tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15428261175790184332024-03-06T10:41:58.459+05:30Hello, Net Baby!A collection of websites for young children, served up with adult small talk.Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-18676158128202722212010-03-15T01:25:00.000+05:302010-03-15T01:25:27.756+05:30Echo! And moving to new blog addressesHello, anybody there? Hello!!<br />
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Ah me, I hear only my echoes.<br />
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Nevertheless, for those who wander on to this page sometime - I have moved to a new blog called <a href="http://ofmiceandkeys.blogspot.com/"><u style="color: blue;"><b>Of mice and keys</b></u></a>, also on blogger. The kiddie part will continue there - that is I shall be reviewing sites there, without any extraneous monologues. Any non kiddie stuff shall be relegated to <a href="http://parallel-alternate.blogspot.com/"><u><b><span style="color: blue;">Parallel/Alternate</span></b></u></a> :)<br />
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Be seeing you - I hope!Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-10910396070045169022009-12-23T20:57:00.002+05:302009-12-23T20:58:04.878+05:30End of the yearThe year is ending, and after today I shall have no time on the net - so, wishing you all a very happy new year. See you on a new blog next year, hopefully a better and brighter one :)Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-44058479915340893852009-12-15T10:01:00.002+05:302009-12-15T10:06:12.562+05:30A makeoverFor various reasons, I have let this blog slide into disuse, even though I still have dozens of sites I still want to share. I have been, in fact, thinking of a makeover for this blog, so hopefully soon you will have a new and better place to visit. I am also going to change the name, since 'Hello, net baby!' always gets caught in the spam filters of typepad, wordpress and like. Something to do with the use of the word baby perhaps? Anyway, does anyone have any ideas about what the new name should be? I am going to divide the blog into two - one for my personal thoughts, and the other for kiddie sites only, so I welcome suggestions for both!Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-82405623404640581492009-08-28T16:57:00.009+05:302009-08-28T17:35:08.786+05:30PMS and poetry: Children's poetry archive****<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS WITH CHILDREN.</span></span><br /><br /><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 325px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_zwDRqrGG5JLqbX89_Fd73iWdqLjzKQJc1qTaGqreIGY5Qs3If_WoVvEj14GwgjP00TnMU6lMjD3PrIaSOq9Eaok90g3qo9tAgwW-cIVV_41zs5Lzg3TgNzOrhcrNzX2AMrLNBCyQw0u-/s400/PMS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374909374870201986" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Yes, I know this is a kiddie blog. At least it is a blog where kids can click safely on images. So maybe it is not a good idea to have this video here: it contains Violence. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">But on the other hand, it is not the kids who are reading this. I hope.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Ok, here is the compromise. Go watch that video -over at </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://parallel-alternate.blogspot.com/">Parallel/Alternate</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> before you read further.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">This one, on the other hand, you can safely click on now -</span><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xKAZNiZ5dEg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xKAZNiZ5dEg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />I know, there are tons of related cartoons and videos; I have posted more or less the first couple that I found on google, because it is really late, and I have to get started somehow.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">And the reason I wanted to grab and hang on to your attention was actually this - I was reading up something about PMS, and came across some theories about the cause of PMS. PMS, or pre-menstrual syndrome, is a name used to refer to a collection of symptoms including and laying stress on, emotional and mental ones, which occur up to two weeks before the menstrual periods and resolve subsequently. As about 80-90% of women in US (and presumably a similar even if lesser proportion worldwide) report some degree of emotional or physical symptoms pre-menstrually, it is actually more in the nature of a norm rather than deviation. About 3-8%, however, experience a more severe form known as PMDD.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The exact cause of PMS is, as yet, unknown. Each female body is subjected to a cyclical ebb and flow of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, but why some should react differently than others is not known, as is the mechanism for many of these changes. We know some correlations, but not enough yet. We will get there, of course, but in the meantime, there are several other theories - and I am talking of theories which are more or less accepted by psychologists and psychiatrists, not the exotic ideas of your neighbourhood eccentric.</span><br /><p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">"The psychosocial theory hypothesizes that PMDD or PMS is a conscious manifestation of a woman's unconscious conflict about femininity and motherhood. Psychoanalysts proposed that premenstrual physical changes reminded the woman that she was not pregnant and, therefore, was not fulfilling her traditional feminine role. Obviously, proving this theory through scientific evidence is quite difficult.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">The cognitive and social learning theory hypothesizes that the onset of menses is an aversive psychological event for women susceptible to PMDD. Moreover, these women might have had negative and extreme thoughts that further reinforce the aversiveness of premenstrual symptoms. They then develop maladaptive coping strategies, such as lability of mood, absence from school or work, and overeating in an attempt to reduce the immediate stress. The immediate reduction of stress acts as a reinforcement, leading to the regular recurrence of symptoms during the premenstrual period.</span></p><p style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">The sociocultural theory hypothesizes that PMDD is a manifestation of the conflict between the societal expectation of the dual role of women as both productive workers and child-rearing mothers. PMDD is postulated to be a cultural expression of women's discontent with the traditional role of women in the society."</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have quoted from <a href="http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/293257-overview">eMedicine</a>, and that is almost like a pure medical text, so first I must clearly state that this is not really meant for laypersons but for medical professionals. Also, all these are valid and useful approaches, both of looking at psychological diagnoses and of treating them. And finally, one line summaries do not do justice to the whole concept which may be wider and more inclusive than this would lead us to believe.</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Nevertheless, I found them funny, in a sad kind of way. Here is why -<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As far as I can see, all of these link up the symptoms to something that is happening before: an awareness of the impending menstrual period. That is to say that according to psychoanalysts, the woman is aware - at some level if not consciously - that she is not pregnant; the cognitive and social theorists propose that women are troubled by pre-menstrual symptoms, and cope with the wrong strategies, which becomes learned behaviour after repeated reinforcements; and the socio-cultural theory generalizes this even further as discontent with women's role in society at large, but without explaining the cyclicity of it, presumably just because periods remind them of their being female. To really reduce this to basics, all are implying that a woman knows she is going to get periods, and so she becomes moody, for whatever underlying cause (lets not discuss that at this time).<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Obviously all women know they are going to have periods - more or less regularly, but does any woman constantly live with awareness inside? An average woman, not the one who is really looking for conception, or looking to avoid it - but an average woman does not count the number of days left till the next one, does not think about it all the time, does not, in fact, have it on her mind. It happens, you live, what is there to think about? Yet these theorists claim that we all are counting down in our secret hearts all the time. Isn't that slightly ridiculous to assume? Further, pregnancy is always a possibility in a sexually active female, and is not discounted till the periods occur - so why should a woman get upset at not being pregnant in the pre-menstrual time? On the contrary, it should be the onset of periods which should induce depression or anxiety or whatever.<br /></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Not meaning any disrespect to psychologists, isn't this way too generalized, far too vague, and rather - conveniently trivialized thinking - to explain everything so? Oh, I grant there is likely an element of truth in them, much the same as <span style="font-style: italic;">in vino veritas</span>. But just as you wouldn't ply wine to get a confession in the court of law, you shouldn't just define PMS so. It disturbs me faintly, this so easy clubbing of PMS into such cliched reasons...</p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And now, to business.<br /></p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Over at the </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress/poetry-friday-i-like-this-poem/#comment-9610">Papertigers blog today</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">, I was introduced to this poem by</span> <a href="http://www.spikemilligan.co.uk/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Spike Milligan</span></a> -<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">On the Ning Nang Nong</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Where the Cows go Bong!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">and the monkeys all so BOO!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There's a Nong Nang ning</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Where the trees go Ping!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">On the Nong Ning Nang</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">All the mice go Clang</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And you just can't catch 'em when they do!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">So its Ning Nang Nong</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Cows go Bong!</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Nong Nang Ning</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Trees go ping</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Nong Ning Nang</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The mouse go Clang</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">What a noise place to belong</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!</span><span style="font-style: italic;">!</span><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8OPP53b2LjI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8OPP53b2LjI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">How can anyone not be moved by this little poem? Call it nonsense verse if you will, but poetry for children does start off with nursery rhymes and limericks and nonsense rhythms before it becomes real, before -<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">...From their gross Matter she abstracts the forms,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And draws a kind of Quintessence from things,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Which to her proper nature she transforms</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">To bear them light on her celestial wings.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This doth She when from things particular</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She doth abstract the Universal kinds....</span><br /><br />So today's featured site is all about poetry - the <a href="http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Children's Poetry Archive</span></a>.<br /></span><pre size="large"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oEp0BJd270AOnAaCQdQtjwufRnX_7lbuSMrsdq_lavF-CJSotaLfg9GHlTtrR9O4WzM0RQz1HoKt9YpNb6a6GLG5YrEk8gtinLHElo1uN145AjexgNQ7gH881bIbaelRI5-VpIY3GFy3/s400/Archive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374978262187923074" border="0" /></a></pre> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">This cute looking site is based on the premise that it is better to listen to poetry than to simply read it by yourself. Accordingly it features audio files, usually read by the poets themselves. There is some information about each poet as well. Necessarily only those poems are available for which there is an audio file available, but even that is a good enough introduction to poetry for children. Also necessarily, the older poets are not represented, but on the other hand, the new ones, the ones still living, whom even we might not know of, are.<br /><br />The site also sells audio cd books of poems if you wish to buy more :<br /><br />The url - <a href="http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do</span></a><br /></span><span style="font-family: monospace;"><br /></span>P.S. Incredible stuff you sometimes come across. Viz -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://issuu.com/cecissima/docs/catalogo_umbrella_skirt"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6naK7g1WL_dslG4mnoFGHj_5MPchdaIG-Untt_njym0c0hitewkk7UHFUNx2cyqKapHiXkhkoQjDms9W4VD_58kFI0V8abBzQ4c9By-SeDiuke6C7j6NVbzgwTMIqL3kWRhcXa6kNIVC/s400/umbrella.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374168685039412082" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That is an <a href="http://issuu.com/cecissima/docs/catalogo_umbrella_skirt">umbrella skirt</a>: a skirt made from an umbrella. Do you really want to wear something so uncomfortable - with spikes and shafts? Looks good, but why not a simple umbrella skirt: you know, the cut? Do follow the link to see the more uncomfortable versions!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.alainberteau.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BZSxSFTR-EZf5OUEroZA8un4hHBLF90yPV1Yzkj6Rw7kdm-Eg4KnFP3xLbhc3X0XZgWdiZW373W4L09pz2AGI_jPQssiJKx-Aynj_yFekFX7Flo2YBPY8Z23T_Mc95Ww4a5V1VhdTPcU/s400/hooked.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374168202066249122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Or this, people are paying up for this, in auctions, no less. Limited edition and what not. Piece of <a href="http://www.alainberteau.com/">wood with a hook</a> - if its done by you and me, it would be dismissed as <span style="font-style: italic;">jugaad</span>, but if it is designer, wow, watch out! And that - seriously - is that a designer <span style="font-style: italic;">baniain, </span> a highbrow version of the humble <span style="font-style: italic;">ganji</span> or what? Isn't this some kind of a joke he is having on us?<br /><br />(If you look around at his website, you might like the drum disguised as a seat - don't we all know of trunks covered to make diwans, of tins made into stools? Necessity it seems, is not as glamorous as political correctness.)<br /><br />P.P.S. Indian boyhood by <a href="http://www.spikemilligan.co.uk/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Spike Milligan</span></a> (he was born in India) -<br /><br />What happened to the boy I was?<br />Why did he run away?<br />And leave me old and thinking, like<br />There'd been no yesterday?<br />What happened then?<br />Was I that boy?<br />Who laughed and swam in the bund<br />Is there no going back?<br />No recompense?<br />Is there nothing?<br />No refund?Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-27213276288826781232009-08-26T11:20:00.002+05:302009-08-26T12:16:54.243+05:30Rethink time. KneeBouncers*****I like to believe this is good discipline, this blogging, this groping in dusty recesses for thoughts, this opening long closed synapses for right words, this shaking rusty links to find a logical progression of sentences. That in some way, this will bring me back to life, from what I am to who I am, or can be.<br /><br />I like to believe that writing daily, or at least regularly, will remind me of work, of the commitment and promise inherent in any job, of what I used to do, and may again, go back to. That it is a beginning of self discipline in my current luxuriously lazy lifestyle.<br /><br />I liked to believe that once I had started with this light stuff, I would move on to more serious topics, more detailed discussions, a more professional blog.<br /><br />But is any of it true? Or is it all just a delusional excuse for footling, for wasting time reading other blogs but not really gaining much except a few hours away from my own life?<br /><br />At any rate, I tell myself, there is a reason for this blog. A hope that someone may stumble upon it someday and find a treasure trove of sites for their infant. Someone who has been looking, like I was, for something fun and useful and perhaps educational. That hope is what is keeping me in the chair today, instead of the floor, dissolved in brine.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And so, let us revisit <a href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Kneebouncers</span></a>. A new and redesigned KneeBouncers with fresh content. KneeBouncers, <span style="font-style: italic;">'a whole lot of fun for the itty bitty ones'</span>. To date, I haven't found any other site dedicated to the infant and toddlers which is as much fun as this is. Even my preschooler, seeing it after a long time, wants to play, but then, so do I!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYxcZ3eZpqcUA_cr_xUqaWCJzcnuEborD6uVVX9QZRpsu-gudEVshzr7pA5TvC9TpHQpShpaAHb774PK2OiP4-C9cQF7S3YQomOhJzPiKhQoVKhKcZLjPwQcsaW2FB7gL4Ogtf27os2lN2/s400/Kneebouncers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374134494523457426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The website is the brainchild of Jim Robinson, who, along with friend and flash master Kurt Dommermuth, created this site for their kids then nine month and one year old respectively. When he talks of his quest for websites for young ones, oh, how that resonates in me! The only difference of course is that I know nothing of programming, or the web, save that I can '<a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2009/08/cartoonito-children-games-web.html">enquire within upon everything</a>', and so, can happily bask in other people's works.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZZVCfCIJKFC5Gc8hLQONvCPQjpnL2gAStvnIooXBcO8oh1u1IxBNd_pHFbRFjses_8334cOuuCuybWs2VJP9njnl5rHRqR-PPEbk-rZZlKnz5aZw5m-EqAJv37ZLRKc1hDy_z6xDIx4M/s400/Gamesk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374134502780626514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">At the moment there are thirteen <a href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection">games</a> here, but more are in the offing. All the games are meant for toddlers, that is to say, mouse movement is not required. Any key on the keyboard, or all of them (we know how hard those little fists rain on the keyboard), will lead to fun changes in the game screen such as a character popping up to play peekaboo, or splashing in the water, or playing musical notes.</span><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="game_circus.swf" width="519" align="middle" height="356"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"><param name="movie" value="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_circus.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><embed src="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_circus.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="game_circus.swf" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" allowfullscreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="519" align="middle" height="356"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site is brightly coloured, and simple in layout. The area of interest is right in the centre, with no scrolling needed to get at it, and the games are just the right size. There is an ad window but that features only the site's own store.</span><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="game_music.swf" width="715" align="middle" height="356"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"><param name="movie" value="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_music.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><embed src="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_music.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="game_music.swf" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" allowfullscreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="715" align="middle" height="356"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">KneeBouncers is totally free of course, but you can also download these games as an embeddable object for your blog or facebook page or whatever for free! Not just one or two, but a whole lot of them! Amazing. Hope you tried a few of them here. I apologize for the amount of space they take up: I had no idea it would be so, but decided to leave them in as a one time post. </span><br /><br /><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" id="game_sea.swf" width="519" align="middle" height="356"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"><param name="movie" value="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_sea.swf"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><embed src="http://www.kneebouncers.com/content/game_sea.swf" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" name="game_sea.swf" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" allowfullscreen="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="519" align="middle" height="356"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">They have also recently started a forum which you can join to discuss the site and other things with like minded '<span style="font-style: italic;">sleep-deprived, spit-up donning and the beaten down</span>' parents!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> The urls -<br />KneeBouncers - <a href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.kneebouncers.com</span></a><br />Games page - <a href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection</span></a><br />The previous review of KneeBouncers (it was my very first post so there is next to nothing there!) - <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-one-and-kneebouncers.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/day-one-and-kneebouncers.html</span></a><br /></span><br />P.S. Are you using Firefox or the newer version of Internet Explorer which allows tabbing? If so, I invite you, <a href="http://theninoeffect.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Nino's mum</span></a>, and everyone else out there, to play a game with me. It is called '<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Web And Me</span>', and we will play it thus -<br /><br />At this time, just now, as you read this, look at your browser, and just note down the names and urls of the websites you are simultaneously browsing at this very moment in time.<br /><br />Now post it in your next blog post, and if you please, do tell about what you were looking at, and if there was something you liked or disliked - tell us anything you want!<br /><br />Let me know so I can link up to your post.<br /><br />Invite your friends to play, with the proviso that they let me know too, so I can keep on linking. Let us see how far we will go in the next six months or so, how many websites we will get to know about!<br /><br />Lets play! Here is my effort -<br /><br />1. Blogger: Hello, Net Baby! - Create Post<br />2. KneeBouncers the game page, for the last screenshot I had taken - <a href="http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://www.kneebouncers.com/index.php?flash=loadGameSection</span></a><br />3. Hello, Net Baby! - search for kneebouncers (to look for my previous post) - <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/search?q=Kneebouncers"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/search?q=Kneebouncers</span></a><br />4. Read for change - a website I reached through the KneeBouncers forum, open for later exploration - <a href="http://www.rif.org/readforchange/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://www.rif.org/readforchange/</span></a><br />5. Thinkfinity featured resources - another link followed from the above site, for later exploration - <a href="http://thinkfinity.org/student_games.aspx"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://thinkfinity.org/student_games.aspx</span></a><br />6. Reading is fundamental site for pre-schoolers - to be checked at a later time, once again (I leave a lot of tabs open even when I am ready to leave the computer!) - <a href="http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/en/preschoolers/read.htm"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://www.rif.org/kids/leadingtoreading/en/preschoolers/read.htm</span></a><br />7. The Nino Effect - for linking and commenting :) - <a href="http://theninoeffect.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://theninoeffect.blogspot.com/</span></a><br /><br />Your turn!<br /><br />P.P.S. If you have survived with the music this long, <span style="font-style: italic;">tussi great ho</span>! I have written to the KneeBouncer people to find if I can turn it off in any way: will effect changes as soon as I know how to.Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-66385274769727483592009-08-25T12:15:00.006+05:302009-08-25T12:45:02.732+05:30A teaser, a trailer, a tormentor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmDO0xb8h2KNvqdgACU4hL3zjBb-ZmTqEf_ZVn5QMgDZgRY8Oi2HW6psXHju1crCBB8tz3oxJPyUUnNPYpvDru-rZJ0GG8OE9EQp-uDewDsw50NngZ2F3gwT16gXTl8cPjte-wBx1L7Lf/s1600-h/Prehistoric+tools.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmDO0xb8h2KNvqdgACU4hL3zjBb-ZmTqEf_ZVn5QMgDZgRY8Oi2HW6psXHju1crCBB8tz3oxJPyUUnNPYpvDru-rZJ0GG8OE9EQp-uDewDsw50NngZ2F3gwT16gXTl8cPjte-wBx1L7Lf/s400/Prehistoric+tools.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373796198482539266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Take a look at these -</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LecQ1JTvOONfbj87B7xlDgL10AXr1i_g1YiNLqdKO5ewT236G7yhBgj8u71HOPLdSDz8P4E_VsOn09Q_jPl8PcxFGydHVw2wU71zupl61a_18gcbxzQpEZosMhJdblZXuG2e3kPuheZA/s1600-h/Big+top.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1LecQ1JTvOONfbj87B7xlDgL10AXr1i_g1YiNLqdKO5ewT236G7yhBgj8u71HOPLdSDz8P4E_VsOn09Q_jPl8PcxFGydHVw2wU71zupl61a_18gcbxzQpEZosMhJdblZXuG2e3kPuheZA/s400/Big+top.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373794602947144738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">A torment for me - all these sites to be covered, and I haven't done it yet?<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeV5MM1F6h-8E2deFI-07PeueA8Srxct97MNAxWtd5ZzOXHfNajgoteKBFg8yDjBhVp-50w09pzjmTltlcNNfYgM49wNymt8vEN0SEDzuQ9n2uFgRwQf3D58OeNHPjF2TwxMs_j1ZXDWL/s1600-h/Flowers.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeV5MM1F6h-8E2deFI-07PeueA8Srxct97MNAxWtd5ZzOXHfNajgoteKBFg8yDjBhVp-50w09pzjmTltlcNNfYgM49wNymt8vEN0SEDzuQ9n2uFgRwQf3D58OeNHPjF2TwxMs_j1ZXDWL/s400/Flowers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373794596400322706" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />A trailer for you - of the goodies to come.