How big an influence has Disney had on my life? Uncle Walt was personally responsible for two of the most unusual experiences of my childhood. I remember my first Disney memory was watching the “Disneyland” TV show. It was an episode of Davy Crockett fighting Indians under General Andrew Jackson, so it must have been
It certainly seems that being handsome/pretty is an advantage for adults, but what about babies? Can cuteness give them an evolutionary advantage? The latest research suggests yes, at the brain level, attractive infants seem to have a definite edge. In an article on the New York magazine website (http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/06/cute-babies-have-an-evolutionary-advantage-in-life.html?) — “Cuteness in offspring is a
This time of the summer means I’m between Disney events. Our local Dayton Disneyana show was June 10-12, and our national DisneyanaMania Convention is coming up July 13-15 in Anaheim, CA (actually Garden Grove). If that piques your interest, all the information is on the club’s website, http://www.disneyanafanclub.org/home, under the Events tab. For a quick
The Cactus Who Wanted to Be a Christmas Tree is now available on Kindle! The Kindle price is $2.99, or absolutely nothing if you subscribe to Kindleunlimited! The link is https://www.amazon.com/Cactus-Who-Wanted-Christmas-Tree-ebook/dp/B01GSG9PJQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466477119&sr=1-1&keywords=bob+welbaum Of course, the paperback edition is still available for $8.99 on both Amazon.com and this website.
I’ve been reading the Time magazine daily news brief in my email inbox today about the origin of the word dad. There are several terms for father, but dad is probably the most unusual. Where did it come from? No one knows for sure, but the best theory is it comes from the way babies
I was listening to a podcast this morning when someone mentioned we went to the moon for political reasons. I’m not denying there were major political ramifications, but wasn’t it more than world politics? My on-line search tuned up an article from July 25, 2014 entitled “The Continued Socioeconomic Impact of Apollo 11”. According to
On December 6, 2015, I gave my thoughts on the novel The Hunger Games. I was so impressed with the overall story that I’m rereading it to catch all the subtleties and clues to the ending that I missed the first time. As an aspiring author, I did some research after my first read and
After the Orlando attack, you may be wondering exactly what are we doing to counter violent extremism? If you haven’t heard, there is an FBI website entitled “Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism”, aimed at young people who might be leaning toward terrorist groups. It’s like a video game,
You probably have heard of seed banks, but color banks? I was surprised to read about just such a collection, a pigment library at Harvard, in a recent article on the website Fastcodesign.com. The story goes something like this — Today we have an infinite range of color choices on our computer screens. But for
“Keep it for your children, your children’s children, and for all who come after you.” — Theodore Roosevelt A very important birthday is coming up this summer. The National Park Service (NPS) traces its origin to August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act. Today the NPS has 20,000 employees who manage
