Busy, But, You Know, the Good Kind of Busy

So, first of all, I'm excited for the upcoming West Coast Plato Workshop, which meets this weekend at Stanford.

My handout? Sure, take a look:

WCP Cratylus Handout by Yancy Hughes Dominick

Want to know more? Take a look at the full program. Should be a lot of fun!

I also had the pleasure of delivering an address to this year's cohort of students completing the Faith and the Great Ideas Program at SU. It was perhaps a celebration, but I decided to give a pretty serious talk about Plato (how could I pass up the chance to give another talk about Plato?); in any case, I'm particularly proud of my last line: "most of all, I hope someone comes along very soon and refutes all of your beliefs."

As far as refuting people goes, I don't usually like to give books bad reviews, but by the time I finished reading the book I reviewed recently, I kind of had no choice. Too bad, but what can you do?

Finally, I'm excited to report that I'll be teaching a special section of my Philosophy of the Human Person class this summer for some of the dancers in the Pacific Northwest Ballet. Yes, that Pacific Northwest Ballet :)

It's part of their Second Stage program, which, as I understand it now anyway, helps people prepare for the lives they'll live after their career onstage.

You can read more about the Seattle U part of the program here. I don't know much more than that now, but I can't wait to find out more this summer!

Okay, speaking of summer... Thanks for reading this far without seeing any photos of Franklin! In return, here he is today asking me to read one of his current favorite books:

Mama, Is It Summer Yet? Thanks again, Jen!

And if you just can't get enough, here's a few minutes of raw video footage Emily got the other day:

Quite a guy.

All right reader, see you after I get back from California!

Can't We Just Have Weekends All Week Long?

Great Mothers Day card from Franklin & the crew at the ILC:

Bigger version with bigger text here.

Pretty awesome guy.

This weekend he seemed to enjoy his first visit to Green Lake Park, where we met up with Tyler and his parents.

Checked out some boats:




And Tyler tried his first snow cone:

Franklin meanwhile ate part of my hotdog, but it happened too quick for the camera :)

A little splashing in the water by the ducks, of course:




Back up on the Hill, our walk home from dinner with Pete really picked up steam when Franklin realized he could be the one pushing the stroller:

Only a Northern Weekend

Thank goodness Emily had that conference in Vancouver, BC: loved seeing Franklin's reaction to international travel, university living (we stayed on the UBC campus), and, of course, seeing the ducks at Stanley Park:


Like I said, we stayed on the amazing campus of the University of British Columbia. Seriously, it's amazing what actual funding can do for a university.

Beautiful new buildings, terrific landscaping, and even the Endowment Lands, which include, among other things, Franklin's first clothing-optional beach:

Wreck Beach
(If you're wondering, we opted for Yes on the clothing question :) )

Meanwhile, the main event was the Northwest Archivists meeting. (Full program here.) Emily presented as part of a panel titled "3-D Documents? How to Handle Artifacts in Your Archives":


They even had an activity where the audience tried to do an appraisal of some sample artifacts:

And who's that charming looking archivist there on the left?

But I'm pretty sure those ducks were Franklin's favorite part:


Which got him nice and tired for a peaceful crossing back into the US:

Speaking of, reader, I need to sit back and relax a little myself. Until next time!

Returning to Our Connections in the Northwest

We're packing and about to leave for Franklin's first international trip! Emily is presenting at the Northwest Archivists' meeting at the University of British Columbia this weekend. Looking forward to finally visiting Vancouver.

In the meantime, how about some more fun from this past week. Fun on the slide at Volunteer Park:


Fun visiting with Grandpa Ray and Grandma Rhonda:



Thanks again for the fun weekend!

This one is fun in a different way, and from the previous week, but I just loved this Daily Show segment on Australia's gun laws:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

Whoop-de-doo indeed.

There are two more parts to the series, also worth a look.

Finally, Franklin is warming up to the song and dance action at Toddler Story Time:

We've been enjoying the nice weather & walking to the Capitol Hill branch instead of busing it downtown, and I do really like the more chill, neighborhood-ly vibe.

All right, reader. Have a great weekend!

Little Man, Big Culture

Franklin got a taste of Japanese culture this week:

I wish I had video footage of the women's reaction when we asked if they had a kimono Franklin could try on...

On Friday, Franklin had some fun at Octo Sushi:

Mostly ate the salmon teriyaki, but he was a good sport.


Thanks to Pete for the photos!

And he loved Emily's miso soup:


It's not really related to Japan, but Franklin also had fun showing Grandpa Ray and Grandma Rhonda around the Chihuly glass museum:






But the high point of Saturday must have been the Japanese cultural festival. Awesome Taiko drummers, interesting exhibits, and, of course, the chance to model that kimono:

I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller

Franklin says, Best stray object on the Miller Park playground yet:


Sure was excited to play with it. And although the big kids we were talking to said goodbye to him when we left, I'm pretty sure he was actually waving goodbye to the ball...

So, now I guess we just sit back and wait for Bill Self to give him a call :)

Meanwhile, the playground at Volunteer Park has been undergoing renovations for a while, but now it's finally open again!

I've been crazy busy finishing a paper for the upcoming West Coast Plato Workshop, but Emily and Franklin went and checked it out over the weekend:

Coolest part is that they have a whole separate area for 2-5 year-olds. So cute. And thoughtful. And fun!

I convinced Franklin to take me up there this morning so I could see it for myself. Lots of great stuff, but so far my favorite is the side-by-side baby slides, so I can go down next to him & keep a close eye on the smile on his face.


Two playgrounds in one day? Well, that's what happens when all of a sudden it's 60 and sunny. Obviously he's now tuckered out in bed, so hopefully I can stay awake long enough to crack the code of this new PBS show I've been reading about:

Watch Preview on PBS. See more from The Bletchley Circle.

Tulips, Poppies, and Other Buds

Franklin and I had a blast picking up these tulips for Emily at Flowers on 15th the other day:

And we found out that even though the shop is tiny, there's a piano... and Franklin is welcome to play it whenever he wants :)

And on Sunday Emily and I had some fun on the town while Franklin hung out with Wendy (thanks again!).
I'd definitely recommend From Up On Poppy Hill:

I'd also recommend this New York Times interview with the director, who talks about some of the ways in which they made things look so amazing; or as they say, "shimmering and bustling with life." The slideshow is super cool too.

Be warned, though: if you see the movie, which is set in the early 60's, you may be unable to avoid getting this awesome song in your head:

Thankfully it's so good, since I've been humming it for three days now...

Back at home, as Franklin is fast on the path to discovering the joys of his dad's favorite condiment:



Next time maybe we'll go ahead & help him open the cap ;)

And on Monday Franklin and I tested the theory that you can't read to a baby too much, as we read through one Seattle Times article together and ten different board books.

In any case, one theory did get confirmed: the kid can rock the togs: