
<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8430178193_19890b8c66_t.jpg" alt="Dress by Abuela (crop)" class="post-thumb"/>The biggest offspring event this month was Kings Day, the day the traditional Three Wise Men break into the homes of Spanish children and leave presents. This Christmas was the first one where Nora really got into the spirit of anticipation and consumerist lust. The item she most wanted was a _maletí­n de médico_, a doctor's bag. Even after multiple interrogation sessions, I've still been unable to find out where she got that idea from. Luckily I was able to find one in the local toy store.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8389821013_427a12f8c6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Seeing Wise Men">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8389821013_6e3faa5010.jpg" alt="Seeing Wise Men"/>
</a>

Seeing the kings on the town hall balcony before their parade around town. Before the parade ended, we went to a big tent to begin standing in line for well over an hour to meet one of them. I realized how convenient it is to have three gift givers, instead of just a single Santa, because the line of children can be consumed in parallel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8389823477_a5e5a086d5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Seeing Wise Men">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8389823477_c9c176c76c.jpg" alt="Seeing Wise Men"/>
</a>

When it was time to meet the king – Nora had been hoping to meet Balthazar, the black one – we went up on stage, and Nora actually sat on his lap, although she was holding onto me _very_ tightly as well. She managed to get out that she wanted a doctor's bag and a computer (this was news to me). He then gave a little bag of candy to the both of us and we went on our way. I was glad to see Balthazar played by an actual african, and not a white Spaniard in blackface, as is so disturbingly often the custom.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8353314896_00b584daa6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The Kings Came!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8353314896_3bbe83df99.jpg" alt="The Kings Came!"/>
</a>

When she got up on Kings Day and saw that the wise men had left presents by everyone's shoes the night before, she was beside herself. A lot of her presents were desperately needed clothing, which she set aside as quickly as any child.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8352254617_eb2633cf00_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Roscon de Reyes and medical procedure">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8352254617_8b97c78069.jpg" alt="Roscon de Reyes and medical procedure"/>
</a>

The traditional [kings cake](/2008/01/06/roscon-de-reyes/) in the foreground, and an important medical examination in the background.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8353317814_eabc7ea5f2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Patty is sick">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8353317814_416e716f7a.jpg" alt="Patty is sick"/>
</a>

Ever since Nora got the doctor's bag, her doll, Patty, has been _chronically_ ill. Her medical history usually includes having eaten "too much _tortilla_".

Although it has rained for nearly 20 hours in every day of January, we have had a few occasions to try out Nora's bicycle that she got for Christmas.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8421667332_14192bb3e2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Biking in Colindres">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8421667332_2f121b14ff.jpg" alt="Biking in Colindres"/>
</a>

She complains quite a bit that she wants someone to push her, but usually I can coax her into motion verbally. Sometimes, however, due to the configuration of the training wheels, she gets the back wheel caught in a dip on the pavement so it just spins in thin air. I'm going to have to raise the training wheels a little bit. That should aid in her learning to balance as well.

### Urinary Regression

I don't know if it's the stress of the holiday or of her impending sisterhood, but Nora has experienced quite a disappointing regression in potty training. She had one week where I think she wet herself ten times. Usually it's just a matter of being too occupied with whatever she's doing to notice Nature's call. She understands that it's not good, and she really doesn't like waiting in wet pants while new ones are fetched, so I'm not really sure what else to do besides wait for her to gain more control.

At school, they are getting prepared for Carnival. Unfortunately, I will be out of town for this year's annual [children-in-the-streets Carnival parade](/2012/02/17/carnival-2012-in-colindres-snow-white/). Nora and her classmates will be dressed up as clowns. All this week they are having more workshops, like [they had for Christmas](/2012/12/17/christmas-workshops-at-school/), to make clown paraphernalia. She seems pretty excited about it, which makes me happy.

