Booty and I took the train into the city with Mr.D and stayed on the train when he got off to go to work. In order for Booty to be able to sit safely I kindly requested a young gentleman to get up (after waiting for him to offer for 5 minutes) out of the seat reserved for disabled, elderly and people with young children. We got off the train at Jurong East, a short walk to the Singapore Science Center. I had been told a number of times from one of the dads at our Friday playgroup that this was one his 2 year old twins' favorite places to go.

We weren't impressed.

Most of our time was spent pushing buttons.
But alot of the interactive exhibits were broken. And could not be physically reached by a 2 year old, (and mine is TALL). And this is besides the point. Nothing was appropriate for toddlers. No musical stairs. No spaceship to play in.

Not that the elementary school classrooms visiting today were truly taking advantage of the fine knowledge and demonstrations of science all around them. What we saw was a lot of students chasing each other through hallways or unthinkingly hitting buttons or levers without reading the explanations.

When we walked in I asked the ladies taking tickets what exhibits were good for young children. They looked at each other as if I asked them to recite the quadratic equation.And declined to answer.

How about nothing, ladies? Would that about sum it up?

It started to pour when we were leaving the building and there were about 6 large groups of children sprawled at the entranceway, completely blocking it. No-one seemed to notice nor move when they saw us with the stroller. We had to turn around and go out into the rain and back in to find a spot near the taxi stand.

At the entranceway before you pay your admission fee there is a huge T-Rex that grumbles and moves his head and eyes. Booty wanted to "ride it" and continued to ask me if we could go see the dinosaur while we were inside the Science Center.

When we left the building 2 hours later and walked past T-Rex again she was so excited and wanted to get all up in his face as if this was what she had been waiting all day to see.

Once we were back home we opened the 'brella and stood in the rain.
"Very unhygenic!"

Finished.

PONYO
Today is review day and I haven't thought too hard about the movie I am going to review but it is a movie I was waiting to see for a long time.

Ponyo on the cliff by the sea

Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki out of studio Ghibli

A beautiful film, no surprise there but how beautiful? Not to be believed until you see it. A lot of water scenes and a number of fabulous storm scenes. Imagine a young girl with red hair running and jumping on top of huge fish/waves in the middle of a storm while you are trying to escape the storm in a small car, driving on a coastal road. This is where the tension of the movie exists most- before Ponyo meets Sosuke as a human.

Sosuke is a confident boy who befriends a fish with a human-like face. He calls her Ponyo and loses her when her sorcerer father reclaims her to the sea. When she escapes again chaos ensues.

The end of the movie was sort of anti-climatic but this is probably because so much of the movie is a wonder. One has to come down from the high at some point.

Prehistoric fish. A sea goddess.A town under water. The moon falling to earth. Millions of tiny ponyo-sisters shooting up like un-falling stars.

wow.

Here is the trailer.

Five campers so far

Five Waldorf campers have signed up so far:

Two 8 year old boys
A 7 year old boy
A 5 year old boy and
A 5 year old girl

We cannot have camp unless two more children enroll. I have had many requests from parents to stretch the age limits (5-8) but I feel that this gap is quite big enough.

I remember when I was teaching how rewarding the work with the children was and how challenging the work with the parents. This is still true. I still seem to be easily caught off guard by their seemingly "silly" questions and requests. I know this is one of my tests in this life. To breathe and work toward understanding how I can help the parents of my students.

Poop and pee

We have had a little backsliding on the potty "training".
And I am not sure if it is because the Booty is feeling insecure or because our housekeeper/nanny MB is not paying attention or being as diligent as me. This week each day she came home from the playground she didn't make it to the bathroom. One time she even pooped her pants, which she has never done before.
What was troubling was that when I surprised the two of them (Booty and MB) on the playground MB was busy texting and Booty was soaked. When we arrived home she had two more accidents before we made it to the bathroom. It seemed as tho' she was holding it in. But I don't know. She can get distracted and forget to go. This is why I always make it a habit to have her go periodically.
Also, she is only 2 and a half. What should I expect?

