We were delighted to hear from MitzvahBoy’s new art teacher Ms. Trembly that she is using the Olympics as a theme for fall art projects. Although generally we don’t give much attention to sporting events, we’ve tuned in to the story of swimmer Michael Phelps as it relates to our primary summer activity. Ms. Trembly explained that because her choice of art subjects are endless and possibly esoteric, tying projects to a real world event is the perfect way to engage all parents and students.We spent part of this rainy weekend pasting images of Olympic athletes on new school folders as a way to relate the start of first grade, the games, summer swimming and art making.

This week Naomi Klein reporting from recent trips to China, tells Amy Goodman on Democracy Now how the Olympics have provided a back door to American companies selling security equipment in the name of “securing an international sporting event.” Although it is illegal for American companies to sell security technology for repressive governments to use to monitor their citizens, many fear security systems used to detain Olympic protesters will remain long after the games for use by the government on China’s population. Some of the biggest beneficiaries of this surveillance boom are US hedge funds and corporations, including Cisco, General Electric, Honeywell, Google and L1. L1 is providing finger printing and iris scanning technology.

Don’t miss NYT’s columnist Nicholas D. Kristof’s “Malcontents Need Not Apply” about his attempts to secure a protest permit from the Chinese government. It’s hilarious!

MitzvahBoy is officially becoming a school boy on Monday! Today we meet his first grade teacher and tour his new school. As I was sifting and sorting through all of the summer papers to prepare for this transition I found a list of parenting “commandments” distributed by one of the summer camps. Unlike the family in the play, August, Osage County, practicing a few simple basics can keep family life, well, decent!

I will appreciate myself and my life and not live my life through my children. I will appreciate my children for who they are and not for whom I want them to be.

Here’s a clip from video taken last week during our vacation at my dad’s home in the Smokey Mountains. Quite an eccentric fellow, he’s likes to drive into his garage/art gallery. When the garage doors open, classical music plays. Very pleasant indeed!

Israeli TV imports are up 44% in the first quarter of 2008. In this video, MitzvahMom previews upcoming Israeli based shows premiering in the US.

MitzvahMom invites Tampa Bay families to visit the new Jewish Discovery Center opening at the JCC for kids ages 2 - 10. Families can spend time in the Discovery Center during the hours of operation or plan their visit to enjoy a specific program. For admission prices, hours of operation and a complete program schedule visit the jewishtampa.com.

Like ours, many families are finding ways to have fun at home this summer. If you’ve never tried drumming, here’s your chance. Jana Broder, owner of Drum Magic, brings the drums and has a knack for making music with first time drummers. Give it a try!

Free Family Friendly Drum Circle this Saturday!

Kids Drumming at the Paralounge Drum Festival, May, 2008

• Jana Broders’ Drum Magic • Saturday July 26th from 6pm to 7pm • Café’ Kili 5731 E. Fowler Ave. Corner of 56th and Fowler in the Applebees Shopping Center. (813) 988-2879 • Absolutely no Experience Necessary. • Drums Provided for Everyone. • All Ages Welcome.

In Mr. Abraham’s Neighborhood children will role-play in Jewish homes, set a Seder table for their friends and families, practice hiddur mitzvah (the beautification of tradition) as they decorate their own spice boxes, and sort holidays into related seasons.

Noah’s Ark Theater will allow children to perform as they dress up as Noah’s animals and re-enact the loading of the ark while learning about the role of water in Israel.

In the Garden of Eden kids will learn about agriculture and the land around them as they make snakes, plant flowers in our garden, and plant their own seeds to take home.

Families will explore the art of Israel in Joseph’s Diverse Dreamcoat Activities creating pieces to add to the huge art wall, mixing colors, and learning about all the people that call Israel home.

The Discover Center is open Sunday 10-6, Tuesday through Friday 10-2, Plus Wednesday evening 5-8. Visit the jewishtampa.com website for a daily program schedule, information on admission tickets or to purchase two week passes.

