Slowing Down the Blur - kevinmorrison's Blog - Raising Bakersfield

Anybody home?

It's awfully quiet on RB. Where'd everyone go?

Mac or PC?

Give me some help here. I have been a PC owner/defender for years (Dell and HP), but my recent struggles with their service department have me at the end of my rope, so much so that I am actually considering moving to a Mac. Never thought I would even utter those words, but my experiences can no longer allow me to defend the PC without giving the other side it's shot.

What do you own, and would you buy it again, and why?

Facebook?

Is anyone else here on Facebook? A friend connected me there a week ago, and it's not helping my internet addiction... but it is pretty cool. I've found a ton of people I haven't talked with in years, from high school, past jobs, etc.

anyway... I'm there, if anyone wants to find me there

getting closer

we got our fingerprinting done for the adoption paperwork... for the second time, in case we got new fingers since the last time.

It's september which means in a little more than three and a half months it will be 2009, when we can start answering all the "when" questions with "Next year!" (sigh)

We're coming, Ileah

she said...

Daddy, I have a case of the Bless Yous

Culture Shock

So I started riding the bike and pulling the bike trailer on tuesdays and thursdays to get Holly to and from preschool. It's one of my personal battles against buying gas. (Don't worry, Obama, I inflated my bike tires to proper levels for maximum fuel efficiency). It's a five mile one-way ride, and as much as I want to get in shape, I'd rather do ten miles a day then twenty. So I pack my laptop bag and camp out at a nearby park to do some work while Holly is in school.

So today, I am sitting at a park table, when six Indian American grandpas (they may or may not be grandpas, but they were that age) came and sat at my table around me. Umm, awkward. I'm thinking to myself, as I am picturing in my head the 20+ other empty tables in the park, "don't these guys know that in America, we like some elbow room and to be left alone when we are minding our own business?"

Hold the racism speech, I'm redirecting.

So then one of the other voices in my head (don't ask, it's too hard to get an exact count) says, "Maybe that's America's problem. Hmmm?"

These Indian American Grandpas started talking to me.... nothing unusual, just friendly conversation. It occured to me that this is, either formally or informally, a talking bunch that meets here regularly, if not daily or more. And, in very unAmerican fashion, they were being nice and including the strange bald guy in bike shorts who found himself in their neck of the woods. I relaxed and laughed and nodded at what I thought were appropriate places... half the conversation was in Indian. It was a refreshing experience to see people so eager to be kind and inclusive.

So to my Indian American Grandpa buddies, thanks for the culture shock.

And while we're being politically correct, I would like to now be referred to as a Scottish-Irish-English-German-American-by-way-of Canada.

Ehh, I'll just stick with "American." But maybe "Americans" should take notes from everyone else.

Does they really think about it this young?

This was the conversation on the way home from dropping my son off this morning

"Dad?"

"Ya."

"My boobies are getting bigger"

She's 3

What happened to the High Schools?

So I started my online history course at BC this week and I am participating in an online class discussion. I am shocked by how poorly these high school graduates are writing. Grammar must have been a budget cut victim. I can maybe understand kids having trouble with complex grammar, but these kids can't even write conversationally. Several can't even finish a single thought before getting lost... and it was their own thought to begin with! Granted, BC is not the educational destination of the top Kern County high school graduates (no offense BC, I'm proud to be a Renegade), but NOBODY should get out of high school if they can't form a basic sentence. Or if you can't form a sentence, at least throw some words together that address the topic question given.

Wow. That's the only other thing I can say. Wow.

Miss Hollywood's Turn!

This morning was Holly's first day of her last year of pre-school! She was so excited to see her friends again and to be in the "big girl" classroom. She is in Miss Esther's class and already loving it.

This is our fourth year at Ridgeview Christian PreSchool (two with Layton and this is the second with Holly). It's an outstanding preschool if you are looking. It is a part of Ridgeview Christian Church, right across from Ridgeview High on Stine.

1st Day - 1st Grade

Layton is in 1st grade today with Mrs. King at Castle Elementary. Next time we blink, he'll be graduating from high school and then from UCLA. (just kidding, Layton. You can go to whatever school you want... it would just be really hard for me to cheer for SC).

Here are some shots from this morning. We're proud of you, Layton!

Seriously? You have kids and you are still smoking?

C'mon. Really? I don't even need to make the case against it.

I saw a woman smoking in her car today with three kids in the back seat. I don't have the words...

"But Kevin, when I smoke, I go outside so my kids don't have to be exposed to it."

I don't have to make the case against that either.

"But Kevin, I tell my kids that smoking is not good for them."

This case I will make. The most powerful impression you make on your children (and by the way, you don't get to decide... they do) is not a single word that comes out of your mouth. It is your actions.

So when you are telling your kids, in between puffs and silly mouth-contorted smoke blows, that smoking is bad for them... they are definitely learning. They are learning that you don't respect your body, you don't respect them enough to lead them, and if they want to do what is right they need to follow someone else.