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8430153557_3d27a5e05f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Dress by Abuela">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-january-2013/8430153557_459168e157_c.jpg" alt="Dress by Abuela"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - January 2013


[![Pelele, Goya](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-29-pelele-spanish-impotency-effigy/200px-Goya.pelele.prado.detail.jpg)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/El_Pelele_(Goya))My three-year-old daughter has been instructed by her teacher to bring in some old clothes that no longer fit for the _Pelele_ celebration. According to [this Spanish Wikipedia article](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelele_(mu%C3%B1eco)), the _Pelele_ is a rag doll or straw puppet that is thrown high up into the air by a group of women during the Carnival (Mardi Gras) celebrations in Madrid, while they sing about beating him to death. The doll is later burned. Ritual burnings are common in Europe around the solstices, as an ancient pagan symbol of rebirth. The symbolism of burning your old clothes is pretty straightforwardly similar, however, I suspect that the use of old clothes is more about getting straw into a humanoid shape. The real reason for the doll becomes apparent upon listening to the lyrics of the song.  ![Pelele, Goya](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-29-pelele-spanish-impotency-effigy/276px-Goya.pelele.prado.jpg)

El pelele está malo, ¿qué le daremos? Una zurra de palos, ¡qué le matemos!

El pobre pelele, el empelelao. Se tienta lo suyo, lo tiene arrugao. Le da con el dedo, lo quiere bullir. El pobre pelele se quiere morir.

El pelele está malo, ¿qué le daremos? Agua de caracoles, se pondrá bueno.

In English, thats...

The doll is sick. What should we give him? A beating with sticks. Let's kill him!

The poor doll, the hairy one. He tempts his thing, but it is wrinkly. He touches it with his finger; he wants it to budge. The poor doll wants to die.

The doll is sick. What should we give him? Snail water, he'll get well.

Perhaps the experience is quite fun and cathartic for young women to beat up on a symbolic effigy of erectile dysfunction? For the men, on the other hand, equating impotency with suicidal and homicidal thoughts probably doesn't add _any_ pressure in the bedroom whatsoever! Although perhaps it's just an elaborate way to remember that snail water cures impotency?

<iframe width="505" height="379" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WlfWvi5YDzw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I leave you with my daughter's take on the whole custom, which she repeated nonstop as we searched for some old pink clothes her brother won't possibly need:

"_Quemar_ old clothes? I don't know what could be the _explicación_!"


Pelele - Spanish Impotency Effigy


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424434320_d43a65c2d7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424434320_67bc501f94_t.jpg" alt="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party"/>
</a>

I don't think I've ever had lipstick on my lips that I didn't acquire through a kiss… until yesterday. I think it was also the first time I've had my fingernails painted. Twenty-four hours later, they still look _fabulous_. The weather was cold and rainy, as it has been for pretty much all of 2013 so far, and it occurred to my testosteronally-challenged housemates that getting all dolled up before bedtime might be a fun thing to do. Something tells me that my son is going to experience lipstick, eyeshadow, rouge and fingernail polish long before his first birthday, courtesy of his extremely feminine big sister.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424421964_aa0a370ca5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424421964_d04ef5d41e.jpg" alt="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party"/>
</a>

Showing off fingernails or flashing a gang sign?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424426746_cc2f91d672_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424426746_052392d789.jpg" alt="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party"/>
</a>

Lipstick and some sort of eye highlighter.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424434320_d43a65c2d7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-28-rainy-sunday-make-up-party/8424434320_67bc501f94.jpg" alt="Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party"/>
</a>

Classy!

All in all, it was pretty good fun…

…although I don't think we're ever going to get all the glitter out of the carpet.


Rainy Sunday Make-Up Party


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-24-tick-tick-tock-tock/8411466407_aa0b9f76fd_t.jpg" alt="Tick Tick Tock Tock thumbnail" class="post-thumb"/>Recently, my watch broke. Well, kind of. I've never seen a watch break like this. Rather than the second hand moving 6Â° every second, every _two_ seconds, it goes tick-tick and moves 12Â°, thus keeping perfect time. While on another errand to the local jeweler to see if they could fix my mother-in-law's earring, I casually showed it to the jeweler to see if she'd ever seen something like this. She explained, not very clearly (to me), that often watches have an auxiliary battery or chip or something that ticks every two seconds, and that when the battery runs low, it switches over to the two-second ticking.  