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUiXqr3sQS6BJYGUjzHnLxj2DO5LaPiSdlzMq3523xhi9exVh9Zx9dQsjW0MturX_-npQ__BOZ-K-gHFDXMdJktnRrNEqcQZkVCrNgd02ny_J_YEV6zdtzdYIf018TLWxZvmHpgxQ28Iwi/s1600-h/Golden+ball.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUiXqr3sQS6BJYGUjzHnLxj2DO5LaPiSdlzMq3523xhi9exVh9Zx9dQsjW0MturX_-npQ__BOZ-K-gHFDXMdJktnRrNEqcQZkVCrNgd02ny_J_YEV6zdtzdYIf018TLWxZvmHpgxQ28Iwi/s400/Golden+ball.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373794585794188146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />A teaser for you as well - if you can guess which sites these images are caught from.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEghpjwbGqTd6eTpvwtr_peLhyphenhyphenf9onqM23m2ImOPjs_QTgKzfc-TcnCdPpyB2myk9fNmaWIneR1Ip-VBjw93E0-GtvtA8BW1D7tnnThnjmD7n7NkLc5P5hgeSomkdN8F5iDSAA5N96mR4H/s1600-h/Firestation.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEghpjwbGqTd6eTpvwtr_peLhyphenhyphenf9onqM23m2ImOPjs_QTgKzfc-TcnCdPpyB2myk9fNmaWIneR1Ip-VBjw93E0-GtvtA8BW1D7tnnThnjmD7n7NkLc5P5hgeSomkdN8F5iDSAA5N96mR4H/s400/Firestation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373795428124051618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />A hint: these are all our beloved sites, to be revisited, in view of new content, or previously inadequate coverage.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg0ovSAkE5jjm-xqJ_lf2AC_kBO8LD_opftuZxLbG0eJf4ZrVVxC5QwoU4TgoRCRGS4x1sRiUhtKueW9nUUrQW5AMqzcEcyaTQ-NjDOf4IqP8d-fiCKij1AJZXUPp9DU2hoBwtszAt-Bp/s1600-h/Engine.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg0ovSAkE5jjm-xqJ_lf2AC_kBO8LD_opftuZxLbG0eJf4ZrVVxC5QwoU4TgoRCRGS4x1sRiUhtKueW9nUUrQW5AMqzcEcyaTQ-NjDOf4IqP8d-fiCKij1AJZXUPp9DU2hoBwtszAt-Bp/s400/Engine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373796187078333746" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />Any guesses?<br /></span>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-75381523364951523122009-08-25T10:47:00.002+05:302009-08-25T10:51:12.166+05:30Lost ideas and Cartoonito***Today as I was trying to remember the extraordinarily brilliant idea for this post I had last night, I was reminded an old wish of mine, for a book in which one could get all answers. All of us, have at one stage or another, for one reason or the other, wished for a guidebook to life, a companion handbook, a phrase book or a dictionary, a template - something to help us through life when things get in a bit of a muddle. How much comforting to have a map to tell us the right way! A how-to guide to assembling your life! In 1856, Houlston and sons published a book entitled "Enquire within upon everything", which proved to be such a success that 113 editions were published by 1923. (Source - <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enquire_Within_Upon_Everything"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">wikipedia,</span></a> and some googling for old books). How could it not be, with such a foreword by the editor Robert Kemp Philps as this -<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"Whether you wish to model a flower in wax;<br />to study the rules of etiquette;<br />to serve a relish for breakfast or supper;<br />to plan a dinner for a large party or a small one;<br />to cure a heache;<br />to make a will;<br />to get married;<br />to bury a relative;<br />whatever you may wish to do, make or to enjoy, provideed your desire has relation to the necessities of domestic life, I hope you will not fail to 'enquire within.'<br /></div><span style="font-family:monospace;"><br /></span>Ever since I read about this book in one of Miss Marple's dialogues (the book referred to as belonging to her mother), I have been fascinated by it. Not perhaps the real book, which I expect would be of little use to me in our world, but the idea of the book, the title of it. Imagine a book where you could get to know everything you ever needed to, or wanted to! All books in the world are but components of this GREAT book, THE BOOK, in fact, which would hold all the information that was ever there... And you could just open it, and ask, and the answer would be there... So romantic, this notion, so beguiling! I wished it were possible, that I could have a whole library at my fingertips, always... Of course, the lure was in the books, not just in the information, but still!<br /><br />The only other book from fiction, which has interested me so much, has been the hitchiker's guide to the galaxy, with the words 'DON'T PANIC' written on it, in big capital letters. Whether or not the guide contained useful information became irrelevant in face of the comforting preface such as this! With the net at my fingertips, at least my wish for an 'everything' book has been granted in a fashion. Now if only someone would make me a book which will comfort me when I can't remember post ideas!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Cartoonito</span></a> is a pre-school dedicated tv channel developed by Cartoon Network for the UK. They claim to have '</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">followed the example of the learning through play framework to create free, fun and educational games for your child. </span> <strong style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The Early Years Foundation Stage</strong><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is set up by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCFS) and used in nurseries and play groups. </span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is made up of six areas of Learning and Development.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">..' These are -</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">'1. Personal, Social and Emotional Development</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">2. Communication, Language and Literacy</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">3. Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">4. Knowledge and Understanding of the World</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />5. Physical Development</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />6. Creative Development </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">'</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I will not take up issue regarding how Scooby-Doo the pup can teach problem solving skills or increase understanding of the world - but I will say that some of the programs are promising, and presumably, useful. At any rate, I would prefer to have a milder version of Scooby Doo than the full blown (and to my mind silly) one on Cartoon Network! However, our focus at home, and here on this blog, is different. Let us explore the site for some online fun for the little ones. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmbeFZAfa7uQx_U4pUR6N7mbytBVBL53uFfbYQ46aCgTW7bcib-WiyuO9yOugkdptkgCmL9FynHdC4N6V2aIvgqpDxXJBNj4c0gJQVF3_akhKTTHwty-i9-HjZi0e7o656cFLtJ0qXPYh/s400/Cartoonito.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373467254790574962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The presentation is cute, which I am a sucker for! See those shapes - they each have names and personalities, and I am told they introduce the shows on the channel. Not having a tv at our home, we have no connect with them save their presence on this page, and the links they lead to. <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games">Bobble</a>, for instance, will list the games -</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLgXt3rG16icTXYEN8E-kVXSEHLpndtsqfoF5tT5wvwsJRTQq9CzJ-5HmfmpnOqcziQWwzGclUBtskhmQEs06JtyGoD1tkzVMvP1LSuXbd3YJN_eGd6rN8VmWAEeKTTuux5lLT_z38f23z/s400/Games.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373470171946760082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/landbeforetime/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Adventure valley</span></a> from Land before time is a well designed game which actually consists of five separate ones - click on each of the characters in the main menu to make a choice. Starting anticlockwise, these are Sharptooth sneak, Cavern slide, Boulder bash, Rock hop, and Running Wild. All games have three levels, with a gentle no fuss easing of one into another. Cavern slide is about side to side mouse movement, as is Running wild, the difference being the context. Boulder bash needs single clicks of the mouse on moving targets (note that unlike most games, the pointer will not change into a hand to indicate area to be clicked), and Rock hop requires varying amounts of click and hold to allow Littlefoot the dino to cross a broken bridge.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> Sharptooth sneak is the most innovative one, featuring Petrie hiding from a giant dino in a rock cavern. Click and hold the mouse to move him from column to column, so that he continues to avoid the vigilance of Redclaw. If you release the mouse while he is moving, he will scamper back to the previous column. There is no scurrying back if he has reached the next though. When spotted, Redclaw will only roar, but that roar brings little hands to ears!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/landbeforetime/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTa-EFP5RWYCnCg9UCPFxMZX5YaeGXI2udxKNGuzFYb5prLyJCFRShpo0SiayPxf4k2OS9h0SX7ka_ir9HJ39Ju0fRhs4MN47fGp2XgSdppxmd3s7iIiBAThXNsDnbuGiKOmQnHOgJcSRn/s400/Sharptooth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373474589332824146" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Krypto the dog features in a</span> <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/krypto/index.html"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">X-ray fetch</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">game involving finding hidden objects in a museum within a limited time, using his special ah, faculties. It was a promising idea, had there been some kind of correlation between the shape required and the shape hiding it - something to challenge a little mind. Think of the art pieces that could have been included, the mini lessons given! Instead, there is no need even to look at the shapes required. All you have to do is to go on clicking at everything that can be clicked, and the 'finds' will be collected for you. Disappointing.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/painting-game-easter"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeelM-MS8Bed-fHGRGjWHYO4F5gzVU63HbImmYkgg1F7wDbycY5XqFUdk_Jur9osXXz_anUZkCiGAfClDshMDQ6xRNxKT6uwwwASKzzp1Q1rIFtZXlbUjzP6lOZVCucxUwiXqxQjZRAca/s400/Paint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373482949689756306" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The painting games are lovely, allowing for full screen and printing, and with the reset option though not 'undo', with the cutest proviso of splattering the background with colours by banging on the keyboard. Can you imagine how much fun that is? Sometimes the foreground hardly gets coloured! A little drawback, at least on our machine, seems to be that the splatter doesn't work in full screen mode. Also a pity that each image is labeled as a separate game whereas in reality it is the same game with different images.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Sam the firefighter features in a couple of games in which Norman is in trouble, like lighting a fire or landing in a tree, from which Sam and Dilys rescue them. The format is of a storybook, with words highlighted as they are read but both the speed of reading and the words used are not suitable for pre-schoolers. The story ends with a question regarding the means of rescue: ladder vs rope, hose vs bucket, followed by gentle moralizing. Rather damp; it wasn't requested ever again at our place, but may be useful for the very tiny ones. The full screen option with simple graphics, and the choice of turning sound off so you can read yourself, is helpful there.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/how-many"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcFGLk7vhsPBpxQ4wb7Jl77EkdrS2LHbWIAR_MUP_pr1UWSWn6y7OtIFmMMdTGTggkh5prqY5KUpNDIg8hYBYxUBxPuK0IzPaXytXQE6I5BkVv8JugAQqJ-EnZeK9BEOMsrEgBcg07ZUk/s400/Counting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373495217384050722" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/how-many"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">The counting game</span></a> is useful for small children too. The graphics are neat, there is sound and animation when you hover on the animals, and the pace easy. A good one! I would love to see more along this line, perhaps including word building as well. There are also a few other games - memory games, body matching games and one jigsaw.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/activities"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsLZO_viX6zcsQ1ZO55nfAtbYUBmQ08kmBMOGn1fmr6Yi9DfbhDPJZv7Sio3svsgr52E3tTqFotFBdo3gZIR6Es-m3hkDqh8E8Z49viWTKX3xbJcJpM-bHPKbqz2Xd2vAUqf8bB01LoBF/s400/activities.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373495210238801874" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />Clicking on the <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/activities">activities</a> link will lead you to a short selection of nursery rhyme videos, some colouring sheets, and some other activities like dot to dot and differences. There are also four masks to print out. Create a picture will insert your uploaded picture in a frame incorporating the cartoonitos. Nothing elaborate but sufficient.<br /><br />The videos are more numerous, but short, too short in duration! There are karaoke ones too, if you have a budding genius :) The french section I gave a miss altogether, being wholly unacquainted with that language, so would love to hear your take if you go through it.<br /><br />There are ads of course, but only related to the channel itself. All in all, worth a bookmark for occasional play. </span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The urls -</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Cartoonito - </span><a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Games - <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games</span></a><br />Adventure valley -</span> <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/landbeforetime/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/landbeforetime/index.html</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Easter painting -</span> <img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/Deepak/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><a style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/painting-game-easter"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/painting-game-easter</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Animal counting game -</span> <a style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/how-many">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/games/how-many</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">P.S.</span> I<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">f you are interested, here is the link for downloading the guidelines suggested by the channel for skills which are a must before starting school - <a href="http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/store/downloads/pdf/hi-5_curricumum.pdf"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">http://www.cartoonito.co.uk/store/downloads/pdf/hi-5_curricumum.pdf</span></a></span><br /><br />P.P.S. You can read the 89th edition, circa 1894, of 'Enquire within upon Everything' on <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10766"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Gutenberg</span></a>, or the 1865 one in <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=MzcCAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Google</span></a>, and doubtless a few more here and there. If you have a little time, do go and check it out, for a few smiles, a few useful tips, and for homage to the people who have made our life as easy as it is now with the net!<br /><br />P.P.P.S. When you are quite finished reading, do check this <a href="http://www.thelastpage.org/">last page</a> out! If you google, you'll find many versions of this, but the first look is always the best one! Doesn't it remind you of the restaurant at the end of the universe?Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-58240766242167481282009-08-20T11:20:00.000+05:302009-08-20T19:19:07.904+05:30Beginnings, and Bonte games***"<span style="font-style: italic;">...the aftermath of confidences is embarrassment</span>."<br /><br />Beginnings. Have been on my mind lately.<br /><br />A kaleidoscopic vision, no less. Beginnings in terms of relationships, projects, life, books, work, whatnots. Beginnings as difficult, as easy, as complicated, as natural, as piecemeal, as small, as grand, as fresh, as endings. Beginnings. A word of many flavours, many explorations. For now, it will remain - kaleidoscopic, but one day maybe the colours will shift into a pattern I will know as the one I have been waiting for. I am in no hurry. It is enough to have an idea, to be tantalized by the possibilities, to have, something new in the palm of my mind.<br /><br />But in the meantime, there is this, that started it all.<br /><br />Agatha Christie's novel 'The mystery of the blue train'. Its heroine: Katherine Grey, with quiet gray eyes, a sense of humour, and a fortune from the last old lady she had been a companion of. Its hero: A murder in a train. Assorted supporting characters in Riviera, her destination, and in St. Mary Mead, her origin. And the threads which get tangled with hers following the murder - the good-for-nothing devilish and handsome gambler, Derek Kettering; his multimillionaire heiress wife Ruth; her ruthless, Midas like father; the dancer Mirabelle, lending the exotic touch of depravity to Derek's existene; the hard working secretary who falls in love with Katherine.<br /><br />The story opens - '<span style="font-style: italic;">It was close on midnight when a man crossed the Place de la Concorde</span>', and you know it is a mystery novel, out and out. The late night clandestine sale of - something small but highly expensive, which goons are after. But it might have started anywhere - any place in the first few chapters could have done for a beginning. It could have started with the dancer Mirelle upbraiding Derek for his pusillanimity in obtaining money or divorce from his wife. It could have started with Ruth Kettering reading love letters from her highly inappropriate paramour, or her father remonstrating with her for doing so. It could have started with Katherine Grey in the lawyer's chambers, learning of the extent of the inheritance she has just come into. Or in the Blue train, Ruth Kettering talking to Katherine Grey - "<span style="font-style: italic;">I am in trouble and don't know what to do</span>." Or even from the sentence Katherine thinks to herself at the end of this conversation - "<span style="font-style: italic;">the aftermath of confidences is embarrassment</span>.' I wonder if I could do it - start from this sentence and rework the opening chapters while keeping the rest of the novel intact, not changing its purpose or nature. It is an interesting, and idle, speculation, but the idea itself is fascinating - that there can be a multitude of openings, given the same book. A fun idea because there are so many possibilities.<br /><br />Do possibilities excite you too? New beginnings, new ideas?<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Talking of new things, here is something new again - something I didn't expect to be showcasing so soon. But, what the heck, it is all the rage with my kiddo, so who am I to quarrel with destiny? Although I must admit, I have tried my best to switch back to the staple diet of our educative and fun games suitable for young 'uns, as opposed to these new and attractive snacks, some of which would classify as junk perhaps. I know I found them, and some of them are quite useful for developing logic and reasoning - yet, I am uneasy at some level, preferring that the sounds from the computer belong to cute and cuddly animals or alphabet and numerals. Read on and see what you think.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bontegames.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEmYw8OCi0_RLND4TQPmopOAGX6wiGEJIIX6_nkJSGmZUv2qxP2YYlXUVagnHSa3UIH0oPx8ajhi9_bKJBJtKBuYD6rVz9r-guJAZKhP0uJ0AaHLo2zMTkZO-dFmp4feJsjSdj6_oaZcI/s400/Bontegames.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372013049201075666" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.bontegames.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bonte games</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">are the creation of the Belgian games designer Bart Bonte. Some are point and click games (a term I learned after I found these; it means a game in which you look for clues in a given scenario, and find helpful objects needed to complete a task in hand, usually some sort of escape) like</span> <a href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/bonteroom.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Bonte room</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">or</span> <a href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/freethebird.html"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Free the bird</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">. Others involve pure logical reasoning - something like the questions in aptitude and IQ tests. The most recent addition is a word game, a kind of variation on scrabble in that you have to make words from falling letters as quick as you can. If you have a pre-teen or a teenager, they are wonderful I think. Heck, it is easy to get addicted to them yourself (but mercifully its a short addiction). But for a kindergarten kid? And yet, would you believe it, for the last month mine has been asking for just these, in particular </span><a href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/loosethemoose.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Loose the Moose</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">, another of those point and click games!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/loosethemoose.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 342px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4-nSOITNby3Bn3jvfsQ4Fy4jf1l8ysaO2TomN6yKgH9ahsHNFOwsgLrGj4PcPh4zTMrASoa9QK4jq0SchVfalqhrsDWRBazfUInUo4EU5veGCUvKXqKZOuiHUd4zK2-9NbDsOMQAFjIAV/s400/Loose+the+moose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372013072313335186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The game is simple, once you get the hang of it. Though I must admit I never had the patience to work it out, and instead relied on the ubiquitous walkthroughs for all such games. (A walkthrough is a step by step solution kindly provided by some smart person for lazy ones like me!) I suppose I could justify it by the need of the hour - show something new quickly to the kid or else this meal opportunity is lost! But truly, I am lazy too! Ok, about the game - collect things from around the room, get the mouse out and get him to do your bidding so as to find the key out of the room. I made the moves the first time, but from then onwards, I am just required in an advisory role. You'd think that once or twice would have been enough, but no, kiddo here wants it all the time. I don't know whether the facination is from the mouse making screeching noises as it jumps, or the Moose head from which the game gets its name, but there you are! Its become so annoying that I have had to ban it outright!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bartbonte.com/factoryballs2"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-J_1OCtNkMXp9due1U0rC8Si1HmK36ChFaZvUYjviAKyKeic2DZ-QJTh61U37Mz8K9gtypTIE0aN2dclf5ObHn4IvxRv2oQRyJleGk2A7Fzsbvh8XCUOIIZY_kcHclyrFO19EiEC0Nis/s400/Factory+balls++2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372013061587056706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">On the other hand, I have tried to encourage <a href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/factoryballs.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Factory balls</span></a> or <a href="http://www.bartbonte.com/factoryballs2"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Factory balls 2</span></a> - both of which are excellent logic games, involving the use of common sense and a bit of logic to decorate balls in a given fashion. I thought it would help in developing rational thinking. Perhaps I am wrong about that - perhaps it is too difficult for my child, hardly four, in that the moves are getting memorized rather than reasoned. But at three and a half, the answer to the conundrum about grass/goat/tiger/man with one boat and a river to cross had come in easily, so I did think that this would not be too hard... I would recommend it wholeheartedly to you though, and older kids. My only regret at the end of these games is that they are so short!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bartbonte.com/duck"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 383px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmcr-Wdhb3jb9C289R8CP0JRM-I-DhtqiIfNusXOeQ8nukzcZbClw60DYo199mYadeJU90c2lPuqTw52Nc6TKrW7NcMolksaoXPE2BrR3LmLQNlG6zt1MLcPV1yyxvv5Y94i4c6lnZhH8/s400/Duck.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372013053005034242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.bartbonte.com/duck"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Duck - think outside the flock</span></a> is the first of the Bonte games I had encountered, and saved it up because it looked so cute and was all about reasoning. To begin with, you are encouraged to click on the ducks to figure out what they may be required to do and it is very simple. Simple enough for pre-schoolers with a hand on the mouse. The higher levels get progressively difficult, and I am invariably called in after a while. But while it lasts, it is fun, and I am hoping that with time, more levels will be within the grasp of that mind.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.doggnation.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejuooElYO94Mg_cyJcMTcOztBqwTC1QsGmTVQdtrkVnocu3XXvOtYagdWO5UZHL-X-Yw7UsbeHsLpO3_LU_8V_RhlXic5cutSqI3JdveXVc58ufYfX5d6sB4EojozwnPwHGCmtpXkHvmC/s400/Doggnation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372013066781731442" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I am not, purposely, featuring all the games on this site - that is for you to explore if you find it interesting. So <a href="http://www.doggnation.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Doggnation</span></a>, which involves planning out sequences in advance, and some quick (but not too fast) mouse flicks, is a wonderful end to this post. It is a game for teens, or pre-teens at the earliest - I had to play it all by myself just to show the built up castle at the end - but wow, it is fun! There are dogs standing, with some building blocks. And there are dogs moving through whose job is to take the blocks according to the order mentioned at each level. Sometimes they can take one, other time, more; there are no limits to retrials, and at the end you have the satisfaction of having successfully sorted out the kind of puzzles you thought left behind with grade school. Unless you are a computer geek of course, in which case it is right down your alley :)<br /><br />Be sure to remember that not being a kiddie site, there are ads all over, and you have to supervise to prevent the wrong clicks. Also, as Mr. Bonte also shows, blog fashion, the latest games he has found over the web, sometimes you can find yourself in alien lands which had looked promising but are way over the head for your pre-schooler. Bookmark the site, for there are surely going to be new additions from time to time.<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The urls -</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Bonte games -</span> <a href="http://www.bontegames.