BUT THEY WANT TO FOLLOW YOU.

"But Kevin, it is an addiction."

Well, gosh golly geepers, I hope that someday the world will have programs and quitting aids to help you beat the addiction.

Once you have kids, it's not about you.

C'mon. Really?

Congrats to Fairview Elementary!

Jack O'Connell, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction is visiting Fairview Elementary today, because they had amazing score improvement on last year's testing. Television news crews will be on hand as he congratulates them on an awesome job. I would like to say that the improvement is entirely because of my amazing wife, Jill, and her 4th and 5th grade students, but I've visited Fairview. The entire staff is amazing! Congratulations to Principal Mike Barella, V.P. Jenea Chance and ALL of the wonderful teachers who put their students first. I'm excited for recognition to be given where it is due!

and good job, Jilly Bean! :-)

RE: kids with email

I set up email accounts for my kids this morning. Holly doesn't really care (she'd rather have a cell phone), but Layton totally digs it. I figured that he is online anyway and in a stage where learning communication skills is huge, so why not? He loves it and is already exchanging emails with grandparents, cousins, aunts, and our children's pastor.... he starts 1st grade next week. Makes me laugh when I think about what we were doing in 1st grade. Gone are the days of burning ants with magnifying glasses and digging holes for the sake of digging holes. It's a different world now. Thanks progress! (I think)

Trampolines!

We're thinking of getting a trampoline for the kids for the backyard? Any recommendations or suggestions or cries of "are you TRYING to go to the ER?"

Take that, Big Oil!

We haven't driven our car in a week, and it feels great! We haven't bought gas yet this month and at the rate we're going we might not need to! Take that Oil Companies. (I'm sure they got the message and are feeling it in the pocket book... well, probably not, but it sure helps mine)

The New site is Up!

Go check it out at www.kevinmorrisonbooks.com. I'd love feedback and suggestions of what you would like to see or expect to see from an author's website. Thanks so much Bakersfield!

Freedom of Religion doesn't mean Religion Free...

... but that is what some people would like the country to be. I read a story about a high school getting sued because they had a public prayer before the kick-off of a football game. I'm tempted to write all of my congressmen and representatives to tell them to get Atheism recognized as a religion, so lawsuits forcing Atheism on a people or institution would be thrown out.

If I am running a school, a business, or ANYTHING outside of my front door, I am going to do it as a complete reflection of me. We all should be allowed to do the same. I mean, if a school DOESN'T have prayer before a game, should I be the one suing? People of faith seem to be pretty tolerant of Atheism, but it doesn't come back the other way.

Nobody is forcing anything on anybody. I take that back. Atheists are.

disclaimer: not all atheists, but even atheists know the ones I am talking about. Just like there are Christians the the rest of us cringe at, there are some who make a bad impression for the whole group.

But seriously. I'm writing my congressmen.

Quaking at Disneyland

We're back from Dland and it was a great trip! We got up early on Tuesday and walked from our Hotel to the entrance where we were first in line (for the regular folks, not the magic morning people, but still exciting for the kids). We went immediately to Nemo, based on consensus recommendation. It was ok. It was a little intense for Holly. It was not all that I expected, but it was OK. We waited an hour to get on. Maybe that's why it was just ok to me. Then we headed to Autopia. The kids loved it. The next ride was cool. The Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride. I got 53,700 points, beating Jill by 50,700. And the kids loved it, too. From there we went to the Fantasy Faire where Holly was made a princess, and then we got in line to meet them! at 11:42 I started looking round to figure out what ride was vibrating the ground. At the same time that I determined it was actually an earthquake, the earth made it abundantly clear. It moved over a foot, knocking several people off their feet. Here's the funny part. It became the indicator of where all the people in line were from. Non-Californians ran in large numbers away from the lines screaming at their families that they had to get out of the park, while people from California just moved forward and took their spots. So we didn't have to wait as long to meet the princesses, which as hoped, was the highlight of Holly's trip.

They did shut all the rides down for a couple hours to be inspected, but we had planned on leaving the park for nap time anyway, so our day was not overly affected. We spent the rest of the day in much shorter lines. It was not crowded enough to make fast pass an efficient option, so we never even used it. We got on most rides in under 15 minutes wait time.

So, Earthquake included, it was a great day; everything we could have hoped for on our kids' first visit. We took our own double stroller and that was a good choice. I was super impressed by the fireworks and we were able to keep the kids propped up and semi-awake until about 11:30. Then we walked to our hotel and crashed. Great day!

You are an irresponsible parent...

