson in found objects ...

Sometimes the real heroes are the ones you'd least expect.

The best toy you never had to buy

Mud.


Second best toy?




An old, fitted sheet.

Phoning it in ...

"Faster, faster faster."

Does this mean war?

I was doing my usual holiday pre-shopping (which generally entails perusing the Target Web site for its selction of Playmobil sets before getting into the car and actually DRIVING to Target to purchase one) when I stumbled upon Roman Arena action set and the following angry review by "Proud to be a Christian 'Mandy B'":

I'M APPALLED AT YOUR JUDGEMENT AND SELLING THIS 'TOY'

Are you kidding me??! You need "0" stars above or a space where we can give our "real" feedback.

What kind of sadistic toymaker would come up with this "toy" for a child age 4-8? or for any age for that matter? What was fun about the slaughtering of Christians by the Roman empire? What do you think the lions were for?? This is nauseating. I can't believe Target would sell such a disgusting toy just to make some $. I will not ever shop in your store again unless this toy is removed from your shelves.

Mandy B.
Past loyal Target cardholder and past frequent shopper

And below it was this more tongue-in-cheek critic, who penned himself Maximus (Pompeii):

ROMAN SPECTACLE

This toy is quite valuable for teaching young children about the Roman Empire. Countless hours can be had playing Gladiator vs. Lion and Gladiator vs. Gladiator in mortal combat. Children and take on role playing acting as the Caesar giving the good ‘ole “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” as they learn logical consequences as a part of early childhood development.

Parents should thoroughly preparing for the onslaught of educational and historical questions that will arise from the hours of delight acting out mortal combat in front of the thousands of Patrician Romans leisurely spending their idle time.

Some questions that parents should be prepared for are,” Who did the lions attack besides the Gladiators?" Of course the answer would be the criminal Christians who were guilty of treason by not worshiping the state Caesar who was considered God by decree.

Perhaps some extra figures of unarmed Christians could be a useful addition to the group and in that sense would round out the historical accuracy of murderous spectacle.

Which got me thinking. ... What IS inappropriate as a toy? You know ... aside from our preferences as parents and our kids' preferences as players.

Is it the TOY or the PLAY?

I'm of the general opinion that toys aren't the problem. The Roman Empire has returned from ancient history. Popular culture - such as wildly popular HBO series, "ROME," has brought it back into the minds of Christmas-shopping parents, and the history IS fascinating.

Of course the Playmobil version does seem to mix its timeline - setting its stage with Caesar but keeping the Christians and other 'criminals' (save gladiators) out of the arena (which actually seems to be the case in 313AD under Constantine, when religious persecutions were banned and Christianity slowly started to become Rome's official religion). But who cares, right? Christians were persecuted. People's lives were not valued they way we value them today.

But where was I?

Plaything appropriateness ...

Is it glorifying war to play with war toys?

There have been lots of conflicting studies over the past two decades as to the effect violence and violent play has in shaping young minds; and most of it seems to have biases that coincide with current events. A sharp upturn in violent crime in teenagers during the 90s, for instance, seems to have made experts conclude that it couldn't hurt to dissuade parents from allowing their kids to play with guns or to engage in any violent roleplay. Skip forward a little to a post-Columbine era and zero-tolerance policies aimed at stopping violence altogether, even at the thought-level, became the norm. If a child drew a violent picture they were referred to school counseling.

More recent research seems to be of the opinion that violent role play is not only normal, but it can be healthy for most youngsters. One theory being that it's not just that children learn from play, they work out their perception of the world through it. Keeping them away from roleplaying we as parents find distasteful or shocking, might actually keep kids from learning the necessary lessons of controlling their natural aggression.

It seems what's most needed is for parents to be present. What the kids learn about their own play, whether it be with toy guns or toy harlots or just pretend play without any props, is related to what we are reminding them of: The realities, good or bad. When that happens my guess is everyone will learn something useful.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

bubble, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Did you know bubbles are always spherical -- regardless of the shape of your bubble-making wand -- because they hold the gas inside of them with the least possible surface area? The geometric form with the least surface area for any given volume is always a sphere. The exception to this rule, of course, is when the bubble is surrounded by other bubbles. But when the other bubbles pop, the oddly shaped one returns to its spherical form.

