B running hard with a newly built lego airplane.
Turning a hard corner.
Airplane falls apart.
B (with nonchalance): My plane is designed to be an expert in falling part.
Showing posts with label observations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label observations. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Expert Airplane
B running hard with a newly built lego airplane.
Turning a hard corner.
Airplane falls apart.
B (with nonchalance): My plane is designed to be an expert in falling part.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Hairdo and School
In a super market with staff stocking the shelves.
B: Look!
J: What?
B: See the red mohawk hair on that guy?
J: Yeah?
B: Doesn't he look like the chicken at school?
J: Yeah!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Fashionable Holes
B putting on day clothes.
B: I don't like my pants. They have holes in them.
J: But, these are fashionable. People pays extra for these holes
**
B getting ready for bed.
B: I like my pajamas. They do not have holes in them. Are my pajamas not fashionable?
J: Zzzzzzzz.....
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Cold Car
(Walking in the neighborhood)
J: Look! That car is cold.
Boss: Why is that?
J: The car is hiding under a blanket.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Scare Away the Beast
(Told B+J the ancient story of solar and lunar eclipse - a beast ate sun and moon to cause eclipse and people used to make a ruckus to scare the beast to spit sun and moon out.)
(B+J making a ruckus before bed time.)
Dad: what are you doing?!
B: We are making a ruckus to scare away the beast from turning this room dark.
Monday, April 4, 2011
An Escher Moment
Dad: Are you bigger than B?
J: Yeah.
Dad: Is B bigger than dad?
J: Yeah.
Dad: Is dad bigger than you?
J: Yeah.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Growth spurt
B: The bathtub shrunk!
Dad: No, you have grown.
(Later, dad putting pajama on B.)
B: Dad, you shrunk!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wine storage
(Teaching B how to use the cork screw opener)
B: I've got it!
Boss: Good. Looks like the wine has been in good storage.
B: How do you know?
Boss: The cork is barely wet for this 97 bottle.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Water proof
(B is strumming an inflatable toy guitar.)
Dad: Do you want to play the other guitar?
B: No.
Dad: Your other guitars has real strings!
B: But, this one is water proof.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Speaking Japanese
B: What is tsunami?
Dad: It is a Japanese word meaning very big waves.
B: Do we speak Japanese?
Dad: お前はできないよ!!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Comparative and superlative
J: Booger.
Dad: Wow!
J: Bigger booger.
Dad: Goodness!
J: Humongous booger.
Dad: You are right!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Cat on the head
(Walking city streets.)
B: Look at that hairdo!
Dad: Wow, isn't it something!
J: Looks like a cat is sleeping on the head.
(Walking pass a corner)
B: The head-cat is waking up.
Boss: Actually, I think it looks more like a pissed raccoon.
(Dad whisking away the whole family before another comment is uttered.)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Where is mine?
Dad: Check this out, honorarium.
B: What is that?
Dad: People paid to hear me speak.
B: No way!
(Later.)
B: Say, you hear me talk all the time, where is my honorarium?
Monday, March 7, 2011
Olfactory memories
(Arrived in the city to visit grandpa and grandma)
B: Ah, we are getting close to grandma and grandpa's place.
Boss: How do you mean?
B: I can smell it!
(The distinct scent of oily street puddles and taxi exhaust fume...)
Boss: Ah, I see what you mean.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Low Cloud
B: See the hawk above the cloud?
Dad: Wow, so high.
B: Can the cloud be that low?
Dad: If it is "Low Cloud".
B: (Don't you treat me like a patsy - dirty look.)
--
Dad: I swear it is called "Low Cloud" - C1, Genus Status (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud#Low_.28Family_C1.29)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The many ways of Chinese tortures
a.k.a. Why I can prep my kids better than the Chua Method
The WSJ article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" touched a raw nerve for many. Asian community's reaction seems to be mostly one of horror while other communities are bewildered.
In fairness, I thought WSJ offered a reasonable counterpoint in the video section to show that this is not how every Asian mother thinks. Nonetheless, the counter-examples do not exactly have the same gravitas as a Yale Law professor with two Carnegie performing kids in tow.
* Reactions
Beyond extensive discussion, here are a few public reactions that I have found.
"Amy Chua's Book on "Model Minority" Parenting, a Tempest in a Green-Tea Pot" tries to point out the fallacies with the single track mentality espoused by Ms Chua.
"Chinese Parenting yuck!...wait!" gives an on-the-ground interpretation on the good and bad points of Chua approach as seen in Asia.
"I Wish My Chinese Mother Screamed at Me More Often" is a satire that blames the parents for not being more Chua-like.
My favorite reaction was a comment that the article is funny and should be viewed in the same light as the piece by Russell Peters on how "foreign" parents beat their kids.