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">http://www.bontegames.com/</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Factory balls 2 -</span><a href="http://www.bartbonte.com/factoryballs2"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.bartbonte.com/factoryballs2</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Duck - think outside the flock -</span> <a href="http://www.bartbonte.com/duck"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.bartbonte.com/duck</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Doggnation -</span> <a href="http://www.doggnation.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.doggnation.com/</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Loose the Moose -</span> <a href="http://home.scarlet.be/%7Ebbonte/loosethemoose.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://home.scarlet.be/~bbonte/loosethemoose.html</span></a><br /><br />P.S. The aftermath of confidences is embarrassment. I wonder. It<span style="font-style: italic;"> is</span> true that sometimes the very atmosphere of confidential exchanges makes you share stuff you wouldn't otherwise, and then follows the inevitable self questioning - how much did I reveal? What did I make myself look like? Should I have said this or that about another person? And you might then want to hide, to wish away this person you opened up to. But isn't it also true that you might, after being confidential, discover a friend, a deeper respect than ever before?Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-4175682000402103302009-08-03T16:35:00.000+05:302009-08-20T19:20:05.629+05:30An award neglected. A Sprout** and some.<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29mVaESPZgA3EQ66BLUe3I4gfUd5szPJED-H9DG9xn_8IBOtOGEzqjGWoMJJw4lvVcYPW03itQ0H_lz5ZzRAW5Pt84C3ztz7CPbWpIC8Sdd-LB45vgjcIWYS6rCJYfZixLOwqqKglHw9X/s1600-h/iloveyourblog.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 98px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29mVaESPZgA3EQ66BLUe3I4gfUd5szPJED-H9DG9xn_8IBOtOGEzqjGWoMJJw4lvVcYPW03itQ0H_lz5ZzRAW5Pt84C3ztz7CPbWpIC8Sdd-LB45vgjcIWYS6rCJYfZixLOwqqKglHw9X/s400/iloveyourblog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365711198964625522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div>This one is for <a href="http://rhymesandmore.blogspot.com/">Rhymes and More</a>, in lieu of the <a href="http://rhymesandmore.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-first-blog-award-and-gingerbread-man.html">award</a> she so generously awarded me, and which I find myself unable to pass on, because -<br /><br />Just because.<br /><br />Just one word to cover too many. Internet connection down. Phone company strikes. Maids who don't come on time. Cooks who leave. Summer which is too hot. Child who falls sick often and then some. Simple words like papa ill. Difficult words like cancer of the brain; emergency surgery; radiotherapy and chemotherapy; a median life span of 14 months after full treatment. And then, school restarting, homework and projects.<br /><br />In the middle of everything, there hasn't been any time for myself. Occasionally reading up my favourites, but writing? When no one ever reads me anyway? What difference does it make?<br /><br />But. Someone somewhere thought this worth reading. Someone liked this enough to pass on an award, to let others know - and that is what I write for, after all, for letting others know. Unlike the other kiddie blogs I read, mine is not current: this is no voyage of discovery I am charting in real time. This is a treasure chest I want to share, stuff I have found and saved, for what else can I do with it? So, thanks R&M, for bringing me back to life.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">So, in keeping up with that mood, here is today's game all about restoration of life, about germination and propagation -</span> <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://casualgameplay.com/cgdc2/?puzzleID=8"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sprout</span></a>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Created by Jeff Nusz, a flash and web programmer, this is a pretty simple game calling for some persistence, some logic and knowledge, and some intuition. It is not really a kiddie game, designed or featured on a kid website, but nowadays it is 'in' at our house, so I have no choice but to include it here :)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://casualgameplay.com/cgdc2/?puzzleID=8"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kVUZPW-hQmmm-iRgJMUtacUudfoXZ3Rk9cKZ3-MQ2Sgp3KtpBU2KV6JfzilIAM37Mp8KoyjYZU2lXfVBCKXdszsff4HdUkjyPwXxxzIcWedJu6HmOoRZWz7124pSM-lxKHfPt0cmC-gn/s400/Sprout1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365691371348571682" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />The game features a single bean shaped seed which has to travel from an island on the sea to an oak grove, across varying landscapes including hills, a village, a desert and a mountain. How does it travel? Simple. It converses with various other plants it meets on the way, and imbibes their character, magically transforming into a coconut, a dandelion or an apple (and others), as per the need of the hour. Your task is to choose the right plant or tree for the seed to sprout into, so as to get it to its destination.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://casualgameplay.com/cgdc2/?puzzleID=8"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx8EyAvqMMKc5G0MJZMV5GVE-5hdvYF_T2_IVp3u9Wgh0_rVJRxWAIhpFoMGa8WyliH0c_gvu8j_1Ab01wU4VeqmE94vQ-n3bN2sSIG7FnOT9qKd1OVBzMtkdbDXxiuFeV6UZ0TlqfWIWs/s400/Sprout2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365691374327138850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Those of you who are familiar with the world of gaming will no doubt find the technique rather old, but to me, so far only surviving on the kind of kiddie games meant for pre-schoolers, it was almost a revelation. The landscapes are beautiful, pastel or crayon like, the animation simple and elegant, the music and background score very appropriate and soothing, and the idea great fun! My only complaint is that it is too short, and perhaps a little short of educational content - which is unfair considering that it wasn't meant to teach! But I still used it to convey the differences in plants, shrubs, vines and trees, and to talk of the various ways of propagating seeds :)<br /><br />Jeff Nusz has a website called <a href="http://www.custom-logic.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Custom-logic</span></a>, which led me to the following cool links as well - all designed by him -<br /><br /><a href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/cloth/cloth.html">Cloth simulation</a>: a piece of cloth, whose size and other parameters you can change, billows in the wind. You can anchor its points if you wish, and it behaves pretty realistically. A very simple illustration actually - not a game, but I am thinking it shall come in fairly handy in physics lessons sometime in the future. And it took up some minutes to explore anyway, which is all I needed to get the <span style="font-style: italic;">dal</span> in :)<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/cloth/cloth.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 353px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Rd4Fqxl1Rmn7N1JqtAAhSIB1Hgwgk6_ZH1-5ts5DvV62uebb2nWN2TjlzKYCtJtTJ6GKtEClIdW1sL0q9q5MAo5dQpPFP7p9IFeBluCIOIPAKpqlIoMhPMNdwPzpOHS4FLkGUhPhrQ9S/s400/Cloth.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365702649697343730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><a href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/rigidbody/rigidbody.html">Rigid body simulation</a>, complete with gravity and bounce and damping - another useful little tool or distraction.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/rigidbody/rigidbody.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 331px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqMXakwdWjs89Ioxi7l9WXHFCXqHZ5jFlTeWNlLPc6h6TU5VZ6tYK2LfD-gWCfqGbmfkWhIXYy-7X-EBuK36pmvusnVU0BLRzUmfSe40BQjyGMZ6bCAqFdy7TM1sCynQ4_BxfIIfA-3cF/s400/Rigid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365702652142737490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />And the <a href="http://www.kaleidoscopereef.com/">Kaleidoscopic reef</a>, in which you get the chance to rebuild a destroyed reef from scratch, with the help of some eco-savvy fishes of course. This game, however colourful, was still too difficult for a pre-schooler, and I have not the patience to sit and play all levels, just in order to demonstrate how it works... So, reluctanctly I have shelved it, and not explored further regarding its possible usage in an ecology lessson about pollution and oil spills and the like.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kaleidoscopereef.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0c-rWsoSZckWL7-CGzR3oECDLLhrDXna4FkN1tN0QusAdr52EDftDzdOWzw2DfmO9bJZBYINS6jH1N3JsfSlLKboCIWESOfbsUjDWORN4EaAB2v6cgCWNW34jc8dgPGd3u6f9seBrKBd/s400/Reef.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365702654380399330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />There are also other games <a href="http://www.zodal.co.nz/portfolio/?f=1">listed</a>, of which I found the Webworm game promising, but I couldn't find the actual link either at the website or the site of New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, whose campaign to combat the GypsyMoth this had been a part of. The others are not suitable for the very young, or even the young ones but teens no doubt will like to fight zombies and explore imaginary wonder lands with Anika.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Be warned that although the links I have given for individual games are ok for kids, the sites themselves are not designed to be kid friendly and parental supervision is required at all times to prevent the wrong ads or links from being clicked.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The urls -</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Sprout -</span> <a style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);" href="http://casualgameplay.com/cgdc2/?puzzleID=8"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://casualgameplay.com/cgdc2/?puzzleID=8</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Custom-logic -</span> <a href="http://www.custom-logic.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.custom-logic.com/</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">Cloth simulation -</span> <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/cloth/cloth.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/cloth/cloth.html</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Rigid body simulation -</span> <a href="http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/rigidbody/rigidbody.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.custom-logic.com/exp/rigidbody/rigidbody.html</span></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Kaleidoscopic reef -</span> <a href="http://www.kaleidoscopereef.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.kaleidoscopereef.com</span></a><br /><br />P.S. Here is a little poem I liked from Nathalie, at '<a href="http://wordofthedayfreshfresh.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Word of the day!</span></a>' She posts a new word each day, and with it, a little rhyme or some phrase or sentence to illustrate its meaning. Such a lovely way to meet new words. (It could be argued of course that I am just footling, reading blogs, but it is still fun!)<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://wordofthedayfreshfresh.blogspot.com/2009/07/footle.html">Twitter faces, Twitter faces<br />Why do you footle so?<br />My prose can’t be that fascinating<br />Why can’t you just let go?<br /><br />Should I declare myself charmed<br />By the attention, the following<br />When I truly suspect other motives<br />Behind your cloned proffered fascination?<br /><br />Twitter faces, Twitter faces<br />Why do you footle so?<br />My prose can’t be that fascinating<br />Why can’t you just let go?<br /><br />I think I’d better let you know:<br />While I am sure you could be human<br />Maybe, perhaps, and not really a spambot<br />Don’t ever expect me to follow.<br /><br />Twitter faces, Twitter faces<br />Why do you footle so?<br />My prose can’t be that fascinating<br />Why can’t you just let go?</a></blockquote>And now, adios! See you soon I hope.Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-83845423014822661432009-04-20T23:13:00.002+05:302009-04-20T23:22:32.636+05:30Important noticeHi,<br /><br />We are closed down - all the computer watching gremlins and babushkas and tonylets are being given some weeks off because of a health problem in the family. We'll be back when we'll be back. In the meantime, we'll appreciate some prayers and hugs, if you can spare them!<br /><br />The managementSwatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-18440504868212384572009-04-13T17:48:00.007+05:302009-04-15T00:41:03.724+05:30Odds, ends and Hulala girls**They are drilling holes in kitchen walls for the piped natural gas connections we had applied for aeons ago it seems. Three of them. Men, not gas connections. One to actually hold the power drill, another to stand besides him and twiddle his thumbs, and a third to stand in the balcony and shout to a fourth (also a fifth?) for a tape measure. Red brick dust is all over the kitchen, and it is taken for granted that I will be the one cleaning up. And I still have to make lunch. Oh well, as long as their drill doesn't blow a fuse and leave me computer-less, I shall scribble.<br /><br />Here, in no particular order, are various promises I made to myself or others.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/Deepak/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-6.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/Deepak/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-7.jpg" alt="" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9cNEKnKis2gPVyT7BCQ8PpA9dcFogZfzgZN4jNYNL-JvkPw42k9J5-SDhPA29dU2Vw_CSv7CzHqYPIQhpKWhZiwamBiQj_UdHm8FYscU_ovhH4AXGAuqgQWcmBuQw7MluBMjj7jdvhfC/s1600-h/ptAroundTheWorld.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9cNEKnKis2gPVyT7BCQ8PpA9dcFogZfzgZN4jNYNL-JvkPw42k9J5-SDhPA29dU2Vw_CSv7CzHqYPIQhpKWhZiwamBiQj_UdHm8FYscU_ovhH4AXGAuqgQWcmBuQw7MluBMjj7jdvhfC/s400/ptAroundTheWorld.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324129949491016658" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Papertigers blog</span></a> is running a cute project called 'Around the world in 100 bookshelves', in which they feature kid bookshelves - ours is <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.papertigers.org/wordpress/cheries-bookshelf-delhi-india/">here</a>. Check out the others following the tag at the bottom of the post. Isn't this a fun idea? I would love to see yours too: write to Corinne with a photo and a few lines about the bookshelf to get featured. '<span style="font-style: italic;">By submitting a photo you will be automatically entered in a drawing to win a selection of 5 age-appropriate books to add to your little one’s bookshelf! First winner will be announced on May 15, and drawings will happen every other month, on the 15th, from then on</span>.' Come on, go take a photo!<br /><br />Behold our sock monkey! I had two pairs of those flesh toned toe-socks so essential for Delhi winters, particularly if you want happy feet and prefer <span style="font-style: italic;">chappals</span> to anything else. Both pairs were torn in more or less the same place, and so useless for any other purpose - that, and <a href="http://vivianeschwarz.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Vivianne Schwarz</span></a> resulted in the creation of this monkey -<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKT13R4pFLOAgu_Gb4GN8bQUR-90sdtaNUNd2oXYHDXuoeoaos8-B4Ad01hc7ANHWslGMA5YfuckAZxS3Z3VixS3poYPm7H4i4eQp0i8ggGcxDno6erL5uFdWQXPKTRHuZzl7bTk3C4ggG/s1600-h/Sock-monkey.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKT13R4pFLOAgu_Gb4GN8bQUR-90sdtaNUNd2oXYHDXuoeoaos8-B4Ad01hc7ANHWslGMA5YfuckAZxS3Z3VixS3poYPm7H4i4eQp0i8ggGcxDno6erL5uFdWQXPKTRHuZzl7bTk3C4ggG/s400/Sock-monkey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322587275318130354" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br />Notice the funny face, so unlike a real sock monkey? That is where I improvised in view of the impoverished condition of my socks. And the clothes came about because of the colour of the socks too - the first time I ever stitched something like a garment I think.<br /><br />There, the hole is made, and two have slunk out of the house. I think I will send the third one packing too. It is somewhat annoying to have him carrying on conversations with his mates from my balcony, wiping his dusty hands on my clean clothes if you please. But they still have to come back and put the pipes in. Wonder how long will that take, and could I start lunch in the meantime? Surely they will turn up the minute I start; sigh.<br /><br />Do you know about the Melanie Stokes Mothers Act? If you are American, you may know about it already. But in case you don't, it is time you did. Check out this blog - <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com/weblog/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Postpartum progress</span></a>. In addition to the act, it is a great informative blog for all new mums. And dads.<br /><br />It is now the next day, and the gas pipe people are back again, indignant and annoyed that I dared ask them - <span style="font-style: italic;">again</span> - how long it will take. They had turned up about three hours later yesterday, with a mass of heavy pipes, just at the time we were getting ready for the afternoon nap, and claimed that it would take merely an hour. Claimed, mind you, who knows how long they might have taken, or will take today. So, that is the update for now.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I was tentatively exploring <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Hulala Girls</span></a> yesterday, a site which says (in a cute girly voice) - 'girls, gaming for a green planet!' and I think we'll stick to it. It is a site new for us too, although it has been bookmarked for a while. I see the reason why of course - it requires registration, which is very well for tweens or teens perhaps, but it has been enough of a deterrent for us, with the impatience of the very young with a delay getting the games started once you've opened a site, and my own reluctance to remember yet another password. So I spent an hour or so getting things sorted out on that front, and am ready to explore today. Here goes -</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs1rOJJ1XyMFwONrTI-nfOI_JWxAfbYoxnWgzBVCAm9zRSDYFb2nTtiol7sijbPqYRJUVVdOQvAsAr0tLgr0UPKao11vwMZzoattfiEhcQpGp7LMKOOJS3uF_vWh1G3DKjTrAOuvRqvOs/s1600-h/hula.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCs1rOJJ1XyMFwONrTI-nfOI_JWxAfbYoxnWgzBVCAm9zRSDYFb2nTtiol7sijbPqYRJUVVdOQvAsAr0tLgr0UPKao11vwMZzoattfiEhcQpGp7LMKOOJS3uF_vWh1G3DKjTrAOuvRqvOs/s400/hula.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324140319305501778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">Hulala girls are a creation of Christy Hui, who I suppose also owns or runs Kokomo O'global which owns the copyright here. And what exactly are they? They are three surfers with super powers, on the imaginary island of <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/story/">Cowlanai</a>, with witch doctors, an amazingly young looking granny and the mandatory ululele playing uncle Billy, some mermaids, a monkey and a turtle for company among others.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"> I am not sure if this online community, with avatars to dress up and interact etc. etc. was the first, or whether the plush dolls or videos came first, but they are interconnected, and aimed at girls in the 6-12 years bracket. If you hover on the<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">home page, you'll find various links in the image, some of which do not appear on the menu bar at the top (friends bay for example, but it is still under construction, as it were). When you do follow a link, be warned that there is no way to just go back - it is flash based, and will load each time you click on home. At any rate, the games, which you can access only after logging on, are <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/games/">here</a> -</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/games/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiEXaM5rydWADEapFy_7TptL_THsedz-4-V-zCkJZvSkCIOnHbf48BWbkJ4JInLDficyhF36KekWfuXFwEX5BXM1crEKnCAuLUuBfW3v4cNDg78HYOTnQ48uJ0_9lm0XX8xFNi7kVK1ED/s400/Hulala.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324040663459872066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The first two - <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/modelicious/">modelicious</a> and <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/mermaidtastic/">mermaidtastic</a>, are dressing up games with only a slight difference in the er, doll. Cute in their own way, and while nothing exceptional, I don't suppose it is positively harmful either. Or is it? How different is a little girl dressing up a doll, or herself, in mom's finery from one doing it online?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/mermaidtastic/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhokFevTMinjeIvCreQRT9h3kkUoNfwA22kXoPqaBnS0Q0XHpab-S2JbhE03DPTNX_xkkIfW2b44Gpa-L5XjBvOMha7sRvGhnhRdQU-wf3ULqH365jXtiqMnHXp73XpwonZvpGZdOI0Xs4n/s400/mermaid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324043261284331202" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The third game on this theme - <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/dressup/">dress up</a> game, is more interesting. Five seconds to memorize a doll, which means hair, eye colour, and a two piece dress, and then choose the correct fit from the options given. If you are not paying attention, it does get difficult, and it is a variation from the usual memory match up games anyway.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/dressup/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMG0X3XTSoJ4TBJJ6ZpvV7ScfhDPhjcvFInJI6qjRNt0LMUVBHpyVBsifUVYcS1YR79ZKHDI-nRv8U8af-Ep8iyBQK-LUcR7uXLpK62DHH2RGV3X56ejyp7wMDUDCBdrDYrg3ydFd7Hao/s400/dressup+match.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324043257899660418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="https://hulalagirls.com/hulalaripit/">Hulala rip it</a> and <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/coconutslalom/">coconut slalom</a> are two games related to surfing, both involving use of the arrow keys for manouevring a character as it moves through the waves.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/coconutslalom/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjrGpqV4bku_x051jLYozxMXVW1UgX1IUncNkPWDdpNpvBcJJzS3o4bBEKrhASyGNX8SghEhu5wX6RvRdtOGHdvAmi8SYr3crGZirqm8mrXYHUOB0qHKXKgAjKi0_LG5avmTcferN7fpCV/s400/coconut+slalom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324046377955521778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="https://hulalagirls.com/bananaboat/">Banana boat</a> is similar but also involves four of the number keys, to hand over items to characters on the shore -<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/bananaboat/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwFYiU7gtO6T3c7J-Raz9gq62ZfsSbOEU6C7k1Y_XlavVMtqTnGLbvDcB9l6_3TgSh2CjL-LmfqyJT4cMN6rRK3EdvEekWMab3Ouy0W-5YXg1EbefoPcih21MJU7c6swBu3XXIEPHxSer/s400/banana+boat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324043255233654962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="https://hulalagirls.com/campcaptain/">Camp captain</a> is the recycling game - click on a piece of trash to make a girl move to it, click again to choose which bag to put it in. Having seen a couple of these already - for example the great one at <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/imperfection-and-uptoten.html">UpToTen</a>, I found it slightly unhelpful for those who are not aware of the colour coding, because the labeling is too small to be helpful, if at all it is meant for that purpose. Still, it is good, and it will, like the other games, earn you 'shell points'.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLI0pMeYDMTUh6AvvAofUoQ7-sTTyJARSg52XKR_EBUq1jt6vxAJwqlHKI7G_uP_XsANoC98uwALBNdD71wvaJXggFiFfECplUX5SaXtnZbzse61oETWgnca5cEji4PR12N2LaJqMaQ_3/s1600-h/cleanup.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhLI0pMeYDMTUh6AvvAofUoQ7-sTTyJARSg52XKR_EBUq1jt6vxAJwqlHKI7G_uP_XsANoC98uwALBNdD71wvaJXggFiFfECplUX5SaXtnZbzse61oETWgnca5cEji4PR12N2LaJqMaQ_3/s400/cleanup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324046379537870546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/moosicstudio/">moosic studio</a> is for the little ones: click to make an instrument sing. Some information about each instrument at the bottom of the page would have helped give it a distinct identity. As it is, <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/gardening-quote-and-peep.html">Peep</a> still wins in this category. Or the <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2009/02/online-games-preschooler-abc-playground.html">new ABC</a>, or even the <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/11/abc-online-games-for-young-children.html">old one</a> - there are quite a few games of this sort. But the one game here which I haven't found anywhere else so far is the <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/wigglestation/">Wiggle station</a>. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Now here is something truly original in concept - even though it is the same maze with hazards. Wiggle station is a compost pile, and the poor little worm has to survive and grow by eating the right foods and avoiding the bad ones, and so on. Each time you win or lose, there is a bit of info about composting. And the worm inching this way and that is really charming. I have had to play this one for my little one, just because it was such a hit! Wish there was a simpler just maze version also for the younger kids who are not dexterous enough to play this...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://hulalagirls.com/wigglestation/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS7xs5yUo5Hh1qwpgc9ihdFkj3QqFgtNqpgvMW_qVbO-zCNRngIOpPywwx_YmKQ8GIZ8M4IZuLe4gQejU9dGzOrFb_6udLMGj_stKqQF5-FpoxrrrhehG4Kt7ZkQ_syYnJ4GolhKYl8X-/s400/wiggle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324615607507828370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In addition, there are videos, a few downloads of wallpaper and the like, a toy shop, a board for discussions, and of course, place to dress up your avatar. My opinion of this site is somewhat hypothetical, since I have not yet reached that stage where it will be useful - but I found it slightly wearying to see another of these bikini clad dolls with super large round heads and eyes... The games were well crafted, and there are no ads. Take a look and decide.<br /><br />The url - <a href="https://hulalagirls.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">https://hulalagirls.com/</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">P.S. The pipes were duly installed in an hour or so - truly a miracle. And now we just have to get rid of the paint splatters, and get the electrical point moved because of the gas pipes' proximity to it. More work, darn. </span><br /></span><br />P.P.S. Here is another forwarded email which made me laugh. (Especially the very last bit, now so much in vogue.)<br /><br />"Keeping up with the Joneses" -<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 102, 51);font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;color:navy;" >After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago.<br /><br />So, not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 meters and the headlines in the US papers read: 'US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians.'<br /><br />One week later, Indian daily newspapers reported the following: </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);">'After digging as deep as 500 meters, Indian scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using Bluetooth and Wireless technology.'</span><br /><br /></span> </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51); font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="">"JAI HO"<br /><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);font-family:georgia;" ><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">P.P.P.S. If you see some funny colour combinations just above, its not me, its blogger.</span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51); font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" ><span style=""><br /></span></span></span>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-42952880397324021952009-04-07T00:16:00.003+05:302009-04-07T00:26:41.035+05:30Only zefrank**<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There are so many words hanging from their idea pegs, awaiting their turn, that I can't possibly do justice to them today. Or tomorrow, or the weeks to come, unless I devote myself full time to this job, forgoing some silly stuff like eating or sleeping (the rest, alas, is essential). So I am jumping straightaway into deeper waters: here is <a href="http://www.zefrank.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">zefrank.com</span></a> as promised last.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 332px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnWzB5wCO56Q_SnhChenHHTEOnbKo39r-kBjU54e2iek5BDwbBtHbfB2DrTnsO1g9C1cfw_s_smxMKJF746d0-zhNM27FAnGjEr6NR8xZTUGe3KGdIo3hJBI8E6umApHd-F5zWriSsK7p/s400/main.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318110188653520994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I agree that this index page is rather unattractive for kids, who will surely not appreciate the humour in the labeling of extra spaces on the page, but bear with me. There must be a hundred links here! Skip the 'Buy things', 'Recent projects', 'Stuff, stuff' - none of these are likely to be useful for children. 'Stuff to read', 'stuff to watch' and 'other stuff' can be stuffed too; I at least found them too tedious to explore further after a couple of links proved useless for my purpose. From the section interactive toys, I am posting the descriptions for all games, and including links so you may bookmark individual games if you wish. Be warned that the names on the links can sometimes be pretty obscure. Most of the links, when clicked, will open in a separate window or tab. Some are totally ad free, others are crowded with them, so you have to be around when your kid is here. . .</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/meditation_flowers/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 326px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Jus3MIite5yizQIriN7KwFRgRqXNGa6lJ8LT2oqKSoPuIRrfRNfTsvDov4htEIAXNxp75Rp1QUwjk4sXKx2VRSVKuE4cLiC2ZBm_6K0wptw8TtRyzKaEIdKcvk78PBw_1HePk8O1O_wI/s400/meditation+flowers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109472106294930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/meditation_flowers/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Meditation flowers</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> are er, flowers which will grow as you sing, or whistle or just blow into your mike. </span><img style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" src="file:///C:/Users/Deepak/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" /><img style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" src="file:///C:/Users/Deepak/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg" alt="" /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Even if you do stop, it will keep on moving and changing shape on its own. Admittedly its not really a flower, but well, it is so much fun! If your toddler doesn't like it, you might find yourself staring and humming when really you are just there to write that report...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/frog/frog.html">frog</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> works on the same principle of sound evoking action. In this case it is a frog which mouths the words you speak :)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2009/03/as-if-heart-needs-reason-scribbler.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">String spin</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> we have already talked about. </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/xmas/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carol maker</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is where you can make la-la-la music, voice supplied. You can add notes (high, low or double - don't know what it is called musically but I mean when two people sing at the same time in different registers), and change their timings, to make a little 'carol'. Something like the animal sounds concert over at </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/cbeebies-online-stories-children.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cbeebies</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">. Or you can choose from a preset, and then send as an e-card to a friend. They get to see a pic of elves in a chorus hopping up and singing...</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/snowflake/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRYNmedPXguFpbiBpSVSjXZgHKI5rIkBYFZMM1vKJaaF5f4qCqjmsTL4QCkBFL-xak3PZ56nAX2fPrvee2WygxTK7DhbkN7_RmozWLv-hultnoPqiA1ZIb7iAvwZ6OwCXBZffPRl_Jut0/s400/Flake+maker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109328266778962" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/snowflake/">Flake maker</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> asks you to click and drag anywhere in the given circle - and then, it will automatically generate a six sided symmetrical snowflake from that. You can make it rotate in two or three dimensions, and keep on adding more if you so wish. Nifty, but not the best of this site.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/10/scribbler-online-colouring-kid-game.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scribbler</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> also has been covered earlier. The next one - </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/3secdoodle/5secdoodle.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">5 sec doodle</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> defeats me utterly. For one, it opens in the same page and I keep closing that tab instead of pressing the back button when I am done. And another, although it claims it will morph my 5 second doodle to the last one(s), nothing seems to happen. Maybe because it is a first doodle and there are no past doodles? But it doesn't have any option to let me make more. So it must be the net, that convenient post to hang blames on :)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKQnkJNvB0D8XntEXVedvsVqeg_Yr-0beownZqxh7cdtPMSq9FcPa-WtTQtd9-h4upeiPPb8ECJsgzoLaBVy1FkDu5b9qu5NgQUdZbt2iVXBzXYd2P6WuF-BlstAGvi5booJZrQot_S3t/s400/drwtoyvs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109322360241570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The rather strangely named </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">dtoyvsbyokal</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is 'The drawtoy vs. byokal'. Draw, and you shall see. That little grey triangle - see that? It will turn your image, no matter how doodley or how refined, into a kaleidoscope. No more, no less. In fact there are two other gadgets here called drawtoy and kaleidoscope, which should explain the name. I think.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/yourmama.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Your mama</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is one which I didn't quite like. The idea seems alright - change the facial features, and when you click play, it will animate them in the order in which you clicked them. But, somehow, it wasn't as enjoyable as it might be. Plus, it is a little confusing at first. (I think I am also prejudiced because of its name - had it been 'make a funny face', perhaps it would have been acceptable?)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/puppets/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 393px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGcggQoaXITYD0DFQfC6JnWCSpExDe5jbES0L-F17qbKBBb_nGmg9WnSHnUj0GcfD9pP-WdxamD1qsOV47e77Po1qVKZrQzDHFjFzMoOaaW_obOG99wlmn32I1_HSPZZvMFXMJ6DdOJ7Wf/s400/Puppet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109324177573682" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/puppets/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The puppet</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> dances to the music playing, and you can adjust 'appearance, sensitivity, gravity and damping'. This hasn't been subjected to the child test yet, so I don't know for sure if these technical sounding controls will be fun or not. What I can predict is that sooner or later mine will find out that the puppet falls down if you fiddle with the gravity in the right direction, and then </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">that</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> will become the goal of the game!</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/flowers/intro/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uOqUU0cxpFIKFHXxYSNIA3is7zfndYoV-N0mcZyMFmLG-a95u-_6dYVE5KuP-6xNwcfoLHhW-QmTL_yAcv87NqEy0h_CzAX4QKYvvTCwXYgo7p7OBYY1OfK7gD6SMWhJA-6weNH2rlLY/s400/flower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109320587456370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/flowers/intro/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Flowers</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is a nice little game where you can take your kids after you have been teaching them the parts of a flower, or types of petals, or - whatever! There are a few petal shapes, lots of colours, choice of number of petals and the opacity of paint, and voila, you just have to click and drag once to get a perfect flower with as many petals as you specified. Remember that the flower is always central, so if you wish to make other things, adjust the slider to draw one petal rather than many. You can save your creation, or email it.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/snm/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 330px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8Qe0LL9btHtrWwI9-Vpuj6uPBJm7QnfwSnZ-LSStyfeyIcPuo38a8Th6kj77lgFbyJH04mmjlWJFgRkMtiyZqafinAXcTo2C6E_zl7rxUaO_Ag-C_jZCN4ik8feoC6ksfLOcyntVMATi/s400/craymachine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318109317573280930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The next is </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/snm/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">snm#1</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> or craymachine. A little orange square. Type in low case letters, and you'll get shapes on the screen accompanied by various musical sounds. Perfect for infants who just want to bang on the keyboard! Or anyone really. I loved the falling drops - letter l, I think.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/sequencer/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9qRisziSVD-ZCNk4yEcU3O2MXgV9UReckBuiiC2N1SDeBEml5nO8PpDd1ErjIDMYR8OMwWy1aTZAVFiV-f7PKG8wSIiv-S_nSpxM5lw3_-zJRYfJONmJFJNl0NPf4NUtvbAXnqh6Kif-/s400/Sequencer.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321635157779042242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/sequencer/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sequencer</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">, simple though it may appear to be, is beyond tone deaf me. Click on notes to arrange them - and wait to hear - your melody, or cacophony. You can save it for public pleasure, if you so wish, or load from what the rest of the world has created...</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/gyro.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 323px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYsyWjsIAlqgSQK7gG_wpHjy1ZWv_Ey6jrdyG04pscorBNnayzvjpFa0GEYUTg1kmsYKnQS38gBzbPj3_10bdI_sKa0frZ05DsfpIkjJevL5mkatHpQDCk2IB2gLgRI9X7CMIggDA2TqxH/s400/gyro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321635165575141634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/gyro.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gyro</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> will draw mesmerizing spirals from a set of given shapes, for which you can change a variety of er, parameters like rotational stability, chaotic movement, alpha, or horizontal bias. Never mind the technical language - isn't it fun to twiddle knobs just to see what happens? Indulge that wish here!</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/bug.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 361px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPsLKUJskCrjeJV_ij3Qxutq_-mtcXBi0VxX9d_6eLMB07nu7UawR7VxNXM1cBEvV8lx5zVEIhMpIkjXgUuRnsyeXgI9Vo0xixbxJfkxJo4y8Ns6GJVSor2JiRwgCo8oQztfzYZRQK_CFg/s400/Bug.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321647889323560402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/bug.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bug</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is. A bug. With four pair of legs, or is that five? Anyway, the point is that they all point in the same direction, viz your cursor. So the little ones can enjoy that, and getting the legs all in a knot when you are directly over it :)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/shelda/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYz3NUf19rmhnyvpgNTrUhKgVNFPgW0MlFR3HtVU19gFe3GjLcRE1hE8wbVZ8LljzKSuR4X3M0h_clIsqszQfkSNt4o4_Q1J_ofoyYNx8keCCrFBCB-LL7C55bNBR7Ib5k0eU1kHMV4gMJ/s400/shelda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321635163830522786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/shelda/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">For shelda's mom</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is a kaleidoscope with a choice of eight shapes, from which the kaleidoscopic pattern is made by, and your mouse movement changes the resultant design... </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/byokal/kal2.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Build yer own</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is a kaleidoscope too, with a little visual explanation of how it works. An early design I think. </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/matrix/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 355px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrnzoM6Yxz0V1WYs95J35wPLsXN6MFGh2fCbcAHjAvUnJFotZVZntVym9O1e-VmIg3WaO17CY_r2ElZfcmZt4J3ybxeNbIYtOpl7m7tbmZBK6yiNSBYnU_jlf6qnavGPjrCuSnGyHicRC/s400/Matrix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321635169664249266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/matrix/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Matrix</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is just that - a matrix of tiles arranged in different patterns revealed by rolling over the image. If you click, it will show the maths behind the pattern. Rather useful for someone interested in studying patterns, or teaching them, I imagine. It made me a bit dizzy though, and I yet have to subject it to the kid test :)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/oranges/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 356px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Mx-l_o7ezD7jjU8SZ5RZeqCraIfZ07BkJaIV2IiigMUn2vZ_aacRECVKLRWr19Ygh-J4-0QgLzwftYyooNnDkOvjz-ueLqBi31yBK_W5QIvPJ_bTWJwOM3vPYP9FDUC-Av511WOTVrU1/s400/oranges.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321635165252647858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/oranges/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Oranges</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> - witness the growing of a vine with 'oranges' of different hue at the click of your mouse. Cute, but of course, utterly useless. Or perhaps cute because of that? </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/quotes.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Quotes</span></a> animates famous words, or your words, in random order and no particular reason. Too fast for me to read even one full sentence though.<br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/wanted/index.html">What we want</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">not</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> for kids: a rapidly changing mosaic of facial features and singles ads. </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/goog1/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Googly</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> - you know those image elements which seem to snap back as if on an elastic thread when you pull (click and drag)? That is what it is. Could be interesting for toddlers and infants, but I think it'd hold a pre-schooler for all of five seconds maybe. </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/babypictures/index.html">Babypics</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> does not have baby pictures, period. It is an animation in the form of three cylinders with the same funny face animated image on each - and you roll over each to make it 'spin'. Not very funny, really. </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/letterproject/note/index_lp1.html">Letters 1.2</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is related to the 'letter project' - since 2001 Apr, this guy has been collecting photos of people holding a letter (the first letter of their last name if you really want to know). You type a phrase, and then watch the computer cycle through those images, using the corresponding letters for your words. Punctuation seems to be understandably rare: I have not met anyone yet whose name starts with a comma or an exclamation point! Still, quite a project, don't you think? </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/webnoise/index.html">Webnoise</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is - be warned - noisy! In effect, background music and a collection of clicking points which add further sound effects. Neither melodious nor particularly attractive. </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/kal2/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kal 2</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is yet another kaleidoscope. Choose from 18 thumbnails and it will make a kaleidoscope of that image. Gets slightly spooky when eyes and ears appear: not sure if all kids will take to it.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> From the rest, I have not checked out each and every link, and have forgotten some that I had checked, but the following are the ones I thought suitable for our purpose - </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/forella/swfs/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Animal noises</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> - very short videos of man making animal noises. First time I ever heard a giraffe noise, by the way. And, yes, the sound of the horse's rear end is gross, and so of course, will be popular with 4 year olds! If you want to see some cat videos, check </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/annie/navigation.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My cat Annie</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">. You might like to use the </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/directline/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">santas request line</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> if your kids forgot to write to Santa in time :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> Remember the dtoyvskal above? Well, </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy2/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">drawtoy</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> is the drawing component all by itself. Worth a few minutes at least! You can save your image, and view others in the gallery too.</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/memory/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Memory</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">game is the usual but there are short animations instead of images. Definitely worth trying! Also for those so inclined are the digital version of </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.zefrank.com/matches/index2.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">matchsticks </span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">- you do remember them from childhood, don't you? Remove or replace a few sticks to change the figure? You have to know the solution: this program doesn't give you extra chances!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Overall, its a nice site with lots of little toys, but - totally kid unfriendly. If only it were set up in a <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/10/poisson-rouge-online-game-kids.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Poisson rouge</span></a> kind of setting, what fun it could be!</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In fact, it is perhaps owing to the tedium of having to sit and sort that the rating is a star less than what its individual games deserve!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url -</span> <a href="http://www.zefrank.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.zefrank.com</span></a><br /><br />P.S. Hope this extra long post goes a little way in compensating for my prolonged absence? I see that I had started this on 28th of last month...<br /><br />P.P.S. Don't ask me why, in the middle of the post, when I had selected all text to change its colour, is one sentence in black!Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-33597395367093416532009-03-15T17:35:00.007+05:302009-03-16T18:58:49.376+05:30As if the heart needs a reason. String spin***Today I am going to believe in the power of internet, in six degrees of separation and in the principle of attraction. Will it work? I don't know. The sceptical mind says no, of course not, but I hope, and cross my fingers.<br /><br />In trying to find the Carl Sandburg quote in the last post, I found a poem which must be the earliest free verse I liked. It came from a now defunct newspaper called Junior Statesman but I don't know when this had appeared - the original cutting, if I had that has long since disappeared, but I had copied it in my notebooks. For years I have wanted to know more about the poet, about the paper, and whether it was possible to access their archives at all. And it just occurred to me that I can, of course, google. But all the same, I want to share it with you, in the hope that something else entirely wonderful may wash up on my shores...<br /><br />And of course it is a lovely poem. Haven't you felt this way sometime?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">As if a heart needed reason</span><br /><br />There is a time<br />When the heart<br />Seems to sing without reason<br />(As if a heart needed reason to sing.)<br /><br />Just because<br />The tide is coming in,<br />Or because<br />Little pebbles<br />Whisper to each other<br />When the salt of the sea<br />Washes them clean...<br /><br />...Because...<br />It is morning<br />Or evening<br />Or night;<br />Or a flight of green parakeets<br />Decorates the festive air,<br />Backed by a round ball<br />Of fire.<br /><br />Because<br />There is<br />A rare moment of fulfilment<br />Against a bottomless ocean<br />Of desire.<br /><br />---Anita Mudgal<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And, to keep it short and sweet, just a little tidb</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">it, (with hopes of featuring the entire site later, someday). <a href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">String spin</span></a> is a 'toy' produced by zefrank.com Its a site I am still exploring and will feature shortly, so more about it later. For now -</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSxxsbZMTlmgUGOTyXoP1nUo3mrGLnaZrHKBuDFk-lz9iqRThRgyE5YdgS1A9userfNmSqf0Y6PABd6HSXf4MZHFXBxJqbIXTWFpnow42W5lPfbfblaaPIO_wBZ10EEmkQzWUFRGqusnD/s400/Spin1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313754103628586162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Just scribble something - anything, and watch the widget rotate it like a potter's wheel,</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbMshvjQplpmF0XHMTp5XkM2jrVZn2WVfUcxPJrZV8reUgW_J8myHdnafiv31Fe-EfK3NWknA6ByPhLLnB0DebENJ-JrrZXY7FoDBZzMOxIp80FoVdvtdFCoUFpCyQ3IeZLHZrQI_97t34/s400/Spin2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313754111921335218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">making shapes you hadn't dreamt of...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9miC7RBx1tjSwfAqIcgtTyqQlbrUXNg_QLLEhLmT6dWmZ9d1PwalHql7mzvg0KJEtTyFegFayUVvfLtdJKM4VU206nx12ijT55SoZrk_WJO3cPr_LWENlv9Hym8tvIphrbALjo7pYPQIn/s400/Spin3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313754114930738530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url -</span> <a href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">P.S. In case you have had the misfortune of already having seen this post, and wondering about why I would have Scribbler as the post topic, and as links, and then post pics of string spin, a thousand apologies! For once I picked up images and links I had stored instead of opening a site afresh and then carrying on, and of course I had to ma</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">ke such a big jumble of it. I have corrected all of it now, and here is the</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">advanced version of it too, in which you can control the colours and the spin variables!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.zefrank.com/string_spinv2/menu.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW3lZRhLB9nlN10cqrHilWf3P6dFiXI2j9b2QwOUbR4X5pfrK9tD8GJ6BUXOUzO3ye71Zh8xLCGS_CRwZg9GOrWIGt3EFOW1Yaw29S9LCdo8KCvomjwxQLnvyiSx9FRZi3NTmoTZc2lig5/s400/Spin4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313776547610158546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Have fun, till next time!</span><br /><br />P.P.S. While talking of lost magazines and papers, wouldn't I love to get my hands on an editorial by Dharamveer Bharati from the hindi magazine Dharmayug, which began (I don't recall the true words now but this is close enough) - <span style="font-style: italic;">Diya kya hai? Ek mutthi bhar dhool! Thode paani se mil kar, thodi aag se guzar kar ghor andhakar to lalkarta hai</span>...<br /><br />(What is a diya after all? Just a handful of dirt! Mixed with a bit of water, put through a bit of fire, and it is ready to take on deep darkness...)Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-70463617913357558952009-03-10T14:50:00.012+05:302009-03-15T16:47:33.770+05:30Be whatever you want to be and Antbee*Of all the inspiring posts I have been reading lately, barely registering their meaning in the rush between one sleepy blink and another, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://swistle.blogspot.com/2009/03/be-yourself.html">this</a> is not what I would have chosen to respond to. Of all the wonderful posts by <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://swistle.blogspot.com/">Swistle</a>, some thought provoking, some inspiring, some entertaining, <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://swistle.blogspot.com/2009/03/be-yourself.html">this</a> is not what I would have chosen to write about. Yet, here I am, trying to sort out my thoughts, trying not to make a mess of things by making a short comment which will be - well, a mess.