Finally, (wagging fingers) bought a baby monitor and used it last night. The girl's bed returns to its room.

Saw the movies Munich and Hamlet(2000) last week.
I was very taken with Munich but felt a bit overwhelmed by the lack of focus. The film is based on the book Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by Canadian journalist George Jonas, which in turn was based on the story of Yuval Aviv, who claims to have been a Mossad agent.It would have been very cool if Spielberg had taken a little more time with the "terroritsts" that were the targets. The performances however, were wonderful. Weird sex scene tho' after Eric Bana's character goes home. It was a bit confusing. He didn't witness the Munich Olympic killings and yet this seemed like a flashback. I liked the last scene. As if G.Rush's character is saying, "We may both be extremist Jews who would risk our lives for our country but you aren't fit to break bread with. Anyway it was just business. See ya!" Cold!

Hamlet(2000) was pretty poor. The acting left a lot to be wanting. Ethan Hawke's Hamlet was abysmal and the high tech angle did not work. Just bad.

My afternoon sleepiness (due to medication I am taking) persists. But I have made some progress with the standing doll. What should I name her?

Massive!

Singapore harbor is kind of menacing but cool. It gives me the goosebumps to see all these huge ships so close. I have always had a thing with big ships. My first real movie at the theater was The Poseidon Adventure and it made an impression on me and my older brother. That and Jaws.

Yesterday after an appointment at Mt. Elizabeth's Medical Center I walked across Orchard Road (Singapore's Michigan Avenue) to Takashimaya, an upscale mall. When I say upscale I mean it. Singapore's malls are the most luxurious and modern in all the world. Can I say that? Not really, but I just did and would be surprised to find an equal number of posh indoor shopping arenas. Anyway, I found an excellent art store, ART FRIEND. This was wonderful for me specifically because I had been looking for some origami paper and here it was, along with other much needed supplies.

Here is what my flyer says:

Do you ever wonder if your child needs to “do” more and “think” less? Or compete less and work as a team member more?

Here is a chance for them to experience a different kind of camp at the Waldorf Steiner School in Singapore.

5 days of hands on activities like wool felting, painting, crafts, drama, speech, cooperative games, music, treasure hunts and more!

This Steiner Camp is for children 5-8 years old
December 14- December 18, 2009
830-1pm
Early Bird special **$250.00 if you register your child before November 15
Registration is $280.00 after November 15
Camp size is limited to 12 with a minimum of 7 children
Location: 72 Elite Park Avenue

The camp will be run by *my name here*, an experienced Waldorf teacher from the United States. ** has taught Waldorf education as a 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teacher and has lead Waldorf camp for children aged 6-9. She has handwork experience (knitting, crotcheting, dollmaking, felting, weaving, sewing etc.) and specializes in form drawing, drama, music and the manual arts .** hopes that Waldorf education will “sing” in Singapore and perhaps you will join her in making this joyful wish come true.

One of Booty's rituals in Bintan was feeding the KOI. The concierge was very kind and always gave us fish food.

"You have to let me work Dada!"
Give some body a job and she will be content. Tho' there are times...
"I'm helping you mama!!!" When actually, um, she isn't. She is just dumping the bowl of eggs and creating a mess.
"Oh wow!" I have trained myself to say, "You really want to do it."
"How about we clean this up and try again?"
"Do over!" She cries. Just like I do when I make a mistake, or yell. We go back and try it again.

And then the negotiations.
"If you finish your egg you can have more toast."
"If you eat your breakfast you can have more juice."

I have begun to notice the number of negotiations that go down every day. And now I am calling a memorandum. She is only 2. And not a lawyer or mediator. Yet.
Using less words. And more gestures.

Instead of reading to the girl every naptime and pre-bedtime I have been telling stories with her wooden animals. It is absolutely magic. After a couple of weeks of doing this she is more independent in the morning when she wakes up, often re-telling the story with the animals herself. Or when I am taking a shower or busy on the phone. And most of the time she prefers told stories to books. In my stories there is always a song. And she digs this.

