everybody loves dragons

i'm in my 3rd week of a weekly arts program working with 6-8 year olds. last night we built Chinese dragons out of egg cartons and fur and materials. the project was a hit with the kids. at the end each child got a chance to present their dragon to the group and ask questions to each other. it was at this point that some of them got a bit competitive in boasting their individual dragon's attributes.

i've culled some of the more informative dragon facts from the group here:

1) Most dragons eat people. (other diets includes bears and dogs.)
2.) Dragons vary in age range from 4 to 2000 years old to infinity (that's pretty much an ace in the age boasting).
3.) All dragons will bite you unless you know them.
4.) Use caution when touching dragons as the following circumstances may occur:
- if you touch a dragon 3 times it will shoot acid at you
- if you touch a dragon 4 times lava will fly out of its mouth
- if you touch a dragon 5 times you will die

after the presentation we put the dragons on our heads and ran about the room. naturally.

sometimes the hype is right

i visited The Gates at Central Park this weekend. it was pretty darn impressive. the funny thing is that it seems more people outside of new york were excited about it. new yorkers are cautious. and it definitely didn't read on paper. you just have to be there in person to really understand it's visual impact on the environment.

i entered a neigborhood cafe this morning and ordered a chai latte. i promptly dropped my change in the tip cup on the counter. only then did i realize i had tossed the coins not in the tip jar but in the counterperson's cup of coffee. we all smiled.

rejuvinatin'

we've had a remarkably warm, spring-like weekend and the sunshine has done me good. the problem is, i've detected another crop of gingko berries on the ground. gingko trees, indigenous to Japan and a few other Asian countries are often planted in cities because they are super-resistant to insects. the problem is if you get a female tree, you get berries and these berries stink big time. it's not a pleasant odor and the wafting of a smattering of crushed berries is enough to turn one's stomach. ah, but there is often a story in everything and i'm already envisioning the afterschool special teaching tolerance to children everywhere: