http://virb.com/heatherzydek Virb 2.0 (@heatherzydek) en http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/424306

And no, it was not an electric stapler.]]> Sun, 20 Jan 2008 02:52:37 -0800 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/424306 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/295047 bryant & stratton. ever since i've started working for bryant & stratton, i've been terribly busy. in addition to this, i was hired about a week ago to work as a part-time book marketing manager for conciliar press, the publisher of my book basil's search for miracles. on top of this, my girls are back in school, steve's busy at his job, and i'm still trying to write on the side.

truth is, i may not post for a while -- i'm considering not posting until green leaves appear again on the trees next spring. i find there is much more blog inspiration available to a nerd like me in the spring and summertime. however, i may occasionally post entries. who knows. bottom line: i'm not making any promises.

in the meantime, if you'd like to keep up with my more professional goings-on, feel free to check out my author blog: heatherzydek.blogspot.com or my orthodox books blog: orthodoxchristianbooks.blogspot.com.

peace out.

in XC,
heather z.]]> Mon, 29 Oct 2007 04:51:58 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/295047 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/209977 geocaching. If you haven't heard of geocaching, this popular t-shirt slogan sums it up: "I use billion dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods. What's your hobby?" Geocaching is in essence modern treasure hunting: enthusiasts put items into plastic containers coated with camouflage tape, place said containers in hollowed-out trees and other hiding spots in forests and parks, post detailed instructions on how to find each "cache" at geocaching.com, and wait to see who is able to track down their "treasures" using a combination of the instructions, a portable GPS, and wits. Those who find each cache are usually allowed to take items from the cache, as long as they replace each item taken with something of equal value (most of the treasures are worthless, with some exceptions). Typically visitors sign a log found inside the cache so the cache's creator can keep track of findings -- the average cache is discovered dozens or even hundreds of times.

We learned about geocaching through a neighborhood friend, who was introduced to the sport while vacationing in England. She came home super stoked about geocaching, so much so that she promptly went on ebay and ordered a portable GPS. Not a day after her GPS arrived my friend found some local caches at geocaching.com and we went out to find a couple.

What I quickly discovered about geocaching is how it offers purposeful hiking: looking for caches gives a nature lover a reason to visit all kinds of places off the beaten path. At my very first cache I found a lovely secret meadow and pond not two miles from my house that I hope to visit again sometime soon.

At our last find at Lakewood Forest Preserve (which we did *without* a GPS, by the way) we found a geocoin that included a request: the finder should plant the coin in a cache in or near Kalamazoo, Michigan. Now we're thinking we just might actually create a weekend getaway based on this task. Pretty nerdy, eh? Well, maybe not: one of our favorite bands, I learned today, just so happens to be playing in Kalamazoo in the near future. Now we have two reasons to visit the home of Western Michigan University.

To find worldwide geocaching opportunities and learn more about the sport, go to www.geocaching.com.]]> Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:56:26 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/209977 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/196960
However, companies like BP continue to dump into Lake Michigan. Which got me wondering: what can we do to clean up Lake Michigan?

One of the first websites I came across when I googled "clean lake Michigan" was for the Great Lakes LaMPs (LakeWide Management Plans), an organization that deals with Great Lakes water pollution. LaMPs is run by the EPA - the very organization that sets the standards that allow BP to dump mercury and other pollutants into the Great Lakes every year.

Stupefied by this bit of knowledge, I decided to call my regional branch of the EPA for clarification. I spoke with Phillippa Cannon, the media spokesperson for EPA's Region 5, which covers Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The interview was helpful in clarifying the issue, but truthfully it gave rise to more questions than answers.

First I asked Ms. Cannon for advice: what are some practical things the average consumer can do to clean up the Great Lakes?

She suggested that beach goers clean up after themselves: increased litter on beaches generally gets consumed by sea birds, whose increased defecation adds bacteria into the water. Increased bacteria in the water leads to beach closings.

She also suggested that interested citizens pay attention to public notices on new corporate dumping plans. Permits that allow corporations to dump contaminants are issued at the state level; as such, states are required to open up public comment periods during which average folks like you and me can protest.

Apart from this, Cannon said, there isn't a whole lot regular folks can do to clean up the lakes. A majority of the pollution comes from run off from cities, corporate dumping, and even the air: most of the mercury in water, she said, comes from industrial air pollution.

