We Love Klutz Face Painting!

A big thumbs-up to the Klutz Face Painting Kit, which we used at our face painting event here over the weekend. A team of two painted lots of faces (and hands, and arms) using the idea cards included in the kit. The cards break down these little painting ideas into three or four basic steps -- very helpful when one is trying to paint both fast and well.

The idea cards include motifs for a bunch of balloons, a dolphin, a car, a kitten face, a cupcake, a unicorn, a snake, a dinosaur, a spider, a heart, a flower, and a ladybug. The unicorn and the dolphin were far and away the most popular -- good thing that each was fairly easy to do!

The book itself has lots more ideas, tips, and tricks that will turn anyone into a competent face painter in no time. Only the full-face, more theatrical make-ups -- fancy faces such as butterflies, tigers, vampires, and so on -- may demand a little more time and paint, though they are just as well explained and just as easy to achieve.

The paints, which are manufactured by Wolfe Brothers, wash off quite easily using only water and a bit of soap. (Extra paint palettes are available, by the way, if you use up what comes with the book.) I found the coverage and consistency to be just right for face painting; you could achieve pretty good control on even the squirmiest child.

This kit works as an individual gift for a theatrically-inclined child, say (the kind who is forever staging performances in the living room, puppet-shows in the doorway, and impromptu concerts and parades). The kit can also be used as an amazing birthday party (or other occasion) activity, especially if you can round up an extra adult, paintbrush, and sponge to move the children through as quickly as possible.

The children and their parents all seemed happy, and we painters had just as good a time. We're already looking forward to next time!

Klutz Face Painting, CAD$29.99 Limited quantities in stock.

Into the Woods

Our store is located in the historic downtown area of our city; our house is a scant kilometre away, in an older neighbourhood of large brick homes shaded by enormous maple trees. Both as business people and as homeowners, we have a vested interest in maintaining the health and viability of our city centre.

Even though we are neither urban planners nor property developers, we are fascinated by the concepts of city land-use, of density, and of sprawl. Anyone with an interest in history knows that civilizations -- and their cities -- grow during their ascendancies only to fall back, or even disappear, when their influence wanes. This is, in part, what has happened over the past quarter-century within many smaller centres to the traditional downtowns, as their economic strength was reduced by the influx of mass merchants and big box stores located on the cities' outer rims.

It should come as no surprise to any of us to see the same hallmarks of decline in those North American neighbourhoods -- even entire communities -- that have been devastated by the double whammy of systemic job loss and a falling real estate market: empty houses, boarded up and inviting vandalism and arson, causing the value of adjoining properties to decline more and faster in a race to the bottom.

And so, I was intrigued to read an article in the New York Times about radical surgery for dying cities. A case in point is Flint, Michigan -- a city whose population has fallen from roughly 200,000 to about half that, and whose unemployment rate was estimated to be 15% in 2007 -- whose city and county governments are exploring the idea of buying and tearing down derelict houses and neighbourhoods, essentially returning the legal title of the properties to a county land bank. The net result of this would be to shrink the city: to condense houses and the services they require into fewer and more viable areas. Less asphalt, more green space. Greater efficiency for collection of garbage, for policing, and for fire services.

Dan Kildee, Genesee County treasurer and a prime mover behind the plan, perhaps says it most simply and persuasively: “If it’s going to look abandoned, let it be clean and green,” he said. “Create the new Flint forest — something people will choose to live near, rather than something that symbolizes failure.”

"There's a Great Future in Plastics"

This famous line from director Mike Nichols' 1967 film "The Graduate," whispered by a family friend to Dustin Hoffman's character, the confused and rudderless graduate of the title, has proven uncannily true. Plastic has become the primary building and manufacturing material of our time, incorporated into everything from toothbrushes and razors to televisions, automobiles, and clothing.

And architecture (think of window-frames, light-switch covers, and piping). And art.

