A Dude Family Christmas: 2013

3 kids. 1 dog. Countless presents. 1 car.

11 hours up. 13 hours back. 7 days of family holiday chaos.

6 adults. 7 kids (under 10). 1 roof.

Christmas Eve with the Dude’s 97 (yes, 97!) year old Grandfather…and 33 of our closest relatives.

QT with family unseen for years.

Perhaps a tense family moment or two. (No holiday would be complete without them.)

A trip to the local casino for a photo opp next to the fake Christmas tree, indoor waterfall, AND escalator.

A couple Santa sightings.

Homemade Christmas tree ornaments.

Many battle royals.

And Christmas Day full of holiday magic…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmuWgpK3rMA[/youtube]

Safe to say The Dudes enjoyed a pretty rad holiday. Hope y’all did as well.

See you on the other side of 2013.

PS – End of Year lists are all the rage. Here’s a few tasty nuggets…

  1. Best of Art of Manlieness 2013
  2. Best of Brain Pickings 2013
  3. 13 Best Books of 2013 (Brain Pickings)

Enjoy the Festivus: Hallelujia, Holy !#$@, Where’s the Tylenol?!

December already?! How does time move so quickly?

Tomorrow afternoon, the Dudes ship off on a two-day, 10 hour Cannonball Run up the Eastern Seaboard to enjoy an extended family holiday. Festivus at its best!

Ever felt like this during the holidays?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNFXk0GFiHc[/youtube]

Before our journey begins, a little holiday assistance from me to you…

1. Holidays = Meditation? | A great read from Zen Habits: Family Gatherings – The Ultimate Mindfulness Training Ground. My personal fav…

Let go of control. Stress often comes because we want to control how things go. Of course, we don’t really have control — we just think we do, or want to have control. Practice letting go and letting things happen. Practice not resisting what happens. Practice being happy no matter what happens.

2. Yule Log 2.0: If you don’t have a blazin’ fire to keep you toasty, let Yule Log 2.0 give you all the ambiance you need. Choose your fav, switch to full-screen, and let the magic happen.

 3. A traditionalist? | Let Netflix take care of your fake fire needs…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Vuwop3MGA[/youtube]

Last, but certainly not least, Festivus for the Rest of Us!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS7-jcsB_WQ[/youtube]

The Dude Goes All Griswold on Your Arse!

Happy December! Festivus is officially underway. And the Dude is kicking it off right with some sweet holiday lights.

I’m not much of a holiday person. I don’t need a random day to give me reason to get in a good mood and share cheer. We should be doing that every day. We shouldn’t need a special day to remind us to say “I love you.” Do it every day. And the gift giving! Oh, the gift giving! For real, stop finding reasons to buy more stuff we don’t need.

Let’s be nice to each other, remember to say “I love you,” and share some surprises all year long. Don’t store up all of life’s sweetness for a few random days.

Ba Humbug!

Ok, I’m a bit softer than that…but not by much. (Here’s a look at the Dude’s softer side from Christmas 2010.)

I LOVE holidays because they get families to slow down and spend time together. I don’t really like the contrived jolly fella that encourages materialism, but I love that kids are using their imaginations – don’t get me started about that damn bunny…or worse, the ELF! I don’t like feeling the societal pressure to spend money, but I do enjoy giving, and it’s nice to open a special gift.

As with most things in life, my guess is moderation is key. Let’s not get too hyped about the holidays, but let’s enjoy every last drop of loving family moments and burst of energy from the little ones. Life is sweet, and now’s as good a time as any to recognize.

So, to celebrate, the Dude has lit up the Dude Casa like Clark W. Griswold.

Ok, not even close to Clark. However, compared to last year, I’m definitely in Griswold territory.

Last year, I tried to quiet the holiday chirping around the house with a sweet string of lights on our outdoor staircase. Yes, 1 string of lights. I had them laying around the house, so I used them. It was pretty sad. Very Charlie Brown’esq. Needless to say, the chirping got louder.

Since I’m generally the ba humbug dude, I had no plans to hang more. I already struck out. Did I not prove my limited holiday lighting capability?!

But the Dude’s plans changed when 1,000 lights landed in my lap…on the same day. Conspiracy? Or just some fun loving folks spreading holiday cheer?

My guess is the latter, but I’ll play out both scenarios for you…

For the conspiracy buffs:

Mrs. Dude: Rex, Dude’s holiday lights are totally bogus! (Yes, Mrs. Dude talks like a 1980’s valley girl in my mind.)

Rex (Mrs. Dude’s Dad, & the landlord, & the mechanic – a man the Dude should listen to :)): I hear ya Mrs. Dude. Let’s make sure he gets it right this year. We’ll both give him lights to make sure he knows Charlie-Brown-style holiday light displays are not accepted in this family. Arrgghhh! (Pirate noises always sound evil.)

Mrs. Dude: My thoughts exactly! Mu ha ha ha ha!!!!!! (that’s an evil laugh :))

How it actually happened:

Mrs. Dude to herself: Same as above.

Rex to himself: Whoa, I bought way too many lights. I don’t want to hang all these. I’ll give some to the Dude.

So, I ended up with 1,000 little lights that needed a home. And I needed to rectify the wrong from last year’s lame lighting.

I used every bulb and even added two extra strings, a Red Flyer wagon, three poinsettias, and a wreath!

Let the holidays begin!

Drum-roll please….

Lookin' Good Griswold

Lookin’ Good Griswold

The Festivus Wagon

The Festivus Wagon

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ar-__ub0rc[/youtube]

Dude’s News: What’s Up 2012?!

Little Dude - Not a Fan of Santa

Little Dude - Not a Fan of Santa

Happy New Year! So, here we are, 2012. Lots o’ hoopla these days; world’s gonna end, the Mayans said so, yadda, yadda, yadda.

After 15 whole days, I’d have to say, that it seems like more of the same. Which, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, there’s a wide array of world characteristics that could/should be improved, but overall, life is pretty groovy. Sure as shit could be a lot worse.

So, rather than looking at the “is the world gonna end perspective,” the Dude is going to spend 2012 focused on why life is rockin’…and doin’ my best to keep it that way.

I always say that I don’t do “resolutions,” but was that a resolution?

Nah, just a glass half full perspective that I try to maintain. So, keep your resolutions. 🙂

It’s been about a month since the last edition of Dude’s News, so hold onto your hats, we have catching up to do. Actually, it’s A LOT for one post, but it’s all sooo cool.

I really need to post more often. Another resolution?!…damn you resolutions!

Local News
6 children + 7 adults + three cars + 12 hours = ridonculous travel arrangements. Holy moly!

It was an awesome trip, but wow, what a blur. There is no good way to travel, but even more so with that many people/children over hundreds of miles. Just a matter of grinning and baring it.

It’s been too long since we’ve been able to spend Christmas with the Dude’s extended family. It was fantastic to be with my Grandfather and join in all the reindeer  games; Santa and Mrs. Claus, 30+ people, singing around the tree, living room stuffed with loved ones and gifts, a Yankee swap, lots of tasty food, football (extra bonus considering the Dude’s are still t.v.’less.), an overall fabulous time.

The downfall of taking so long to update DKB is that I lose the grasp on small details and clever story lines, but overall, there were no major fireworks. Traveling is never fun, but everyone was well behaved, and we all had a great time.

However, since I’m definitely underselling the chaos, here’s a quick video of some of the festivities with the kiddos.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qd0GSwNC6A[/youtube]

While we’re on the subject of local news, check out this 14 month old baby using sign language with her mom. Both deaf, they carry on quite an extensive conversation.

Little Dude is putting some words together, but it’s clear that he has so much more he wants/needs to say…hence the screaming when he can’t convey his message. This video helps me understand how much must actually be going on in that fabulous little head of his. (Thanks Kid Should See This.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Z2lzS764&context=C364dcd7ADOEgsToPDskKerngtSGaJDmFa63e-RujQ[/youtube]

Happy New Year
Check out Woody Guthrie’s list of New Year resolutions from 1942. Woody was 30 years young when he wrote this. The sweet spot; young enough to maintain his ideals but wise enough to be dangerous.