According to Cannon, the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana is expanding, hoping in the expansion to be able to process crude oil from Canada. The Canadian crude is dirty stuff, and in processing it there would be an increased amount of waste the plant would have to eliminate into the lake.

It was the State of Indiana, Cannon said, and *not* the EPA that issued the permit to BP that would allow them to increase dumping into the lake with the expansion of the plant. That said, the EPA sets federal dumping standards by which the states abide; the federal EPA oversees the states' systems, ensuring that corporations aren't allowed to exceed the limits set by the EPA.

The EPA doesn't approve state permits, but if there is a major permit (as in BP's case) the EPA will request to review it. The EPA *did* review the permit issued to BP by the state of Indiana and made some suggestions. "But everything that was in that permit," Cannon said, "met state and federal water quality standards."

For the record, here's the official statement the EPA released last week in response to BP's decision to back down from its new dumping plans: "BP's pledge today is a positive development that responds to the serious concerns that have been raised by the planned BP Whiting expansion project."

For the dirty details on the issue, go to the website of Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

I would argue that perhaps there is something else the average citizen can do to help clean up the Great Lakes (in addition to the things Cannon suggested): DRIVE LESS! Our addiction to fossil fuel is a huge part of the problem; if it weren't for consumer demand, perhaps BP wouldn't have had to increase its operations in Whiting in the first place.]]> Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:15:04 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/196960 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/195568 tons of filth into Lake Michigan. After Durbin and Emanuel gathered over 50,000 signatures on their petition, "on Thursday [August 23], CEO Bob Malone announced that BP was reversing its decision to increase dumping in Lake Michigan."

I'm thrilled that BP's plans have changed for the better. However, I can't help but find the words "increase dumping" in the previous quote disturbing. In other words, BP is not going to *add* to the dumping they are already doing, but they're still going to continue to dump mercury and other crud into the lake.

I care deeply about the state of Lake Michigan, for a number of reasons -- first and foremost being the fact that my children and I drink from its less-than-pristine waters every day. So I'm perplexed when it comes to what I can do, apart from signing petitions like the one discussed here, to help clean up Lake Michigan.

My biggest problem is this: if the EPA is the very organization that initially approved BP's plans to dump additional gunk into Lake Michigan, how can we trust them to truly protect our natural resources?]]> Mon, 27 Aug 2007 16:15:21 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/195568 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/184730 nerdtests.com Steve and I are 95 percent and 65 percent nerdy, respectively. I attribute my lower score to the fact that nerdiness was mostly judged according to computer and hard-science knowledge, whereas I consider myself more of a humanities nerd than a traditional computer geek (for example, I use Explorer as my primary browser, instead of the much nerdier Lynx).

How nerdy are you? Take the test and find out. Or bypass the test and read this humorous nerdiness manifesto.

On a related note, when I was in middle school my two best friends and I started a secret club called "The Nerds." We did all sorts of unspeakably nerdy things and even went so far as to have three silver lightening-bolt necklaces engraved with "Nerds."]]> Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:45:31 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/184730 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/180976 EPA and the state of Indiana to dump "up to 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of industrial solids into Lake Michigan every single day," according to a petition at Get Active sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin and Congressman Rahm Emanuel. The two politicians plan to present the petition at a meeting with BP on September 4th.

The story checks out here and here.

As a side note, the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana will continue to be allowed to discharge mercury in to Lake Michigan until 2012, according to this article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune in late July of this year.

Please take 60 seconds out of your day to sign the petition to stop this insanity!]]> Fri, 17 Aug 2007 11:31:32 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/180976 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/176282
When I got home from my shopping excursion, I went to www.wheresgeorge.com. Where's George, I discovered, was founded in 1998 by one Hank Eskin, a database consultant. The site allows you to register your "Where's George" bill, thus receiving e-mail notifications of every subsequent place the bill shows up after you pass it along.

So I registered my five dollar bill. I believe I got it from the Wauwatosa Post Office: earlier yesterday morning I had gone in to send off a package to a friend; I paid with a twenty and got a wad of small bills in change.

I'm the second person to register this bill. The first was a guy named Gregory in Lombard, Illinois, who registered the bill on February 24 of this year. I'll get an e-mail message notifying me when the next person registers the bill, which, from the looks of it, could be a while. Guess I'd better go find a way to spend $5.]]> Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:48:02 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/176282 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/174424
Call me crazy, but many-a-time as I've crouched down to pluck volunteer seedlings from the ground I've wondered how feasible it would be to transplant the baby trees into peat pots and give them away or even sell them for cheap at a makeshift "tree stand" in my front yard. I've never done it because it would take a fair amount of work; however, now I'm thinking that maybe next spring I might just try it, especially after stumbling upon this article. It just seems like such a waste to throw away perfectly good seedlings and saplings.]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:37:26 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/174424 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/174423 mysterionbooks.com and check out our selection.

