Free Rice – A Site with a Purpose

UPDATE:

As of February 10, 2008, the Being a Mom is Great blog has moved here (www.soapboxmom.com). Please visit Soapbox Mom to read more articles by this author (bmg mom is now Soapboxmom).

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I’m so excited about a website our friends told us about last night.

It’s called Free Rice and it looks like this:

It’s great for your (older) kids, but don’t be surprised if you join in and try it, too. But be warned: it might be hard to stop.

Here’s how it works:

They give you a word and four other words beneath it. Then, you choose which of the four words most accurately defines or describes the first word. The site tracks each right answer and increases the degree of difficulty to keep you (or your kids) at the right level.

But here’s the best part: for each right answer, they’ll* donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.

Wanna try it?

Just click the picture (below) or go to freerice.com.

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*The rice is paid for by adverstisers/sponsors of the Free Rice website. So you don’t have to contribute a cent. It’s fun! Give it a try! And I’m not getting anything for telling you about it either. I just think it’s cool and worth a look!

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Nobody Likes Pushy Parents (It’s Not Just Me)

UPDATE:

As of February 10, 2008, the Being a Mom is Great blog has moved here (www.soapboxmom.com). Please visit Soapbox Mom to read more articles by this author (bmg mom is now Soapboxmom).

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Okay, so last night DH and I watched the HBO show “Entourage” which (usually) we really enjoy for its sophisticated humor. It’s like a male version of “Sex and the City,” because it provides a little insight into the male mind via male friendships and does it in a humorous, entertaining way. Lately, I’m sorry to say, it’s been downright annoying. But the inconsistency of Entourage is not what today’s post is about. It’s about pushy, over the top parents.

So here’s how one part of last night’s episode of Entourage is relevant to this blog. Ari Gold, one of my favorite characters on Entourage, is a high energy, aggressive, cocky, sarcastic, insecure but somehow still charming talent agent. He is also a father. He and his wife get word that their son will most likely not be admitted to the private school their daughter has been attending for many years. The couple go ballistic, anxiously trying to figure out why he would be rejected and Ari attempts to prevent the seemingly imminent diss. After he unsuccessfully confronts some of the administrative types (including a board member/pal) he goes right to the headmaster of the school, lobbies for his son’s acceptance, reminds him of the tens of thousands of dollars the family has donated to the school as well as the many hours his wife has volunteered and then he even throws in a bribe of $20K. Out of sheer frustration, the headmaster admits that his rejection has nothing to do with the boy, rather, it’s all about Ari. The school community has had to put up with Ari’s brash, obnoxious attitude for so many years that it can’t stand the thought of another decade with him, walking around the halls yakking on his cell phone, screaming at sports events and generally annoying everyone. Ari, stunned and furious, immediately removes his daughter from her classroom and storms out of the school.

As I’ve said in earlier posts, kids are wonderful. They’re amazing, wonderful little people who soak up information the way sponges drink in water. Parents, however, can be annoying, pushy, domineering, obnoxious and unreasonable. More often than not, it’s the ones like Ari who are completely clueless about their impact on the world around them.

I’m beginning to realize that I’m not the only person who dislikes pushy parents.