Oh, alright! Well, thanks, then!

And good night, board.

Sweet dreams, Shir.

unfortunate side effect of going to Oktoberfest: having the Chicken Dance song in your heads for the rest of the day.

Woo hoo Shir!!! So excited.

And amyth, I said this elsewhere, but I'm so happy your brother's surgery went well.

Just saw RED. Damn, that's a fun movie.

Amyth, I'm so happy for good surgery.

Shir, when you wake up, I've spread the word via fandom (I have a fair number of Israeli connections there), and I'm really proud of you for doing this.

That's terrific, Shir!

Random true neurology fact - singing comes from a completely different area of the brain than speech, and brother-of-amych's cover of "That's Amore" was probably less slurred than his speech.

That might explain why when I have pulled too many all-nighters, and I get so tired I can't talk, I sing everything I need to convey. Innnnnteresting.

This is why I'm a terrible parent-- I'd be more proud that a five-year-old knows a classic like "That's Amore" than worried about being in trouble.

Maybe it's because I am not a parent, but I don't see anything wrong with teaching a kid that there are some rules like, "Don't stand up on the tables in the lunchroom and grandstand" that are more about what is convenient for authority figures by way of liability issues and crowd control than about what is actually good and right. At an age more sophisticated than 5, perhaps. And until the kid does reach that sophisticated age, I'd probably just say, "We have to follow rules for our safety like not standing on tables, and we have to listen to teachers/lunch aides/administrators, but you already had your punishment at school, and that is enough." I don't think that makes me a bad prospective parent, and I already think you are a good parent, Barb.

Yay, Shir! I'm glad you've got Hollaback Israel online, even if I can't read it!

Just saw RED. Damn, that's a fun movie.

Helen Mirren with a big gun and John Malkovich bringin' the crazy. Don't get much better.

And Shir, you're a total rock star.

And until the kid does reach that sophisticated age, I'd probably just say, "We have to follow rules for our safety like not standing on tables, and we have to listen to teachers/lunch aides/administrators, but you already had your punishment at school, and that is enough."

I was being a bit flippant, obviously-- I'm pretty much a hardliner about following rules that are about the safety of the greater good. When the kids were little and full of the eternal "Why?" (Which, actually, they still are, but for different reasons) my answer would be phrased back at them in the form of a question that was designed to make them think. In this case, it would've been something along the lines of "Well, what do you think would happen if everyone stood on the tables and started singing and ignored the teachers?"

Generally, they'd figure out why that wasn't such a good idea on their own, so I figure it was an approach that worked at least the majority of the time. Nate, in particular, was singled out by his teachers this quarter as being an exceptional role model for the younger kids which, as you might guess, made me a seriously proud momma.

Congratulations, Shir. Also, mazel tov, though I probably say it funny. Ala H:LOTS: "Say it again!

"No!"