Took a high speed ferry to Bintan, Indonesia last tuesday.
When we arrived we noticed there was a good deal of construction underway, especially under our room so they moved us.
To the Floral Suite!
A much better set up. An extra bathroom and lots more room!
Things we loved: The miniature komodo dragons making appearances now and then, (especially in the pool). They call them Biyawak (pronounced Bee-a-wah).
The clean sand and sea.
The Japanese and Italian restaurant in the resort.
Breakfast gratis.
Spa and oceanside massage.
Weather :)
Service very friendly.

What we didn't like:
Shopping was as poor as it gets. No local stuff. All overpriced and every shop has identical items.
Indian food was very bad.
Construction went on non-stop.
Service was very slow.
There wasn't a lot "to do".
No good coffee. Sweets and snacks were not in abundance, (snack shop was severely lacking all around).
Food $$$$$$$$$$$$

I posted a review of the resort on the TripAdvisor site.

Sewed up some sheets and a pillow case for the mattress in Booty's room. And I sure have my work cut out for me. I am using some of this fabric to make some items I would like to sell later, perhaps some travel rolls, bean bags, blankets, party banners ... I will be posting pictures as I make them so stay tuned.

Walked all the way to Bedock Swimming Complex and back! I felt pretty good about the work out and saving $ on cabs.
I have been taking the train into town lately. Avoiding traffic and staying cool in the train. It would be hard to take Booty tho'. Seating is extremely limited on the train and EVERYbody uses the train, so it is always full.

*Note
This week's postings have been written ahead of time as we are in Bintan, staying at the Bintan Lagoon resort. Bintan is only an hour ferry from Singapore and Mr.D is on another enforced vacation. So, here we are. Yeah, Yeah, poor me. And wasn't I just complaining about something recently?

My proposal to start a Waldorf camp here in Singapore was accepted.
Man! I have a lot of work to do!
So like a lot of people I have a list of to do items.
Yes. Juggling. I am getting better!

An inspiring article about Korean adoption was published in the paper last week.

Unwed Korean mom start to assert their rights
by Choe Sang-Hun

"Four years ago, when she found that she was pregnant by her former boyfriend, Choi Hyong-sook considered abortion. But after she saw the little blip of her baby’s heartbeat on ultrasound images, she could not go through with it.

As her pregnancy advanced, she confided in her elder brother. His reaction would sound familiar to unwed mothers in South Korea. She said he tried to drag her by the hair to an abortion clinic. Later, she said, he pressed her to give the child up for adoption."

“But when the adoption agency took my baby away, I felt as if I had thrown him into the trash. It felt as if the earth had stopped turning. I persuaded them to let me reclaim my baby after five days.”

Luckily now there is a group called Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network founded by a dad who adopted from Korea and went back to "help" the community in which his daughter was born. He got a wake up call and decided to give something really helpful back.

More here.

Last week I was lucky enough to catch Elvis Costello's solo show here in Singapore at the Esplanade Concert Hall across from the Mandarin Oriental. The tickets were pricey but the hall was beautiful and there was not a bad seat in sight. The acoustics were fabulous and Elvis continued to revel at the intimacy of the hall and how he could do things there that he wasn't able to in other halls (like sing off mike or play his “quiet songs”). The audience was adoring and laughed even during chilling moments that gave me goosebumps. And also guitar solos that didn't work (he used a guitar petal to layer reverbed guitar lines on top of each other). This went on and on but he was having fun and we didn't really mind. He played the song “Every day I write the book” which reminded me of dancing at Adolf's bar when I was 18 and going to Bard College in New York. He told us the last time he was here in Singapore was 30 years ago. He couldn't sleep after the show so he went to one of the crazy markets and bought his producer a stuffed python and mongoose in battle. He played here for one night and has a mess of concert dates in Austalia this month. His latest album is Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane.

Lets pretend I am impervious.
Lets pretend I am a cloud and then rain and then earth and my flexibility is unending.
Lets pretend I am not on the other side of the world
Nor forgotten.

Lets pretend I am light as air in the morning.

Lets pretend I am as likely to laugh as I am to breathe or move.

Lets pretend you are reading this and understanding I am not your enemy.

Lets pretend I am seen
And I am still me.

After an argument with my dearest Mr. D I looked up the definition of chauvinism on Wikipedia.

Chauvinism, (pronounced /ˈʃoʊvɨnɪzəm/), in its original and primary meaning, is an exaggerated, bellicose patriotism and a blind belief in national superiority and glory. [1] By extension it has come to include an extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of any group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. Jingoism is the British parallel form of this French word. [1]A contemporary use of the term in English is in the phrase male chauvinism.[2]

Etymology
The term is derived from Nicolas Chauvin, a semi-mythical soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte who is supposed to have served in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars (1789–1815). Despite the unpopularity of Bonapartism in Restoration France after 1815, Chauvin was said to be an ardent supporter and was often seen wearing a violet in his lapel, the symbol of his deposed Emperor. According to the myth, he remained fanatically loyal despite his poverty, disability, and the abuse he suffered.

Then I did a search and found this article.

Study: Male chauvinist pigs make more money
October 2, 2008 by Jim Giuliano
Men who believe women should remain barefoot and pregnant tend to get paid more than men who think of women as equals in the workplace. At least that’s what one study shows.
The study for the Journal of Applied Psychology appears in a 19-page paper titled Is the Gap More Than Gender? A Longitudinal Analysis of Gender, Gender Role Orientation, and Earnings. 
It contends that guys who think of themselves as traditional “breadwinners” and who believe that a woman’s place is in the home — or, at best, in a subservient position at work — make about $12,000 a year more in salary than men who think of women as equal partners at work and in the home.
Put another way, men who change diapers make about a $1,000 a month less than men who don’t change diapers.
The study uses a factor called “Gender Role Orientation” (GRO).  If you’re a man who has a GRO of -1, that means you think of women as your equals. If you’re a man who thinks a woman’s place is in the home, your GRO is +1.
The study shows that -1 group makes an average annual salary of $39,000. The +1 groups pulls in an average of $51,000 a year.
 
Responses to “Study: Male chauvinist pigs make more money”
R. B. Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Well, that’s frustrating and kind of disgusting. Any idea why? Or is this just more evidence that good guys finish last…

BK Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
My first guess as to why is because, they may not be as committed to their home life therefore giving them more time at work. But, in the end family life is more valuable so the good guys are ahead!

Roland Lamontagne Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I don’t agree with the findings. I have worked in a nearly all male work environment for nearly 35 years and the evidence doesn’t support the GRO theory. With better than 10 years in Organizational Development the one behavior I have documented that influenced wages the most is the “Good Old Boys Club”. If one is socially connected to members of upper management the likely hood that one’s salary is higher and that merit increases followed the same – regardless of performance. Keep in mind that members of the “club” survive by protecting one another and as a norm women tend to be outsiders and men who see work as being a seperate life and not connected to the company/social ladder also see lower salaries, even if they are seen as being important team players. Favortism like office politics is not by design a part of business however, it is very much alive.

makesperfectsense Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I think that this makes sense. If you are a man who expects his wife to stay home you are most likely assuming that the responsiblitily is on your own shoulders to support your family and make sure you make a decent living. I would not call them chauvinists, simply because of this view point. Maybe these votes were based on the salary the men were already making. If you are making 100,000 dollars a year it is much easier to say that your wife should just stay home….this improves growth of your children. On the other hand if you are making $25,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet you may be more inclined to say your wife should be going to work. Bottom line is that no matter what your view point is their view point on the equality of women in the workforce isn’t what is determining their salary, its their own ambition.

Michael H. Swearingen Says:
October 7th, 2008 at 6:20 am
Actually, both of the responses by BK and by Roland explain what was found. People who tend to be part of the “good old boy” network, also do not value family time as much. They are willing to ignore the family in most situations to take care of the company’s problems. They are perceived as more valuable because they “are always there and never wimp out”. As I was typing this reply, I got a call from someone in management here who was complaining that an employee was going to be gone for 3 days because his father was having open-heart surgery and that there was no reason to be gone.