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HrTZ6b12hpQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Personally, I like the behavior. In fact, all other things being equal between two watches, I think I would actively choose to buy the one that does tick-tick every two seconds. If my local jeweler is correct, eventually it will stop completely, and then I'll seek help, but until then… Cool!


Tick Tick Tock Tock


[![Pencil portrait, not yet finished..](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-23-lance-armstrong-and-the-psychology-of-cheating/5301229017_cafae72c80_t.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/48846810@N03/5301229017/ "Pencil portrait, not yet finished.. by Andreadm66, on Flickr")As I've mentioned [before](/2010/06/07/publishing/), I'm rather fascinated with the psychology behind decision-making. Both Dan Ariely and Jonah Lehrer are leading experts in the field, at least experts in writing best-selling popular psychology books about it. Ariely has recently moved into [the study](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062183591/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0062183591&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20) of lying cheating, and Lehrer moved into [the _practice_](http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/08/jonah_lehrer_plagiarism_in_wired_com_an_investigation_into_plagiarism_quotes_and_factual_inaccuracies_.html) of lying and cheating, getting caught for plagiarizing, if you can call it that, his own previous work and falsifying quotes from Bob Dylan to help support his conclusions.  The biggest cheating scandal in the news at the moment is that of Lance Armstrong, winner of seven consecutive _Tour de France_ titles, who recently admitted, after many years of denial, that he did, in fact use prohibited performance enhancing drugs to win those titles.

Here is Dan Ariely discussing the issue.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cif1UMcBdgk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

According to this leading psychological expert in decision making and cheating, Lance Armstrong faced a bit of a perfect storm for cheating. Every step along the path was very easy to make and seemed quite reasonable at the time, given his good intent.

[![lance-armstrong-library-fiction](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-23-lance-armstrong-and-the-psychology-of-cheating/8408820590_81ba66b468_n.jpg)](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8408820590_d20b14f149_o.jpg)It's really very easy, as a politician, to accept a little bad money because it enables you to accomplish your virtuous goals. And study after study show that adding additional layers, such as repackaging subprime mortgages or piloting a drone from the other side of the planet makes stealing and killing potential innocents, acts that 99.99999% of us would find morally abhorrent if we had to perform them to someone's face, much easier to do with a clear conscience.

Personally, I believe that the psychology research on cheating, like that done by Dan Ariely, is our best shot at reducing immoral practices, not only in sports and academia, but also in politics and the banking system, where it can really cause serious harm. While it can't be proven, I suspect that many – perhaps most – of us would've made the same decisions Armstrong did at almost every step (pedal?) of the way, including the efforts to lie about it for years, down the dark path that has led to his international disgrace. I admit it; my gut reaction upon hearing his confession was to spit in his face and colorful[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0062183591&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062183591/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0062183591&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)ly dress him down with words best spoken by Joe Pesci or Samuel L. Jackson… However, we must remind ourselves that it's very easy to condemn someone who cheated in a high pressure situation when you've never been in that situation.

Ariely is exactly right that ganging up to condemn the the person is the wrong move; we need to _fix the system_ that provides such temptation and acceptance of cheating. He discusses possible strategies in [his book](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062183591/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0062183591&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20).


Lance Armstrong and the Psychology of Cheating


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391062167_6a06a23a66_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Brussels Cathedral">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391062167_1009bd6b72_t.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral"/>
</a>

I hate it when I do this. Sometimes I take a bunch of photos in a day, but then I set aside some of them, [like of an iconic bridge](/2011/03/02/golden-gate-at-golden-hour/), for later for their own blog post, but then I get so exhausted of blogging about the whole trip that the group of photos gets overlooked for months.