Did you know regardless of how you color your bubble juice, the bubbles themselves will take on the color of the light that is refracted from them? Although you can't color a bubble with paint, you can paint with pigment-added bubbles by popping them on a piece of paper.

Do you know why bubbles pop? Dryness kills bubbles. When you make bubbles in the sun they even evaporate more quickly.

Did you know that if you wet your hands you can successfully catch bubbles? You can even penetrate your bubbles if you keep your tools wet.**

Did you know you can make your own bubble solution?
1 part diswashing liquid
15 parts water
.25 part white Karo syrup

To paint with bubbles add a few drops of food coloring or washable paint.




**Did that sound a little too racy? Science museums do that to me, I guess.

I don't think your insurance will cover this ...

tough case, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

"I know what the problem is.

"It's his heart.

"It's very bad.

"His heart is round not heartshaped.

"I don't think I can help him ...

"NEXT!!!!"

Secret escapes

up the skid, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Ever get the feeling that you have found the perfect place?

Sure its public, but somehow the spot seems to be off the radar.

That's what we learned about Schodack Island State Park this past weekend.

Tucked alongside approximately seven miles of the Hudson River in Schodack Landing, the park, which has also been designated as state estuary, is situated on more than 1,000 acres of field, forest and riverfront. A portion of the park shelters a Bird Conservation Area, which is home to bald eagles, cerulean warblers and blue herons that nest in the cottonwood trees.

The park also features boat launches, eight miles of multi-use trails*, volleyball nets, picnic areas with grills, playground and restroom facilities.

We went on a beautiful day that was interrupted only momentarily with sun showers, and it was almost as if we had the place to ourselves.

Cost: $6 per carload.

*note to hikers: stay on the path (there is poison ivy) and beware of mud wasps.

Ok, so here's my advice ...

wreaks havoc, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Stay. Perfectly. Still.

She's better at hitting a moving target by accident than hitting a standing target on purpose.

Got it?

Good.

Quiz next Tuesday.

Joyride

joy ride , originally uploaded by toyfoto.

Since we got these Plasma Cars at Goodwill last month, the hallways have been buzzing -- night and day -- with the whirring of their wheels.

Up. Down. Around. Repeat.

Silas usually rides with me while Annabel races on the power of her own steam.

But this week Annabel got to drive her little brother around for the first time, and I'm not sure if you can really tell from this photograph (to the uninitiated eye she looks slightly crazed) but boy was she excited.

To actually play with him and be in charge is HUGE to her. HUGE.

You know where this is going, right?

you know where this is going, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

This little pea stone is going right in the boy's mouth.

No hesitation. No awkward fumbling over fingers and thumbs.

Right in.

He doesn't eat more than a thimbleful of genuine food items in any given day.

A bit of banana here, a taste of yogurt there.

He'll gum graham crackers until they are a taupe-colored paste and he'll share most of his Oatio's with the dog. Then he squirms to get down and prowl the kitchen for leftover cracker crumbs and pieces of dog kibble.

So why am I surprised that out on the playground these little rock morsels wouldn't seem like a delicacy?

What's on tap this weekend?

babes everywhere, originally uploaded by toyfoto.

My not-so-imaginary friends - Jane and Jenny, above ...

and Diana below ...



are coming out for a mini-meet up at our soon to be less humble abode. You read right, friends: Jed has hired someone to work on the house, and a small portion of the reconstruction is taking place, coincidentally, in time for their arrival Saturday.

Sooooo. There will be replacement windows replaced; trim, trimmed; there will be endcaps where there were no endcaps previously; there will be clean sheets and fresh paint. In other words, there will be an oh-so-infantessimal sense of finish.

And in addition, there will be imbibing. Oh yes, there will be adult beverages consumed. (Except for Diana, who is currently growing a human)! She will be drinking mocktails and taking pictures of us acting silly.

Oh yes, there will be pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

Stay tuned. ...

Drama queens ... and their stagehand

Ittybit: LADIES and GENTLEBOTS. Welcome to our latest, newest show.

E: It's called "All About Me."

Ittybit: (stage whispering) But it's about us, too, right?