In case you don't know a thing about the little hobby book shop we launched in July, there's an explanation about the store and our history with it on the FAQ page.]]> Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:37:26 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/174423 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172108 music. Others for our writing. Still others know us for our bookstore, our spiritual musings, our zines, our photography and our many other projects. (Most people, though, know us for our usually filthy house).

To those who know us best, we're just the humble parents-next-door who, in addition to all our creative exploits, still enjoy family walks and front porch swinging sessions above all else.

Welcome to the n3rd l0ve blog, where we'll share the daily misadventures of two four-eyed existentialist indie rock nerds and our three small daughters (doomed to a future as four-eyed existentialist indie rock nerds - unless, that is, they rebel, get contact lenses and become, like, cheerleaders). Here you'll find the ranting, raving and sometimes joyful reflections of one worn out thirty-something work-at-home mom and one worn out thirty-something work-a-day dad. But before we get into any of that, meet our family:

Steve: The breadwinning half of our dynamic duo, Steve is a database administrator for a local university by day and a repressed songwriter, poet, amateur photographer, audiophile, sound engineer and would-be hesychast by night. Steve grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, where he sang and played guitar for a number of legendary punk-and-emo bands you've probably never heard of. "Ladies' Bus Stop," anyone?

Heather is a writer by trade and a mom by identity. She's no super mom, though: sometimes her motherly abilities are in fact quite inferior to those of her fellow suburban moms, so driven in their careers selecting the most economical, adorable and durable children's clothes, washing said clothes in a scientific manner, making sure X number of books are read in a household every day while serving three square meals with high nutrient density, and a ensuring that the children are surrounded by the kind of educational toys Einstein certainly never had access to as a young one. No, she's not perfect or super by any means, and in fact you'll find many admissions of parental inadequacy here on this blog, presented for your reading enjoyment.

First Born ("Monkey"): Our energetic, insect-and-animal-loving daughter whose exuberance, energy and creativity can at times delight and at other times infuriate. She's often found breaking into, well, anything, and might spend years in therapy as an adult working out her frustration over being her parents' experimental guinea pig. We make all our parenting mistakes on her, with whatever's left being doled out to Monkey (see below).

Second Born ("Kitty"): The blonde sheep of the family, poor Kitty has all the luck of a typical disgruntled middle child. Listen carefully at night and if you're within a five mile radius you might be able to hear her frequent primal screams. When she's not screaming, she can be found doodling fascinatingly intricate pictures, laughing maniacally or crying hysterically.

Third Born ("Bunny"): Easy going and darling, if not a little devilish - that's Bunny. Mom and Dad are already fighting urges not to create in her that oh-so-common Entitled Baby Syndrome(c) that afflicts so many last borns. Favorite expressions of Bunny's include "Why-Kize?" (a blend of "why" and "because"), "ee oo mek a fork fa me?" (will you make a fort for me?) and "ah nee ma baby soup" (I need my bathing suit). Bunny is famous for making adults and even older children swoon over her adorable-ness. She's also developing a reputation as the toddler on the block who takes off her clothes and diaper and dances around the front yard butt nekid, redneck style.

The Beast: Our very sweet but nonetheless awful Golden Retriever, who destroys and average of ten household items a day. We largely spend our days screaming his name in anger after he eats a pound of chocolate off the kitchen counter or destroys yet another toy, sending Kitty into one of her hourly rages.

OK, so these caricatures of our children are a little one-dimensional (the dog's, however, is pretty accurate). It's true that Monkey has her mellow insights, Kitty can be adorable and sweet, and Bunny frustrates almost as much as she delights. Make no mistake: for all that we might gripe about the woes of everyday parenthood, we adore our babies. And we don't care if they become rocket scientists or Pulitzer winners or super models (actually, we'd rather they become just about anything *but* supermodels). We just want them to become kind, wise adults full of love, joy and faith, no matter which career path they choose. So we're doing the best we can to make sure that happens, even if our kids don't have the most scrubbed little hands and faces or the prettiest clothes, and even if they watch way too much TV and read way too few books. And even if we as parents spend way, way too much time in front of our computers. We're working on it, I guess.

