Then you can.

This past weekend my daughter and the rest of the six member team competed in the regional Destination Imagination (DI) tournament. In short, the program is a way to challenge kids to think without boundaries.

The whole process starts each October as the Challenge options are released. After a quick review of the alternatives and ixnaying the mythology related one and the boy centric building challenge, the six member girl team settled on Challenge C – Triple Take Road Show.

Challenge C was fairly straightforward and presented the following detail requirements to the team.

1. Think up a traveling road show idea
2. Present the road show to three distinct imaginary audiences
3. Develop two travel methods used to get to the second and third presentations of the road show.
4. Have a technical spectacle as part of one of the road show performances.
5. Have the presentation run no longer than 8 min.

The rules for Destination Imagination are rather simple:

1. Everything must be kid driven. The adult coaches are just there to sheppard the process.

2. You are not allowed to use chemicals or explosive items

3. If the rules of the challenge don’t say you can’t, then you can.


So the team started the 5 month odyssey of thinking up ideas from scratch, a painfully slow process at the start. Bits and pieces started to come together, a transporter here, a sales idea there and pretty soon the girls had an outline of the road show.

Over the final two months the team put together every aspect of the play including writing the script and creating all props and backdrops. The team was very grateful for the week long snow outage (a first for Texas) that enabled the girls in walking distance of our house to come and work on the props and versions 2 and 3 of the backgrounds. The initial versions met a bad fate.

The morning of the tournament began with the ding of an incoming text. “Lauryn is sick, has been throwing up since 3am – she won’t make the Instant Challenge and may not make the Performance”. I kept looking for the second text message that would say, “Just kidding” but it never arrived. So the team, now down one, went into the Instant Challenge. After that I was quickly coaching Alex on an additional role in the play just in case Lauryn couldn’t make it. Then when talking with Lauryn’s mom, she said that "Lauryn was feeling a little better and didn’t know if I wanted her around the other girls since sh……….” at that I cut her off mid sentence and said, “Get her here! I’ll tell the other girls not to touch her! We need her!” And with that Lauryn was delivered to the team moments before the road show hit the stage.

To set the stage for the performance video you need to know the following:

The girls selected the following three imaginary audiences that they interact with; A family looking to buy a Christmas tree, a Pine Beetle family looking to buy a home and finally, Bigfoot watching an infomercial looking to buy a toothbrush. I’ll leave the travel methods between the scenes as a surprise.

The Performance Video (Triple Use Trees): http://www.flipshare.com/view.aspx?nRecipient=&nFrame=ODA1YTE2N2YtYWFjYy00Yzk1LThkNjctZjUzNGYwOTY4MTJi&nMedia=YTFjNTI1YWUtZWM3NC00OWZjLWE0OTQtNDJjYjZlMDRjZmFk&nT=

In addition to the main challenge performance in DI, the team separately has to work through a surprise ‘Instant Challenge’. The Instant Challenge is one where they don’t know what the challenge will be until they enter the room and are given 5 minutes to work together to solve the problem they have never seen before. The instant challenges crushed the team in prior years. This year was different, they worked beautifully together and creatively answered the spur of the moment challenge.

For all of their hard work and creativity the team was awarded 3rd place (out of the 15 teams in their flight). They were one spot out of going to the state tournament, but since half the team had a conflict for the state tournament weekend, they viewed getting 3rd place as the best possible outcome for the team.

So as we drove home with Alex and Natalie jabbering constantly in the back seat, basking in their success, I asked if it was worth all of the yelling I had tossed their way trying to get the team ready for the tournament? To which Natalie replied, “Oh yea – this (holding up her 3rd place medal) is so much better than sitting through the awards and not getting anything!”

While I don’t blanketly recommend it, sometimes giving kids the rule, “If it doesn’t say you can’t, then you can.” actually works.

Give us those nice bright colors

You are too late, as of December 30th, 2010 Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons Kansas has stopped processing Kodachrome film. Go somewhere else you say? – impossible – Dwayne’s was the last photo shop on this big blue planet processing the iconic film more than worthy of it’s own song.

Develop it at home you say? – impossible – Kodachrome can’t be developed at home. Unlike other color films, the magic in Kodachrome is that the colors are added to the film at the time of processing. Kodachrome starts as black and white film, then through processing the color dyes are added to it, thus giving us those nice bright colors.

To get your fix of those deeply saturated colors, visit the The Kodacrhome Project: http://www.kodachromeproject.com/ or the Kodak Tribute to Kodachrome: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/cpq/features/kodachrome.jhtml?pq-path=15415 (I love the snowman photo).

At Dwayne’s they have been receiving about 700 roles of undeveloped film in each week, mailed from all over the world. The lab only has enough of the Kodachrome chemicals to last through the close of this week.

The inspiration of this Friday’s Note came from Sunday Morning – a wonderful show of light news, art, nature, characters and good old fashion story telling that I’ve enjoyed since the Eighth grade. It’s just easier to enjoy now through the DVR.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/26/sunday/main7185884.shtml

Kodachrome, lyrics by Paul Simon
When I think back
On all that crap I learned in High School
It’s a wonder
I can think at all
And through my lack of education
Hasn’t hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
My sweet imagination
And everything looks worse in black and white

Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome (away)

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome (away)

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
(Leave your boy so far from home)
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome (away)

Now we are just left with external harddrives full of nearly identical shots we have taken without regard to the conservation of snap shots that film provided to us.

Your little friends are wrong

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The beautifully crafted response of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus." Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?" VIRGINIA O'HANLON."115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.


My Christmas wish for you this year is that Santa is alive and well in your home, hearth and heart. Please enjoy the following to further enjoy the season.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101215/ap_on_re_us/us_secret_santa

First Friday

The traditional foundation that our Christmas holiday schedule has been built upon shifted this year. The first Friday of each December always meant a journey to downtown Dallas and volunteering for Christmas Parade.

It all started back in ’91 when Jill volunteered for the parade which benefits Children’s Medical Center. Jill worked as the Parade Central Coordinator (the Maureen O’Hara role in Miracle on 34th Street). Her service for all of those years is represented by the individual volunteer pins showcasing each year’s parade.



Fyi – if anyone happens to see a 2004 parade pin (the one shaped like a TV) laying on the streets of Dallas it’s mine. It fell off as I was helping an oversized character onto an old fire truck.
As we started to date, Jill recruited me and our friends to join this annual behind the scenes gang and so started our family tradition of working the character and celebrity coordination in the hectic, controlled chaos time at the staging of the parade.

So, after a couple decades of volunteer coordination the organizers decided to outsource our efforts to a professional service company. Hmmmm – I guess our track record of never missing a beat for a couple decades wasn’t strong enough.

As a driver – our job was to get the characters and celebrities and some celebrities who were characters from the staging area to the individual car or float they were to ride in. Sounds simple enough, but toss in a dozen or so marching bands, half dozen large helium balloons and their handlers and 80 or so vehicles spread across 3 or 4 parallel blocks and the task becomes one of interpretive navigation - Especially when the parade starts and the ‘delivery locations’ are now on the move as we transport our character cargo just-in-time. Mix in 300k people walking around trying to get to their spot to view the parade and the driving was challenging.




Here are some things that I learned during my time working Parade Central.

* If you wear red sweatpants, a white sweatshirt and a Santa hat many random people ask you questions.
* Workers at McDonald’s love it when a golf cart comes through the drive thru getting coffee and hot cocoa.
* Old guys in classic cars love showing off their vehicles.
* It is possible to fit 6 Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and me into a single golf cart.
* The Adolphus elevator on the left side is the smallest, oddest elevator I've ever ridden.
* My friend Dave looks very pasty in December when sitting next to Miss America.
* There are many, many people who love volunteering to stage a parade in order to put a smile on a child.

As our family grew, our girls attended the parade with their Aunt and Grandmother as we continued to work the parade staging. Of course Jill would occasionally work in a private visit with key celebrities for the girls when possible. We even called on the big guy for a special visit.

One of my favorite stories was a few years back, while we were waiting for the madness to start. Batman was just hanging out with us when Doug pulled up in his golf cart and asked, ‘You want an ego boost?’, Batman jumped on the back of the cart and Doug raced through the side streets of Dallas with kids screaming for Batman everywhere he drove.

Part of the whole tradition was the maddening schedule that occurred the day before the parade including me hurrying from work and getting to the Adolphus Hotel (parade epicenter) the night before. I’ll certianly miss the door man at the Adolphus, a bear of a man in a top coat with the world’s biggest smile and a handshake that engulfs you. He simply knows me as ‘Jill’s Husband’. After getting settled in and taking the traditional Christmas card picture in front of the Adolphus tree, the girls and I would have dinner at the Rodeo Bar and Grill. They loved the fact they were allowed and even encouraged to toss peanut shells on the floor. Of course I had to instruct them that meant after opening the shells not before.

