I love practicing hip hop as a heuristic. It provides entry into a range of important skills for kids, adolescents and adults alike. Off top, I’m talking vocabulary development, literary interpretation, creative writing, engaged listening, choreography, design, performance …and the list goes on, er, can’t stop, won’t stop.
Similar to your favorite religion or political philosophy, an orthodoxy has been established. And the twin pillars of any good orthodoxy are 1) shared history and 2) shared meaning.
I came across Carole Boston Weatherford’sThe Roots of Rap at a bookstore while my kids were picking out a Wimpy this and a Harry that. The illustrations (by Frank Morrison) were arresting. The format, a free flowing rhyme, takes readers down hip hop’s history row.
The book opens
“Folk tales, street rhymes, spiritual–rooted in spoken word. Props to Hughes and Dunbar; published. Ain’t you heard?”
As you can see, Weatherford is playing ZERO games. She roots hip hop history in cosmopolitan folklore, street life, the church and African-American literary pioneers.
I can’t say enough about the artwork. I wonder if they’d publish a poster pack as part of the series, or a limited drop with signed artwork.
Visit Weatherford’s site and you’ll note that she’s written books on The Tuskegee Airmen, Gordon Parks, Harriet Tubman and the Civil Rights movement. And her son Jefferey is an accomplished artist, too. Clearly, the Weatherfords value arts education. Big propers.
And props to Little Bee Books for putting this out. This is a book our family highly recommends.
When I turned 40, it struck me that I had neither a signature drink nor a preferred brand of deodorant. So, for my 40th birthday party, I decided in favor of the Old Fashion.
But deciding on a deodorant would turn out to be trickier.
When shopping, I’d go with whichever brand fell somewhere below the average price.
Roll-on? Sure.
Spray? Why not?
Sports Activated? Ok.
Sugar-free? If you say so.
Now, I’d heard reports that the store bought shit was weighted down in toxins, so I did my Googles. As a result, I went toxicity free deodorant shopping and came upon Schmidt’s Naturals, a certified vegan and cruelty free deodorant.
Animal Cruelty Free; Pocket Cruelty still pending.
And the shit works. Really well. The Lavender + Sage is on point w/ a pleasant smell, a minty tingle and long lasting impact.
I bought a 3 pack on Amazon and sipped on an Old Fashion on the porch until they were delivered.
Not all dads have hair on their heads. Baldness is trill (too + real). Consequently, if you have follicles, you should flaunt’em…by getting hair cuts best reserved for teenagers.
Maya named her and we still don’t know where she got the name.
But it is of some linguistic interest to note that 8 of the 10 top female dog names of 2013 had a similar phonetic ending as our beloved Birdie (e.g., Lucy, Bailey, Daisy, Maggie). Theories?
The sobering truth about Birdie is she sometimes stinks. She’s a big girl with a big head who seriously sweats.
sorry, couldn’t resist the chris christie dis.
While I’ve bathed her, she’s never as clean as when she returns from the groomer. The same truth that governs sandwich making, whereby a sandwich always tastes better when someone else makes it, can also be applied to dog grooming.
I’ve tried out a few places in the area but was referred to Bark Place by a fellow Covina bulldog owner. Wudup, Frankie Bulldog?
Bark Place 934 N Citrus Ave Covina, Ca
I knew Bark Place was a different kind of joint as soon I walked in. It didn’t smell like bad perfume, wet towels or dog piss. In fact, for a second, I thought I’d walked into a photo studio in Santa Monica.
yes, i’m here for my close-ups.
Kathy, the co-owner, is knowledgable, nice and has a genuine love for dogs. That was apparent after watching her interact with customers. Kathy worked at a veterinarian’s office for several years and is fast to share knowledge gleaned from her time there. Did you know that bulldogs can get acne from playing with plastic toys? Dammit, neither did I!
Kathy & Birdie.
Bark Place uses organic shampoos, hand dryers and freshly washed towels (uhum, which is apparently an exception in the area).
Their prices are eminently reasonable. I paid $25 for the Birdie bath and met a couple who travelled from San Dimas to get their large, Golden Retriever some love. Their price was $25 less than what they were charged at a pet-store.
And this summer, Bark Place is throwing BBD readers a bone! Tell them Big Brown Dad referred you and you’ll get a 5% discount!
How much is too much to pay for a good, kid’s haircut? $15? $50? $100?!
Joaquin needed a haircut, badly. His quasi-hipster steelo was impinging on his cuteness which, in turn, impinged on any trickle-down love I might receive. We needed an immediate remedy.
Joaquin looking like Samson.
About a week ago, we stopped by two ‘standard’ barbershops wherein Joaquin had his haircut previously. Both places charge $10 for a haircut. At the 1st location, Joaquin was moving so much the barber couldn’t finish the haircut (hey, a free partial haircut is better than no haircut at all). At the 2nd, it never even got started.
So, yesterday, I decided to pay the 60% mark up at Kids Styles Hair Salon in Covina to see if one of their stylists might work some of their tot-targeted talents. To my pleasant surprise, they did.
As the name suggests, Kids Styles caters to kid styles by having actual kids cut your kid’s hair!
I kid.
Each child sits inside a race-car, barber-chair of choice. As soon as we we walked in, Joaquin ran to a car. Once seated, the stylist asked him to choose a DVD that would play in front of him while getting his haircut. Brilliant.
The stylist asked if we wanted to use scissors or clippers or both, something never asked at the other shops. She then went ahead and spoke calmly and pleasantly to Joaquin as she wet his hair by first wetting her hand and then her hand on his head. She was nicer than Greg Nice, smoother than Smooth B.
Whenever Joaquin seemed to get bored, she placed one of over a dozen small toys at her ready in his lap to keep him occupied. Shake this. Squeeze that. And on and on, ad infinitum.
15 minutes later and the universe was made right.
So fresh and so clean, clean.
Joaquin liked the place so much he wanted to stay and play.
play on, player.
The haircut was $15 + $3 tip = $18. Not bad considering our rate of one haircut every 8 months!
What’s the most you’d pay for a kid’s haircut? Your haircut?