All that aside, you may be wondering what we plan to do with this blog. Aside from the obvious parental rants, we plan to post on music, books and films we like, our local, regional and (God willing) national and international travels, and our spiritual journey. We'll also post news about our current projects, including our online bookstore Mysterion Books & Music, our band Joyful Sorrow, Steve's photos and Heather's books. We'll attempt to post daily, although it may end up being every other day (that's the goal, anyway). Both Heather and Steve will contribute to the blog.

Thanks for reading! Tell your friends, stop by our bookstore, and, as always, e-mail us and say hello!]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:19 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172108 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172107
That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler to allow half-dead cicadas their freedom or to allow our curious children to keep them as pets I'm not sure. This is our summertime struggle, as almost every day our kids find caterpillars, stag beetles and other unfortunate creatures and want to put them in bug barns, shoving inappropriate foods in their faces until they die in plastic-encased isolation.

Such was our dilemma last night, when we went on a family nature walk along the urban Menomonee River trail that winds through downtown Wauwatosa a few blocks from our house (this raises other topics, about the tension between human control and natural order, about the way nature copes with our intrusions, etc., but for the sake of simplicity, I'll stick to just one rambly topic today).

We began our journey having eaten at one of those bastions of upscale suburban fast-food dining, Noodles & Co., paying way too much for what amounted to a pittance of noodles and sauce. Our bellies only half full, the five of us walked through the drizzling rain to the nearby Menomonee River for an evening stroll.

We've walked this way many times, so we decided to veer off the biker-dominated trail to look for wildlife in the flora beside the path. We were not disappointed. Here are some of the things we came across on our short, impromptu sojourn:

- A number of "cotton-butt bugs" (scientific name: acanalonia bivittata, some of the strangest insects I've ever seen

- Multi-colored leaf hoppers

- Impressive, untouchable nettles with lovely fire-cracker flowers

- A lame cicada nymph lying in the grass (Monkey spotted it), half molted, its wings green and withered, its body pinkish gray, like a small dead crayfish. Kitty held it for a little while, feeling it writhing and dying in her hands, and tearfully insisted on letting it go "back in nature" to spend its final moments.

- Two adorable red foxes! They hid in the bushes, emerging briefly to watch traffic drive by on the busy street between us and them. Awesome!

- A loud freight train rushing on the edge of the forest, between the river and the train yard. I wonder what the animals think of this?

- Only one or two frogs along the river. What gives? I feel like frogs and toads are so hard to find these days. When I was a kid they were everywhere, especially along Wisconsin lakes and rivers! Am I not looking in the right places, or are amphibians disappearing as our water supply gets dirtier and dirtier?

- Damsel flies, some black, some colorful, all beautiful (Steve's got a thing for them)

- Dime-sized golden terrestrial snails sliding across leaves, leaving trails of snaily slime

- Slugs on elephant ears. Monkey said pedantically: "When they move, they have a mouth on their belly. That means they're eating. I learned that by myself." *parental chuckles*

On the way home, Monkey and Kitty carried leaves with some of the golden terrestrial snails on them. Monkey dropped the two she carried, but Kitty made it home with hers (which provoked about 15 minutes of sibling bickering). When we arrived home, we stumbled upon a large black stag beetle (looks like a female), which Monkey immediately claimed as a consolation prize for losing her two golden snails. Content with their creatures, Monkey and Kitty spent the rest of the evening showing their finds to their friends, asking us to look up their dietary needs online (snails eat a variety of leaves, and it appears that adult stag beetles don't really eat anything).

I'm never sure what's appropriate in situations like this. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of disrupting nature or removing creatures from their natural habitats. On the other, I remember what it's like being a kid, chasing frogs and toads and baby bunnies, keeping a row of buckets on my deck, each one filled with natural curiosities I'd collected (tadpoles, crayfish, unidentified aquatic eggs on seaweed, unearthed turtle eggs, etc.). I may have been unwittingly destructive in this way, but being a little scientist also helped cultivate within me a deep love of the natural world. If I deprive my children of this joy in the name of conservation, am I also quelching their desire to understand and appreciate God's creation?

