Health club kids

Here's an interesting AP article about a new movement towards enrolling kids in adult-style health clubs to keep them in shape and help stave off obesity.

Initial reactions:

I barely have the attention span to work out on a treadmill at age 29; at 10 it would have been impossible. Kids on the stairmaster? The whole point of gyms is that being an adult is kind of sucky. You work in an office all day and there's no recess. Unlike kids, who theoretically get plenty of exercise going about their daily play, adults often have to make extra time and sometimes do very boring things to stay fit.

I also agree with a couple of experts quoted in this article about the importance of play, not just exercise, to kids' health and development.

Children should be outside interacting with other children, not playing video games in a musty basement, said Tony Sparber, who runs New Image Weight Loss Camps....And considering children's short attention spans, they may not find any of these expensive toys fun enough, said Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. He recommends simple games like Duck Duck Goose and Capture the Flag. "In the '50s and '60s, kids were playing and they were playing outside," he said. "We didn't have all these concerns about overweight, out-of-shape kids."

Hey, whatever works--but this whole notion strikes me as yet another example of the overall decline of American society. I mean, what happened to just making your kid go out for the basketball team, or something?

Costumeless trick-or-treaters: the fabric of society continues to unravel

Trick-or-treating involves an implied contract. In exchange for giving you free candy, it is my right to see you in an adorable, clever, or at least half-assed costume.

The trick-or-treater has rights also. These include the right to perform "tricks" on my home, car, or other property should I fail to uphold my end of the contract by providing free candy, or should I exhibit meanspiritedness by refusing to answer the door or shaking my fist in the air while grumbling, "you kids!"

Last night, I answered the door to a precious little "sunflower," a variety of "princesses," and one very kick-ass giant inflatable "ghost." But at least sixty percent of the tots* who came to my door were completely, obviously, not in costume at all. (It doesn't have to be elaborate or expensive--would it kill you to dress up as a "hobo" or "pirate" or "gypsy" or something?) In my opinion, these young people grossly violated the trick-or-treating contract.

And yet, I did give them candy, and not out of pure charity. As mentioned previously, the trick-or-treater has the right to perform "tricks" on my property if I break the contract. The problem is, if I justifiably withhold candy from a contract violator, that person's freedom to exercise the "tricking" right may continue even though he has broken the contract. (E.g., while I sleep he may be able to egg my house without being caught.)

That candy I gave out last night was protection money. Trick-or-treating is no longer a community building activity. Now it's a racket!

*"tots" applied loosely to include pubescents on the verge of sprouting facial hair

Burbite propaganda!

A new study shows that DC's recent population boom represents an influx of "singles, empty nesters and childless couples but not families needed for stability." (WP)

Whatever, man. I'd say my "urban family" is more stable than my actual family in many ways. Viva la group house. Big shout-out to the roomies.

Bowling alone?

Sometimes I wonder why anyone would want to work in politics or civil service. But W said it best at today's Presidential press conference:

"...the best way to do hope is through a form of government."

So I like to think that each of us, in our own small way, is doing a little bit of hope every single day.