My first response on hearing the reports of the New Yorker cover was, hmmm, interesting satire and pretty close to the absurd internet whispers that have arrived in my inbox about the Obamas. The late night comedians respond to the controversial cover in this New York Times article.

added Sunday, June 20: So, ok, for satire to work, we all have to be in on the joke. Lee Siegel in his column today puts a fine point on the issue, “We’re Not Laughing at You, Or With You.” New Yorker editors are blissfully unaware of what its like outside of their world….where many of us live and work alongside those who actually believe Obama is a Muslim terrorist.

My sister, a graduate student at NYU and someone who has pretty sophisticated tastes objected to the cover, saying she thought that it would be hurtful to someone like Obama who is so earnest and sincere about his presidential bid. Living in New York among a very educated peer group, she was unaware of the internet whispers the cover is aiming to debunk. I see her point. Aside from all the intellectural deconstructions of the image, there are real humans at the heart of the satirical cover.

I like Maureen Dowd’s take and she reinforces my sister’s view of the super self-serious Obama in today’s article, “May We Mock, Barack“.

As tasteless as the cover may be, in the dog-days of summer, the depressing mortgage crisis and boring presidential campaigns the cover certainly gives us something else to talk about. Probably we do need to spend more time discussing the fear many have about a candidate so new to the national stage.

Here’s a few interesting videos, one from the Arabic network Al Jezeera and New Yorker editors David Remnick and Hertzburg explaining/justifying the cover.

MitzvahBoy is learning to swim…..here’s a haiku about long summer evenings spent watching him.

summer light child limbs

breath, kick, stroke turn breath kick stroke

little stick fish swims

If you haven’t yet seen the movie, take a look at these video reviews and then buy your ticket!

Wall-E Movie Review from Spill.com

We celebrated the fourth of July holiday in Carrollwood this year with friends from the Hillel School the Weiner, Ray and Sheer families. The kids rode their festively decorated bicycles in the parade and then parked them at the shore of Lake Carrollwood.

Then we all enjoyed ice-cold watermelon while watching the ski show.

July 4th Ski Show on Lake Carrollwood

Afterwards we enjoyed a holiday cook-out party at Dr. Sheer’s lovely home overlooking the lake. The kids moved seamlessly between swimming in the pool to wwII games to playing pool. Finally we all headed to our respective homes after sunset, happy and satisfied.

Weiner, Ray, Leib and Sheer Kids Enjoy July 4th Party

In my lifelong quest to live better several ideas turn up again and again. Reading Daniel H.Pink’s excellent “A Whole New Mind - Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future” reminds me of how important gratitude is to living well. Pink recommends readers make a list as long as your years of things to be grateful for.

I’m grateful because of:

1. Mark Leib 2. Jeremy Leib 3. beach weekends with #1 & #2 4. jagermeister 5. Emily Dickenson 6. our Raintree house 7. Hillel School of Tampa 8. Billy Collins 9. Harriet/Trish Leib 10. living in the internet age 11. sandy little shoes 12. garlic/rosemary/olive oil roasted vegetables 13. clean air & water 14. writers living in Temple Terrace/Greg Neri 15. my mother and father 16. Florida Healthy Kids Insurance 17. tai-chi 18. sound of frogs in our lake after it rains 19. good health 20. Studio@620 21. everything about my past life 22. WMNF 23. my little sister Lauren Brannon 24. Cafe Kili 25. good health of husband&son 26. Mary’s new baby girl 27. playing in the rain on the beach with Jeremy 28. kosher meat 29. Marla Grant 30. Jim Teixeira 31. Jeremy’s toothless grin 32. Miki 33. Paralounge Drum Festival 34. Virginia Woolf 35. my laptop computer 36. sound of beach waves 37. Brian Lau 38. Lesley Spencer 39. Micah 40. Phoebe 41. Jeremy sitting quietly 42. Mark’s new play about the holocaust “A River in the Desert” 43. opportunities to publish 44. cloud formations 45. the smell of lavender 46. Tampa Day Summer Camp 47. my hair stylist - julie 48. Papande Newman - creator of MitzvahMom image

Tim Russert was beloved and admired for all the right reasons - his contribution to journalism, the quality of his friendships and the love he had for his family. He showed us what a life well lived looks like. I’m grateful to Russert for what I learned about politics during this unique primary season and send out a thank-you to his family and friends for sharing your stories with us who were not fortunate enough to know him personally.