When I was [walking around Brussels](/2012/10/15/walking-around-brussels/) on October 10, 2012, I stopped by the cathedral and took [a couple dozen photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/sets/72157632552190046/), which I left out of my original post to save for later. I just now rediscovered them. Below are some of my favorites. In case you were wondering, atheists love cathedrals. Every single atheist I know agrees. Cathedrals are _amazing_. The sense of awe and beauty they are designed to inspire is not lost on us. We feel the _wow_ sensation and appreciate it. When in the mindset of a photographer, looking for beauty around every corner, that _wow_ sensation is enhanced. I also appreciate the sense of vital transience and temporal connectedness of being in a building that was built almost a thousand years ago; contemplating how many individuals have walked those steps over the centuries.

On the other hand, when you live in Europe, you need to consume cathedrals in small doses, because once you've seen one, you're really not going to be surprised by any others. But that fateful October day, my appetite for gothic architecture was ripe.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391062167_6a06a23a66_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391062167_1009bd6b72.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral"/>
</a>

The autumn leaves almost make the cathedral reminiscent of the mythological phoenix.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391069149_56fd65c95a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Stained Glass">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391069149_011fc2c693_z.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Stained Glass"/>
</a>

The stained glass art was top notch.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392154496_88367ddfa4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Stained Glass">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392154496_bf9bcd6557.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Stained Glass"/>
</a>

Whoever created this must've been playing too many violent video games.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391070601_e4a599b661_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pious Brussels Cathedral Chairs">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391070601_513df39fbc.jpg" alt="Pious Brussels Cathedral Chairs"/>
</a>

Pious chairs.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392159196_f02f363619_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Floor">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392159196_f78986d740.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Floor"/>
</a>

Clean cathedral floor.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392163270_d74e31bd5c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392163270_03cdc4facd_z.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral"/>
</a>

My initial thought about the hanging of that ginormous painting was "How precarious!", but then it occurred to me that if you're going to hang a painting so high, you might as well angle it down towards the viewing public a bit. Still, I hope those chains hold!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391080553_f142f476c1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391080553_fb0a091ff7.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral"/>
</a>

This wooden sculpture was impressive.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391081193_35df939ff6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Wooden Skull">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391081193_5fb6028466.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Wooden Skull"/>
</a>

I love how you can see the wood grain in this skull. What a skullfil skillful sculptor!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392164554_c6aaff4c9c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Floor Reflection">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392164554_346cf17460.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Floor Reflection"/>
</a>

Stained glass reflections.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391077259_271180ae89_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Organ">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391077259_9c2098fd22_z.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Organ"/>
</a>

Pipe organs are beautiful.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391082863_d8b59b9584_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Chairs">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391082863_7db92d1e01.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Chairs"/>
</a>

Chair tunnel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391066767_d2f5323afe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8391066767_4b98070121.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral"/>
</a>

Templaric!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392168074_c12dc31c95_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Brussels Cathedral Statue">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-18-brussels-cathedral/8392168074_57494e964a.jpg" alt="Brussels Cathedral Statue"/>
</a>

Did you know that bishops can only travel diagonally?

In total I was only in the cathedral for 10 or 15 minutes, but I enjoyed the architecture and the photography subjects very, very much. I'm very glad I went.


Brussels Cathedral


[![Europe, home of Leonardo and Michelangelo, uses stick figures for coin art](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-14-three-year-old-economist/4244171784_4b5741f985_t.jpg)](/2010/01/04/europe-home-of-leonardo-and-michelangelo-uses-stick-figures-for-coin-art/ "Europe, home of Leonardo and Michelangelo, uses stick figures for coin art by erikrasmussen, on Flickr")Today is a Monday, and my three year old daughter told me, "I don't like the days when I have to go to school and you and Mommy have to go to work." Yeah, me neither, sister! Socratically, I inquired, "If we don't go to work, where will we get the money to buy things?" She responded, "From your purse or _cartera_." "And when my wallet is empty?" I pushed on… "From the store," she answered, unphased.  I furrowed my brow. She continued, "Every time you buy something at the store, they give you money!" She is, of course, referring to the curious (to a toddler) fact that often in cash purchases, the number of monetary items given by the buyer is fewer than the number of monetary items of change given back by the cashier. She continued, "So if we need money, we just go to the store and buy something, and then they give us money!"