I'll admit that sometimes mommy wants to share in the fun of catching and keeping little creatures. I'm a little obsessed with Lepidoptera (aka butterflies and moths), particularly giant silk moths (Saturnidae), although I also like butterflies quite a bit. So when I came across a striking young spiny caterpillar on a thistle at a remote plant farm in the Kettle Moraine Valley area yesterday afternoon, I secretly stowed it away in my man-bag to bring home, identify and possibly raise. I googled "Caterpillar Identification" (not the first time I've done this, by any means) and determined that it was a painted lady larva. So I stuffed a bug barn with what I thought were the appropriate leaves for a painted lady to eat. This morning, though, the larva looked sad and withered, albeit still alive. Heartbreaking. I asked Kitty to take it to a weed and let it go. She did.

Sometime soon I'll go into detail about my great passion for Giant Silk Moths. Then you will truly understand why our blog is so aptly named.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:19 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172107 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172106 Monches Farm. However, having already gone to Monches Farm twice this last week, and having spotted the entrance to an intriquing forest preserve called Glacier Hills County Park in Washington County, we opted to visit the undiscovered forest instead.

We drove in and the place was utterly and completely deserted. It was mind-boggling -- beautiful day, plenty of sunshine, glacier-carved land full of lush green trees -- what more could a person want in a place to lounge and/or explore on a Saturday afternoon? At first the silence of the place was unnerving, but after I got over the imaginative notion that locals must know some eery secret about the place to keep them away, I found Glacier Hills to be a great little spot. Steve discovered a patch of prairie grass beside the picnic area that doubled as dragon-and-damelfly heaven, a fact that distracted him even from eating his picnic lunch, so excited he was to photograph the sparkling creatures. (Incidentally, he continues to upload photos from our Saturday journeys to his Flickr site).

The two older girls chased flying grasshoppers and Bunny and I went to a nearby play structure, where she conquered her fear of heights on a tall ladder and went down the slides multiple times.

Kitty caught a toad near the end of our visit; we asked her to let it go and she had a tantrum (Thankfully, no one was around). But Steve had a great idea, one that consoled our screaming child -- he suggested taking pictures of the toad and later printing them out for Kitty to keep. "He's probably so happy you let him go," Steve said after the girls released the poor little creature.

Back in the car, we decided to move on to the famous Holy Hill, a mystical, castle-like cathedral rising above the forested hills. It's the highest point in Southeast Wisconsin, they say, and it's a magnet for wandering tourists. As we approached our destination, the girls made little rising and falling "aaaaaah" noises as we rolled up and down the hills.

We drove through the entrance to Holy Hill and up to the visitor center at the base of the cathedral. Entering the building, I was struck by how distinctly *Catholic* the place smelled. The sensation is similar to that of re-entering an elementary school as an adult and catching a whiff of that ubiquitous glue-and-construction-paper scent. Having spent so much time in Catholic churches growing up, when I go into a Catholic church as an adult, memories of my youth rush back into the fore of my mind. I wonder what makes a place smell Catholic, as opposed to Orthodox or Protestant. Is it the type of incense used?

Holy Hill is run by Discalced Carmelite Friars, and from what I could tell, the original church was completed in 1858. We took an elevator up from the visitor center to the bridge leading into the monstrous church. On the bridge, congregants celebrating "Father Fred's" ordination were milling about chatting; the view was enchanting. The Holy Hill sanctuary (about to be locked up for the night) was imposing, striking and not altogether pretty, although there were certainly some lovely elements. It wasn't my favorite church interior (maybe it was a bit too cold-looking -- I don't know. It lacked the warmth of other churches), but it's certainly worth viewing if you're ever in the area.

Moving on, as we drove away from Holy Hill we spotted some large birds in a field. They appeared to be grazing; it was an unusual site. The birds resembled egrets or herons, although we're till not sure what they were -- maybe cranes? Naturally we pulled over so that Steve could shoot them with his camera. He struggled to get some decent shots before they flew off, frightened by the intruder.

On we drove through the lovely sunset-illumined countryside on our way to Sheboygan, where we were to watch our friends Nic and Heather Dillon (AKA Casados) play a set at a little cafe called Paradigm Coffeehouse. On the way, we passed through Cedarburg, a town I'd heard talked up as "adorable" and "full of charm" by my realtor when we were trying to relocate to Milwaukee. It was too far north for our taste, but driving through yesterday we were not disappointed -- Cedarburg definitely lives up to its "adorable" reputation, and then some. Definitely a place I'd like to visit sometime soon.