Our Parade Central gang would wrap up each year with our pilgrimage to Chuy’s to celebrate another successful year. A dozen or so folks all dressed in coordinating sweat suits chowing on TexMex always garnered interesting looks.

After all of my thinking of the parade and the traditions that have changed for us, I have found one benefit. My yearly, ‘what have I done with those red sweats and white sweatshirt’ search is over. No more last minute panic, tearing the house upside down, swearing that next year will be different – I’ll be organized next year. Nope, it’s this year that’s different.


It's silly but I believe, It’s silly but I believe, It’s silly but I believe ...

Do you have 17 friends?

Wednesday night the Penguins came to town and we introduced our girls to hockey for the first time. Who knew that someone would forget to tell the Pens that they had a game. They managed to make a team who is only recognized by their immediate family members look like the ‘97/’98 Wings.

Oh well, the game did give me a chance to make use of the 300 zoom with vibration reduction. One of my favorite pictures is of Malkin during the warm up. I like it since it shows the stress on the hockey stick during a slap shot. Unfortunately, this warmup shot was the closest he would come to scoring.

Here is the game summary from the eyes of a 9 year old.

19:43 of the first period: Dad, why does the ref let them fight? That doesn’t make any sense.

14:42 of the second period: Dad, how many people can they fit in the penalty box? What happens if everyone goes in the box? Can they play one against one?

Sydney and friends serving 5 for fighting

15:00 of the second period: Is that Mr Dave’s 3rd beer?

17:30 of the second period: Dad, the guy behind us sure knows a lot of swear words.

4:40 of the third period: Dad, if the Pens score a goal every four minutes the game will be tied.

9:15 of the third period: Is that Mr. Dave’s 4th or 5th beer?

12:00 of the third period: Dad, they have to score a goal every two minutes to tie the game.

My next favorite picture came from the second Pen’s goal. I love the goalie sneaking a peek behind knowing the shot had gotten by him. Look close, you can see the puck just before it went into the net. A very lucky picture capturing that split second in time.

14:54 of the third period: Boy, Mr Dave sure likes beer.

16:00 of the third period: Dad, if the Pens score a goal a min they could tie it.

17:30 of the third period: Dad, the Pens should just hit and pound someone in a fight! (A hockey fan was born)

19:34 of the third period: Dad, they don’t stand a chance, do they?
It was a great day for Hockey - just someone forgot to tell the Pens that.

Andy Van Slyke Where Are You?

"Every season has its peaks and valleys. What you have to try to do is eliminate the Grand Canyon." -Andy Van Slyke

Pirates have been in the Canyon: 17 years and counting ...

For the most part I have lost quite a bit of my childhood fondness for baseball as the Pirates have failed to tread water for the better part of the past two decades. I still check the box score now and then, and generally know who the players are, at least until the trading deadline each year. But the summer pastime just hasn’t been the same. The t-shirt slogan, Pirates Baseball – trading veterans for prospects since 1992, has been a sad Groundhog Day like occurrence each July 31st. Even in this fungo abyss, I’m reminded that some good things in baseball still occur. Such is the case with the near perfect game pitched a couple of weeks ago and the storm stirred up by a very human mistake.

The following is a letter drafted by my friend George who knows a little something about playing ball. He wrote this in reply to the Wall Street Journal article written in the wake of the perfect game and the blown call tempest. I liked his letter so much I asked his permission to include it in this Friday’s Note. Enjoy.

Background Article the spurred the letter: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284512831530640.html

I honestly and thoroughly enjoyed both of Jason Gay’s article’s regarding the “Detroit Disaster”; funny, entertaining, and well stated. But in regards to reviewing umpire’s calls – Baseball should develop some sort of technology solution for umpire review…..just as soon as the PGA allows mulligans. I did like the challenge flag idea included by Mr. Gay; however I would propose a slightly different implementation. Rather than a red flag to throw I would provide the managers (or their designatee) with a red baseball. Then, if an umpire missed a call, if the manager could bean the umpire from the dugout they could challenge the call. It would be much more entertaining, provide a further deterrent to the umpires, and have the added benefit of incenting the managers to keep their arms in shape. How much more satisfying to nail the ump right between the shoulder blades than to have some pansy flag toss…even if they didn’t miss the call.

