Booktree – in England

Booktree

Originally uploaded by ulle.b

An amazing bookstore booktree, found in Lloyds Of Kew in London, England.

Image used under a Creative Commons license from ulle.b

Does Disney think we’re all a bunch of idiots?

 

Disney has come up with an awful new idea for getting kids to watch more TV.

 

Sarah of Unplug Your Kids has a few choice words about that !

 

I especially liked Kayris’ comment:

 

Does Disney think we’re all a bunch of idiots?

 

How about “Turn Off The TV and Go For A Walk” Week instead? That would save gas too!

 

Book Tree

Gorgeous mural in Faifax, California:

Book Mural

Daydreams

 

Jonah Lehrer wrote an interesting article called Daydream achiever on the importance of daydreaming.

 

After monitoring the daily schedule of the children for several months, Belton came to the conclusion that their lack of imagination was, at least in part, caused by the absence of “empty time,” or periods without any activity or sensory stimulation. She noticed that as soon as these children got even a little bit bored, they simply turned on the television: the moving images kept their minds occupied. “It was a very automatic reaction,” she says. “Television was what they did when they didn’t know what else to do.”

 

The problem with this habit, Belton says, is that it kept the kids from daydreaming. Because the children were rarely bored – at least, when a television was nearby – they never learned how to use their own imagination as a form of entertainment. “The capacity to daydream enables a person to fill empty time with an enjoyable activity that can be carried on anywhere,” Belton says. “But that’s a skill that requires real practice. Too many kids never get the practice.”

Double Cross

Interesting artwork at the Stanford Art Gallery by Ed & Nancy Kienholz:

 

Five Things I Think

Double Cross