Spring is in the air— although some of my midwestern friends seem to have just had snow. (So glad we avoided that here in the Northeast.
Here’s my very irregular round up of things I’m reading, listening to, and watching.
To Read
My COVID-19 dreams aren’t just weird, they’re keeping me up all night – CNET
Weird and bad sleep during the pandemic? Well, it has a name now: “coronosomnia”. As Michael Herf points out, sleep symptoms are also common post covid:
Sleep problems in self report (survey) but not in CDC’s list of long Covid symptoms.https://t.co/dkioy8HVyn pic.twitter.com/yQU12i8UcC
— Michael Herf (@herf) April 11, 2021
For more on sleep in the Covid era:
- Insomnia and Covid in the New York Times
- How to stay awake during Zoom Classes
- Six tips for better sleep in quarantine or lockdown
Best Muppets, Ranked Ruthlessly : NPR
One of my favorite memories of childhood is watching the Muppet Show with my dad. During the theme song, he would put me on his shoulders and dance around, much to the dismay of my mom, who worried that I was going to fly off through the window. (My dad, “Diamond” Dave Canapari, can really get down).
I find the top ten hard to argue with, although I would have rated Big Bird and Cookie Monster higher than Rizzo and Statler and Waldorf.
These days so much of kids entertainment has swung towards the fantastical. As a kid, I loved science fiction and mystery, but I also loved the “slice of life” writing of Beverly Cleary, especially the Ramona books (although I’m the Beezus in my family).
“She had asked herself the same question when she was a schoolgirl. “Why didn’t authors write books about everyday problems that children could solve by themselves?” she wondered, as she recalled in her acceptance speech on receiving the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 1975. “Why weren’t there more stories about children playing? Why couldn’t I find more books that would make me laugh? These were the books I wanted to read, and the books I was eventually to write.”
“She had asked herself the same question when she was a schoolgirl. “Why didn’t authors write books about everyday problems that children could solve by themselves?” she wondered, as she recalled in her acceptance speech on receiving the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the American Library Association in 1975. “Why weren’t there more stories about children playing? Why couldn’t I find more books that would make me laugh? These were the books I wanted to read, and the books I was eventually to write.”
To Watch
This dad in New Zealand is making me sweat a bit with his effortless sleep training techniques for his baby, such as the “Method Acting” and “Tap out”.
To Listen
Documentary: Big Golf, science, and the battle for Standard Time
Over at Sleep Junkies, the team put together an excellent mini-documentary on daylight savings time. I had not realized that Standard Time is recommended by most medical organizations as it provides the best circadian fit, because in Standard Time (not DST), noon occurs when the sun is the highest in the sky. We all enjoy the long hours of daylight in the summer but it may not be good for us. It is good for the golf and candy industry, who have tirelessly advocated for permanent DST. (Remember when DST was extended into November? That was so Halloween would be lighter in the evening. This benefits Big Candy).
For more on DST:
The “Primal Scream” of Pandemic Parenting
My pal Jess Grose at NYT Parenting opened a hotline for parents to call in over the last several months. You will laugh until you cry, or vice versa.
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