Maybe I’m daft. I just think the gentle humor of the old Rocky and His Friends cartoons would work in short, funny novels for kids. Or maybe make them two parts, with a Fractured Fairy Tale or Mr. Peabody story in-between. Not talking comic books or graphic novels, though illustrations are always nice. Looking for a Read More …
Here’s how my son, Alex, became the Invisible Man one Halloween. Suspended a hat in midair on top of two black coathanger wires. The wires were attached to a setup he wore on his head. A skinny piece of wood ran across that to simulate shoulders. That in turn held up a sweater with big enough holes to Read More …
Ever use that algebra and calculus you learned in high school? Most people don’t, I’ll bet. But every day we make decisions or encounter information involving odds and numerical evidence. Play poker? Buy a lottery ticket? Decide to fly or drive? Read a story about how married people live longer? Or how a drug cuts the risk of a rare Read More …
This would be a popular product. Sure, people license cartoon characters for T-shirts and games and underwear. Fun stuff. But aren’t laughs even more needed during disgusting chores, like changing a catbox? Look forward to this every week at my house! Anyway, people love Garfield, people love cats, people love jokes, so market some catbox Read More …
I have a dream. I go to schools, conduct creativity workshops. Help kids learn to invent. As individuals, or as a group, they keep all the rights. And hopes. Wouldn’t it be great, as part of this dream, if poor kids could get patents for free? America’s slipping, some say. People worry about future generations, Read More …
Gotta love Peeps, those marshmallow chicks and bunnies from Just Born. Assorted permutations appear for various holidays: ghosts, pumpkins, hearts, snowmen and Christmas trees. But departing from the holiday idea, how about this: Hot chocolate duckies! Instead of regular marshmallows, you float cute little creatures. Ducks are archetypal floaters, but swans and whales and octopi Read More …
Elementary schools don’t really teach science, which is a system of thinking, not a set of facts. Suppose, for example, in kindergarten, a running endeavor is to list observations about water: It’s wet. It’s sticky. It freezes. It flows. Ice floats. Snow has little crystals. Steam is hot. It forms drops. It splashes. Fog is Read More …
Saw another case where a baby supposedly died from being shaken. Maybe it would save lives to do public-service ads on TV and radio stating what seems so obvious: Hey, never shake a baby, because you could kill it. But the obvious often fails to register. Witness Britney Spears driving with her baby in her Read More …