What would you like for lunch?

Ok, technically, they had already had lunch and were angling for desert, but I like the theme.

An idea, and speculation

For the last several weeks, I have enjoyed several podcasts on the parenting.  Err, well, that's not entirely true.  They are podcasts on motherhood.  For reasons unknown to me, there are far more podcasts related to motherhood than to fatherhood, and very few related to parenthood in general.

I see an opportunity here.  Podcasts do take effort, but have great value.  I'm thinking of starting one up that focuses on issues faced by young fathers.  However, instead of taking a 'if you build it they will come' attitude, I'm contemplating why there aren't already more of these available.

Reflexively, people might claim that dads aren't as interested in this type of content, but that doesn't square with my anecdotal experience.  In my corner of the universe, nearly every father is interested in being highly involved in parenting and so forth.  Therefore, I conclude that they are likely to be interested in the topic generally, but perhaps not inclined to access that type of content as a podcast.

If men just don't tend to turn to podcasts for this sort of thing, then I don't want to bother creating one.  On the other hand, if this is a market-making opportunity, I'm all over it.

I'm envisioning a group of 3 dads discussing a single issue per episode, with each episode lasting 10-15 minutes, published weekly. 

What do you folks think?

Do you expect that a podcast on fatherhood issues is likely to be listened to?

+5 Dad points

Today, I'd like to cross-link to a dad with a really neat idea.  He makes amazing pancake creations for this kids.  I'm definitely going to try this at home.

http://www.jimspancakes.com/

A bit of progress

A few months ago, I set a goal to learn how to facepaint.  I've been slowly making progress, and I figure if I post some results here, it will help keep me on track.  This hobby has turned out to be an unexpected learning process.  I've found many aspects of this process are very similar to Asian art.  There is a certain canon of subjects, which are arranged in sequential difficulty.  There are a few key techniques and tools that are layered together to create really attractive works.  Finally, it all has to be done in a very short period of time, with very little allowance for error.

Leave it to me to turn facepainting into a zen philosophical exercise =)

Anyway, here are my current results.  Below is my effort at a partial cat face.

For daughter #2, she wanted a Dalmatian.  I didn't want to put down the white base layer, so I went au naturale.  This turned out to be a good idea as she was feeling a bit jumpy and I had to do the whole thing in about 45 seconds.  For what it is, I'm pleased, but there is quite a bit of refinement needed in my technique.

As a side note, I discovered that if the kid can't stop laughing during the process (which is understandable due to tickling issues), the best solution is play a 'who can hold their breath longest?'  Then you have a few seconds with a stable facial expression to make your move. 

Thus far, I've got basic and fancy butterflies, and a dragon of my own design in my repertoire.  Hopefully, by the end of the month I will have animal faces mastered.  After that, I'll try Celtic knots and tribal designs.

Religion

I'm rather backlogged on posts.  This should have gone out several weeks ago.  Around these parts, the festival of the annunciation is celebrated by many of the various Christian sects in Lebanon. Since this is an event of cultural and religious significance, we decided this would be a good opportunity to take the kids to see the different kinds of observances.  Of course, we did this after the actual services, because we didn't want a 'let's go see the Christians in their natural habitat' 'day at the religious zoo' kind of thing.

Our first stop was a lovely Capuchin church near the Beirut central district.  They have a beautiful angelic mosaic above the altar of a very classically designed basilica style building.  As with many buildings in this zone, the effects of time, civil war, and rebuilding can be seen in the structure.  I really enjoy the richness of message that can come with these buildings.

Next, we stopped by the cathedral of St. George (Orthodox).  This building is really lovely inside, with all the iconography one would expect.  I think it makes a good counterpoint to the decorative style of a Capuchin building to see the gilded wall of icons and the use of fresco.

I didn't feel comfortable taking interior shots in that context, so I will cross-post someone else's picture so you can see the inside.

Next, we went to visit the St. George Cathedral (Maronite), but we were unfortunately too late.  This is one of my favorite cathedrals in Beirut, and a lovely example of byzantine-style mosaic. Here is an external picture showing the Maronite Cathedral, another older church, and the new mosque (Al Amin) all preceded by a portion of the old Roman city.  Beirut is just awesome like that.

While we were too late to go in, here is a picture my wife took at a concert there.

Next, we went on to the al-Amin mosque, but I'm going to stop here as this post is getting a bit too long.  It was a great trip, and an excellent opportunity to appreciate the religious diversity and richness of history that Beirut offers.

Healthcare Strategy

Yes, I have been remiss in my posting, but I wish to convince you  I have a good reason (which I really don't). About a week and a half ago, I started with some congestion and went downhill from there.  On Saturday morning I had a fever and pretty was pretty well leveled.  I was out for the count for the next 36 hours and count eat at all.  My fever reduced on Monday morning, so I figured I would go in to work. 

Since we have a company doctor/health center I made and appointment.  Now, I must say, one observation I have had on Middle-Eastern health care is that there tends to be more of an interventionist approach.  Broadly speaking, they tend to go heavy on the meds.  She sent me home directly, with orders to stay home tomorrow too (apparently my fever was higher than I felt like it was).  Behold my meds:

I don't think I've ever been presented with this much medication in my life.  Perhaps this is a sign of getting old...

In which I almost burn the house down

This weekend, I made what was very nearly a costly mistake. Dandellion asked me to boil some eggs for her to paint, which seemed like a good idea. I put about a dozen eggs in to boil. Unfortunately, they were still on the stove when we decided to leave for a family errand. We came back home about two hours later to find the house full of smoke. Fortunately, I had left a few windows open, so the smoke had been escaping, otherwise, I shudder to think what it would have been like. All the water had boiled off, and the eggs had exploded all over the kitchen.

I think we are quite lucky that it didn’t start a fire. As it stands, the damage is quite minimal. The cleanup efforts have taken quite a while, but bleach and effort are getting things back to a normal look and smell.