That Highway

If I was going on an adventure, I might go down Highway 61. As it is, we might just go to Park Day instead which involves no highway travel... this time.

Enjoy your weekend.

I Just Bought a Bunch of Stuff!

I just bought of bunch of stuff! We are still mostly not buying anything new. But, I've completely rationalized it all to myself that that does not apply to things for the kids' education. We are Unschoolers first, Compactors second, after all.

So, I went to Fun Books and perused the Math section and the Writing section and grabbed a bunch of stuff that the kids will love--I think. That's the idea any way.

I got:

• Murderous Maths (it's British so it's wonky--"Maths" not "Math"... not to say that all things British are necessarily wonky--sorry my British friends!)
• A couple of Draw-Write-Now books We'll see if the kids like them or if they're too smarmy. My kids do not suffer smarmy lightly, so I hope these will just be fun and not too pointedly teachy.
• The Stunning Science of Everything from the Horrible Science series which looks like a nice overview of everything--basic ideas any way.
• A couple of David Macaulay books because it is so interesting to see his exploded diagrams and cross sections of buildings and machines and underground tunnels. He is a brilliant illustrator and the kids love his books.

That was a very satisfying internet purchase.

Because we're Unschoolers, and the kids are "doing school" all year round, there's really no great impetus for me purchasing all of those things right now except that it's Back-to-School-Time and I got caught up in the fervor. I plan to go get paper supplies too.

Although I won't get any more glue sticks. I don't know why I always get them, the kids have never really used them much and just use Elmer's glue or now a glue gun for projects.

I think I'm a sucker for school supplies... I will try to keep a lid on it this year.

Have you gotten school supplies yet for your schooled or homeschooled kids? Whadya get?

Mercury Exposure is Unhealthy? What?!

What?! Mercury exposure is unhealthy? It is a known neurotoxin and it may cause problems in little children and pregnant women? Who knew?

And yet... I think lots of people did know and would question the healthfulness of having amalgam fillings and vaccines filled with it. I know I questioned it and now the FDA is finally doing the same, albeit after much foot dragging.

This, from a recent Newsweek article:

The reason, of course, is that mercury is a known neurotoxin, especially dangerous to developing brains. For decades anti-mercury activists have pushed the industry to develop substitutes (so-called composites, or resins, are now available), and even to persuade people to have their fillings ripped out, but have made very little headway.

Now they have won a big one. In a legal settlement signed last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has changed the information on its Web site about amalgam fillings to say that they “may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetus,” and that pregnant women “should not avoid seeking dental care, but should discuss options with their health practitioner.” Previously, there was no such warning. The FDA also agreed to decide by next year whether mercury fillings need more regulation.

The FDA had been dragging its feet for so long on mercury in dental fillings that even the judge, Ellen Segal Huvelle of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, castigated the agency: “This is your classic failure to act,” she said. (The case is Moms Against Mercury et al. v. Von Eschenbach, Commissioner, et al. The “et al” plaintiffs are other consumer and environmental groups, as well as state officials.)

Where else might exposure to mercury be unhealthy? *cough, flu shots* What about aluminum, another known neurotoxin? *cough, cough, in every single vaccine, cough* Hmmmm...

When You Know You are Right...

Because we sometimes have strong feelings about what we know to be right, I offer this comic relief:

Ha, ha, ha, hee, ho, ha!!