We arrived in Sheboygan around 8 p.m. (the start time for the show), but the kids were hungry and a loud-ish opening band was about to play, so we took the girls to a little Thai restaurant a block or so away called the White Elephant. The service was friendly but a little disorganized and the place was a tad dive-ish, although the vegetarian eggrolls were some of the best we've ever tasted and the pad thai was pretty good. After our meal, we walked back to Paradigm and enjoyed a great (but perhaps a bit short) set by the wonderful Casados (side note: their excellent new EP Passages is available at our store). The house band Cedarwell headlined; they were great, but we had to leave half-way through their set in order to get our little ones to bed at a reasonable hour. Ah well.

On the drive home, Steve and I pulled out a recording from aJoyful Sorrow show in Chicago, one of our last, and made plans to revive our old unrecorded songs, practice them, record them and then maybe, just maybe, play a few shows. We've decided to drop the drums in favor of a more stripped-down sound, just guitar, vocal harmonies and maybe some light percussion (shakers, tambourine, etc.). Fun.

We got home around 11:30 with all three kids asleep in the car, of course. We put the little ones to bed and crashed after a long day of driving around exploring. The end.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:19 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172106 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172105 Garbage Pail Kids again, go to the fort I made as an 8-year-old by the creek in Vernon Hills, walk through the childhood home we moved from when I was 10, talk to my long-lost best friend of fourth grade, Cindy Barcules. I've found that while sometimes these efforts can be fruitful, other times it can be downright depressing to find that something you thought you loved so much wasn't nearly as cool as it seemed at the time, or that it hasn't been preserved well, or that it's gone completely. My childhood home seemed so much smaller than I remembered it, my fort on the edge of the creek that separated the neighborhood playground from an expanse of farmland was gone, of course, and even the old playground was replaced with a fancier play structure. Worst of all, the ever-expanding farm field I found so mysterious and otherly was turned into an expanse of shopping centers and a monster corporate HQ of some kind. Ugh. (I never did find Cindy Barcules. Cindy, are you out there somewhere?)

Last night was one of those times when I got weak and went back into the past. I rented the film Explorers from Netflix, partly for myself and partly to show my kids. Explorers is a film about three unlikely friends who build a flying machine based on plans they dreamt about. They use the machine to fly around town until they're absorbed into a much larger space ship manned by two aliens. My best friends Sarah, Colleen and I used to watch Explorers over and over, hoping that we could bring some element of the movie to life, trying like the boys in the film to figure out some way to communicate with life on another planet, or construct our own device to travel to another realm. (Incidentally, our club back then was called The Nerds, although initially we called ourselves The Explorers, so inspired by the film as we were.)

Anyway, watching the movie as an adult turned out to be a let down. The film was pretty unimpressive upon revisiting. Sure, it was fun to see a young Ethan Hawke and the sweet, promising young River Phoenix (his tragic death still gets to me), along with a slew of recognizable actors whose names I never know. The movie was entertaining in an "oh-my-gosh-that-is-so-80's!" sort of way. But was it *magical*? Not even a little. Steve was pretty darn unimpressed. The story has some cute elements, and it really does capture, at least momentarily, the curiosity and wonder kids have about space and traveling through it. But the plot is a little flat, and the movie kind of drags, and the end is anticlimactic, to be honest. I'm still trying to figure out what I liked so, so much about this movie as a tween. The moral of the story: sometimes it's better to let sleeping memories lie.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:19 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172105 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172104 conservation versus preservation. I guess I'm probably more of a conservationist, in that I tend to believe that in order to sustain our own existence we need to use the resources of the earth, albiet in a much more responsible manner than we currently employ. That said, I do think some parts of the earth should be left untouched by human hands (and feet, and tools, and vehicles, etc.).

As it stands, Steve and I know we feel passionately about doing whatever we can to help preserve what's left of the Earth's resources. Our big question is how to get involved in a meaningful way. Sure, there's probably nothing wrong with cutting a monthly check to some big environmental org in exchange for colorful, personalized return address labels. And we've been trying over the last few years to drive less, bike more, switch all our light bulbs to compact fluorescents and reduce, reuse and recycle whenever possible. But I feel like there's so much more we could be doing. I'd like to get more involved with area projects like river clean-ups, prairie restoration, political activism, and so on. I'm just not sure how to take things to the next level. I'm a big fan of staying local, and I'm hoping in the next few months to find a good, smallish org in Southeastern Wisconsin to which to pledge my allegiance.

I'm open to suggestions.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:18 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172104 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172103 Doritos and, now, Heinz Ketchup.
But the "Customer-Made" movement, says consumer trends firm trendwatching.com, is much more than a marketing flavor-of-the-month.