<br /><br />Basically (if you haven't yet been to read the post after all the links I gave you), Swistle takes exception to the ever optimistic tone of children's tv programs, which promise -<br /><br /><blockquote>1. You can be anything.<br />2. You should always be yourself.<br />3. If you are unsuccessful, unhappy, or unliked, it is because you're not believing in yourself and/or being yourself.</blockquote><br />Now, I haven't watched these programs, I don't have as much child rearing experience as Swistle does, and I do not share the same background as her. Yet, I do see what she is getting at; probably you do too if you have read her post (and also at least some of hers before, to get an idea of the kind of person she is). It is an unrealistic and oversimplified picture of the real world; there are disappointments in real life, and it is not always possible to be what you want to be.<br /><br />But I also, very easily, see the other side of the picture. All of us need inspiration; at the times when all seems dark, it surely helps to know that light is possible, and that it can be within our reach if we try. As new as children are, very early they learn to limit themselves by what they have been told, what they see, what they are taught. So they also have to be told about the endless possibilities in this world. When Nadia dazzled the world with her perfect tens, I was but a child, in a place where there were no gyms, no gymnastics. I still dreamed that I could be like her one day. That I am instead just an overweight sedentary lazy book reader does not in any way take away from the beauty of the dream, nor its possibility. Had I tried to find a teacher, had my dream been less of a daydream to while away time, and more of a burning passion, I could have been at least a fitter person today even if I did not win Olympic golds!<br /><br />I did have a passion though, something which didn't materialize, and which I ultimately folded and kept away in the attic of the past. Many reasons led to that point in time when I gave up that dream; some were solely my responsibility, others were beyond my control. Does that mean I should not have believed in that dream, shouldn't have followed it to a point where it was all my life? That I should have been told, very early on, that it was not possible for 98% of people to become what I wanted to be? Of course not. Throughout our lives we make choices, choosing at each crossroads the best we can, given our circumstances and level of knowing at that point. Some of mine were wrong, and I could yet have reached the happy isles, if I had known about them - then. But this knowledge, this knowing of self, I have only achieved through traveling the one way road we call life. There is no going back, no backspacing and re-writing. If I were living again, I would likely be making the same mistakes, taking the same road, without the benefit of this retrospective analysis. But, truly, who knows? It may be so, or not. But if I had started out being told, and repeatedly, that the chances of success were low indeed, that would have set me up for failure, and not only that, but for <span style="font-style: italic;">blaming everyone else except myself for so failing</span>. Don't get me wrong - even blaming self is not quite the right attitude: <span style="font-style: italic;">blame</span> is the guilty word here. But, at least, when I have tried and failed, I can take pride in knowing that I did my best, thinking that it was <span style="font-style: italic;">possible</span>. Believing I was setting up to fail, I might not have tried so hard, shrugged the failure away as 'chances were poor anyway', absolved myself, learnt no lessons.<br /><br />Yes, I am able to see that it is entirely possible to enter an arena knowing your odds, fight against them and win - simply because you care enough to defeat those odds. Or that it is possible, even recommended, to start a business venture with realistic expectations, expecting to fail, to lose money and time, and so win through to the end, to succeed. Yes, it is true of me as well - I can handle the chances and still put in my best. But that is <span style="font-style: italic;">now</span>. Not when I was a child, nor even a young adult. Children need hope, encouragement, endless possibility; they need dreams.<br /><br />And also, they need reality checks, need to be shown the road ahead, complete with thorns and potholes. That too is our job, as parents and teachers.<br /><br />But television? It is not really a job for tv programs, (watched by thousands of children, each different from the other), is it? Would you really like your child to be told that it is not possible to be anything you want to be, that it is better to be a hypocrite, that lies serve, after all, better than the truth? There are two parts to it: about being told that you can be anything you want,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/babyblue/about.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmI7wpryOGcm3DepxL04PbuuEqV0TE8Xt7zAWRsqBVRkP7z5AppBr7H9ePn3goWVCL8cSFYrPmo7yocGf3a1pCRE0Lv4s00R6qLrx3jG3Sn8flARC0c3JZSpCf12H7n1fyl0oKf2uG0t3/s400/I+wanna+be.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313366543497717202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />...save a komodo dragon, and that it is best to be true to yourself. I am not sure about the first part, but about the latter, I know that some parents would actually like that. The kind of parents who teach their children to bully, to cheat and lie, to bribe and be corrupt - because in their words, 'it is a cut-throat world, so get ahead however you can'. I am afraid I have no empathy with them, none at all. Not as parents, but as people.<br /><br />But I am afraid I digress. The programs we see on tv are like books we read - we have a choice in the matter regarding what we choose. Unlike books, however, tv is more pervasive and has far fewer choices. I do agree that programming should be responsible, avoid stereotypes, encourage without being overly simplistic. Yet, given a choice between a program which encourages my children to dream of becoming whatever they want to be, and one which cautions to the contrary, I know I would choose the former.<br /><br />After all, I am there to teach the rest of it.<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br />"Let the truth of Jack and the Beanstalk enter her mind<br />Equally true with the location of the post office<br />Because a beanstalk whereon a washerwoman's son<br />May climb above the clouds,<br />Is so impossible, it will train her soul<br />For the great impossibilities..."<br /><br />Carl Sandburg, in "Prayer for the child Margaret who is six"<br /><br />And because it has been some time now since we have had stories here, today we have</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> </span> <a href="http://www.antbee.com/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">AntBee</span></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">, a small site owned by AntBee, Inc. of USA. As far as I can make out, the site is still in the process of being 'finished', but I can't be sure how long this has been going one, for I don't think I have seen many changes in the past six months or more since I bookmarked it. Of course, we would have visited it maybe once or twice in this duration, so take my impressions with a grain of salt please!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.antbee.com/default.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO52hdeqYmX9ZDiB8J7A8QHV1YejSJaTtW3NhQIk9m2nCpeE55z017hi9gEwThm4sBcH6V4TUT70WopiRkYAr6qWmVTjGF6LpZlBWEGpK29RYPPjaZ3oS-ucWAOT4gEFuboE8IuKRbgZhe/s400/Antbee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312992631210736498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site layout is simple with no ads except one tiny one, maybe. The written material occupies only the left part of your screen, roughly as a square. Home is where you are, and more stories is the only other link except for parent's corner.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.antbee.com/book.asp?book=3&page=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_Ic9zPFa2skiUwanj3E5Y2vqEE77SmEgBcC10QHNLXG_3TeMxR41V0m5vS-DZKceKgWVWuaCaXBlYgItfG9bnQs2ZX8xSEEIsxBA1Y8vhtx6KzdPmSu7M926lp-D1-3swfPWyLmBdhw3/s400/Herman+hippo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312992623086386386" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The stories are in the form of simple illustrations with one or two sentences to accompany each, with no multi-media content or flash animation, which makes it easy for dial ups. The page numbers are listed on the right, which is what you use to move to the next one. There is a 'what do you think' page too, which you can use if you wish.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.antbee.com/book.asp?book=2&page=0"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriqjnpN9RIctsp7hjGBpQra3YOQ7WAE8rQqZoo-w5bC1qIKFTsmZ_bgG2eMy-vuyvwtsQnwas72jw0JCtXsmXBmwfD8n7A-38G3HF4YcicSnT7oR27Jx_5OMInYJCKEL_d1sjm42ZMHq9/s400/Fishy+tale.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312992623923609090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There are nine stories in all, but they are not all visible on the 'more stories' page. Rather, you will have to click the drop down menu there to find them. As far as stories go, they are ok I think, but then literature is always such a subjective matter that I daren't comment more. Plus, I can never resist a story, no matter what! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The parent's corner has their privacy policy, and contact information, and a some links, of which quite a few are broken. There is also a survey which you could fill and help them in making the site something you'd like.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url -</span> <a href="http://www.antbee.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.antbee.com</span></a><br /><br />P.S. Sour grapes? Or living the real life?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kathleendustin.com/hibiscusWristPurse.html"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZW5BztWEW1EpITjvMSZ2asQhgh3MmmQnHJeu0QF_cF7wWCHq1NCzO248zyBq4yyTfXP5_cqL_5pqAaNdyUWmaR7VQWQ6EDe2z_uFkwlJJu5oAdExJZMUsn1fT1gOYqVIODEp2j-s04LRw/s400/Hibiscus+purse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311492142880440770" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Wow, that is pretty!<br />It is a purse.<br />A purse? Really?<br />Wish I had it! How much is it?<br />Whoa! Guess, for a work of art that is an ok price, but I sure wish I could make it myself.<br />*<br />*<br />*<br />Wonder if it is washable though. Those little crinkles will gather dust like anything...<br /><br />Purses and other everyday art objects made from polymer clay at artist <a href="http://www.kathleendustin.com/index.html">Kathleen Dustin's site</a>.<br /></div>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-73907326019573650992009-03-09T16:00:00.005+05:302009-06-16T23:03:31.915+05:30Tears and Spirographs.<br />From Amy Tan's 'The Joy Luck Club' -<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"An-Mei," she whispered, "have you seen the little turtle that lives in the pond?" I nodded. This was a pond in our courtyard and I often poled a stick in the still water to make the turtle swim out from underneath the rocks.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"I also knew that turtle when I was a small child," said my mother. "I used to sit by the pond and watch him swimming to the surface, biting the air with his little beak. He is a very old turtle."</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I could see that turtle in my mind and I knew my mother was seeing the same one.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"This turtle feeds on our thoughts," said my mother. "I learned this one day, when I was your age, and Popo said I could no longer be a child. She said I could not shout, or sun, or sit on the ground to catch crickets. I could not cry if I was disappointed. I had to be silent and listen to my elders. And if I did not do this, Popo said she would cut off my hair and send me to a place where Buddhist nuns lived.<br /><br />"</span><span style="font-style: italic;">That night, after Popo told me this, I sat by the pond, looking into the water. And because I was weak, I began to cry. Then I saw this turtle swimming to the top and his beak was eating my tears as soon as they touched the water. He ate them quickly, five, six, seven tears, then climbed out of the pond, crawled onto a smooth rock and began to speak.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"The turtle said, 'I have eaten your tears, and this is why I know your misery. But I must warn you. If you cry, your life will always be sad.'</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />"Then the turtle opened his beak and out poured five, six, seven pearly eggs. The eggs broke open and from them emerged seven birds, who immediately began to chatter and sing. I knew from their snow-white bellies and pretty voices that they were magpies, birds of joy. These birds bent their beaks to the pond and began to drink greedily. And when I reached out my hand to capture one, they all rose up, beat their black wings in my face, and flew up into the air, laughing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else's joy. And that is why you must learn to swallow your own tears.' "</span><br /><br />Is that true? Is it true that tears don't wash away our sorrows? What of the days you are so tired, your body speaks in the language of tears without enough reason? And when you have put everything you have in the making of a relationship or a pudding, which still goes sour? Those tears of frustration, and anger, don't they help bring healing? And I remember those grieving tears, for death, for the loss and acceptance of that void. Tears which don't ever fill that empty space but allow you to move on.<br /><br />But there are tears of hopelessness as well, of impotence in the face of life's vicissitudes, or failure and dejection, of humiliation and rejection. And pain. Pain of third degree burns, of broken bones, of compressed nerves, of cramps which don't stop. Pain of the burnt heart, of broken spirit, of soul squeezed too tight into little jails. What of these? Who do you share these with? And when you do, who amongst the handful of names you have clutched so tightly in your fist will not be a magpie, feasting, feeding, gorging?<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">But enough of this. Move on now to Spirographs (is that patented, do you know?), those little wheels with holes within wheel with big hole. In the days of yore, when my childhood was long past, but I still roamed free this earth, unencumbered by thoughts of impending extinction akin to the Ankylosauraus, I used to see these with roadside vendors and be tempted to buy them. It seemed like a chidish thing to do, twiddling with colours and circles, so I didn't. Now I think I should have; at least I should like to play again, just fiddle with shapes and colours and the possibilities, and who know what might result? And so, one day, I googled for online spirographs, and here are a few that I saved for you to play too -</span><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://perl.guru.org/lynn/apps/index.html">Lynn's spirograph</a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">is an applet which will allow you to '</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">use multiple pens and colors at once. If you stop the drawing you can restart it with or without clearing it. You can change the pen colors or select a new disk when the drawing is stopped. Note that when you change disks or click the one (in the disk selection pane) that was being used in the drawing, it will rotate to match the one in the drawing</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">.' Simple and fun, most like what we have seen as children. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://perl.guru.org/lynn/apps/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53rSZxC3xhsmJS6VAAoVwOGzpEpUg6I0Qwi0PM-9AR5vvoKEbyRg_w6JYeQJIq_ordpt9_dnEFQn46PFf_kg5klcIcuablMqJ6KdfYxwloLjLEjHMheBW9cqCqnx7hyqFkr7sOQJPHB7T/s400/Lynn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310499513334835266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The spirograph at</span> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://thinks.com/java/spiro/spiro.htm">Thinks.com</a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">has more controls, viz the radii of the two circles and their offset, a complete colour choice, light or dark background, whether a continuous line or not, and what is called revolutions, meaning I suppose the number of revolutions because the line gets thicker when I choose 500... And oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the drawings are more or less instanteous, so the fun is in choosing the numbers :)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thinks.com/java/spiro/spiro.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjka-113Vd6d8ulErvB_H5ByPi6_aoX2rj6W2HqKnb1XGfxG1-bXOlA3kz6T7pEl5KNPInpLGW0e9Ff_Wc7Ktye-2MYHlNUBIaVWGA-CLizqsdIj7Lut2lbHEcI1wgkMdtTNdvqSky7Bi7/s400/Spiro+online+thinks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310499508005069634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.math.psu.edu/dlittle/java/parametricequations/spirograph/index.html">David Little's spirograph</a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">was the one most liked at our place. It pops out in a new square window, looking more like a game I suppose. But more fun was the finding of new shapes by positioning the smaller circle outside the bigger one. In addition to the control over circle radii and offset, there is also the speed and resolution of rendition, which makes it easy to show the exact path being taken. The page has basic math explanation behind the game, so it is a must read for parents who want to at least know what their kids know...</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.math.psu.edu/dlittle/java/parametricequations/spirograph/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 339px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBIZlPw4_1FT-Z9h-fwUBxSQpTdSa3kzYalBcPz2L3FQlSaC6U7IzcVxKhcx_MsF0zlHAlsZPEjtDxYiWRu-1kUyeC-Co5me1nh3n5u87AzNXaQGaatYaISAXQcCND2kHOdVA6NmE1qLAS/s400/PSU+spiro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310499502563907554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And over at</span> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.aflax.org/examples/spirograph/spirograph.html">AFLAX</a>, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">the java library for Adobe Flash platform, I found this cute little one, attributed to Jim Bumgardner </span>-<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aflax.org/examples/spirograph/spirograph.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQMHYBSHyWRhxOa61K60GHfMbofE4qTVsO22OiW8C3t5ezFVASAzk1SI74LaZc0g0hB7HRFRpIVX8eyCiif19iCz3jvQYHhXDTHnXE0JxiI-UQ9nG_xmBbqGgSk6zKWxvMqrm7biL6yoXN/s400/Aflax.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310499500164719522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The size of the inner disc and its pen hole position is all that you can change, and the thickness of the pen. It keeps moving by itself in rainbow colours, its tail end fading while the leading point moves on...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And finally, there is this</span> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://michelle.esfm.ipn.mx/%7Emrspock/spiro2/">spirograph by numbers</a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">,</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">which only provides an image after you punch in the required numbers; must for budding mathematicians, but kind of wasted on the young 'uns, and their rushed parents :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Here are the urls -</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Lynn's applet -</span> <a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);" href="http://perl.guru.org/lynn/apps/index.html">http://perl.guru.org/lynn/apps/index.html</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Spiro online Thinks.com </span>- <a href="http://thinks.com/java/spiro/spiro.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://thinks.com/java/spiro/spiro.htm</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">David Little (maths deptt. Penn State Univ.) -</span> <a href="http://www.math.psu.edu/dlittle/java/parametricequations/spirograph/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.math.psu.edu/dlittle/java/parametricequations/spirograph/index.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">AFLAX library -</span> <a href="http://www.aflax.org/examples/spirograph/spirograph.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.aflax.org/examples/spirograph/spirograph.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Spirograph by numbers -</span> <a href="http://michelle.esfm.ipn.mx/%7Emrspock/spiro2/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://michelle.esfm.ipn.mx/~mrspock/spiro2/</span><br /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Edit 16th June 2009 - just found another of these flash toys at <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.chewonglass.com">Chew on glass</a> </span> (<a href="http://www.chewonglass.com/games/Wheels"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">http://www.chewonglass.com/games/Wheels</span></a>) The example below has three wheels, but if you need use only two for the classic spirograph pics. Even if the maths is a bit different, which, being totally sleepy right now, am not even going to figure out :)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.chewonglass.com/games/Wheels"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lJkSrdbynA3j3waTYyyc4hKbzOp0bwUBgMNWPw8iU2_8SVzwjzaZNXqk43PsuhyphenhyphenCj1q94fLXLMIx9p8rurFsrV9hVqiFLmsaJkthlJCMJZ-36H6tdhq-MDaC0W7lr_k2y1ZS6K8KtQwo/s400/Wheels.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347978646629614354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Note : Unlike other games, I have not, this time, looked into the backgrounds of each page, so if you wish you may explore further, or not :)<br /><br />P.S. This post has been nearly a week in the making. For the first few days, unfortunately I alone shall have to take the blame, but for these last three - I am happy to announce a guilty albeit totally unconscious partner: <a href="http://vivianeschwarz.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vivianne Schwarz</span></a>, author, illustrator and maker of sock monkeys, whose blog has kept me occupied whenever I have had a few moments to spare... Here is a gem I am copying from her <a href="http://vivianeschwarz.blogspot.com/2008/11/definitely-saturday.html">22nd November 2008</a> post. In entirety. I rather think it may become a chorus line over here, at my blog, where apparently I am doing time lapse bloggography (another little gem I have picked from elsewhere, but more on that some other time. Thanks <a href="http://pingingmyglass.wordpress.com/">Pete</a>! And a thousand apologies for calling you Mike earlier.)<br /><br /><blockquote>La de da doo dum dee da da da... da deee... dum da dooo... da da... don't bother holding the line, try calling back next week... doo doo...</blockquote>And oh, did I mention we made a sock monkey yesterday?Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-65249333915120707482009-03-02T18:14:00.005+05:302009-03-09T22:58:17.105+05:30Eggs over white***<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">After this long hiatus then, something new we have just found, via the blog of artist/illustrator </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://julianhector.blogspot.com/">Julian Hector</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">. <a href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Eggs over white</span></a>, by Meryl Erlanger, another kid book author.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(Edit 9th March 2009 - her Eggs over white books, of which I have learnt a bit more since I wrote this, are illustrated by <a href="http://www.illustrates4u.com/iWeb/My%20Portfolio/Home.html">Adam Gordon</a>.)</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVYVCq1C-dtWTGyWEFbveQF7fCTrZtzzf8tekCfHfqzK0B2Y_-m3mWSYRi8SqMkcOruL_MQGLIvd9PvBCvM-DcM7bUDiXJfshQcSzuIbKjNiLFsQP30D__6ASA7-PJx5VqykBvVOVcI6i1/s400/Eggsoverwhite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308570907177984738" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />It is of course, a flash based site, but not too greedy for bandwidth. The long strips you see here will change into a menu when you hover over each section. This is the whole page you see here; no ads and sidebars and other such tiny print.<br /><br /></span> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGop13meHlxJpv0xHNqVbLabKxVY7M-meI0kTRHKs0CaY-PgrX3gERk8aF45WxVid6NpPxjL9Ycv9acV6yU4us7LHf2KM57FtTu1GyuNFn1QQw5vpUPjQQR5-oXsljgINVel5ULKR5Sys0/s400/Activities.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308570903129162466" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />Choose activities, and you get this. This and all the activities are also full page, and so, more attractive to the little ones. There is a lovely selection of music, which changes with each click through, and I almost didn't want to move on for this reason! The little penguin holding the back placard will help you get back from each page. (Except the journey when it gets all muddled up and will lead to next or just a change in the music sometimes.)<br /><br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0I2sdBzgBbvcMnMMwuPZo4EeTc9MWBkh5sz_vitXXpdBp9BfZTZjPG3SpSJNxZhgQYCMPVEL4Lhq0Dn2IOr2ejQNX30miLh8qgJvwZpG3y6WREGEHQxVSsOYUX3kCZwWQxHsIRFZIDel/s400/Tic+tac+tulah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308570894809001826" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />Tic-tac-toe is fun as usual, with a penguin and an egg instead of the usual crosses and naughts. Check out the levels given: I liked the naming of level four!<br /><br /></span> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYmkSwzj26Liw8E5KQkyVwI0MUlnNE4qvtm6Oo26LMUkCnahNE47cxtEOYfNZfOWhaj0vFB_CFofxFS-egd6wLaYQit85krz9OCUchmYoPsnW4Je42rLQnlDAPXAsl1kYWi48F6Oki9DIQ/s400/Draw+Dobe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308570892766760434" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />Drawing with Dobe is standard three sized brushes, and sixteen colours - but - no eraser! And that gets annoying because starting over is not the correct option to offer a child who has just spent half an hour in one 'serious' doodle.<br /><br /></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM06DrJ_axsLBsdxbqDSe02zPjvB8sHupE0CsP8BoArWgfJZdYs5fLiBQVqsLLxlaks1IiiOyv4h1m51Uz1h8hDBMcGmksx6Je-ByCKEHuIAJYBCImBoa-dqbb_hWYr_alfDYgMBK8WAg/s400/Match.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308570892216978738" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />The memory game has no levels, but is fairly easy. The only problem is that the graphics are mostly white or light coloured on white background, and the young kids find it slightly tough to figure out what they are looking at even though the cards don't turn over very fast.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/wordsearch.html">Willard's word search</a> is a game for the older ones - around seven to ten I should say, because the letter grid has small letters in a large number. As the rest of the site seems to be geared towards a younger audience, I think a simpler level with perhaps simple words in the left to right orientation would have been pretty useful.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">According to the website, the penguins and walruses were inspired and partly drawn by Julian Hector, but whether they are part of a book or a tv series or something else altogether, I don't know at all. The 'webisodes' included are patchy, as if including every third page or so of a book, but don't tell me more. There is something called the journey too, but that too is non-informative unless you know what it is all about. The introduction to the characters is okay, but doesn't really help, unless ditto. So, if you know what I am blabbering about, please do inform me!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">My opinion - good as far as it goes, but can be made better. But I sure wonder what it is all about!</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><br />The url - <a href="http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.eggsoverwhite.com/</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">P.S. I don't forward emails and smses usually, unless it is something really fancy, on the grounds that something going round would likely have reached my friends before I send it anyway, but sometimes I am compelled to do so. Here is one sms I received lately which I must share with you -<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> @@@@@@@@@@@@@</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Aise kya dekh rahen hai? Aapke liye garam garam jalebiyan bheji hain! Aaj ka meetha meri taraf se!</span><br /><br />(What are you gazing at? I have sent hot <span style="font-style: italic;">jalebis</span> for you! Today's dessert is on me!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">P.P.S. Never before have I had to add something about a site so soon after posting it! After I sent a message to the author using their contact form, the site informed me that I could visit more games at Wild and Happy, which it turns out, is the main site for Meryl Erlanger, featuring other characters from her books. Darn, I missed all these! On the other hand, more to showcase some other time!</span><br /></span></span>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-25164912109812837832009-02-27T15:26:00.003+05:302009-02-27T17:19:18.797+05:30The Over Coffee idea fairyAbout a week back, I read '<a href="http://paintedgenerations.com/blog/2009/02/coloring-a-pencil-drawing-in-painter-x/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to Coloring a Pencil Drawing in Painter X">Coloring a Pencil Drawing in Painter X</a>', at Over Coffee, Barb Hartsook's blog. Two questions, or rather one question and one statement, almost off handedly made, caught my heart. This post is about them.<br /><br /><blockquote>I carried my pencils and large drawing pad into the newly-formed “Sketching Sessions” class five minutes late and was told to sit anywhere and draw something.... <em>Big arm movements</em>, he instructed. <em>Hand and arm off the table</em>, he said.... I ended up standing most of the two hours. (Have you ever tried to draw big arm movements sitting down?) </blockquote><br /><br />Have you? Are you an artist, or perhaps aspiring to be one? Or maybe you have nothing to do with art whatsoever, but like to look at it? Or, even, mayhaps you don't like to look at 'ART'? Nevertheless, I still challenge you to pin up a paper, a large paper on the wall and draw, moving with your arms, not fingers. The very idea of it frightens me, for I know how circumscribed my doodles are: on tiny little margins, squeezed against phone numbers and sundry information on notepads. Whatever drawing I did was basic school grade, and I do mean basic, and although I have dabbled in photo-art since, it is not the same. If I was given a piece of canvas, and the sudden unconstrained ability to draw, I would still be making small sketches, finely detailed but - restricted. The idea of drawing from my shoulder rather than the wrist seems uplifting and freeing, utterly fascinating, and frightful, like the prospect of vast skies may seem to the caged budgie. But that is what art is about - about letting our restrictions go, about freeing ourselves from the boundaries we have created. But do you know the most terrible thing about these boundaries? When they are left unchallenged, they shrink with age, constrict us even more. Even a decade ago, perhaps, given a large paper, I would have had grander visions than I do now. On the rare occassions I have set up a proper painting session for my little one, I have been surprised at the free shoulder movements, the easy mid-brush grip like of a painter, the strength of the brush marks. And when I try? Trite little landscape scenes, or maybe faces, or cartoonish illustrations. Till I read this post of Barb's, I was at a loss to explain, even recognize my own caging, but that one little question at once showed me what was happening here, and the solution. It is as simple as a paper on the wall....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Part II<br /></div><blockquote><br />Thanks so much for stopping by. If you’d like to comment and leave a link to your work, I’d love to see it. Or maybe you’re taking a life-learning class of some kind. Please tell us about what you’re learning.</blockquote><br /><br />A life -learning class! Aren't we all taking one, all the time? Such a beautiful way of thinking about the lessons we learn from our life day after day. Each exam we take strengthens us for the next; there are revisions and new lesson plans; there are rewards and promotions, even failures. It is just that it never ends, this learning. And isn't that a great thing? That it is possible to keep on learning as long as you live - and perhaps beyond? That learning doesn't have to end just because you are out of school, of college, or vocational refresher courses? That learning is not all book bound, not at all limited to what others can show you in one way or another... The class doesn't end, ever, at any time: there is no limit to the amount you can grow. You still have to work at it though...<br /><br />So, what have I learnt? What is my life-learning class now?<br /><br />There are so many that I hardly know where to begin. Today, this moment, stolen from my baby's sleep time, I remember the lesson I was taught yesterday, when the weight of cleaning, cooking, washing, dusting, bathing, feeding, and folding, and such tasks took me so far away from my child that there were many teary requests for hugs when I couldn't take the time for them. And so, in the evening, came the retaliation when visiting grandparents - "I want to live here! I don't want to go back!" Of course, even mummy must stay, but the point was clear. A clean house is great to look at, but a fun house is better, and a loving house the best. Point taken, little darling! And yet, I still need many revisions before I am fit for the exams...<br /><br />P.S.I would like to make this a tag game, the Over Coffee tag, but because I don't have many readers, and even fewer readers who comment, and because I don't like to tag someone not knowing if they are interested or not, I would like to make it open ended. Ponder and post if you wish, or just ponder. But it would be lovely if you were to post about it further and let us know :)<br /><br />P.P.S. Where do you get your ideas from? Richard Bach in his novel, One, talks of the idea fairy who makes these huge blocks in her factory, of crystal clearer than daylight, stronger than steel, its planes and angles hardly visible save for the 'sparkling fascination'. And within, ideas made visible, each connection, each ramification there for you to follow should you have the inclination.Whether or not you agree with him, or love or hate his ideology, there is no denying that this is such a lovely way of looking at ideas. I love the idea of a cute as a button, ever charming idea fairy nudging us in the supermarket checkout queue, whispering in our ears as we struggle towards consciousness in those early coffee-less hours of the morning, banging on our heads through some blog we read...<br /><br />P.P.P.S. Nap time is over, and my lap is in demand. The second part of this post - the 'real' one, shall have to wait, sorry!<br /><br />A real P.S. this time - do check out the beautiful painting on Barb's post: click on it to see a full size image for full viewing pleasure!Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-30916065461752120252009-02-22T16:29:00.001+05:302009-02-22T17:11:50.620+05:30Blah-rah and GameGoo***Ok, peeves for today - mouse which gets stuck from time to time, Photoshop which crashes, impending no-maid weeks, my crankiness, lack of time for anything. To counter: sunshine, light breeze, one more holiday tomorrow, child at home, opportunities for sharing, books ready. One would think these are enough, but no, I am cranky and need to sleeeeeeeeeeeep, and won't, because equally I need to day-dream, think, imagine, read, be stimulated, create, feed inner hunger. And sleep. Still sleep wins, is the best antidote to crankiness, and still I ignore it. Sometimes I remember that robot from this movie - must be 10-20 years old, which I saw drifting around on HBO maybe 7 years back - the one that super-flipped through huge phone books, chanting 'Input, input, input' all the while. I feel that hunger: constant, gnawing, never satiated...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In accordance with the wishes of the mouse that sticks, I was going to feature a one game site, but then I found this, and didn't remember what it was, and clicked it, and - how can I not share it now? It has been ages since we played these, so hopefully I myself will remember to click through on this next meal time :)</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Game goo</span></a> is an educational game site </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">with the catch phrase 'learning that sticks' </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">created by Earo</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">bics, which I think is a part of Houghton Miffin Harcourt. They make educational software, so this would be just a showcase for them, hence the lack of adverts or other distractions.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooMFPTtNqdXQZSuzCawA4zBuuPAgJwgoMSMc_abL_tUPXNDzYoxmqXRhYR6mfrDlCZNZl55Wjs1CKA6OeuPubWqcDSp9ciB4fLgMR0Dqrayd4c_-AQOjZwX7CB6ERSorISQKc3rXTYWoe/s400/Game+goo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305572951416513234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The index page and all the games are on a deep purple background, which I might not have chosen myself, but it works! The home page is laid out according to level, which is pretty useful. But if your kid is anything like mine, there need to be at least three times these many for each level! Hover over each game to hear a funny little sound, and to read a mini description at the top of the game board. (If you want a detailed description of the game and the level, try the '</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeyptlo.html">description</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">' or the '</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeyptlo.html">educational standard</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">' page.)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark2/pawpark2lo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAss6Ib6Gl514tpn6F3T8Q_zqbtRvBi6RU67LJYiTnc40qAu4RvPeB2E2QjgE_XKpLfG2k6bqqfKPW6lEWoCyOJdkSXHBKOcX-7tUjsjkBagl68ClHIgFyHN7dBCJyrwXP1psJkc5qGWq/s400/ABC+order.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305572951877796514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The beginner level has five games. You can try to arrange the bears in right alphabetical order, which reinforces both the correct order as well as the pronunciation. Or you could connect lost baby kangaroos with their parents by choosing the correct lower case - upper case combination (</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark/pawparklo.html">kangaroo confusion</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">).</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/tina2/tina2lo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU-3_60CMMdvDtFDhw3rWMdGrGbjO5FysN0dIjobV0boZq1Ie_Rv0vJfPIy07_vYMyhpSxACXg04x8o8-m52ZU7Q9xOZ_i-TmEgu_Gb8DAFT5ruhq8tbQuq1ZkksYXE1UXjOc8-WqJxdro/s400/Bugs+trail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305571440535256098" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">You could follow Teena's directions to collect bugs - simple directions like 'check under the bridge and behind the trees'. Or you could play <a href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/tina/tinalo.html">Teena's make believe or real game</a>, which asks children to differentiate between two scenarios, only one of which is real.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark3/pawpark3lo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTB3HXLmpX02WanitBhed-GzlZfBWvZrxWCNnocozpaHhX3DizJa6WJnRV9yOlEwTIpYMaj31QSluXGfAIt75GxudMQWgl6rYEKdvYorGQkeQLOKFynbOo0rxzefyBUsnAptdpRiIBGoe/s400/Saassy+seals.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305571435008813058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/pawpark3/pawpark3lo.html">Sassy seals</a> will feed and collect the fish whose spoken word starts with the same letter as the word said aloud by papa seal.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/games/alien2/ash2lo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioV6anjmB4Pvh2S43k9tTqvlHtZjUlTndhdA-vlA_S8X0KlB08UsIZTqL_Pvd6hz4l8Ykop9qGXhLWM1t3wYVmU84csZDy47tMml5QAWhpeFR4fGRFPa72NJdEAtoEATJx43a-d_-PiQVm/s400/Space+trash.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305571431781810274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Of the middle level games, two are nearly the same, both involving clicking on the components of the given component - space trash and letter bugs. The words are not always very clear to our Indian ears, and the letters fly too fast for someone just learning. Which is probably why it is not the beginner level :) Monkey business is even more complicated, involving laying down the various parts of sentences in correct order.<br /><br />We haven't tried the advanced levels at all, giving up at this point! But, there is also the fun goo page (from the right lower corner link). It has links to game previews (games coming soon), screen savers and wallpapers. Colouring goo has printables, so no good for us :( Goo tunes has tiny little tunes that play when you click and</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> drag a coin on the left to the 'tune' machine. Not a very fulfilling game as the tunes are neither child friendly simple ones, nor complete in themselves. And finally are the gooey games! There are half a dozen games I think, each opening in a separate window.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/fungoo/fungoolo.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQjgmnprOzB9DFzTegepZ0cPGjKWoKjdMTCfAnTju0CFWEIHvJEd5oBFTlOMi9dz5dBvoIT0c3Zw8_XsIH_hPRo17PJJfFP_ARLPDnq-4sVk09YZuf_sTvvLaWQniKnAy0kp_x_SX2PBb/s400/Fun+goo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305571437091770018" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Catch a piggie is a cute little maze game, with no time limit, but the piggie keeps running away, and you have to master the trick of moving to another part of the maze to find him. Interesting idea for children to grasp.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/fungoo/piggies.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUbGflm87fjZPuvz5qoWCXe3KNM2B1_mvLr1SPUQvIm-7hEnTfjpVjQr2EI8TLEXHxMjQ8zoAqp_8Qa9EeRXlu5XEkEFQsrYf2BHjA2ehCY1X6cWxdcsAL6UgsAHfgdjpE5FKLtY1BIGpr/s400/Piggies+on+the+run.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305571435013543522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Some of the other games are creative but not so cute - create a Frankenstein for example, but they will do fine. There is even a musical game. Compose a goo has seven of these - goos - in a row, and according to the goo face you click in the top row, they will either sing proper notes (do-re-mi) or something really silly, using which you can record and playback your composition. You can't change the kind of notes midway though - not from do-re-mi to ah-oh-ouch for example.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Overall, a site I would recommend especially to teachers! And oh, although this too is flash, it doesn't take any time to load at all!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url -</span> <a href="http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">http://www.earobics.com/gamegoo/gooeylo.html</span></a><br /><br />P.S. I think sleep is vastly underrated as a healing tool. Witness poor Beetle -<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJea_WpRcn-Z50KJqSdW7YxaP82-Dz7vrlsAgNm5mDJFwizuXpICtiiOyODcVK-72T0BQaVda0FVXksTedT0zDwKuvWThoF_BpP9HckItzRwLZXb1ZgdUx8QCjFt4n6SsmypC0oh6m4hj/s1600-h/Beetle+philosophy.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 118px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZJea_WpRcn-Z50KJqSdW7YxaP82-Dz7vrlsAgNm5mDJFwizuXpICtiiOyODcVK-72T0BQaVda0FVXksTedT0zDwKuvWThoF_BpP9HckItzRwLZXb1ZgdUx8QCjFt4n6SsmypC0oh6m4hj/s400/Beetle+philosophy.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305584513812255090" border="0" /></a>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-62551748059917491522009-02-18T16:28:00.001+05:302009-02-18T16:28:46.006+05:30The new ABC playground*****<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Drum roll please! And trumpets! And much fanfare and cheering! Am finally starting on the<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);"> Australia Broadcasting Corporation playground </span></a>- the new site! (The old one is featured here - <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/11/abc-online-games-for-young-children.html">ABC kids playground</a>.) It is a huge site, with many show related features, so those you will have to explore yourself, or wait till I feature them one by one. But what is great is that someone(s) at ABC loves kids very much, so the 'playground' is especially designed for children, without reference to any of the shows. Unless of course the playground itself is a show I am unaware of? But I must admit, it is beautiful. Both the visuals and the music are quite attractive. However - and that is a bit of a downer - the site is so heavy on flash, indeed it is all flash, that it can take eons to load up, and if your net connection if faulty or gets interrupted in between, say goodbye to games here. Also, if by chance your laptop is behaving like ours and shuts down without warning whenever made to play flash based sites for longer than five minutes (with no recollection of doing so on restarting either), you'll never be able to use it. (A fact which will hopefully explain this inordinate delay!)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Starting from the </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" href="http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/">ABC kids page</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> which we don't usually use, because we jump straight to the children's playground. It has a simple layout without any cluttering. Three main links to the playground, rollercoaster (an area for older children and teens), and ABC parenting site. Three other buttons - kids tv guide, program list and Kazam, which I figure is a featured game/show which changes, but which we haven't explored further.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwmIzPo4iRe5GHB6fA4q3CWNJY2IJd8Gjb4jRJ_NMRIY1eortwl6cApX5ghZ_U3J-HjxPDiJPjIlYHbLJi2dBg2fjgns0Q4IoH0Fg5tClIiXPHlT47rsbXXuuoipp-JXIkcxq18BVglPP1/s400/ABC+kid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304074800456119938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Click through to the playground page, and you find <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/default.htm">this</a> - </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/default.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 298px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfcaRTIZwNEuuyvuvUBiGpsEPL7DKR6O2QEvumLeRALUCosPKjiYeu3sAme7EcdX3PjPox1s0ANysEn-aw_Bf1VjOBwdlcp8kHjmCsP9B26lYetq32B4paLXsm-WpjxCalgicJMY6uozW4/s400/Playground0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304074788149363762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">A beautiful, colourful page with nice big pictures and bits of descriptions to help you choose. There is a bit of overlap though, eg. the games and activities button right below that treasure chest - see that? The same is also linked by the teddy bear sitting at the bottom of the page. Or the links to 'five minutes more' and 'in the night garden' in the second row as well as the third. In any case, the treasure chest is the link to the playground I spoke of earlier. Beneath that, the games and activities link will take you <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/games_and_activities.html">here</a> - </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/games_and_activities.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBAFQ4VjrOFz0jOfu316Q46hq2KiRlr5MmQbOzzdYWSMoAIkzcXoMyc3CNrdQynW2UfEnEp_qUPufdzs6QmYQi5sTvI6N-02ta6hNMP1SsVmlw_fNYPBYWLBXR8ybT5u1bXQrHQi9Tdvr/s400/Games+list.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304074796777039378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">which is a great page showing exactly what games you can expect to play with which character. As they put it, there are 'pictures to colour, party packs to make and computer goodies for you to enjoy', and you can know at a glance where you want to go. Apart from <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/cbeebies-online-stories-children.html">BBC (cbeebies)</a> and <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/imperfection-and-uptoten.html">Uptoten</a>, this is the only site I have come across which has such a viewer friendly index.<br /><br />If you wish to choose from the default page, you will find the third row showing all the tv shows' games, and below that the tv schedule themselves. Scroll a bit lower for the playground <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playgroundradio/radio.htm">radio</a> which works just dandy if you have a high bandwidth, and has a cute appearance as well as nice selection of songs to hear. See that song - 'It's starting to rain', by Justine Clark? I loved it even more than my kid!<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playgroundradio/radio.htm"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdVXijuOjrCM8l3FeDhVZdLkYYqol8FeaT1NMJgjF5NVnFyl3mytDT_UrRpr-0u8yEZzS5h0zZ3ysoRkAct_LBVcNehFzm9noIMe39Pey6TFLR8pEIAxL7nCaqoeBT7vn0YedYIMbBYX_/s400/Radio.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304074789538335922" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Or you could just leave off exploring for another day and click through to the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html">playground</a> itself. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEQ6QvwSRVCAyl5DNudS3CbW_e_mv3W6Sf5rSON5PnRoDrqLXmzoEnayjWkBOBUqE8hqJoCkEaoiSRr481AgoU3z4rNWiBd4DMs4RNARXEN50BKXjH_j61TQk-54CS05zKvh8ibyeY_4Q/s400/Playground.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304074785381984818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Now this is nearly a full window, and the graphics are well designed to be smooth, just right for viewing. The accompanying music is light and melodious. To begin with, you could try taking Ruby's tour, in which she accompanies you to various other lands, where you may play their games if you wish or continue. I suggest that you first finish the tour because there is no way to do so if you click on a game instead. When we first found this site, we chose to click on each character in turn and find out by ourselves though. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt3lxWvOpcZp0TIX1lLfcove9WTz3dJ_PU9JHY-FGKRUdX4tC_2SZDuakKHhLOo9V4attyxE104hDJBBvGP7fvIcoXMFH39J_jti_hFhrbXULaVb2sL9S_9YFysU2uzbcLmvFcSvfMnXHr/s400/Ruby+tour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304073346045616034" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Incidentally, the graphics when loading are also very cute!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzWkwPq0l8lWq9kPs0PeoeqAZqNEm6GfG5RTkpohuFqRJQvVOzthcXeS4yNcYffe67aLC6TdLVuJpKm85d6_8BC8slJUyeJ1dWYhXhh_iE5F1pF47woKnAQeQkuDak0Kk9_r4KpA5nLOAS/s400/Colour+and+dance.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304073345126145810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Each of the characters has three or four games, some of which are quite unique. Artie above, for instance, has this draw and dance game where whatever you draw on the canvas will dance in time to the music along with her! Which is why you see my doodle of a flower merrily dancinghanging over the sand without any canvas to support it :)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In all the games, the flag with query icon at the right lower corner will always help you with information about the game should you forget it midway. The sound icon is for switching sound on and off. The little booklet lists all the games with each of the characters, and you can change without going back to the main page at all. The only problem is that these icons, in black and white, and with a nut in their centre, aren't all that self explanatory. But the advantage is that if you use this route, it will not ask if you really want to quit the game, which it would otherwise.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmOqJ8o_X8s5DYS41u1rtLA97sK3mKaCGm3zp8yx_4eUTIST1LeDiEWh4INtxpAE2j2547SSMXdOYeOH5zkUuJZIbtl0dQQcFhqvjjgB6GDvL0iR3GaD3wecNkU4vfxvV_VTf2VoknwY9/s400/Dance+machine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304073338718389122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I will not mention each and every game on the site: let there be some surprise awaiting you! But the games are truly designed for the pre-schoolers, easy on the finger and the mind. Here you see the 'follow the pattern' memory game, which is like most others and rewards the correct pattern with a bouncy dance. But Kurl will anyway gyrate to the music, so it is even more attractive for the little ones! And do try out their songtime for the theme music. That is addictive, that tune is!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJRewmsA6x5zPskRADUWJlqPKf0xnhtjwZgHkZ5k-QMMSSVmvszOKiilKADygjWPALFlOlD-CkBmCsCWHi_doDkMCIjtztEvYZATFqrKKXRUls8SWqnxhJ-__eaU-cWUbvdBpDFNM-nsE/s400/Spanna+make+robot.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304073338663012322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There is music associated with many of the games here. Even Spana, when she has finished making a robot, likes to make it dance. Or at least, my tiny one does, after each robot!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD_ePOqy2j09sRhq3zAfsOvYxEHQ0y-y_QyFYyoxqqW2wGB0l01M4X2KR6TIT61L8TNKNGAxPworcIXy2F8W6HeFzbO1N_QKK_p7rkWrgRl3A5BNk0TCetXrhvRciAfHQpQLWHd4K_JwlS/s400/Zip+see+saw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304073338414374082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And here you see Zip (the smaller figure) and Rollo on a special see-saw to catch and eat the cotton candy clouds, where you help by clicking on the right coloured button, at the right time.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url for the first three pages, in that order -</span> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.abc.net.au/abckids/</span></a>, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/default.htm"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.abc.net.au/children/default.htm</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">and</span> <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.abc.net.au/children/playground.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Go on, have fun!