Is a spider an insect? In this video from today’s program at Brooker Creek Preserve, education staffer April provides an answer. Once we filled several containers with bugs, we went back to the education center classroom to examine them.

What is an insect?

This free program for families lasted about an hour and a half and included classroom discussion and time outside catching insects. After the program ended we walked on the trails and visited the Brooker Creek Preserve exhibit hall to play with the interactive exhibits. We had a great time and would recommend the programs like this to families interested in Florida’s natural history.

Catching Insects at Brooker Creek Preserve

The tooth fairy visited our house last night. Jeremy lost his second front tooth at gymnastics camp yesterday. In this video I talk about an exchange we had as he told the story about how it happened with family friends. As he spoke he drifted into a free association as young children will do and the subject of race came up. For more MitzvahMom videos visit my YouTube website.

In this video I talk to parents about where kids are connecting online and give website recommendations. For more MitzvahMom videos on being involved in positive and productive ways in the online lives of kids visit the MitzvahMom YouTube site.

Media coverage is often politically motivated or influenced by powerful people like Rupert Murdock. This article by Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is no exception. As a columnist for Bloomberg News, Hasset makes the case that current coverage of economic data pointing to recession favors Obama’s bid for the presidency. On the other hand, many argue that economic measurements favor corporations and the wealthy at a time when the majority of individuals and small businesses struggle disproportionately.

Responses to what we believe about the present and future state of the economy can be colorful and highly subjective. Paranoid? Then our economic system is manipulated by a powerful banking system, multi-national corporations and foreign governments. Believe the end of time is coming? Read the book of Revelations to find clues about how the digital economy may be a tool of the antichrist (think of the number 666 in a digital chip embedded on your forehead). Depressed? No one is in control and we’re all doomed.

Pick your poison I suppose.

Mark and Jeremy and I attended Congregation Or Ahavah’s dedication ceremony today at the Jewish Community Center in memory of Rabbi Theodore Brod and in honor of Freda Brod. The dedication gave us the chance to do the last of the 613 mitzvoth, to write a Sefer Torah. We lined up to inscribe a letter on the Torah scroll and afterward JCC Director Cathy Gardner wrote in calligraphy our names on a lovely certificate commemorating the occasion.

Rabbi and Freda Brod’s Children and Grandchildren Bring in the Torah:

It was a pleasure to hear Eldra Solomon, Rabbi and Freda’s daughter, talk about the Brod legacy and of their efforts over many years to build the Tampa Jewish community. Rabbi performed my conversion almost 20 years ago and then married Mark and I thirteen years ago. We attended many of the renown Brod Passover Seders and Yom Kipper break-the-fast gatherings.

The Brod’s were generous in opening their doors to anyone who wanted to belong to the Jewish community. He will be remembered for all his hard work as will Freda. Particularly Freda is beloved for her kind and loving ways. She is a friend to the good and to the friendless alike - fulfilling the calling of a Rabbi’s wife where no one is excluded from her beneficence. She is a treasure who is much loved and appreciated by all.

So many articles and talk about parenting are at best silly claptrap and at worst, self-serving rambles by people convinced of their superior knowledge and skills. This one has a child in law school, that one in a prestigious prep school. We must endure with good grace their golden droppings as they strut and fluff atop a nest feathered by their children’s accomplishments. It’s tiresome to be in the company of such a person who never tires of the smell of their proven theories.

The good news is the world is filled with the wise and the foolish. I happened to be leafing through Natural Awakenings, a free health magazine published locally and found one of the most helpful articles on parenting by Thomas Moore I’ve read recently. In college I enjoyed reading his book Care of the Soul (not to be confused with Thomas Merton’s Seeds of Contemplation).

Moore writes personally, sharing a story about when his daughter is diagnosed with an autoimmune illness. He connects spirituality with parenting and the ways it can, for those who are alert, remove false virtue and increase faith. I particularly share his idea of the end goal: to help a child become a thoughtful, engaged adult. For me and my parenting partner it’s a goal worthy of the effort.