Woody Guthrie New Year Resolutions

Woody Guthrie New Year Resolutions

1. Work more and better
2. Work by a schedule
3. Wash teeth if any
4. Shave
5. Take bath
6. Eat good — fruit — vegetables — milk
7. Drink very scant if any
8. Write a song a day
9. Wear clean clothes — look good
10. Shine shoes
11. Change socks
12. Change bed cloths often
13. Read lots good books
14. Listen to radio a lot
15. Learn people better
16. Keep rancho clean
17. Dont get lonesome
18. Stay glad
19. Keep hoping machine running
20. Dream good
21. Bank all extra money
22. Save dough
23. Have company but dont waste time
24. Send Mary and kids money
25. Play and sing good
26. Dance better
27. Help win war — beat fascism
28. Love mama
29. Love papa
30. Love Pete
31. Love everybody
32. Make up your mind
33. Wake up and fight

This ditty from Woody is perfect for the kiddos…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUDtFdnn9oQ[/youtube]

Let’s stick with the New Year subject to share a quick list: 12 Simple Steps for Going Green in 2012

It’s a decent list. I’m not sure I agree with all of them, but the Dude Family is happy to say we are trying to practice most.

1.  Recycle
2. Turn off the lights
3. Make the light bulb switch
4. Turn on the tap water
5. Turn down the heat
6. Support food recovery programs
7. Buy local
8. Get out and ride a bike
9. Share a car
10. Plant a garden
11. Compost
12. Reduce your meat consumption

Technology
A camera that is fast enough to capture light moving. Go get ’em MIT. It’s sort of a complex explanation, but pretty cool. (Thanks Kottke.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk&feature=plcp&context=C32a9c62UDOEgsToPDskLORj8HPPm_p9RnBgiIPFDX[/youtube]

Space

  • Announced this week. The most advanced map of the “dark matter” that makes up 3/4th’s (that’s almost all!) of our Universe. Another great reminder of how small we are.
  • Here are 24 beautiful reminders of the teeny tiny size. Top 24 Deep Space Pictures of 2011.
  • In the last edition of Dude’s News, I mentioned the discovery of the largest black holes to date. Now we have some black hole news closer to home. The black hole at the center of the Milkyway Galaxy – our galaxy – (which is 27,000 light years from Earth!) is going to eat a giant dust cloud over the next decade. This is the first time scientists will have a front row seat of a black hole feeding…feeding! (at least that’s what we think).

Kids Shows

  • Since we’re still talking about the holidays, here’s a quick reminder about the joy of giving from the Dude and Little Dude’s fav show; Yo Gabba Gabba. (Thanks The Kid Should See This.)[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/33952163[/vimeo]
  • We’ve also been digging some Sesame Street lately, and Little Dude has become a die hard fan of Elmo – What does that little red dude have over kids? However, I’ve yet to see the “Hold On, Elmo’s Texting” Elmo. (Thanks Questionable Skills.)
Elmo - Hold on, Elmo's Texting

Elmo - Hold on, Elmo's Texting

Middle Childhood Rocks
Who even knew there was a “middle childhood,” but after reading this New York Times article, I have to say, MCH (I made that up) rocks.

“It is a time of great cognitive creativity and ambition, when the brain has pretty much reached its adult size and can focus on threading together its private intranet service—on forging, organizing, amplifying and annotating the tens of billions of synaptic connections that allow brain cells and brain domains to communicate,” states the NYT. Or as one anthropologist puts it, “Kids can do something now.” 

It’s so true. The Princess is 6 1/2, and this stage of development is fun to watch. She’s not a little kid anymore. The dots of life are being connected, and she’s becoming more confident and adventurous.

MCH…very cool.

Nature
As I’ve professed many times, the Dude loves the ocean. Here’s an awesome cover story in Outside magazine about a marine biologist that is training himself in neuroscience in an effort to demonstrate that the ocean physically makes us happier people.

Could there be a more worthwhile mission?

I’m sure this principle applies to all of nature…although the ocean does seem to have very unique effects.

Intense
This is the tearjerker section. Grab a couple tissues and sit down for two awesome videos.