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">P.S. Of all the other links not explored here, here is one that I did want to include - boardgame. It has one of the characters, Ruby, I think, as a board game pawn, which you have to move by rolling your dice. Each turn of the dice will lead to one brief game from the playground. Carry it out correctly to make the next move. However, as my firefox crashed twice when attempting to play it, I am going to just leave you with the link if you so desire - </span><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/children/boardgame/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.abc.net.au/children/boardgame/</span></a>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-38756333152652470132009-02-09T23:40:00.001+05:302009-02-09T23:57:24.810+05:30A discovery and a memory<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_om74_cXaxAeoJCQXO29Z8HQw_SM3GPVz-dkGSXb6DXWWyV7-tWzjaarnm4Z5LQGnrc-UD5i6zAuctrAf9exPYLZ72bgtnLtiLNeAOuR83OZhKPVcvj7pnBbHYb4WKdNfGl3Dk0-h9Hjs/s1600-h/Eureka.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_om74_cXaxAeoJCQXO29Z8HQw_SM3GPVz-dkGSXb6DXWWyV7-tWzjaarnm4Z5LQGnrc-UD5i6zAuctrAf9exPYLZ72bgtnLtiLNeAOuR83OZhKPVcvj7pnBbHYb4WKdNfGl3Dk0-h9Hjs/s400/Eureka.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300849749452996834" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Every once in a while, some little nugget of information makes the penny drop for an Eureka moment. 'Every once in a while, some neuron finally fires in our brains and we have a huge realization.' Good old <a href="http://www.rhymeswithorange.com/">Hilary Price</a> gets it right everytime!<br /><br />Today I had one such moment of discovery.<br /><br />Not being a literature major, my reading has been entirely my own, so I had not been exposed to Coleridge's <a href="http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Kubla_Khan.html">Kubla Khan</a> -<br /><dl style="font-style: italic;"><dt><span style="font-size:100%;">I</span>n Xanadu did Kubla Khan<br />A stately pleasure-dome decree :<br />Where Alph, the sacred river, ran<br />Through caverns measureless to man<br /><a name="5"></a></dt><dd>Down to a sunless sea...</dd></dl>till I read <a href="http://www.douglasadams.com/">Douglas Adams</a>' Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. The entire book is based on this one poem composed in 1798, with inputs from '<a href="http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Rime_Ancient_Mariner.html">The Rime of the ancient mariner</a>' as well. If you haven't read the book, I will not spoil the mystery, but suffice it to say that it is so well meshed with the plot that I still can't read this poem without remembering that story as the true meaning. Its not a poem that is easy to understand, and I often wondered how it was that Adams took so many liberties with it, insinuating meanings where surely there were none? The lines<br /><br />...Could I revive within me<br />Her symphony and song,<br />To such a deep delight 'twould win me,<br /><a name="45"></a>That with music loud and long,<br />I would build that dome in air,<br />That sunny dome ! those caves of ice !...<br /><br />translate as description of an alien spacecraft, where each movement of life is changed to music! He also depicts Coleridge as having been drugged when he wrote this poem, something which I wasn't sure could be right. Surely anyone would realize that Adams would not have written this without making sure of his facts? Or that if there has not been any uproar about the book's factual inaccuracy, then it is not, in fact, wrong? Not me. I wondered and wondered, and still could not decipher the poem, entangled as it was with Dirk Gently in my mind. So when I read <a href="http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/notes.html#KublaKhan">this introductory note</a> to the poem, written by Coleridge himself, it was one Eureka moment: no wonder I couldn't understand it! He <span style="font-style: italic;">was </span>likely under the effect of opium at that time, and the whole thing <span style="font-style: italic;">was </span>actually 'a vision in a dream' and not some fancy way of saying something else. Duh.<br /><br />I daresay this little discovery of mine means nothing to you; those among you who were in the know all the time will even find it a little - dumb to say the least. But I am still bemused by it, so do pardon my indulgence today!<br /><br />P.S. I would like to end by quoting another author's reinterpretation of an earlier rhyme, which makes this post kind of long, so am splitting it in two parts again today. The section on ABC is to follow :)<br /><br />Here is J R R Tolkien's version of the rhyme 'The cat and the fiddle' which I really enjoy reading ever since I first found his books. What a beautiful way to explain the nonsensical verse!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cs.rice.edu/%7Essiyer/minstrels/poems/643.html">The man in the moon stayed up too late</a><br /><br />There is an inn a merry old inn<br />beneath an old grey hill,<br />And there they brew a beer so brown<br />That the Man in the Moon himself came down<br />one night to drink his fill<br /><br />The ostler has a tipsy cat<br />that plays a five-stringed fiddle;<br />And up and down he draws his bow,<br />Now squeaking high, now purring low,<br />now sawing in the middle.<br /><br />The landlord keeps a little dog<br />that is mighty fond of jokes;<br />When there's good cheer among the guests,<br />He cocks an ear at all the jests and laughs until he chokes.<br /><br />They also keep a horn-ed cow<br />as proud as any queen;<br />But music turns her head like ale,<br />And makes her wave her tufted tail<br />and dance upon the green.<br /><br />And O! the rows of silver dishes<br />and the store of silver spoons!<br />For Sunday there's a special pair,<br />And these they polish up with care<br />on saturday afternoons.<br /><br />The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,<br />and the cat began to wail;<br />A dish and a spoon on the table danced,<br />The cow in the garden madly pranced,<br />and the little dog chased its tail.<br /><br />The Man in the Moon took another mug,<br />and then rolled beneath his chair;<br />And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,<br />Till in the sky the stars were pale<br />and dawn was in the air.<br /><br />Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:<br />"The white horses of the Moon,<br />They neigh and champ their silver bits;<br />But their master's been and drowned his wits,<br />and the sun'll be rising soon!"<br /><br />So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,<br />a jig that would wake the dead:<br />He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,<br />While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon<br />"It's after three!" he said<br /><br />They rolled the man slowly up the hill<br />and bundled him into the moon,<br />While his horses galloped up in rear,<br />And the cow came capering like a deer,<br />and a dish ran up with the spoon.<br /><br />Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;<br />the dog began to roar,<br />The cow and the horses stood on their heads;<br />the guests all bounded from their beds<br />and danced upon the floor<br /><br />With a ping and a pong the fiddle strings broke!<br />the cow jumped over the moon,<br />And the little dog laughed to see such fun,<br />And the Saturday dish went off at a run<br />With the silver Sunday spoon.<br /><br />The round Moon rolled behind the hill,<br />as the sun raised up her head.<br />She hardly believed her fiery eyes;<br />For though it was day, to her surprise<br />They all went back to bed!<br /><br />He also wrote another poem to explain the nursery rhyme 'The man in the moon', which I discovered just today -<br /><a href="http://www.ianslunarpages.org/Man_in_moon.html"><br />Why the man in the moon came down too soon</a><br /><br /><a name="why">The Man in the Moon had silver shoon<br />And his beard was of silver thread;<br />He was girt with pure gold and inaureoled<br />With gold about his head.<br />Clad in silken robe in his great white globe<br />He opened an ivory door<br />With a crystal key, and in secrecy<br />He stole o'er a shadowy floor;<br /><br />Down a filigree stair of spidery hair<br />He slipped in gleaming haste,<br />And laughing with glee to be merry and free<br />He swiftly earthward raced.<br />He was tired of his pearls and diamond twirls;<br />Of his pallid minaret<br />Dizzy and white at its lunar height<br />In a world of silver set;<br /><br />And adventured this peril for ruby and beryl<br />And emerald and sapphire,<br />And all lustrous gems for new diadems,<br />Or to blazon his pale attire.<br />He was lonely too with nothing to do<br />But to stare at the golden world,<br />Or to strain at the hum that would distantly come<br />As it gaily past him whirled;<br /><br />And at plenilune in his argent moon<br />He had wearily longed for Fire-<br />Not the limpid lights of wan selenites,<br />But a red terrestrial pyre<br />With impurpurate glows of crimson and rose<br />And leaping orange tongue;<br />For great seas of blues and the passionate hues<br />When a dancing dawn is young;<br /><br />For the meadowy ways like chrysophrase<br />By winding Yare and Nen.<br />How he longed for the mirth of the populous Earth<br />And the sanguine blood of men;<br />And coveted song and laughter long<br />And viands hot and wine,<br />Eating pearly cakes of light snowflakes<br />And drinking thin </a><a href="http://www.ianslunarpages.org/Moonshine.html"> </a>moonshine.<br /><br />He twinkled his feet as he thought of the meat,<br />Of the punch and the peppery brew,<br />Till he tripped unaware on his slanting stair,<br />And fell like meteors do;<br />As the whickering sparks in splashing arcs<br />Of stars blown down like rain<br />From his laddery path took a foaming bath<br />In the ocean of Almain;<br /><br />And began to think, lest he melt and stink,<br />What in the moon to do,<br />When a Yarmouth boat found him far afloat,<br />To the mazement of the crew<br />Caught in their net all shimmering wet<br />In a phosphorescent sheen<br />Of bluey whites and opal lights<br />And delicate liquid green<br /><br />With the morning fish - 'twas his regal wish -<br />They packed him to Norwich town,<br />To get warm on gin in a Norfolk inn,<br />And dry his watery gown.<br />Though St. Peter's knell waked many a bell<br />In the city's ringing towers<br />To shout the news of his lunatic cruise<br />In the early morning hours,<br /><br />No hearths were laid, not a breakfast made,<br />And no one would sell him gems;<br />He found ashes for fire, and his gay desire<br />For choruses and brave anthems<br />Met snores instead with all Norfolk abed,<br />And his round heart nearly broke,<br />More empty and cold than above of old,<br />Till he bartered his fairy cloak<br /><br />With a half waked cook for a kitchen nook,<br />And his belt of gold for a smile,<br />And a priceless jewel for a bowl of gruel,<br />A sample cold and vile<br />Of the proud plum porridge of Anglian Norwich -<br />He arrived much too soon<br />For unusual guests on adventurous quests<br />From the Mountains of the Moon.<br /><br />Someday I hope to share these gems with my children, and have a quiet chuckle about Tolkien's wonderful world...Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-73902662496429941722009-02-08T17:26:00.002+05:302009-02-08T18:03:38.630+05:30Of cultures, and J language matching game***Can I ask you something today? There is a question at the end of these spiraling, sliding paragraphs which is intriguing me. Tell me if any part of this story piques <span style="font-style: italic;">your</span> imagination?<br /><br />(If it seems too confusing, take a look at the post-script first!)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">In late sixties, a girl child was born in Poland. Was she born to a chorus of glad welcome, calm acceptance or resigned indifference? Was it a big city apartment, a townhouse, or a farmstead that she was taken to from the hospital? Where did her grandparents come from, which village did they trace their history to? Her father left the country when she was seven, to earn. Her mother, a year later. For the next three years, they could not visit while she stayed with her grandparents. Was she staying with them before as well? Were they nice? Strict? Orthodox, traditional or modern? Loving and generous or miserly? So much is conjecture, so much a case history can not tell us. We can on</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ly assume, fill in the blanks with our own imagination.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">An imagination that is <span style="font-style: italic;">restricted by experience</span>.</span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />When we are told that she took care of an older disabled cousin, how can we know what it was like unless we know already what it means to live with someone suffering from severe cerebral palsy? To live, and to take care of such a person? And even then we can not say. Was she too skinny to hold him up properly, or buxom an</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d strong? What was it like, those years long back, spent in low beamed smoke darkened narrow corridors, or in open cold fields, or comfortable though cramped rooms with war</span><span style="font-size:100%;">m amber hued wa</span><span style="font-size:100%;">lls and robin blue ceiling? I have not been to Poland, have no Polish fr</span><span style="font-size:100%;">iends. What smells wafted from the kitchen, which were the rhymes chanted by children? Was there music, were there nosy helpful neighbours, a posse of bustling relatives? </span><span style="font-size:100%;">What was her life like, those days, so far from me in time and space and understanding? She was proud of the work she did, caring for her cousin. The doctor questioned, wondered if she had not wanted to get away, whether her current symptoms may actually have an origin in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">that time when she had felt abandoned, overworked. Was that truly how she had felt, back then, at the age of eight? Did she have friends to envy, other children to emulate or compare herself with? Or, was it matter of fact, just as picking cotton under unrelenting wh</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ite skies was for slave children a century back in America? Or, as taking care of four younger siblings may be, for the little girl in </span><span style="font-size:100%;">a village in Bihar, today? A reality from which there is no specific yearning to escape, for no alternative is known. Only a general, diffuse</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> unhap</span><span style="font-size:100%;">piness within the only life one has seen.<br /><br />Three years later, she got her father back, for a brief d</span><span style="font-size:100%;">uration of time. He left again, this time for Greece, where he re-married, had another daughter. Where her mother was, the history doesn't tell us, but presumably she was back as well. When t</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he father returned with his new family, mother and daughter were allowed to leave for the </span><span style="font-size:100%;">distant shores of promising future, the United States of America, in return for giving up any claims on their home and belongings. What was it like, this separation? The terms of this exchange seem patently unfair to us, yet, they were accepted, perhaps gladly? W</span><span style="font-size:100%;">hat was the kind of life that mother and daughter left, in return for this displacement, this relocation to a new culture? When they reached, were they able to talk in English, did they hav</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e any friends or relations to go to? In those teenage years, did she have any friends? Was she a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ble to adjust to school easily, was she accepted? How did her mother feel, leaving her country alone, with a child, a growing daughter to provide for? How many hours did</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> she need to work, how much of silent abuse did she take, for the sake of a future? Or are we looking at the wrong end of the social spectrum; did she just move in with relatives, and have i</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t real easy? Surely not - surely if both parents need to leave the country to earn, th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ere is a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n element of fiscal uncertainty involved?<br /><br />Slowly, a picture builds up in my mind; a picture of bleakness and craving for the good things, for an easy, loving life. How much of it is true, who </span><span style="font-size:100%;">can tell? For the words, only partly sanitized in medical detachment, come from some</span><span style="font-size:100%;">one who is trained to listen, dissect, question, expose, tease and fit into criteria, syndromes, disease. The compassion is, and perhaps must, be subservient to scientific coolness. But ma</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n is man, even when a psychiatrist, and there is excitement when you fin</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d a hidden clue; laughter at some unexpected turn; triumph on uncovering a diagnosis. So much is subjective even so, dependent on the observer's state of mind. The analyse</span><span style="font-size:100%;">s may be faultless, yet false, for it is not easy always to know where the patient is coming from... Ms. A, the girl grown up, dropped out of college, married her sweetheart when pregnant. Six years later, there is trouble in marriage as well, and the husband may be requ</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ired to leave the country any time. So much fact can be American, the common thread th</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e investigator and she share, understand. But what of all that went into the making of this person, not just her own years but those of generations behind and around her? A</span><span style="font-size:100%;">nd of the doctor? Which culture led him to this meeting? What makes him think that "</span><span class="content">we n</span><span class="content">eed to ask if Ms. A slept with her mother nightly until she was 18 years of age to reassure herself that both she and her moth</span><span class="content">er were safe and connected" ?</span><br /><br />For is that so significant? Perhaps it is, for a people who are able to place a month old baby in a solitary crib in another room, and sleep. But for another culture? I do not know how it is Poland; can't pretend to have any glimmering of Polish customs. I can however, find no reason for this fact to be accorded any importance whatsoever. What more natural than to share a room when your quarters are cramped, when there is little money to waste on heating the rest of the apartment, if that is what it was? What else, with no family member to live under the same roof with? Just the two of them together against the rest of the world, unfriendly if not hostile? The loneliness of those displaced goes beyond the need for connections. Longing for a word in familiar tones, a gesture of old friendship, or even the crowds from far away 'home' is enough to bond strangers together. Why not mother and daughter? It is not that I am not able to appreciate what the doctor questions. It is just that were I was he, I would have found no reason to even note this as important, for I would have understood it as completely natural...<br /><br />And there again I perhaps would have erred. For, like I said, I know not where she came from...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">This post has been in the making this last two days, and I have been preparing to feature ABC, part II finally, but chance wins. The evening snack time was short today, and we both were cranky from lack of sleep. In no mood for games which would go on and on, I browsed through the bookmarks for something short and newish, and chanced upon something I had saved as language match game. Turns out th</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">at it was a link to a site called '<a href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Jewish Education & Entertainment</span></a>', which I thought would fit in with the theme of different cultures, different thoughts. So here we are!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBGvDTGQYnz5UQrbtpiAmz0_fTUvhxYkuBodgj8rYpgPHjjrLF_pTPiZ5xmXQwhKgm7n_oO17N9VOtJ5ya65PLRHgBBQqaOci1MBsCbHIux9eq90ke2o95CpTGOF8YZZgNOiA4oQue8oX-/s400/jcoil.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300392618033035170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site is flash based, so I could not have given only a link to one game which we played. But it doesn't take any time to load, and is pretty simple really. It is the brainchild of Jacob Richman, who states that he wanted to create a "</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" class="about">Jewish oriented site that would be educational, fun, simple to use and friendly</span>." <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">As far as I can make out, it is intended for Jewish children (and adults) who are trying to learn English as well. I expect it can be used by teachers and parents talking of the Jewish festivals and culture as well. As right now, I am not in that phase at all, with my sole interest having been in the matching game, I must beg our pardon if the rest of the site doesn't prove to be helpful or accurate.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNjgEYPpYHZRAQn5xcAo8K0nDAiKg7zxPFiCzbMYyekg0NQckpFSDiJ7RO3wll7Cew12WMbKc-LVt_yQsTm3-yCypwvpRpq6QwpVG-0NqV-QMqNu2-8m29ylp-vglkWgtNeYVEc91KQdy/s400/Language+match.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300392622125181730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The language matching game gives an option of learning or playing. When you choose learn, you are given a set of cards with an image and the name written in Hebrew and English, which is read aloud when you click on the card. You can choose the language to read it in, and the set of cards, for example, vegetables, fruits, tools etc. On choosing to play, you are given the additional choice of easy, medium or difficult games.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRcB_aACgJWfpWDiohXjhjJAW4QyhtfFonAiqjhDZ1c3kL9v6ovlWm2glj5l3CMduNpOa0jUZww_0I2EgJOdeSsH8avnPkgeV14WIsqyxS5vO10d1IvTmd_sOQY9eazgZDCCuImmGzdf04/s400/Match2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300392616905599122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">After that, it is a standard card matching memory game.The number of sets and the game level choices make it a great game for teaching toddlers and pre-schoolers. The illustrations are clear and easily identifiable for the most part. The naming of each object as its card is turned is an added advantage, both in terms of remembering where it was and in identifying the object.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZPOPaHVaCspk4Zikk5mq3qDaFRznVxAEOKjc1T6JwnMTKxzZdpeU2JMAkOojgR9Tgrm1rAaPwIMqove2-DatWz1US3o8pf0yqEeyeR2BucX6d67izxABzRdwCAQ3VSZoyklJ58QDBCjY/s400/hangman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300392615482947666" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The hangman game is likewise either in Hebrew or English, but the words are all Jewish themes, eg. Jewish months as in the example above, which I chose at random, and got right quite by accident!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCvMHCKRFig87Qgka9lLBiDxa2r_PvhsYX3oPFBdAV4l2oOirl3V6UHO6SQCQsgCZgu0pY1Tk7CNcrYFAmBvqSkAwMj0kOEzlMdkw8BXxa8gXMFu7zAvQtlT2gkB2fC3WxxM9PJsxtv6O0/s400/jewish+colouring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300392615977759730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The colouring book has Jewish themed pages only, which would have been quite useful had the quality of the illustrations been better. However, colouring is colouring, and it is enjoyable. I have avoided it for now, because I don't feel equipped to answer questions like 'what is happening here mama?' till I do some more research.<br /><br />Briefly the other links - 'Hebrew sign maker' allows you to print out Hebrew characters even if you don't have a special keyboard, through their online one; 'My Hebrew songbook' refused to open for me today; 'In memory of' told me of the Jewish custom to read special verses at a grave, according to name of the deceased. You can find those verses here if you enter the name and sex. The databases and the trivia quiz I have not explored. The word search game is the usual one where you have to find words in a jumble of letters; the geography game has a learning component where you can read a para each about different cities/places, and then you are quizzed about these when you play.<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url - <a href="http://www.j.co.il/index.asp"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.j.co.il/index.asp</span></span></a></span><br /></span><br />P.S. And now for the background, and explanation:<br /><br />New York, 2005. A Polish origin woman in mid twenties was brought in the casualty, after she called up saying she was afraid she'd hurt her six year old son if she stayed home with him. She was admitted.<br /><br />New York, 2008. Grand rounds at the hospital. Case presented: <a href="http://www.cnsspectrums.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=1539"><span style="font-size:100%;">Diagnosing PTSD: Does It Help Us Heal?</span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"> The doctor who presented the case had been treating her for about a year. He presented the history, discussed his diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder relating to child birth as the precipitating trauma, and was advised, in turn, by others.<br /><br />New Delhi, 2009. Published article is read by yours truly. One sentence catches my attention, leads to musing, wondering how much difficult it is to really understand another being, when so little a thing may be accorded no significance in one culture, and be viewed with horror in another. Result, above. :)<br /><br />What do you think? It would be interesting to know your take on this - do write in!<br /></span>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-23126122368392908732009-02-05T15:01:00.001+05:302009-02-05T15:12:40.359+05:30A lousy day and Tao Nyeu stories**Today is a day I'd rather have crossed the road and whistled to the shop shutters to avoid. Tiny little things pile up, nag innocently. Little jars of paint brought as a reward (not bought - they came with the jam), their promised session still awaiting the completion of a new apron. The apron and sundry other clothes to be repaired overflowing from the stuffy bag I hid them once in. The bag all but hidden in three days worth of partially folded laundry. Piles of ironed clothes awaiting entry into the <span style="font-style: italic;">dhobi</span> book, so they can make space for folding the rest of these... plus more of these endless chores. And then, because I stayed up so late at night, a splitting headache. I wish I could borrow some optimism from this <a href="http://cappuccinosophy.blogspot.com/2008/09/leaf-piles-of-failure.html">Coffee-stained clarity</a> -<br /><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">I’m learning that all you can do with a day so determined to be a failure is to let it. Roll around in its messiness and stupidity like a pile of fall leaves and have a blast scattering them to the wind... Once I get over my unreasonable expectations, such as </span><i style="font-style: italic;">productivity</i><span style="font-style: italic;"> and </span><i style="font-style: italic;">basic</i><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><i style="font-style: italic;">hygiene</i><span style="font-style: italic;">, failure days can be kind of fun. And the best news? Hours away is a brand new day that, chances are, has already learned to behave itself.