Bemused Bothered Bewildered

The school the kids go to teach these Core Values:
Wisdom
Justice
Courage
Compassion
Hope
Respect
Responsibility
Integrity

Not a bad list. What would you include or add (or remove) on a list of values you would like to impart to the next generation?
(I'm thinking -- intellectual curiosity? imagination? or maybe joy, except that it's such a loaded word for Christians, and I mean it in the regular, non-religious way)

In my recent ongoing attempt to wrest back the playroom from the realm Set (deity of chaos), I found out that we have 31 barbie dolls, 2 ken dolls, and three body-less barbie heads and two decapitated barbie bodies.  None of the disembodied heads would stay on the headless bodies, so I threw them out.
11-yo complained: "Mom! Those were my zombies!"

Happy Birthday to mareklamo !!!!

The Marketing of the President 2008

Kosovo will secede from Serbia this Sunday and the EU will support it. Serbia is opposed and Russia supports Serbia. Touchy  political situation, but exciting for Kosovo, which has suffered so much in the past 9 years.

This is fascinating. How we’ve come to believe that overeating causes obesity

Maybe you've been feeling bleh lately. Kind of listless, not much energy. Don't sleep well at night. Maybe you seem to worry a lot, or get nervous, or your heart even seems to skip a beat when you're upset. Your brain seems fuzzy.
Don't be so quick to conclude that you are depressed.
Do your nails seem weak? More strands of hair on the hairbrush? Hands kind of chilly? Headaches? Get queasy?
Ask for a blood test to check your iron level and your thyroid function.

This has been a public service announcement.

(Updated to add: seriously, unchecked anemia can lead to serious problems, including heart failure)

From Ben (of Ben & Jerry's)

Do you have a favorite presidential candidate for 2008? Who?

(I can't do a poll, but I promise not to argue with you about your choice).

Heath Ledger dies at age 28

praising him for his fight against poverty and urging him to stay in the race. Read about his letter here.

There's been a lot of talk in these parts about how the media is shutting John Edwards out of the race. He has been excluded from polling. His campaign events have not been covered. Other candidates with less to show for themselves receive more attention. Etc.....

All of the these things are true. And all of the solutions I've seen have merit. We definitely need to put pressure on the media to cover this election fairly. But the media is probably not going to alter course and suddenly exhibit a journalistic integrity that they haven't even thought about since their freshman year of college. They need to be given a reason to change course; a reason that fits their definition of news.

So either Edwards could engage in a high speed police chase with Britney's kids on his lap and a missing white girl in the trunk, or he could raise $7 million dollars in one day....

Read the rest on daily kos.

CNN's Beck asked of Edwards: "[W]hy not just start wearing the Soviet star on your head and the Workers World Party?"

I kid you not.

What books should I read in 2008?
Give me titles of books you read in the past year that you really liked.

I just finished reading Ha'Penny by Jo Walton. Brilliant, chilling, and Carmichael breaks my heart.
I'm also curious ( spoiler )

Wishing everyone on my flist a warm and cheery Christmas!

(P.S. Posting this yesterday, as I'm sure I will be too busy to post today.)

Watched it with 10yo yesterday. I liked it a lot. The horselss carriage and the airships were delightful.
Nicole Kidman is an awesome Mrs. Coulter. 10yo said, "I think she's scarier than Dolores (Umbridge)".
The kid playing Lyra was very good.
10yo was indignant that they left a lot of the book out of the movies, specially the ending, but I can see how they couldn't end a children's movie the same way the book ended. I admit that made the ending weak.
It's too bad it wasn't a big box-office hit; I'd love the watch a sequel.

Yo Ho! Yo Ho! Go Ahead & Die!

If you'd like to get news about John Edwards 2008 run, there's an lj Edwards group that's pretty active in posting called  southern_hope.