Both of these videos tell their own story, so I won’t set them up, but I can say I felt better – in some way – after watching both of them.

Life is intense. But, intensity = growth.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw5HLT-TyRs[/youtube]

 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BACnPBdsH20&feature=related[/youtube]

History
Over the past two editions of Dude’s News I’ve mentioned some interesting new findings in history, and here’s another one.

How is that we are so off in our history? I guess we are way off in a lot of things – health, economics, education. This is a crazy society.

So, this history lesson is that there is now evidence that Neanderthals 44,000 years ago were constructing buildings out of mammoth bones that were at least 26 feet across.

Our history education of 44,000 years ago is soooo not that. Perhaps they weren’t mere “cavemen.”

The collective “we” should stop passing on poor guesses as facts – across all aspects of society. And the collective “we” should all be more pissed about the fact that this is happening – again, across all aspects of society.

Art
Check out this awesome artist from England, Rob Ryan. His paper cutting skills are sick.

The Dude strongly dislikes a mess. And the Princess loves to cut up some paper. As you can imagine, this creates some paper cutting vs. clean floors tension. But after watching this awesomeness, I’m reconsidering how important paper cutting skills are. Princess, cut on.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/30265328[/vimeo]

Do you remember Bob Ross? No?! The dude from the 70’s with the huge afro that painted amazing landscapes – including lots of “happy trees” –  in about 15 minutes on PBS. The Dude killed many afternoons after school mesmerized by Bob. He must have painted so many pictures for his show, but I looked on ebay to buy one, and they are hundreds of dollars…if you can even find them. I guess I wasn’t the only one who dug his magical artistic talents. Here’s a peek at Bob doing his thing…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRa5VhrbSLY&list=UUuXEB99IdPg_vSZKoVhNRVw&index=7&feature=plcp[/youtube]

Now check out this street artist. He might just be better than Bob…and that kills me to say. 🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGJCBGhyO7o&list=UUwAbrDxPOvgOCIgZ6jvaLKQ&index=3&feature=plcp[/youtube]

Extreme
In past posts/Dude’s News, I’ve shared some pretty rad videos of…I guess you’d call them sports…maybe extreme sports. I’m not really sure. The world is pretty cool today with all of the cross-over from one genre to the next…music, art, fashion, sports, etc. It’s hard to keep track of the stew that makes people who they are these days.

I’ve shared some street skiing and mountain biking that is not on a mountain, and now I’d like to introduce you to Scott Stevens, a snowboarder that seems to draw on a lot of skateboarding…and also is not on a mountain. Creativity is awesome! And he hails from the Dude’s home state…stand up MA! Enjoy. (Thanks Kottke)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQMUIUkw0I&feature=plcp&context=C387c529UDOEgsToPDskKMqA2T82VqkMrRmwnC8DNR[/youtube]

Surf Break
Check out this amazing photo – Surfer Magazines’ photo of the year. I’ll admit, the Dude is a sucker for anything surf, but come on, does it get any better than this? A perfect wave at the end of a perfect rainbow…my kind of pot o’ gold.

Surfer - Photo of the Year

Surfer - Photo of the Year

2012 & Beyond
Here’s to an amazing 2012. Let curiosity be our guide.

From Skillshare, a fab group of peeps who are out to revolutionize the paradigms of learning, comes this beautiful manifesto for the transformative power of curiosity. (Thanks Brain Pickings.)

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/34853044[/vimeo]

Hap, Happ, Happiest Christmas


Hap, Happ, Happiest

Hap, Happ, Happiest

Seems like most aspects of life move in some sort of cyclical pattern.  For example, we arrive in diapers, and most of us will exit in diapers.

Christmas is no exception.  As a kid, Christmas is a pretty special time.  I’m sure a lot of that has to do with getting “things” we want,  but for the most part, the excitement is just the joy of the experience.  Weeks on end of Christmas specials, holiday cookies, talk of Santa, time off from school, plans to be with family.  It’s a time when the world seems to slow, and kids are at the center of the excitement.