</span>"<br /><br />What a lovely way of looking at a failure day!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Talking of looking, you may have seen Tao Nyeu's book Wonder Bear featured in a few blogs by now. If you don't have it, and are not likely to get it soon either, at least you can look at it online at her site, simply titled <a href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">tao nyeu</span></a>.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site is designed to be a portfolio site, but it is amazingly generous in sharing the entire book rather than giving mere glimpses of it. That may change in the future thought, which is why I am featuring this site today instead of a 'gamey' one. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoG03v1k9JMK6kRt04FgNKDSP7kTUDoJF2Jij-El5cxVrfHuXWYt1Np-zUGIh8QRQyhJigdX-NoXFbyScEAfGGdVRxciCldjJW_QQgL_EznhAAE-QsjfKd8hGAfqhp7Ge5kENvjZdW6Xk/s400/tao+nyeu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299235007740124930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The menu on the left has her stories - Missing Moustache, Balloon Journey, The Street of Crocodiles - </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2IyyMn_x1JtAsDaISkseoOoegQQ24brP_HcCWTuxI5j4RgIAWrrUA6QTeiqWubyUc-y8BtTKdXbn106sRuCWpyqiuhN5bITXvigGzOZHNSugga2nN8unyJL9d6pf9_-BPV72LTQixnyQa/s400/croc+street.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299235006309842114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Wonder Bear - </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXX_t8AllOrS_r_r0ACfniHjXd-PXfPndcc248HtMRPAlV_U25Rs9dX_RNOgcynRPDib2Ab9kIxyknyi-sJQvBwC9juFzhcaok5bTIIh3mKIgytzL4bW-gVJ_0mrg1uxUQO6Udj48iyke0/s400/wonderbear.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299235004593140162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Laundry - </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuk_p0LkQA2ARhdAx2HSlZ15aBNWtKEzYh5EsYAcB7ZqJ3xpaapSzw098KQrJbY-odKWBrtCp-nzjGnYGhVwXmIs-SUFpBZOi9mjhHBb42F8EalaIJ5nrpPlw8kt9aroZ54FgwIRUa-fxJ/s400/laundry.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299235003959011714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">and single illustrations. A site worth going to if only for one's own visual pleasure rather than a child's! I especially liked the cute bunnies getting cleaned in the washing machine. It is the sort of story that children like best - whimsical, just this side of unbelievabale, and allowing and encouraging endless innovations to embellish at bedtime. Do check it out!<br /><br />The url - </span><a href="http://www.tao-illustration.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">http://www.tao-illustration.com/</span></a><br /><br />P.S. This has to be one of the lowest of lows - I have no post script to add today! So, here is a real pj that I got smsed recently, for those who can understand: What is the opposite of <span style="font-style: italic;">achaar</span>? You know, the spicy pickle stuff we love to eat <span style="font-style: italic;">aloo parathas</span> with? Yes, yes, the very same, now come on! - - - - - -<br /><br />Ok, since you give up, it is onions. The reasoning will be in hidden in a comment so you have to make some effort to read it :)Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-36271561477512589232009-02-05T01:31:00.002+05:302009-02-05T01:37:57.251+05:30Questions! And Crickweb****How much difference a little child's minor illness can make to an entire family's daily life, even if it is just a bit of viral cold! All schedules disrupted, planned activities abandoned, 'me' time gone, blog posts missed... Let us therefore move back to track, with apologies assumed to be stated and accepted, shall we?<br /><br />When I started this blog, I had expected that as I cataloged and classified my site collection, I would be using them more efficiently and frequently. But I find that the reverse is true. Our computer time has gone down; many meal times are accompanied by movie cds or books, and definitely the sites I showcase are not being utilized to the full. It may be coincidental, or it may be due to the fact that I invariably have other tabs open to 'follow' other blogs, and so wish to avoid heavy flash usage which might crash the laptop. But there has to be some other more satisfactory explanation. What do you think?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/Early-Years.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 118px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtWM6LMllRjx9zQ99417q4FTapEqV-e18AbczGnrkrHMgj-DfaZUAX4MFNtDwUAfR7IoS9BkgjruNT3GtSf7Z05x-kb2b5GhUdVm5qOiWJqrq0G81YgWYZ_8OQbi8cMqVKrlII1is3KFl/s400/Crickweb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299007244739590082" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">In keeping with this theme of underutilization, therefore I am today talking about a site which we have probably never opened a second time after its discove</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">ry. <a href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Crickweb</span></a> is a lovely site developed by V2V Training Ltd. of UK, a joint venture of Dan and David Bunker. A tip right in the beginning - if you are using IE 7, you may have some trouble with their pages: check out the </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">FAQ</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> section for advice. Also the ads on the left are pretty prominent, and can't be left alone with children even though they seem to be content appropriate :)<br /></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Crickweb was designed to be an educational aid for teachers and parents in UK, and has interactive activities for foundation stage, key stages 1 and 2 according to the British system, covering </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">"</span><strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: normal;">Maths, English, Science, History, Geography, R.E., D.T., I.C.T, French and Spanish." The one area I have explored is early years (screenshot above), which is for primary school kids. The index page gives a brief description as well as instructions to play. Clicking on </strong><strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: normal;">the thumbnail or name causes the game to open in a new tab/window.<br /><br /></strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The game window size is satisfactorily large, but the height could be reduced just a wee bit to avoid having to scroll up and down on a smaller screen (mine is 17 inch - I think! Too late at night to go measuring it up now!). The games are well conceived, so even if the cartoon quality is not quite Antzy, or even Tom and Jerryish, they are still capable of holding your child's attention. Some games, such as counting the number of balloons (shown here), are fairly simple, while others, like the number game below this one, which is about matching the number names to numerals, are for slightly older children.</span><br /><strong style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: normal;"><br /></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=count-with-lecky7b"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMVVRSZcsUeuGQ0nO66gb2ZRb2cVTEhdTadIuXk8Y3HAwdZAVFPz6mM6kexYQFOMiSEepVOu8BUqDt6fSGklVFC9VxpFk2wLpPi2R9AgI2aQU6Rkz59CvPoWi5mOu9ncN40CdweVoY6vuo/s400/Catch+balloons.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299023289775339938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/number-english.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUQ3JJFjGm7Oa09ZRt18RDN2qU8p_9HU6mBUKgf6mFaihujyt6lQERhYns0bdXsO2MjFVYz5jzExU5CcRNsIcTbJHCGfyXgFaA4eSAelT3bsGC1GkhlT6YjzlAvq38_WPDD7tZ0s9NAp9/s400/Counting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299023291567602114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Some games are self correcting. For instance, a correct answer is highlighted in green above. Others are open ended, such as the simple weighing game below -</span><br /><p> </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=simplescales"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0l8OzOyD5XTwjnj_GjTnKQ1mVr9t4lm17GcFGWGcMmb9QxuqBEIwColgqkK1zZBSzPGJSis02lsacedJdINZfNb4_1t30X-p5JbWENrfD7uEKUeUaiis7eKKkqXZ15Vfi24u9_msIxTJK/s400/Weigh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299023286364277602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There are, of course, other games, and even some of the older group activities can be used for young ones with due modifications. But that is for you to personalize. As a teaching resource, it is a truly excellent site.<br /><br />There are also some games which are not educational in content - click on the games section in the top menu for more fun games like this parachuting baby below :) As it involves simple mouse movement, it is excellent for toddlers just beginning to handle the mouse. The tiny little cough when clouds get in the way is too cute for kids to want to avoid though!<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/babychute.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqVWgU42hD1-XwjkSYv6jdXRN9VFay8m6R2SbHLs2rp0GrF0we8S73mCCCxdxklSTAMBv4C2fNJzJVjUgSdvLK8fSmyBEDvGOQ61qqSPlOSaLlXMml3KrvSL2SRKSRa6k31_xYdvQQRP1/s400/Baby+bottle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299023287990197986" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Normally I skip mentioning the links pages, because dedicated site surfers would find it themselves anyway, and for the others, it is simply too much information. But you must take a look at the link section here, for there are games with thumbnails, same as the rest of the site, so it is so easy to decide on which link to click. Some of these linked sites we have already covered (<a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/cbeebies-online-stories-children.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">BBC</span></a>, <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/imperfection-and-uptoten.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Uptoten</span></a>, <a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2009/01/spot-online-games-for-children.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Spot</span></a>) while others will be covered in due course of time. In the meantime, explore and have fun!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url - <a href="http://www.crickweb.co.uk/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">http://www.crickweb.co.uk/</span></span></a></span><br /><br />P.S. I have been wondering about who said that it was easy to love the world - it was your neighbour that was the problem? Why should it be so? Why are our souls moved by adversity at a distance, but when it is the neighbour, the colleague, the relative, the employee, there are sundry other considerations which prevent us from being as compassionate as we may be? Why do we judge those near us; judge and are judged, for why else would we blog away about our deepest feelings, yet shirk from using our real names lest those we know read it?<br /><br />I know no answers yet, nor have I given sufficient thought to tease and analyze this, so I leave you with two links to the reason why I asked them instead - Nino's mum at <a href="http://theninoeffect.blogspot.com/">The Nino Effect</a> talking of the the <a href="http://theninoeffect.blogspot.com/2009/02/sisterhood-of-travelling-word.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">sisterhood of the traveling word</span></a>, and Mercedes at <a href="http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/">Desert Candy</a> talking about <a href="http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-mom.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">her mom's</span></a><a href="http://desertcandy.blogspot.com/2009/01/for-mom.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> recently diagnosed brain cancer</span></a>. I wish I could talk about these posts, but I can't. You will just have to read them yourself.<br /><br />P.P.S. Thanks to Desert Candy, I now know how to put up an index of all sites covered - in another blog of course! Someday soon, I will do it!Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-47507121299125701512009-01-24T02:40:00.000+05:302009-01-24T02:43:55.150+05:30Winter tidbits and Argosy medical animation****Winter is warmer this year. The loads of heavy winter clothing I had amassed in anticipation are going to need a new home next year, little used. Yet, it is still winter. The sun has gone south for these months, as always. Mornings are dewy cool still when the last of school buses have left, the office goers dispersed to destination. Sweaters and thick dresses and warm inners hang heavy on clotheslines, slowly drying in the brief pale afternoons. The smell of smoke is in the air, smoke and roasting peanuts and sweet potatoes. Evenings begin to leak the sound of laughing children much sooner than before, emptying even as street lamps begin to come on. Sitting in the little patch of sun I can find, I still crave for <span style="font-style: italic;">sarson ka saag</span> with <span style="font-style: italic;">makke di roti</span>, dripping in butter, for cracking peanuts and shelling <span style="font-style: italic;">hara channa</span>, for <span style="font-style: italic;">gazhak</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">revri</span>...<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">If you have been to the </span><a style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/sadness-and-visible-body.html">Visible bod</a><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/sadness-and-visible-body.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">y</span></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> project, you may have explored and reached the parent</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> site of the company which has developed it - <a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102);" href="http://www.argosymedical.com/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argosy medical animation</span></a>. If you haven't, or if you have problems in running the visible body software because of its large size, or because you have a Mac, try it today. Of course it is not a kiddie site; it is a professional site meant particularly to showcase the range and scope of their animations to prospective clients. But that doesn't mean we can't use it!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.argosymedical.com/index.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj109-KbOATtTvoQOnEt1VDMZRg3ZjPH2VMizvJ1tjmqJLz16P4qlI0f8CYvkHmWkXyKQ-c-i94ESiS7am_H9sIK0L9n-bK3cvPW3MaLy3bj_fjKpIPsFi557E5eKbcirimxUya6DkAxCLO/s400/argosy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294581949860259522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Don't be put off by the complex appearance of the home page. It looks very technical, and agreed, the site is so, but there is stuff which is useful for children, even preschoolers! The index page has a menu on the left sidebar, from which I advise you to click on the animation by system. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.argosymedical.com/medical_ani_sys/Respiratory.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWcTfTvszc8efqLEkNaEbQ_MH4qjdzZYMeHKl1iX7HOU5GbVlrLz7irXQCZt_KAWFra6Q1BRqy8mWuB-nxkLJoI5et3VNCGIxZU11dIhT1bAO-xgNSGiseuU52HN1vBp7xBMpvNLQzdq2j/s400/Respiratory.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294580749358931842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Then choose your system, and hover on the little snapshot of the animation to read a description below. Once you find what you like, click through to see it. Simple! Featured here is the beating heart, showing the cut section complete with muscles, valves and the nerve impulses (see that flash of light there?), and the sound of heart beats to accompany. A very brief animation: it had my two year old asking for more. But ever since the concept of heart 'beating' has been established firmly :)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.argosymedical.com/flash/half_heart/landing.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjStBy211AX5ZHJWzBfz_r2qSLz7vlrOKUFt91HStqkAWyb3eGvSLP8NUrgI5GwhitgHgR6WqUkGXJpmljLnwzIN9A6GgpmNqQJ_AnbmYyOq0wqeSts9OaFrseVYSLP4KGGyDoNITImYTvj/s400/heart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294580744196140898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The one below outlines the process of hearing, with a commentary to explain:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.argosymedical.com/flash/Hearing/landing.html"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnp8AsGgIBOCn4ZDARCsgRsHkO8cqqMRWjB2VV4NoQmJM1kerbNSiSVqZgou4ConZ0zGirI951W2fQvjvRqUmxCUvVM-mtUmvuVo25yQFcN1qhBO-_TV_AOf4TioUlj8hYhf_HGB1Ai3sY/s400/Hearing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294580733784458882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Quite a few of these animations were prepared for patient education, so are useful and simple to understand. Some are truly technical, of no use to anyone but the medical specialty involved. Which is not to say that your teenager may not need to use it for a school project :) </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I am therefore refraining from pointing you to those I think are best, because my judgement at this time is naturally aligned with a young child. As with most of life's questions, answers have to be tailored according to the age and comprehending power of the listener, so your choices will be different. The videos/animations are varying in length, but for the most part, brief, almost too brief. (If only <a href="http://www.argosymedical.com/flash/birth/landing.html">childbirth</a> was as quick as is shown here!) But the accuracy and level of detail is spectacular, as one would expect from a company of this repute. Do try it! Its a wonderful resource.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The url - </span><a href="http://www.argosymedical.com/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">http://www.argosymedical.com/index.html</span></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">P.S.<b> </b>Trying to dredge a suitable winter poem to finish the post, and failing to find any at this ungodly hour, I turn to the internet. Isn't this cute -<br /><p><b>January</b></p> <p> January sparkles.<br />January's bold.<br />January huffs and puffs.<br />January's cold.</p><p>So, instead of an elegant poem, let me leave you with these elegant fruit bowls, as in bowls made from fruit by artist Margaret Dorfman. I am truly <span style="font-style: italic;">fida</span> on them! If only I could learn how to make them myself...</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://dailyartmuse.com/?p=4574"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 330px;" src="http://dailyartmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dorfman-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p><p>Click on the photo to reach <a href="http://dailyartmuse.com/?p=4574">Susan Lumoto's Daily Art Muse</a>, or go to the Gallery of functional arts <a href="http://www.galleryoffunctionalart.com/dorfman.shtml">here</a> or <a href="http://galleryoffunctionalart.net/flash/enter/enter.html">here</a> for more.<br /></p></div>Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1542826117579018433.post-79426118458921071072009-01-21T16:50:00.001+05:302009-01-21T17:07:30.950+05:30Obama and Brum***<div style="text-align: center;">*<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate."</span><br />*<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Attributed to Barack Hussein Obama, current president of USA. Excerpted from <a href="http://culture11.com/blogs/theconfabulum/2009/01/20/text-of-obamas-inaugural-address/">inaugural speech</a>.<br /><br /></div>The US presidential election last year brought hope, and a hint of the true magnificence of democracy, to millions around the world still quagmired in poverty, corruption, autocracy or worse. So may a poor wage labourer pause when quarrying coal and look at the distant jet, so high, so mighty, so proudly fine. With envy, greed, longing, but also, inspiration and hope that such things are. That it is possible for men to attain such heights. That it is possible for a people to choose their leader in such a way; that politicians can talk knowledgeably and skillfully of what they can do rather than flicking mud alone; that each and every vote can make a difference.<br /><br />It is therefore natural that Obama's first speech as president will be dissected to its very osteoblasts by pundits and the junta alike. May I be allowed to join my voice to the cacophony as well? Thank you. The rest follows after the break.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.brum.tv/intro.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 102);">Brum</span></a>,<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"> the little, intelligent and independent car has a number of fans around the world, not all of whom are children. However, if your kids love Brum, this is the official website to visit, complete with the Big Town to explore.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSltc0A7D-MHMXVuK8hs6vGC9p8Q8GJRQn1L4zosncheD3AORWGwRnztWJ5liUzV3WP64fYoyLjR6-3Jq_ufggN9gjA-3jrqLoOOgifjdURi83WcuWNFjR1DXtWjx_UNSeFZpCnF5pWywf/s1600-h/Brum.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSltc0A7D-MHMXVuK8hs6vGC9p8Q8GJRQn1L4zosncheD3AORWGwRnztWJ5liUzV3WP64fYoyLjR6-3Jq_ufggN9gjA-3jrqLoOOgifjdURi83WcuWNFjR1DXtWjx_UNSeFZpCnF5pWywf/s400/Brum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293680149789864434" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site is totally flash based, so be prepared to wait a little bit while it loads the first time around. In the meantime, enjoy a visual of the little car racing towards the Big Town. As seen from its rear. Once loaded, the game window occupies something like half of the screen, and is in the form of a map which adds a lot of visual interest for those following the tv series. Click on the little dots in the small navigational aid above to read about them, and click on the actual buildings in the map to visit. Most of the links are informational, or to do with watching their art gallery or sending an ecard. Two, however, are games.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuM_APf_6WkuLhrDiklkvzFkt7IFLskdnuCKkKTTALQ78kF8YapzorHo15i7aXoleeULX6pFrF1Z4Mad6VRzlWNIMIzT3En-mGU3IVe6q3nCgXE70zgSgnbuEMYu3uHujQXVsiMHYiEgHZ/s1600-h/Adventure.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuM_APf_6WkuLhrDiklkvzFkt7IFLskdnuCKkKTTALQ78kF8YapzorHo15i7aXoleeULX6pFrF1Z4Mad6VRzlWNIMIzT3En-mGU3IVe6q3nCgXE70zgSgnbuEMYu3uHujQXVsiMHYiEgHZ/s400/Adventure.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293680150319414466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Brum's airport adventure is something of an interactive story which requires nothing more than clicking on Brum to toot his horn, and on the flashing circles below to change the frame. There are two games, marked by Brum's photo. One, shown below, involves clicking on the crooks or the stolen suitcase as they pop up behind the luggage. The other requires clicking on various flashing signs to make Brum - er, intimidate the crooks. Both are timed, and become faster towards the end I think.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4p-bOrbj5MQn0ChkzPfA5KCtY_-j3F-jQ-637QSjPemnxpyAvzxnei60OsP1xC2bBhw_zo5oFRgk7FUUoAvZ7335o8Us9o-ZOwCGu3PDrzqxgDTGglFoGiAp19jc6P4CD3WG7PiH4XfFj/s1600-h/Game.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4p-bOrbj5MQn0ChkzPfA5KCtY_-j3F-jQ-637QSjPemnxpyAvzxnei60OsP1xC2bBhw_zo5oFRgk7FUUoAvZ7335o8Us9o-ZOwCGu3PDrzqxgDTGglFoGiAp19jc6P4CD3WG7PiH4XfFj/s400/Game.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293680145484759234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The other game is a car chase in the snowy slopes of some ski resort, which involves side to side mouse movements to avoid obstacles and pick up the money dropped by baddies running on ahead. It is also timed, and beware, it is harder than it sounds! </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBRWNuYBGgGUpFg_Gd-WnSFx8YQ8YWmsk-D9_0yCXqjKIkEVzgF5DnT7Z75qJHAuEOOrIg1UXPIdrxdBLw8LINgGJDLFoeeg5-T6xyKKLkCeu_bMZYyZN-TDnp_qkaSuLE67XMidZ31Zb/s1600-h/Chase.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIBRWNuYBGgGUpFg_Gd-WnSFx8YQ8YWmsk-D9_0yCXqjKIkEVzgF5DnT7Z75qJHAuEOOrIg1UXPIdrxdBLw8LINgGJDLFoeeg5-T6xyKKLkCeu_bMZYyZN-TDnp_qkaSuLE67XMidZ31Zb/s400/Chase.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293680139770275218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The site is owned and run by Ragdoll Ltd., UK, who also produce the tv series. The url - <a href="http://www.brum.tv/intro.html"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">http://www.brum.tv/intro.html</span></a></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">And if you should want to get a very simple make-Brum-jump game for toddlers or pre-schoolers, visit the <a href="http://www.ragdoll.co.uk/"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 102); font-weight: bold;">Ragdoll</span></a> site itself, and click on Brum from amongst the photos in the top left corner. Then, click on the silhouette. Or, for a single page to colour online, click on the yellow pencil.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">There are similar very simple games there for each of the tv programs produced by Ragdoll, so be sure to explore some more! (Incidentally, the games seem to have the trademark simplicity and strategies of the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/08/question-and-red-fish.html">Red Fish</a> people. I do know that they have designed some of the Teletubbies and Boobah games, so I wonder...)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">P.S.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://hellonetbaby.blogspot.com/2008/09/cbeebies-online-stories-children.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cbeebies</span></a> also has a single <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fullscreen/brum/fun/brum.shtml">Brum game</a> which should be mentioned here. It too is a kind of car race, but without the crooks, and much slower in pace. The car has to be steered clear of obstacles using arrow keys and when it obligingly stops in front of a money bag, press the space bar to pick up the booty. An easier game for the younger kids :)<br /><br /></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fullscreen/brum/fun/brum.shtml"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GsXdXXuspFM0x4kvMm81QO4r18Jq17OGxLaa-gpqb-2RT0fnjsoSFjWnIhKZNCNVgV4Ud-tH209emagYnngGIaZvFvgMln4XvsIV91-vWo4UXTFI1J54YZbsryNJuyEtVKWsaEhI8wQ3/s400/Brum+BBC.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293695238600143922" border="0" /></a><br /><br />P.P.S. So, back to Obama. Two observations.<br /><br />One, when there is a team of speech writers, as is the norm with presidents and even presidential candidates, should one be attributing the quote to one man, or many?<br /><br />Two, there seems to me that this speech is far too redolent in rhetoric to be sincere, or true. I suppose the inaugration ceremony, in itself a rather emotional celebration, calls for a touch of the cliche to stir heartstrings. But somehow I get the feeling that there is more grandiloquence than called for. It seems to be simple, but it is a contrived simplicity, the language somehow alien to the author, the sort of oversimplification one would use in trying to explain the mechanism of a quantum clock to a third grader. Maybe it sounded different to those who were there?Swatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173996390154408845noreply@blogger.com2