I'm as handsome as Batman

We're doing very well. Zoë's looking a little worried and has been generally whimpling around the house. She's got the 'can we take her back now' blues.

But I think we'll keep her:

I've been trying to spend extra time with the older one. She's going through a serious superhero phase right now. Which is very much the royal route to daddy's heart. She's strictly from DC - courtesy of the Justice League cartoons. Daddy is strictly from Marvel. That's all right. Our house is big enough.

Zoë: [confidental but emphatic tone that brooks no denial] Daddy, superheroes are the greatest.

Daddy: Yes, Zoë. Yes, they are.

Belle gets these periodic 'what can your baby do this month' emails, courtesy of some or other service. I sort of suspect they've dumbed down the cognitive stages to make parents feel good about themselves. About a month ago it was 'your child may be able to recognize four colors.' Oh, she may, may she?

Daddy: Zoë, can you name a green superhero?

Zoë: Um, Gween Lawntewn and, um, Mawshun Manhuntew.

Daddy: Right. Very good. Can you name a red superhero?

Zoë: Fwash and, um, Spiydew-Mawn. Fwash has wightning earws.

Daddy: Excellent. Can you name a yellow superhero?

Zoë: Hawkgiw [Hawkgirl] and Agwamawn.

Daddy: I see what you mean. Can you name a blue superhero?

Zoë: Sewperman.

While mommy was still in the hospital, and after dad and daughter were rather mournfully leaving after our daily visit, off to the toystore and there it was - not to be denied. The earnest Indian guy behind the counter assured me it was 'very rare'. I didn't believe him. But the eBay seller seems to be hoping to sell that line, too. Does it look rare to you? Zoë is just preposterously Wonder Woman fixated. I suppose I should be worried but I'm not.

Daddy: Zoë, you're as wonderful as Wonder Woman.

Zoë: Daddy, you're as handsome as Batman.

No, really.

But it's not all capes and tights. Zoë is still into Miffy and Bob the Builder and Caillou and other childish things. We've got these Japanese Miffy VCD's - different than the newer American version. The Japanese are definitely OK with bodily functions, which is OK. Because kids find them to be normal and generally interesting. Example: after the three puppies have eaten out of their three bowls, they announce 'we're full.' They turn right around. One, two, three little buttholes appear and, behold! I kid you not. Screengrabs don't lie:

You won't see that on an American kids show.

Comments

[Mitch Mills]

Are they really VCDs? I guess I kind of expected Singapore to have moved on to DVDs by now . . .

Also, on the subject of bodily functions, this is a very good book: great art work and very clever. The original is in German, and I actually have a different translation with the title The Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business. But the Amazon entry for the version I have doesn't include pictures. I bought it for my two nephews but, alas, my brother didn't let me give it to them . . .

[jholbo]

Oh, sure, we've got DVD's, but VCD's are cheaper and perfectly fine for many humble purposes. Your mole book sounds good. Actually, what Belle has decided she needs to produce since it would be the biggest seller ever - except no American publisher would touch it - is the Big Book of Animal's Nursing. Just photos. Bubbies and the babies who love them. Endlessly fascinating.

[Mitch Mills]

Agreed on the VCDs, I've got nothing against them, they just seem low tech compared to my (ignorant) image of Singapore. And I've never met anyone in the States who knew what they were.

I usually just substitute "DVD" when I'm talking about, e.g., how I used to buy cheap bootlegs (some shot on a handycam inside a theater, others of impeccable quality) from this old guy down on the corner with a blanket spread out on the sidewalk. You never quite knew if you were getting the movie you thought you were getting, because the covers were also home-made, often with random clip-art that only gave you a vague idea of what the movie was. That one with the pictures of helicopters on the front? It wasn't Apocolypse Now, it was Saving Private Ryan.

Back to books: there's one somewhat similar in theme to The Little Mole, but inferior, mainly because it's explicitly "educational", also because the art work is profoundly mediocre. It's titled Everyone Poops! Maybe Belle could title her book Everyone Sucks!

[Timothy Burke]

I shifted emphasis to DC some years ago, so we have plenty of both around the house. Emma's big on the Justice League and Spider-Man. (Watching Spider-Man takes a slight bit of judicious scene-skipping, though--the final fight is a bit gory and a few Green Goblin scenes are too extreme in various ways). The current Justice League toons are just fantastic, though occasionally they too take a bit of skipping or eye-covering from me. I desperately wish Warner Bros. would get some sense knocked into them and release the Batman animateds in whole-season format, followed by the Supermans and Justice Leagues--I won't pay what they're charging for DVDs of just two episodes.

[Invisible Adjunct]

Sort of (but then again, not really) OT, but that is one good-looking newborn. Definitely a keeper.

[Chun the Unavoidable]

And let me offer my belated congratulations. You know that they're both going to grow up to be postmodern theorists because of the comic book stuff, I should point out.

[Ralph Luker]

I missed getting your advice for our Derby Day Party, Belle, but you were pre-occupied with more important things. The mint juleps, spoonbread, and derby pie were terrific! The burgoo stew was interesting, but more trouble than it was worth. Maybe it really should have had some squirrel or a black snake in it for interest. Anyway, a good time was had by all and that's the important thing.
Offspring who become postmodern theorists are o. k. by me. My younger, tatooed, punctured (er, pierced), Green, goth, and punk one and I are both still trying to figure out what we are going to be when we grow up.

[liz]

Advice from a woman whose children are grown: I wish I had video clips of each of the kids' more interesting pronouncements--like Scott talking about his other family, the Martian family. Allison playing with the noops (newts).

Belle should do the nursing book, I bet DK would pick it up.

[Mitch Mills]

Turns out the Everyone Poops book was originally in Japanese, which explains a lot, actually.

Looking at the "Customers who bought this book also bought" list for The Little Mole, it includes Walter, the Farting Dog and The Gas We Pass, so I don't see why a book on nursing would be beyond the pale.

And a few more clicks brings up Breasts, a kids book on the subject, also originally in Japanese.

So I think Belle should be able to find a publisher. At the very least she could be Big in Japan.

[franz]

that was hilarious! :)
ive been scrolling through 'your past entries for a while without actually posting any comments. (collective) you have such beautiful children - congratulations! the singapore government loves (collevtive) you.
and i think ivegot a teensy little crush on the both of you.
now isnt this freaky? :D