Think of Lego, for example, and of artist Jan Vormann, whose Dispatchwork projects use Lego bricks to fill in gaps and holes in buildings damaged by war in Bocchignano, Italy, Tel Aviv, Israel, and Berlin, Germany. (Photos at left are from Vormann's website.)

In some of these places, small groups of people (citizen-artists?) carried the projects further, filling in more holes with Lego of their own.

There's a kind of unsettling dualism at work here: soft colours jarring with the bright plastic, natural materials shoulder-to-shoulder with the hard-edged bricks, the artifacts of war filled by one of the world's most famous children's toys.

I like it.

Do These Bugs Fear the Hex-terminator?

We have a new pet at the office. His name is Charlie, and he's a HEXBUG.

Original HEXBUGs are tiny robots that react to touch and sound, constructed in recognizably insectoid shapes of metal and plastic. They chug doggedly around the floor or desktop, changing direction as their thin wire antennae touch an impediment, or when they perceive a loud noise such as a handclap or a shout directed at them. (They don't recognize, however, recognize impending disaster in the form of an approaching cliff -- such as the edge of the desktop -- and will skitter right off and fall to the floor. Be warned.)

Right now we have only Original HEXBUGs in stock, but there are different models available at different prices: Inchworm, an RC model; Crab, an autonomous robot that hides in the dark; and Ant, another autonomous creature that reacts to touch -- but this time moves (scurries?) at high speed. We'll be stocking these as space permits.

Charlie is powered by two AG13 batteries, which can be replaced. HEXBUGs are recommended for children aged 8 and up (and adults, of course.) For CAD$11.99, you can have your own robot. This is one seriously cool little toy.

You Have Received a Friend Request from Big Brother

I'll admit it: I have a Facebook page. So does the store (it's here.) Social networking is here to stay, it would seem -- and as a behaviour, it's trickling down from trendy to everyday. And I have to admit that I don't have a big problem with this sort of networking and information-gathering as it relates to business.

Just like the website, the blog, Twitter, and the online Yellow Pages ads, a Facebook presence helps customers (both current and potential) find us, get a sense of what we're all about, and whether or not we can help them. It's truly amazing how quickly we have all come to depend upon this sort of online information gathering. Are you planning a trip? Map your route with Google Maps; find restaurants along the way; check out possible hotels using Trip Advisor. Google for supermarkets in Ithaca, NY. Look for a new apartment on Craigslist. Find that AC/DC lyric you've forgotten in one of the zillions of online compendiums.

Are there risks inherent in putting oneself out there, online, though? Yes, surely -- and that is a powerful argument for guarding what and how much personal data one reveals on sites such as Facebook. It's no secret that there are lots of people and organizations interested in data harvesting, whether it be to sell you something, to lobby a government using your data in order to buttress their claims, or to stalk you. Here's a tongue-in-cheek example (thank goodness!) of the kind of personal data gathering prospect that makes companies drool with anticipation and civil libertarians shudder with dread of Orwellian dystopias.

So, yes, we have a Facebook page, but we promise that it will be information-only. After all, an invasion of your privacy (and mine) would be ungood.

Kiva Means Unity

Over the past few weeks, I have become a banker. Well, more precisely, I became a micro-banker. I lent (loaned?) US$25.00 to a lady in Mongolia, which was the final little bit of cash she needed in order to expand her small business, which in turn should help her to improve her financial circumstances. I then loaned (lent?) US$25.00 to a taxi-driver in Tajikistan so that he could purchase sheep and goats (presumably for food and some extra income.)

This was all done through the auspices of Kiva Microfunds, a non-profit organization dedicated to aggregating small loan amounts from many lenders -- ordinary individuals like me -- into micro-loans. Lenders choose the individual whom they wish to fund, and the money is disbursed at the other end (usually but not exclusively in the developing world) by a local partner, usually a bank. These individuals are entrepreneurs -- maybe livestock farmers, or small merchants -- who would like to expand their operations. Maybe they'd like to purchase some more chickens to increase their egg production, or a new sewing machine to make their tailor shop more efficient.