And I have to agree with Mr. Gay shortstops shouldn’t make $20 million and Grandma would have liked a Viking oven. Technology definitely has it’s place; hockey is so much better in HD. But I find the mental picture of Grandma talking on her Jawbone, setting her Red Bull on the counter, peach cobbler in hand, opening the oven just a bit disturbing.

It’s really not about nostalgia or tradition (though those things are precious in baseball and life) it’s about how you play the game. And let’s remember we’re talking about a game, not brain surgery, not life or death outcomes. Winning is important, however, true champions are those that overcome odds, competitors, disadvantages, distractions, to press on to victory. And, though great physical feats are impressive, great moral feats excel. Isn’t that what we love about sports? Mr. Gay observes that’s’ why Armando Galarraga has received more attention than Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay. His physical feat was appropriately dwarfed by the triumph of his character. In Baseball there have been many great talents and great performances, fewer accomplished by men you would want your daughter to marry (But Dad…Ty is really a nice guy), or have mentor your young son (Ted Williams could have taught him something about vocabulary!).

So what does this have to do with replay in baseball? Only this, technology will not solve all our problems or relieve all our pain. In life, as in Baseball you get bad hops, balls in the sun, and yes, even bad calls. Going to great lengths to eliminate those (as if you could) doesn’t lead to happiness, or winning, or making the game better. I wish Mr. Joyce would have got it right, I wish Galarraga could have claimed that perfect game, but we all were treated to something even more wonderful. True greatness isn’t only about the outcome, it’s about how you deal with the bad calls and overcome with character and grace both within the game and without. It is, after all, how you play the game.

G. Bjorkman



I can think of one other reason to keep instant replay out of baseball. To reduce the documented footage of Pirates baseball.

So Let's Dance!

Being a teenager of the 80’s the kickoff to summer always included the tradition of catching these movies on late night TV. It didn’t matter that I’d seen each movie dozens times. It didn’t matter that I could quote each movie endlessly. Like my dad passing up a chance to watch a John Wayne western, I never missed the chance to catch the early summer screening of Meatballs and Caddy Shack.

There was always something about the screech of the bag pipes on the 45 to start the whole show and set the stage for what was to come at camp North Star, the best summer camp in that price range.

Are you ready for the summer? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPEfxNbvcjo

And any self respecting teenage guy from the 80’s knows why it ‘just doesn’t matter’ who wins or loses.

I saw an interview with the director of Caddy Shack who said after the first day of shooting Rodney Dangerfield came up to him all concerned and apologized for bombing. The director said “what? you are killing it, it’s fantastic!”. See this was Dangerfield’s first movie, his whole career to that point had been stand up comedy. So when he was giving his lines on the set and no one laughed, he thought it was just a real bad day, instead of the crew being quiet like they had to be during filming.

I love the following scene in the movie because my dad had a golf bag the same size as Rodney’s, if not larger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKcY75LIkRw&feature=related

I remember my friend Chris coming over to the house and stepping around the bag, asking ‘why would he need one that huge?”. My reply was, “I’m not sure, but I bet he got a heck of a deal on it.” Sure enough, when Chris complimented and questioned my dad about his new yacht like golfbag, my dad’s snappy reply was, “you should have scene the deal I got on it!”

I’ve tried to start passing on the love of the start of summer to my daughters through the creation of the Hillcrest Kick Ball Club. A big name for what couldn’t be a more informal get together. A funny thing happens when you have your daughter invite her friends to play kickball. You end up with 22 girls, 0 boys for the inaugural get together. All was going well during the 2010 KBC kickoff event when the ball started heading towards the pond. I started a full out sprint and just as I reach maximum velocity, at least the maximum for me, I felt the sharp twinge in my right hamstring. Actually it was more of a pop then a twinge. With my right leg unable to get back in front of me, I knew it was bad before I hit the ground doing a summer-salt ending flat on my back, holding the hamstring in question. As my dad would say, "getting old isn't for sissies."

It wasn’t until I couldn’t put weight on the leg and went back down to the ground when a good Samaritan called 911. I kid you not. Yes, the paramedics followed closely by the fire truck marked the end of this years first kick ball club event. And in a ‘say it ain’t so’ moment – a tiny little girl approached me and said, “But who is going to be our coach now?”

I’ve been placed on the 15 day disabled list in hopes to make the Father’s Day kickball game.