At some point, life grinds you down, and eventually some of the Christmas magic wears off.  Bachelor Dude often questioned the jolly holiday.  A large dose of religious dogma mixed with an extreme helping of consumerism seems like a dangerous recipe.  But kids make those questions seem irrelevant.

Nothing warms the heart of a parent like seeing their children filled with happiness, and Christmas makes that joy burst out of their little bodies.  Parenting is the bridge that brings that Christmas joy back to adults…at least for the Dude it is.

I have to hand it to the Moms of the world though.  I’m going to go out on a limb and stereotype a bit here.  I’m sure there are a lot of Dads who can fill this roll as well, but from the Dude’s experience, Moms hold Christmas together…and they love every second of it.

Mrs. Dude has been planning and budgeting for months, and it still takes a last minute sprint to finish all of the odds and ends.  Odds and ends, mind you, that no Dads the Dude knows could understand and/or execute.

The shopping alone would knock 90% of the Dads out, but then there’s wrapping…oh the wrapping!  It never ends.  But Moms are totally awesome wrappers…as if it’s in their gene’s…the wrapping gene.  Bows, and ribbons, and wrapping paper that fits the person.  Dudes buy one roll, try to wrap the first gift, give up half way through and put all the presents in bags with tissue paper piled on top…done.

But for Moms, it goes way beyond just shopping and wrapping…especially when it comes to the big fat guy in the red suit.  Based on the stories the Lady in the shoe is sharing about my oldest nephew, we are realizing this could be the last year that the Princess whole-heartedly, unquestionably, without a doubt believes in Santa.  The news spreads quickly with those kids at school, and kids aren’t dumb.

Creepy Elf

Creepy Elf

So Mrs. Dude went all out.  We wrote a letter to Santa, The Princess saw Santa at least three times, we got an email video from Santa, we tracked Santa as he flew, we even allowed the creepy Elf on a Shelf to stare creepily at us from random spots in the living room for the last three weeks (I don’t care what anyone says, that Elf is super creepy.).

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells

But the icing on the cake was the Santa display Mrs. Dude crafted on Christmas Eve.  Stockings hung by the chimney with care, a plate of cookies and carrots that the Dude had to eat, and the coup de grace, the fireplace door cracked slightly with a “jingle bell” strategically placed as if Santa dropped it during a quick exit, and glitter on the hearth!  Did you know Santa left a trail of glitter?!  Me neither.  But he does, and it’s awesome.

Santa's Trail O' Glitter

Santa's Trail O' Glitter

And The Princess ate up every bit of it.  She was so happy, and the happiness is so genuine that she makes everyone around her happy.  That’s the power of kids at Christmas, and I’ll trade that happiness for the pragmatic questions any day.

As a result, and despite brief occurrences of the Dude’s bah-humbugness, we had a great Christmas.  We had quality time with our extended family (arguably the true meaning of Christmas), ate great food, relaxed, played with new toys, the Dude was able to get a Christmas Day surf session, and to close out the holiday season, we enjoyed one of the best Christmas traditions of all, an annual viewing of Christmas Vacation.

In the immortal words of Clark W. Griswold, from the Dude Family to your’s, we hope you had “the hap, happ, happiest Christmas…”

PS – I’m sure you will all be excited to know that Santa added a cheetah to Little Dude’s zoo!

Welcome to the Zoo

Welcome to the Zoo

Pixels: You Don’t Scare Me

Santa is a rad dude.  He gives kids great reminders about the meaning of Christmas.  Sure there’s some bribery involved, but the message is clear; be a good person and life will reward you.  Santa also offers kids a great opportunity to enlist their imagination, a tool that improves with practice.

Overall, Santa gets a big Dude thumbs up, but Santa can also be pretty intimidating.  A large dude with a deep voice, giant beard, and bright red outfit.  That’s a lot to take in for little ones.

I can certainly understand some apprehensiveness, but judging by this picture, it’s safe say Little Dude feels pretty comfortable in the giant gift-giver’s paws.

You Don't Scare Me

You Don't Scare Me

* Dude’s Note:  The Daily Pixels have been a bit less than daily, so we’ll switch to “Pixels” until we can live up to the “Daily” moniker.