* The Good
I think Ms Chua has some good points. Lest we forget that it is okay for parents to be parents. And, doing right by your kid does mean making them eat broccoli sometimes.
Similarly, I also believe that it is perfectly reasonable to expect an "average" kid to do the "basic" stuff. In other words, ability to construct a thoughtful idea using complex clauses, know the multiplication table, find Iceland on the map, and, yes I am saying it, read Hamlet.
* The Bad
The potential negative impact to the child of a strict adherence to the Chua system has been discussed extensively by the reactions above. So, I will add only one point. Namely, even assuming that the parent is successful with the approach and the kid turns out "okay", this would only make for a high quality worker bee. Maybe so high quality that this bee can find a faculty position in an Ivy League institution, but unlikely to be more than an individual contributor.
I am not knocking individual contributors, they are the backbone of any organization. But, could a Chua child be a CEO and run a global company, be a president and run a country, or be a community leader and get things done in the neighborhood? As the saying goes, shit happens, but I wouldn't bet on it.
* The Ugly
What is missing in the sea of reaction, however, is the acknowledgement that adherence, or indeed admiration, to the Chua system continues to be wide spread in Asia.
Historically, the Chua method is targeted specifically at the Chinese ruling elites as typified by the examination system. Do the right things, i.e. know your Four Books, and you will be handsomely rewarded materially and reputation-wise. With modernization and democratization, the middle class has gotten into the act. Surely what is good enough for the elite is good enough for my kids.
Social-economically, today, with ruling elites still dominating the political and economic sphere, the situation has not changed significantly. In other words, if you are not already one but want to break bread with the elite, you have act and think like one. Remember the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley? Hopefully not as creepy or murderous, but you better know your Four Books, piano, and whatever else.
Conversely, this clearly articulated system provides a perverse release valve in social mobility for those who cannot make it. It is not that you are not allowed to reach the top but you just plainly suck at your Four Books, piano, and whatever else.
Plus, it creates high quality worker bees. It is a pretty nicely self-contained system, you've gotta admit.
* The Down Right Conspiratorial
So, what is the big deal outside of Asia? In the US, and to some extent throughout most of the major OECD countries, today's zeitgeist is to fret over the seemingly unstoppable ascendency of China. And, just like Japan in the 80's for those of us old enough to remember, everyone who is somebody today is learning Chinese and trying to understand China's secret sauce.
(Speaking of learning Chinese, if another Caucasian parent wants little Johnny to recite Chinese to me, I will hurt somebody.)
On this point, you have to give it to Penguin Press, the publisher. Talk about perfect book placement and the waves of publicity that money cannot buy! Capitalism at its best is what I say. Think about it, nobody made money digging for gold in California, but the clothes maker (Levis) and the transportation service (Well Fargo) endured.
(And, here I am, volunteering my time to further the cause of the publisher.)
Also, one must have some sympathy for Ms Chua. Lessons and good instruments ain't exactly cheap and on less than 200K a year as a full professor at Yale Law, I am sure that she can use some help with the bills.
* A few personal thoughts
I hung out with a bunch of children's book writers recently and learnt that it is a very bad idea to include your own kids in the story. The famous example is A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh where his son Christopher Robin (Milne) was prominently featured. The actual Christopher never forgave his dad for using his name in public like that.
Ms Chua's kids seem to be older, so one hopes such complex would not develop with mom's latest book. All the same, they have been instantly transformed into huge targets with bull's eyes on their backs. Unless the book's royalty is enough for them to retire at this young age, mom seems to have forced a Faustian bargain onto the kids.
Does not seem cool.
But, most of all, after ruminating the article for a few days. I am reminded of Quino's Miguelito in the Mafalda cartoon strip where
Miguelito tossed his toy gun aside and told Mafalda "I don't need somebody to teach me violence. I am perfectly good at doing violence my way!"
--
To dear Ms Chua,
I don't need you to teach me how to mistreat my kids. I am perfectly capable of getting them ready for the shrinks my way!
Sincerely Yours, Martini Parenting
The WSJ article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" touched a raw nerve for many. Asian community's reaction seems to be mostly one of horror while other communities are bewildered.
In fairness, I thought WSJ offered a reasonable counterpoint in the video section to show that this is not how every Asian mother thinks. Nonetheless, the counter-examples do not exactly have the same gravitas as a Yale Law professor with two Carnegie performing kids in tow.
* Reactions
Beyond extensive discussion, here are a few public reactions that I have found.
"Amy Chua's Book on "Model Minority" Parenting, a Tempest in a Green-Tea Pot" tries to point out the fallacies with the single track mentality espoused by Ms Chua.
