Writing Wrongs

May 30, 2007

I have been busy. First, there�s the super secret double probation project. This, if it goes nowhere, will be the last you hear of it. If it does go somewhere, you�ll hear � oh, you�ll hear. People in Europe will hear, and they won�t even have to log on to do so.

So far, it�s taken two trips to the post office, two ink cartridges, and two books of Liberty Bell Stamps (just like a diamond, this stamp�s forever). Two. Two. Two. Pretty appropriate for the double probation project.

And that�s all I�m sayin�. Except that it might involve hotdish.

I also started a children�s (picture book to YA) writing class. I�ve been looking at this class for a year (seriously) and wondering, and wondering. I�ve taken some really good classes. I�ve also been burned, badly.

So far, so good. The class seems lively and we�ve all been talking books and swapping titles.

We also saw Shrek the Third this weekend. It was not as good as the first or second movie. The kids laughed (Kyra liked the Shrek babies), and it didn�t make my eyes bleed, but as Andrew put it, �You know, Mommy, it was kind of like they were making it up as they went along.�

Memo to the people at DreamWorks Animation: you might want to take note of the above.

Speaking of things missing the mark, I think I discovered why the Curious George exhibit was less than it could be. It did have several creative and fun stations, but there wasn�t a pretend area. At least for us, that�s always the best part.

This time, we ended up back in �Our World� which has kid-size mock ups of a grocery store, restaurant, doctor�s office, dance stage with blue screen so you can be a rock star on TV (with the unrelenting refrain of Smash Mouth�s All Star).

A few years back, the old west exhibit had this:

Cowboy and prairie girl costumes, a pretend campsite, complete with dishes. Oh, they had fun. Although Andrew was a bit upset that Kyra disrupted the aesthetic of the above photo. �Mommy! It doesn�t look real with her standing there.�

Of course.

I think there�s a lesson in all this. Something along the lines of sure, sizzle sells the steak, but sizzle alone doesn�t have a lot of substance.

Or something like that.

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 10:55 a.m.

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