Above The Fold

Well, it's not every day you pick up your local newspaper and find your mug staring back at you (unless, of course, you're a particularly talented movie star or athlete), but that's what happened to me this morning. The Arizona Republic wrote an article on me and Zooglobble that was on the front of the "Phoenix Republic" insert -- and maybe others. Oddly enough, the article (and smiling mug) doesn't appear online (edit: it does now, here), but my list of recommended CDs (four recent favorites, six family favorites) that appeared alongside the interview in print does. You can read that here. (By the way, if you've stumbled across this website thanks to the article, welcome. If you're local and want to be kept up to date on local family music events, drop me a line -- see the e-mail address off to the right -- and I'll add you to my local events e-mail list.)

The Coloring Book is the New App

fun_book.gifThere are the high tech family music accoutrements (iPhone apps, videos) and then there are the low tech ones. Coloring books -- clearly the latter. Justin Roberts isn't the first to put together a coloring book -- I'm partial to John Upchurch and Mark Greenberg's coloring pages -- but he's released some fun pages. My tendency would be to ask a child to use yellow for the Yellow Bus, but I know that's not right. Download the coloring book here.

Announcing PlayMapped

JG_(CS07)-1.jpgBecause it gets so hot here in the Phoenix area during the summer when the kids are out of school, one of our major decision points in deciding where to go on vacation (if we take one), is, are there playgrounds there? Well, there are playgrounds lots of places. But really good ones -- with interesting play structures for the kids and shade and seating for the adults -- those are harder to find. Even on the internet, where the reviews and rankings can be brief (or with little detail for visitors). Even, dare I say it, for where I live. So I decided to start PlayMapped, a website devoted (mostly) to reviews of playgrounds from all around the country. That's right -- not only are there Phoenix playground reviews, but you can find reviews of, say, Seattle playgrounds or San Diego playgrounds. The website is young, so there aren't many reviews, though I'm working on adding some more. But as I have no intentions on giving up on Zooglobble (more music reviews this week!), and I haven't figured out how to get by on 3 hours of sleep, I need your help. I know there are lots of readers here scattered all across the country (and world) who like, value, and have opinions on playgrounds just like I do. If you're able to write even one review on a local (or distant) playground, I -- and other parents -- would be very grateful. Details on what I'm looking for are here -- it shouldn't take up much of your time, and you'll get a couple links back on PlayMapped for your time. So there it is. Hope you enjoy PlayMapped, hope you'll come back, and hope you'll add to the discussion. (And if you need more inspiration, just check out my list of songs for playgrounds.)

Yo Gabba Gabba Goes Back To School

Yo Gabba Gabba posted a couple sweet videos from their upcoming "School"-themed episode. (Note to YGG-wise -- we started school a month ago 'round here, but anyway...) My favorite of the two is definitely the retro-sounding "What Story Do You Want To Hear?" from Dr. Dog (of course), featuring a total Schoolhouse Rock video tribute. It's a great song and video. Dr. Dog - "What Story Do You Want To Hear?" [YouTube] One more from The Faint after the jump

Share: "Down in the Backpack" - Bill Harley

DownInTheBackpack.jpgMost Bill Harley material is good stuff, so even a random free track from him would have a good chance of getting mentioned here. But "Down in the Backpack"? One of Harley's most well-known songs? Almost guaranteed to get a grin out of your 7-year-old? (And probably you, too?) Just go here, where "Down in the Backpack," the title track from Harley's 2001 album, is free 'til the end of the month.