I would've thought that a child would isolate the ATM as the source of domestic income. It never occurred to me that it would be the change in normal transactions. She does really like to participate in the shopping process by giving some coins from her coin purse and saving the change. Sometimes I forget to include her in the transaction, but the cashier is a good friend and is willing to take one of Nora's coins, a 1€ coin, for example, and give her back two 0.50€ coins.

[![Coin Splash](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-14-three-year-old-economist/3290353374_9af4d8f677.jpg)](/2009/02/18/coin-splashes/ "Coin Splash by erikrasmussen, on Flickr")

The more I learn about macroeconomics and federal deficit spending, the more it seems to make about as much sense as staying home from work and "making" money from daily bread transactions. Perhaps she's onto something here…


Three Year Old Economist


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-11-home-economics-101-how-to-iron/8370899508_ccf8ab0f49_t.jpg" alt="How To Iron - Thumbnail" class="post-thumb"/>I have a very vivid memory from my Developmental Psychology class in college about a study in which a diapered infant was given to adults to babysit for a short time. Half of the babysitters were told that the infant was a boy and half that it was a girl. The half that were told it was a boy went to the toy chest and selected cars and hammers to play with, and the half told it was a girl selected dolls and combs and kitchenware. The experiment did an excellent job of calling into doubt the origin, Nature or Nurture, of our societal gender stereotypes.

When [I learned I would have a daughter](/2008/11/07/dos-equis/) I promised myself that I would make every effort to not provide her any gender stereotypes. I've never bought her any pink toys or "girly" stuff. If my efforts have had any effect, I haven't noticed it. When the rest of society heard we were having a girl, we were bombarded with dolls and pink dresses and brushes. Because of their personalities and playfulness, my daughter was immediately more drawn to her grandmothers than to her grandfathers. The fact that she's a girl has never been in doubt to her. She's about as far from a tomboy as a girl can be. Her favorite pastime is to "help" a grandmother sweep or mop or do the dishes or some other bit of housework.

One day she was playing with my mother and there was some problem with something (the tv?) and Nora declared, "We need a man-fixer!" and marched off to solicit the help from me or grandfather. I have no idea where this came from, although one of the only men employed at her school is the dual security guard and maintenance man, whom she probably sees regularly replacing lightbulbs or drilling holes to hang things on the wall, while the women wait helpless.

Her very favorite present for [Christmas 2011](/2011/12/26/a-basque-christmas/) was a toy ironing board and iron. It has since stayed at her Spanish grandparents house, which makes the toy all that more special. Over Christmas 2012, she gave us a demonstration of how to iron.

I share this not only because it's adorable as heck, but because it showcases very well her bilingualism, and how she switches language to address me.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MTlR0Rljw5Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Home Economics 101 - How To Iron


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-09-gender-pop-quiz-sunflowers-daisies-and-toilets/8362069234_5a5ce057d3_t.jpg" alt="Daisy" class="post-thumb"/>The other day I went out to a restaurant owned by a friend of mine. They'd recently renovated the place and all the colors and designs were changed. About halfway through my meal, I received a call from Nature and got up to answer it. Once through the door marked "_Aseos_" (Restrooms), there is a sink, and two more doors. One with a photo of a sunflower and the other with a daisy. Which door should I use?  Having been a patron for years, I chose the left door that had always been marked as the men's room before, but when I got back to the table, I posed the conundrum to my fellow diners. The best argument came from my wife, who argued that the Spanish noun for sunflower is masculine, _el girasol_, and the noun for daisy is feminine, _la margarita_. As far as I can remember, this is the first instance I've seen of noun gender being used to dichotomize the sexes.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-09-gender-pop-quiz-sunflowers-daisies-and-toilets/8361005733_fc7a1cfe6a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunflower">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-09-gender-pop-quiz-sunflowers-daisies-and-toilets/8361005733_abb05903cd_m.jpg" alt="Sunflower"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-09-gender-pop-quiz-sunflowers-daisies-and-toilets/8362069234_7bb8946572_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Daisy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-09-gender-pop-quiz-sunflowers-daisies-and-toilets/8362069234_5a5ce057d3_m.jpg" alt="Daisy"/>
</a>

I suppose if it makes sense for any flower to be masculine, the tall heliotropic sunflower is a good candidate. It's masculine in French, Italian and Portuguese too, but feminine in German.