"Chinese Parenting yuck!...wait!" gives an on-the-ground interpretation on the good and bad points of Chua approach as seen in Asia.
"I Wish My Chinese Mother Screamed at Me More Often" is a satire that blames the parents for not being more Chua-like.
My favorite reaction was a comment that the article is funny and should be viewed in the same light as the piece by Russell Peters on how "foreign" parents beat their kids.
* The Good
I think Ms Chua has some good points. Lest we forget that it is okay for parents to be parents. And, doing right by your kid does mean making them eat broccoli sometimes.
Similarly, I also believe that it is perfectly reasonable to expect an "average" kid to do the "basic" stuff. In other words, ability to construct a thoughtful idea using complex clauses, know the multiplication table, find Iceland on the map, and, yes I am saying it, read Hamlet.
* The Bad
The potential negative impact to the child of a strict adherence to the Chua system has been discussed extensively by the reactions above. So, I will add only one point. Namely, even assuming that the parent is successful with the approach and the kid turns out "okay", this would only make for a high quality worker bee. Maybe so high quality that this bee can find a faculty position in an Ivy League institution, but unlikely to be more than an individual contributor.
I am not knocking individual contributors, they are the backbone of any organization. But, could a Chua child be a CEO and run a global company, be a president and run a country, or be a community leader and get things done in the neighborhood? As the saying goes, shit happens, but I wouldn't bet on it.
* The Ugly
What is missing in the sea of reaction, however, is the acknowledgement that adherence, or indeed admiration, to the Chua system continues to be wide spread in Asia.
Historically, the Chua method is targeted specifically at the Chinese ruling elites as typified by the examination system. Do the right things, i.e. know your Four Books, and you will be handsomely rewarded materially and reputation-wise. With modernization and democratization, the middle class has gotten into the act. Surely what is good enough for the elite is good enough for my kids.
Social-economically, today, with ruling elites still dominating the political and economic sphere, the situation has not changed significantly. In other words, if you are not already one but want to break bread with the elite, you have act and think like one. Remember the movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley? Hopefully not as creepy or murderous, but you better know your Four Books, piano, and whatever else.
Conversely, this clearly articulated system provides a perverse release valve in social mobility for those who cannot make it. It is not that you are not allowed to reach the top but you just plainly suck at your Four Books, piano, and whatever else.
Plus, it creates high quality worker bees. It is a pretty nicely self-contained system, you've gotta admit.
* The Down Right Conspiratorial
So, what is the big deal outside of Asia? In the US, and to some extent throughout most of the major OECD countries, today's zeitgeist is to fret over the seemingly unstoppable ascendency of China. And, just like Japan in the 80's for those of us old enough to remember, everyone who is somebody today is learning Chinese and trying to understand China's secret sauce.
(Speaking of learning Chinese, if another Caucasian parent wants little Johnny to recite Chinese to me, I will hurt somebody.)
On this point, you have to give it to Penguin Press, the publisher. Talk about perfect book placement and the waves of publicity that money cannot buy! Capitalism at its best is what I say. Think about it, nobody made money digging for gold in California, but the clothes maker (Levis) and the transportation service (Well Fargo) endured.
(And, here I am, volunteering my time to further the cause of the publisher.)
Also, one must have some sympathy for Ms Chua. Lessons and good instruments ain't exactly cheap and on less than 200K a year as a full professor at Yale Law, I am sure that she can use some help with the bills.
* A few personal thoughts
I hung out with a bunch of children's book writers recently and learnt that it is a very bad idea to include your own kids in the story. The famous example is A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh where his son Christopher Robin (Milne) was prominently featured. The actual Christopher never forgave his dad for using his name in public like that.
Ms Chua's kids seem to be older, so one hopes such complex would not develop with mom's latest book. All the same, they have been instantly transformed into huge targets with bull's eyes on their backs. Unless the book's royalty is enough for them to retire at this young age, mom seems to have forced a Faustian bargain onto the kids.
Does not seem cool.
But, most of all, after ruminating the article for a few days. I am reminded of Quino's Miguelito in the Mafalda cartoon strip where
Miguelito tossed his toy gun aside and told Mafalda "I don't need somebody to teach me violence. I am perfectly good at doing violence my way!"
--
To dear Ms Chua,
I don't need you to teach me how to mistreat my kids. I am perfectly capable of getting them ready for the shrinks my way!
Sincerely Yours, Martini Parenting
Thursday, January 6, 2011
House's rear end
B: Do you know what is the house's ass?
Dad: Uhm... No, I don't.
B: It is the earth! Huahahahahah!
Dad: (Silence...)
Dad: Uhm... No, I don't.
B: It is the earth! Huahahahahah!
Dad: (Silence...)
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