Not to miss out on the fun, some of my talented family members created a few Heinz commercials.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:18 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172103 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172102 Petronia reminded me in response to my "conservation v. preservation" post about No Impact Man. I first learned about the efforts of Mr. & Mrs. No Impact to live for an entire year without affecting the earth on Good Morning America. I was so inspired/in awe/a bit jealous that I decided to follow suit by not running my air conditioner all summer. Yes, my efforts come nowhere near The No Impact Family's, but it's a small step, anyway.

So today officially marks our 36th day without air conditioning since summer began on June 21. I must say it hasn't been terribly difficult, as I do, after all, live in Milwaukee, a mostly cool and breezy city with only a few scattered heat waves hitting throughout the summer. Most days it gets to a high in the mid-70s or so, although this week has been warmer. On hot days, things can get tough - we get irritable, we argue more, everything feels sticky and dirty and all we want is to do lay around in as little clothing as possible and suck down cold drinks.

But thankfully, those days seem to come and go as the short heat waves are broken by passing rain storms or cooling Lake Michigan winds.

I was born and raised a suburbanite, and we suburbanites, in our obedient service of the god of comfort, typically confuse wants and needs. Steve and I, in our efforts both to save money and to create a lifestyle that makes less of an impact on the environment, have had to examine our wants versus our needs -- we need heat when it's freezing outside; but do we need the indoor temp to be a cozy 75 degrees, or can we live comfortably at 65? Do we need to run our A/C when it's only 70 degrees outside? Do we need to run sprinklers all summer so our grass stays a pristine green? Do we even need grass, or would it be better to convert our yard into a restored prairie? Do we need to cook every meal, or can try to work more cold meals into our diet? Do we need to use disposable plates and utensils for a party, or can we use washable, reusable dinnerware? Do we need to throw away all our food scraps, or can we start feeding our food waste to a worm composter in our basement? (I did say we were nerds, right?) We are always asking ourselves questions like these. We haven't found answers to all our questions or made significant changes to our lifestyle just yet, but just asking the questions in the first place is a big step in the right direction, I think.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:18 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172102 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172101 City on a Hill, an organization whose mission is to "meet the needs of the central city by providing hands-on missions training, faith-based multicultural education, community outreach, economic empowerment, housing development, and health and social services." The call was from Brooke Chapman, who read my book The Revolution and, realizing I lived in her area, wanted to connect, to share resources and such.

In our conversation, I learned that City on a Hill hosts a 48-hour poverty simulation in downtown Milwaukee through which participants can take a "mission trip" to the organization's HQ and spent two days experiencing a life of impoverishment, in the hopes that the experience will be a transformative one. The program works, Chapman said; so far it has been effective in transforming the hearts and minds of those who experience poverty through their program. However, it seems they're having a bit of trouble attracting local churches to participate, probably because most "mission trips" involve more exotic locales far, far away, rather than dingy innercity destinations only a few miles from home. So the folks at City on a Hill are hoping to attract people from outside of the Milwaukee area. I'm heading over to City on a Hill next week to learn more.

Now I'm thinking that instead of that oft-discussed, never-planned weekend getaway Steve and I dream about we should try to go on a "mission trip" to City on a Hill and experience the kind of poverty that many people can't escape from their entire lives. Don't get me wrong -- the irony of middle class folks "vacationing" in poverty isn't lost on me. But still, if such an experience knocks some perspective into those who participate, isn't it all worthwhile?

Too bad participants have to be at least 15-years-old, or I'd have Monkey go over there in a heartbeat. Seems like now that she's almost seven (her birthday's next week) she's got an emerging attitude of entitlement that would rival that of of most 16-year-olds. Who needs the terrible teen years when you have a 7-year-old who thinks a great injustice has been done when her day doesn't include one self-indulgent activity after another?]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:18 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172101 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172100 Mayfair Mall to catch a matinee showing of The Simpsons Movie.

After we got through about a dozen previews and commercials (I'm not exaggerating -- do they show more trailers with matinees?), the movie was great. I enjoyed it tremendously, in much the same way that I enjoy a really strong Simpsons episode. The film's meandering plot centered on Homer's idiotic shenanigans. Homer falls in love with an adorable pig he rescues from being slaughtered. He ends up collecting his cuddly pig's "leavings" in a makeshift silo in his backyard. Marge insists he get rid of the mostrosity, so he intends to dump the crap-filled container at a new hazardous waste site created due to the lobbying efforts of Lisa to clean up the toxic water of Lake Springfield. Waiting in line at the dump, Homre is lured by news of a givaway of free donuts; he ends up leaving the slow-moving line, tossing the pig crap into the lake, and rushing off to get donuts.

