Check it.

Answer: Friends and death

The questions is...What discussions should you try to avoid with your three year old?
Death is fairly obvious. What a nebulous subject for an adult mind no less that of a small child. Jackson and I were watching Return of the Jedi this evening (don't show your three year old this movie) and the very brief scene where Yoda (spoiler alert) dies impacted the remainder of our evening. Jackson is now very concerned that he and the rest of his family are going to die. Attempts to console with "that won't happen until we are all very old" were ineffective to a child who is unable to make the temporal interpretation of "after nap time" or "next week." I'll hope it passes. I am very uncomfortable with this discussion as I can't even make up a good answer to satisfy his comprehension. Hopefully we'll all sleep tonight and Ewok induced nightmare will not bring further questions of death.

Friends is another subject matter. I have always been pleased that Jackson's daycare addresses all the children as "friends." It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. I know we all grow up and choose our friends and not-friends (I like to think that I don't really have enemies) and we don't all have to appreciate one another's company. At Jackson's age, however, and with his wonderful temperament, it crushed me to find out that someone wasn't his friend. He was showing me pictures of the children in his class, pointing out "this is my friend (enter name here)...and this is my other friend (enter other name here)," with notable exceptions that didn't bother me too much. We came to a picture, however, where Jackson said "this is Daniel, he says that he is not my friend anymore," and I was devastated. My image of all the little children playing together, without the predjudice of alliances and and exclusionary factions evaporated. Not to mention the personal affront that someone possibly did not like my perfect, wonderful, generous, and loving child. They all grow up sometime, but I don't think it's time yet. I will try to delude myself into thinking this is all in the interpretation of a three year old's mind. But it still hurts a little bit.

In a handbasket

Two comments today, one more controversial than the other...

1) So after my last post about the guy who called the cops about his stolen pot (yes, still legal in Alaska, especially in Fairbanks) I snooped on who was visiting. I do that a lot. I'm a little vain that way, but it is fun to see from where people are checking out the site. Soooo, first hit on the last post...Kingston, Jamaica. Yah mon. Let's work on that stereotype a little more.

2) At the gym today, CNN was hashing and rehashing the current economic crisis, and going on about how a number of retailers won't be with us in 6 months. Very likely true, but is this a bad thing? Perhaps this is the opportunity for our society to become a little less commercial and spend our hard earned money on important things like education, travel, or Heelys (oh yeah, I gots me a pair. Can't stand up on them worth a damn.). I really don't see a huge problem if Sally (or Duke, not to be sexist) can't get that new sweater from the Gap or Bombay Company goes out of business and I can't get that faux Egyptian mummy bookend set (mind you, our house is coordinated in ancient Egyptian style).

Un-American, you say. You know, this is actually how capitalism is supposed to work. Some companies succeed and some fail. I have to admit that I am speaking from something of a position of priviledge in a job that is very unlikely to go away (keep getting colds, folks), and I feel bad for the workers at these companies. But I don't mind the idea of that vast spread of Generica that makes every open air mall look like the next one in the next suburb might be going away a little.

See you later at the Olive Garden. Mmmmm, breadsticks.

PS-Pass the video of Jackson around. It already has 150 hits. I want it to go viral.

Robbers steal man's marijuana on Christmas

Welcome to Alaska...

Politics as usual

I have a little more hope today than yesterday, with the election of Barak Obama. Although we as Alaskans still seem to be more interested in electing criminals who bring in pork funds than looking at the big picture and the well being of our state and country. The election is far from over up here as the House and Senate races are close enough to wait for all the absentee voting. Hard to believe that Sen. Ted Stevens can still pull a close race less than a couple weeks after being convicted. I don't really know what to think about that. I'm also not to certain that I am happy about Gov. Palin's return.

$3269

PFD. BFD. The benefits of being an Alaskan stretch far beyond a low sun-induced skin cancer risk, the surprise hot Governor/Vice-Presidential candidate, and bears roaming our city streets. Today a large portion of the state received their Permanent Fund Dividend check in direct deposit form. Now, knowing that my parents read this blog from time to time, I won't say that I am bitter that I had to put mine into the ol' college savings account every year, but think where I could have been if I had been able to purchase a 4 wheeler or a trip to Hawaii instead. What good has my "education" done for me? Now, much like alcoholism and child abuse repeat in a sad, sad cycle, I will force my own children to place their free money into an account that will likely never amount to anything. At least when they turn 18, or if I die, they can spend it on something fun. Now that I'm a grown up, I think I'll spend mine on something much more responsible. I'm getting a motorcycle...with a sidecar. Sweet.

If you haven't heard of the free money they give away in Alaska, it basically boils down to this: 1) Oil companies drill for oil. 2)Oil companies make billions of dollars on oil. 3)The State of Alaska charges royalties on Big Oil's production. 4)Some dude invests the money in an offshore account, municipal bond, coffee shack, or some other wise investment. 5)The man then divides a small portion of the interest between all Alaskans. 6)This somehow amounts to billions of dollars.

Now (here's the commentary part), we have no state income tax or state sales tax, and much of our state budget also comes off of this same income process. Now although I am not a Republican and am not hugely in favor or government excess, couldn't we do some better things with this money than hand it out for a shopping spree? How about schools? Alaska used to have some of the best schools in the nation, with the best teacher salaries. This is no longer the case. How about services for the disabled? (Sarah Palin is a big proponent of this on the national stage, too bad she never mentioned it here at home. Don't get me wrong, I kind of liked her as Governor, but her new national persona is much different than who she was back home). How about infrastructure or maybe, just maybe we should plan for the future when we don't have giant piles of oil money laying around the house. Just a thought. (Not to go down the ANWR road, but even if we did open it, we are 10-15 years away from production and it will never sustain our national consumption of oil. Seriously, it is a drop in the proverbial bucket of oil, when will people realize that? It will be opened, it is just a matter of time, but it will never be the savior for which we have been prepared.)

Enough of the rant already. Need to go out and buy something.

Sarah (whisper it...) Sarah

Anyone else sick of Sarah Palin yet? I thought that I would throw my two cents out there about the Gov and her surprising leap to the national spotlight, but I can't bring myself to provide anymore comment. It's there, every time I turn on the TV, the headline of every paper, on NPR for Pete's sake. Leave me alone. That being said, maybe this is my chance to whore my blog out there. Hey look everyone! I'm from Alaska!! Look at me! Look at me!!!! Step right up up, see Sarah Palin Naked!! Did anyone see the kid who knocked her daughter up at the convention tonight. What an embarrassing way to gain a national audience. I guess it could be worse, you could be on the Hills.