Over a set number of months, the borrower repays the cost to the lender, who can then re-lend the money to another entrepreneur. Everybody wins. I especially like the idea of small business people making their communities stronger, with sustainable increases in wealth arising from increased economic strength.

You can read more about Kiva and its projects here. Last week alone, Kiva's lenders put up more than $1,550,000.00 to some 4138 individual projects -- each of these micro-loans totalling an average $375, and each one having the potential to lift a family out of grinding poverty. Who knows where this could end?

Maybe Kiva, and other grass-roots organizations like it, could end poverty. I'm willing to give it a try.

An Update on the Playmobil Victorian House Theme

Some of you might have noticed that the 2009 Canadian Playmobil consumer catalogue (the large glossy magazine that shows all the current themes and items) does not contain the Victorian Dollhouse (#5301) or any of the related items such as rooms of furniture.

This was an inadvertent omission; the Victorian Dollhouse theme is very much alive and available. We have it all in stock. I don't know whether it is just Canadian consumer catalogue that it is missing from, but there's no reference to it at all -- no page, nothing in the index, nothing in the table of contents.

Anyway, it's here. Phew!

Into the Land of Egypt with Playmobil

The new Ancient Egyptian theme from Playmobil has had its North American launch date moved up; it is currently in transit from Germany to us, and we expect it to arrive in the next couple of weeks. This is an uncommonly beautiful collection -- even by Playmobil's high standards. The sculpting on the large pieces is gorgeous, and the rich colours in the various "painted" panels give you an idea of what present-day wonders such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx must have looked like when they were brand-spanking-new.

The marquee item is the Pyramid (#4240). At 52.5 x 52.5 x 35 cm (L x W x H) it is an amazing piece filled with secret chambers, trap doors, and collapsible stairs. The addition of a flip-down wall means easy access to the interior for play. The Sphinx (#4242) has a flip-down panel that reveals a secret chamber and a mummy.

The Royal Ship (#4241) has a sail emblazoned with the Eye of Horus, a stern steering oar, and a crew of enthusiastic warriors. Pharoah's Temple (#4243) comes with a "carved" obelisk, painted murals, and an amulet key that will open various secret shrines. Rounding off the theme are the Egyptian Soldiers (#4245), the Egyptian Chariot (#4244), Two Robbers with Camels (#4247), Robber with Horse (#4248), and the Tomb with Treasure (#4246), which I think could double nicely as an Ancient Egyptian Peasant House. Prices range from CAD$119.99 to CAD$7.99.

For all Playmobil fans, as well as for fans of ancient Egyptian culture and archaeology, this is a launch not to be missed.

Website Tidy-Up In Progress

It was brought home to me just how important it is to prune the website of obsolete pages and links yesterday, as I received an email inquiring about an item on such an orphaned page. I had forgotten that with a Google keyword search, a page still in the Public Directory will be accessible, even if it's no longer part of the site structure. This was kind of embarrassing, as the particular item in question (Seafarers of Catan) has actually undergone an update in style, reference number, and price.

Yikes.

So, this weekend will be devoted to a general wash-and-brush-up of the website. Old pages lopped off mercilessly, new and fresh pages added. Links checked, and alternate text included for images. And tags. Lots of tags.

PLBKAC, I guess. Too much procrastination, too much nice weather out there (Canadian summers are so short! Don't make me work!) I'll try to do better.

I Am Now Officially a Cast-Off

The nice folks at the Plaster Room down at the hospital sawed the cast off my right arm this morning, and I am as good as new.

Just don't ask me to clench my fist. Or straighten out my fingers. Or rotate my wrist. Ouch.

But that will improve with time, and some physiotherapy. Here's a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Steinitz and the ortho team at the Belleville General.

Now we return you to regularly-scheduled programming.