...if you take your young children to PG-13 and R movies. I won't apologize for being blunt. You just are. Selfish and irresponsible. Jill and I went to see the Dark Knight today. It was a good movie, and on the upper end of the PG-13 graphic violence and disturbing images scale. I have always had a problem with people who bring their children to inappropriate movies to save money on babysitting. They have no reservations about bringing the child carriers and diaper bags and crying kids into slasher and violence and horror movies. But today pushed me over the edge. Several rows behind us, only a few minutes into the movie, a crying scared young girl was begging, literally begging, for her parents to take her out of the theater, saying over and over "I don't want to be here." Her parents told her to sit down and watch the movie. She couldn't have been more than 6 or 7. I pulled a theater manager aside to tell him he has traumatized children in his theater and that I know it is policy to leave the discretion up to the parents, but we are dealing with irresponsible parents. He fully agreed with me and explained that even though he wholeheartedly agrees with me, he can't prevent the kids from going in with their parents, because they can be and have been sued. So I responded with "But you see the kids coming in, can't you say anything to these parents like 'this is really a violent movie, too violent for young children?'" He said that is something I can do, as in me; that the movies have their ratings and that is pretty much where the movie industry washes its hands of responsibility.

So here it is, since it is apparently my responsibility, Don't take your children to movies that are not intended for them. Either spend the money on a babysitter or wait until the DVD is out. If you take your child into these movies, you are irresponsible and need to do some growing up yourself. If I just offended you because you see no problem with this, PLEASE comment and defend your position. Then we can add your very own words to the CPS case file.

Seriously, there were parts of this movie where I closed my eyes because the Joker was holding a knife in a trembling someone's mouth about to cut through his cheeks. Don't worry, that's not a big plot givaway. But if it is hard for me to watch, imagine the tortured little girl behind me.

So please, I really do want hear your justification for taking your kids to these movies. Really, I'm trying to understand, because it seems to be so commonplace. Or is it just that lack of common sense has become common? Sadly, I think I know the answer, but just for fun, I want to hear it from you (the irresponsible selfish parents) anyway. Give it your best shot.

Disneyland Strollers?

Are they worth ten bucks? Do they have doubles? Is there room for bags and stuff?

Or do we bring our own?

Disneyland

Going next week with our 6 year old and 3.5 year old. I have not been there in 12 years. Any suggestions or good plans of attack??

New Illustrators!

My two new books coming out in '09 have two awesome illustrators. Patricia Bachoc, a kindergarten teacher at Castle Elementary here in Bakersfield will be illustrating God's Garden coming out in Spring '09.

And as of this morning, Mai S. Kemble of Portland, OR will be illustrating I Can Speak Bully, coming out in Fall '09. I've attached a picture from Mai's The Moon and the Nightsweeper. She's amazing. Samples from both books to follow. This is so cool! :-)

churches

You've read my blogs about churches before. Lately, I've had the opportunity to visit a few that were new to me and it's been a really cool experience. A couple weeks ago, our family attended the saturday evening service at Laurelglen Bible Church. Jill and I both teach sunday mornings at Kaleo and we don't get to hear the messages (other than the ones we teach). So we were needing a bit of rejuvenation and got it at LBC. Eric Burns, the LBC youth pastor gave a great message about "Community" and what it would look like if the church were a perfect or even good community. All too often, groups or cliques form, even in churches and it hinders their ability to reach their potential. It got me thinking about the bigger picture. Congregations as a whole tend to do the same thing. There are how many churches in Bakersfield? Yet, we tend to think of our congregation, our church family, our church facility as an island... maybe not consciously, but we do. Fine, I'll narrow it down to "I do," and you can decide for yourself. But I bet if you think about it, you agree.

What if all the churches worked together?

It has been a really cool feeling visiting other churches and realizing, "Hey, there are a lot more Christians than I thought." Then the convicting questions come up, "How come I don't know them on the street? How come they don't know me?"

Think of the good your church does. Think of what good THE church could do if it wasn't split in a million pieces.

I'm in Newton, Kansas this week and we attended the United Methodist Church. We felt like family within the first five minutes. Shouldn't every church do that? Aren't we a family already?

It's not Fruit and Cake

I'm writing from Newton, Kansas where an Air Force buddy of mine and I are working on a cool literary project together, a screenplay and novel simultaneously written about the same story. We picked Newton, KS because it is right smack in the middle of us (he's from Baltimore) and it is not a tourist attraction... just a quiet place to work. But we discovered it is also the perfect setting for a main part of our fictional story. It is small-town America, exactly how you are picturing it in your head just from hearing the term. So cool.

I'll be home in a week. Hopefully Bakersfield can survive without me.

By the way it is cool and raining here...

I guess I am a conspiracy theorist

I was looking up my textbook for my history class this fall and it is $105. That's $45 more than the class cost! AND the 13th edition is required, which just came out this year, all but eliminating the possibility of finding a decent priced, used copy. After a little research, I discovered that new editions come out every couple of years, sometimes even every year. I would be fine with this if it were for the course, "U.S. History from 1870-Present." But this is the volume for "U.S. History from Colonization to 1877." Is that history really changing every year??

I had the thought, "maybe I'm writing the wrong kind of books!!!"