P J Says:
October 7th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
The study cited above did not use the words ‘pig’ nor ‘chauvinist’. I think your choice of those inflammatory words shows your bias and your desire to promote your agenda.
Those “traditional” men may actually respect and value women MORE b/c they work harder to support their families and that hard work results in higher compensation. That would not qualify them as “pigs” as your headline implies. (But, it clearly illustrates your politically correct bias.)
I am disappointed you did not post my response yesterday when I initially wrote it. More evidence of your desire to censor those with a different perspective???

LIBERATEDMOMMY Says:
November 19th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I see and read it all the time. It boils down to.. Families are made to feel uncomfortable when a spouse chooses to stay at home with the kiddos, They usually pop on and off the employment bicycle there for tend to make lower wages. We read how disappointed the “womens lib movement” is with regards to the choosing to “stay home” with the kiddos and not go out and battle/jockey for position in the work world. I myself have risen and fallen several times int he work force, just for choosing to stay home a little longer with each child, not wanting to “shove” them into daycare. Had I of not broken the work cycle with having kids, it would have been easier to “rise” to top ranks. After returning to the work force after each child, the new employers mostlikely viewed me as someone who was NOT willing to put the Employer first,. therefore the top paying more appealing positions were no longer available..

JCE Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
In my experience, a lot of the men at the top have wives that stay home and handle all the tasks involving the household or the children. They don’t have to take off work when a child is sick, or has problems at school, etc. Their wife can handle any tasks that require an adult during working hours. As a result, they aren’t very understanding when one of their employees has to take off work for something relating to the children. They probably think the guy who takes off work because his child is sick is a slacker because they’ve never had to do that. I think my husband and I should take turns calling in sick when our child is ill. I can call my employer and say that my child is sick. My husband has to lie and say that he’s sick because if he tells them that the child is ill, the response is “can’t your wife stay home with her?” It doesn’t occur to them that I am the supervisor of the department, and it’s no easier for me to stay home than it is for my husband. In fact, my husband has a laptop and would be able to get some work done from home, so it would actually be easier for him to stay home than me. I’d be willing to bet that there are a lot of men in higher positions who don’t think that they’re chauvanistic, but just think that they should give the promotions to the guy who doesn’t have time off work for family issues. And that guy probably has a stay at home wife, which perpetuates the cycle.

50ftQE Says:
October 10th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
I agree that there is a culture of bias against women in the workplace and also against what is seen as “women’s” work.
My husband works a high stress job and believes that since I quit my job to stay at home with our child I have been “on vacation”. If I need time off he scoffs at me as if I am crazy. To make matters worse we live overseas and move frequently so we never make long lasting friends nor see family more than once a year.
If I lose my cool because of this, I am seen as selfish and spoiled. The culture at his work place is such that if I get sick we are in trouble.


Sometimes it seems as tho parenting without holding another job lowers your status and credibility for decisionmaking.

Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. President Barrack Obama became the third sitting U.S. President to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after an announcement from the Nobel Committee on Friday. The decision, which was based on Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” has sent many underminers into a tizzy.

In a civilized society, the first and proper response to somebody winning a prize, any prize, is “congratulations, dude.”

But the heads exploding on the US right and the teeth-gnashing on parts of the US left this morning reveal that the United States, although it has made some fast progress of late, does not yet have a civilized society.

To read more of this article check out The Field
Posted by Al Giordano - October 9, 2009 at 8:15 am

Also interesting to read is The Huffington Post's Joe Cirincione's It's About the Bomb, Not Obama.

Thank you What about our daughters and Jack and Jill Politics for posting this Newark principal's speech.

He's right. It isn't normal for students to be shot or beaten to death on their way home from school. It isn't just another day in the hood.

Also of interest is this crazy post about transracial adoption from the folks over at Jack and Jill Politics. I had a strong reaction to the poster's use of the word heifer but the comments are for the most part reasonable albeit opinions of course.