The pig waste is the last straw for the lake. Creatures that touch the lake's water mutate, the EPA discovers the damage, and Springfield is sealed, upon the urging of EPA president Russ Cargill, inside an impenetrable glass dome. Springfieldians remain trapped inside until Homer, once vilified as the cause of their doom, attempts to rescue the people and family he's alienated.

I laughed -- hard. The Simspons Movie is full of funny lines, including some of the following:

"Why can't I worship the Lord in my own way -- by praying like hell on my deathbed?" (Homer, entering church with his family)

"This book doesn't have any answers!" (Homer, flipping madly through the Bible)

"You can't kill him if he's wearing people clothes!" (Homer, pitying a dressed up pig "acting" in a hamburger commercial)

"And I wish you didn't have the devil's curly hair." (Ned Flanders, when his son said, "I wish Homer was my dad")

While most films based on TV shows (and vice versa) fall flat on their faces, this one shines. Its only weakness is that the plot seemed to drag a bit toward the end, making it feel something like a too-long TV episode. Like The Simpsons on TV, the film is carried more by its one-liners and spot-on characterizations than by the plot itelf.

But I still loved it. Any movie that can succeed in touching on politics, religion, governmental control, family values and water pollution while making people laugh is a winner, IMHO.

And yes, I did allow my young daughters watch the film, against the better judgement of some of my mom friends. It's true that the film is PG-13, perhaps for the "frontal male nudity" (if you can call it that) involving Bart riding his skateboard around town in his birthday suit on a dare from his dad. Yes, there were a few quick, crass moments in the film. And no, I'm not one of those parents who allow their kids to watch just anything. But I do believe it's OK to expose my kids, especially as they grow older, to a modicum of inappropriate language and behavior in books, in films and on TV. I'm against shielding children from everything, because I know it's impossible to do so in this day and age without actually damaging them. Just as a tender greenhouse-grown plant needs to be "hardened" by increasing amounts of exposure to the harsher outside air, so do children, I believe, need to be prepared to cope with the ways of the world outside their homes as they grow older.

Besides, a little non-G-rated film action can make for some great parent-child dialogue. Watching the Simpsons Movie with Monkey and Kitty allowed us to talk about what is appropriate and what is not, about what makes families successful and what makes them fail, about what makes for kind, thoughtful, Christ-like behavior and what doesn't.

But as much as we can learn from the bad behavior of the citizens of Springfield, Simpsons lovers know that Sprinfieldians aren't dispicable. The characters are lovable -- all of them. From lazy, dumb Chief Wiggums to dorky Ned Flanders to self-absorbed, immature Homer and Bart. At the end of the day, these aren't characters you love to hate because of their flaws. You love them all the more because of their flaws. And that's one lesson I want my children to learn -- even if they are exposed to a little Simpson nudity in the process.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:17 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172100 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172099 this site. Maybe it's just a gimick, but I was so taken with the idea that I bought a sign for my own yard right away. If there's one thing I hate, it's the thought of all sorts of chemicals being sprayed on people's lawns. I admit I gave in to the incessant ad campaigns of lawn companies two summers ago and signed an agreement to have my lawn treated for a season. The results were pleasing: my lawn, after three applications of chemicals, was pristine and carpety. But I always felt dirty touching my lawn, and worse, letting my kids and pets touch it knowing that there might have been lingering chemicals all over it. When I told the lawn chemical company rep about concern of toxicity, he gave me some spiel about how innocent the chemicals are, how they simply cause weeds to stop growing by giving them an overdose of growth hormone that, once dry, is harmless to people and animals. I believed him, or rather, I was so in denial about it that I wanted to believe him, so in my desperation to have a non-muddy, green yard I decided to try out the service. But I felt guilty the whole time. Sure, it's great to have green grass. But isn't it better to have a clean environment? Surely all those "innocent" growth hormones wind up in our water supply, right?

As I've said before, I think next year I'm going to start moving toward replacing the patchy grass in my yard with drought-tolerant prairie flowers -- they're much prettier and more elegant and require virtually no water, no chemicals and very little maintenance.]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:59:17 -0700 http://virb.com/heatherzydek/posts/text/172099