Fantastic place to catch movie trailers

Apple has trailers in HD up to 1080p.  They are gorgeous. Watch them in 720p on your computer.

Other HD Trailer sites: MovieFone, Yahoo Movies,

Raising Your Child to Be a Champion in Athletics, Arts and Academics

I may have to check out the book written by Wayne Bryan, father of the professional twin tennis doubles team.   Here is what the New York Times Magazine article of Aug 30, 2009 has to say about it:

which stresses, among other things, the importance for a parent of not stealing a child’s thunder. It reads as a manifesto for a sensitive and low-pressure form of hothousing. Wayne spells out very specifically how a parent should approach his child after a match. “First, let your child come to you . . . ,” he writes. “Remember, this is her gig, not yours. You say you want to share her glory? No! Let her friends go up to her and share her moment.” And win or lose, the script is the same: First question: Do you want water or Gatorade? Second question: Where do you want to get something to eat? Third question, if the child is 16 or older: Do you want to drive or should I? “It’s really that simple,” he writes. “If the child wants to talk about the match, you listen. But don’t critique. . . . Your role is to minimize pressure, not create it.”

I have to constantly remind myself to not push my kids in sports further than they want to go.  Cassidy has creative talents but David and Kristen have athletic talents that they are currently unmotivated to pursue and nurture.  Maybe something will click and one day they will actually ask ME to help them rather than the other way around.

Can Levi Buy an Xbox With His Own Money?

I enjoy reading Steve Yoder’s Wall Street Journal column that he writes with his son Issac and now also with Levi.  This morning the column addresses video consoles in the house.  The train on that one has left the station in our home.  We bought a classic XBOX when David was only 6!  I actually was not for it at the time but did not feel strong enough to put up  a fight.  We now own 2 XBOX 360s and a PS3.  No WII and I have no desire to get one, but I’ll probably lose that battle eventually.  The battle I’m fighting now is holding out on texting for our phones (Cassidy & David have cell phones) which I expect I will soon lose.  I feel the same way about texting as Steve feels about game consoles.    The way kids use texting (most of the time) is a huge waste of time and it teaches them to be less social.

Levi makes the argument that it is his money and Steve replies it is not about the money but about the idea of owning a console and deciding he doesn’t want that distraction in the home.  I think that is a reasonable reason not to own a console.  Levi brings up the fact that his older brother was allowed to keep a used Nintendo that didn’t work too well. Steve argues that he allowed it because it didn’t work consistently.  That’s not a very convincing argument.  Whether it worked at ALL or not, the message sent was that game consoles in the home are OK…then…but now they aren’t.

Game consoles are pure entertainment just like watching TV.  I happen to believe there is nothing wrong with mindless entertainment.   Just like ANYTHING, the problem comes in excessive use of any form of entertainment be it TV, drinking, computers, comic books, etc.  Yes it’s hard to constantly monitor and restrict activities like TV or game playing but nevertheless, I believe that’s what you need to do.

Do we do a good job of restricting TV/gaming in our home?  Not good enough.  Which is why even though we choose to allow these “distractions” in our home, I wouldn’t condemn someones choice to disallow either of these activities in their home.  The only question I have for Steve is does he disallow computer games, portable game players, iPods, MP3 players or other electronic devices that could serve as unnecessary distractions?  Since there is not a TV in their home, I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was yes.

How well do you know me?

David sent me this quiz about himself.

I created one

And so did Cassidy and Kristen

Did you know you can make calls using your cell phone?

I’m about to lose the battle of a texting-free home.   There isn’t anyone that communicates electronically more than I or that can appreciate how technology has enabled all kinds of ways to communicate.  I just believe that texting should be used infrequently.  Sure there are times where texting is the BEST way to contact someone (at the movies, in class, in a meeting, etc.) but I believe those optimal moments are the exception.  I believe texting is abused by most kids creating unnecessary chatter and wastes time not to mention turns people into social introverts.  I’ve asked David and Cassidy not to bring their iPod Touchs into restaurants.  What’s next?  A scrolling LED readout of people’s twitter posts on a wristband (I’ll be updating this post when this becomes reality, seriously).

Here is an example of how the latest social media trends have turned kids minds into mush:

Good thing we have facebook

(from my favorite radio show Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me)

The Home Run

Liberty Mutual Insurance sponsors a website called The Responsibility Project.  It presents thought provoking questions intended to spark discussions.  I first heard about it when they advertised in the New Your Time’s Magazine Sunday Insert.  The ad was placed alongside “The Ethicist”.  I subscribe to The Responsibility Project in my newsreader.  The Project has several short films which are professionally done and very good.  The Home Run is one of these and if you have kids in sports, I highly recommend it.

Tennis Little State 4.5 Champions

My 4.5 USTA tennis team traveled to College Station to play in the consolation tournament named “Little State” for 2nd & 3rd place teams.  South Texas, 2 Fort Worth Teams and 2 Austin teams attended.  My team went 4-0 winning 5-0, 5-0, 3-2, 3-2.  I was 3-1 with three different partners.  The Tennis Facility on the A&M campus was nice. At least the main stadium area was nice with 12 courts separated by short fences.  We played 2 of our matches down a small hill where there were about 18 courts layed out very close together much like the UT intramural courts.    The sponsers did a great job.  Jane and the kids came.  They were real troopers because it was hot and muggy and there was not a lot of shade.

Video clips of some tennis action here

More pictures taken by Anthony here

Kristen’s latest home run

…with a close play at home!

Go here to view her interception for a touchdown.

Kristen’s Soccer Highlights

Some highlights of Kristen’s 2007-2008 seasons.

The Seventh Sense

Andy entered the Unnecessaray Sequel contest with his entry "The Seventh Sense".  Cassidy plays a ghost that died in an easy-bake oven accident.  The trailer is 2 minutes and it came out great.