Of course I suspect this is all just intellectual wankery, as the owner of this restaurant owns another establishment called _Bar 69_, in which the restrooms are labeled with a **6** and a **9**. Deciphering those digits into sexes is a bit like a Rorschach test about one's heterosexual sex life. I think we can safely assume that the owner just likes making his patrons suffer from ambiguity. It definitely stimulates conversation!


Gender Pop Quiz - Sunflowers, Daisies and Toilets


[![Mayumana Momentum](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-04-mayumana-racconto-review/4052915030_f68ef08c69_t.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayumanamadrid/4052915030/ "Mayumana Momentum by MayumanaSpain, on Flickr")On December 29, we went to a show at the [_Teatro Arriaga_](http://www.teatroarriaga.com/) in Bilbao called [Mayumana: Racconto](http://www.mayumana.com/racconto/). It's a dance troupe from Tel Aviv, Israel that involves a lot of rhythmic percussion in their act. I was looking forward to it, because I've seen and very much enjoyed both [_Blue Man Group_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Man_Group) and [_Stomp_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomp_(dance_troupe)). I must say that _Mayumana_ left me a bit disappointed.  The wonderful thing about rhythm-only shows like the _Blue Man Group_ and _Stomp_ is that the language of rhythm is universal. But _Mayumana_ tried too hard to overcome the language barrier of performing in Spain by having a recorded narrator tell us "the story" (it wasn't really a story) of the formation of the group.

[![Mayumana Momentum](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-04-mayumana-racconto-review/4052914970_6cb49679e6.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayumanamadrid/4052914970/ "Mayumana Momentum by MayumanaSpain, on Flickr")

And a lot of the so called dance numbers were really just people running and jumping. They were as fit as professional dancers are, and they were good jumpers, but it wasn't very entertaining. All the humor was sort of clown-like childish slapstick, which, for one reason or another, we weren't really in the mood for that day.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O5rbn0jSaJM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Now that I'm done with the negative, let me tell you about the part that was _amazingly awesome_. You know how some musicians can use pedals to lay down several tracks ([like this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7oIa0L7j0M)) andthen accompany themselves? That impresses the hell out of me. But _Mayumana_ takes that to the next level…_with video!_ They did quite a bit of things with someone running around the stage with a video camera and the live video being projected up on the screen behind the stage.

[![Mayumana Momentum](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-04-mayumana-racconto-review/3992836912_f7c2726932_m.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayumanamadrid/3992836912/ "Mayumana Momentum by MayumanaSpain, on Flickr")The act that most floored me involved a woman coming out to the middle of the dark stage and sitting on a stool with a guitar. Another woman had the video camera. The lady with the guitar played a nice riff, with the video of her playing shown in one corner of the screen. Then she got up and the guitar riff continued to loop. She went off the stage and quickly came back with a bass guitar, and they did the same thing, with the video of her playing the base [![Mayumana Momentum](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-01-04-mayumana-racconto-review/4052914140_5fe1af471b_m.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/mayumanamadrid/4052914140/ "Mayumana Momentum by MayumanaSpain, on Flickr")appearing on the screen in another corner. She repeated this process with an electric guitar, percussion, and backup vocals. Then she stood in the middle of the stage and sang a lovely haunting verse, in English, with her past looping selves forming the band behind her on the screen. Just when I was sure she was finished, she performed a dramatic dance to the rhythm to finish the act. It was very cool.

They did more with the video looping, including having the audience sing various sequences of notes and incorporating that, with the video of us doing it, into a later song.

Over all, it was mildly entertaining, and we're glad we went, but we won't be going to see them again. _Blue Man Group_ and _Stomp_ are considerably better.


10 posts from January, 2013