Sunday, August 4, 2013
Finally Settled
After a very very VERY long hiatus from writing, during which much happened, I'm finally prepared to settle down and begin again. This particular post will have no article attached to it as I have not been writing (at least nothing public), shame on me. However, the photo attached is the first ray of hope for a fresh start! While I have been away, I moved into my boyfriend's co-op (poor him). He was kind enough to give me my very own bookcase, which was filled in less than 10 seconds. He also gave me this fabulous little wall space, against which my childhood desk fit perfectly and upon which my Bachelors degree looks fabulous -- if I do say so myself. So, now that this Promised Land of Creativity is more or less settled, what's on the agenda? First, and foremost, I'll be editing the first 2/3 of my young adult fantasy novel so that I can finish it and start agent-hunting. I know I told myself I wouldn't edit it, but so much of it has to change in order for me to reach my desired ending, that there simply is no way around it. Trust me. It'll work out. Second, I have a fabulous article pitch that I'm going to start in on for a very prestigious website. That's all I'm willing to reveal at this time, but keep your eyes peeled. Third, I'm going to remember that every experience, good and bad, is a story in and of itself and I plan to utilize these experiences to my fullest advantage. Fourth, I'm going back to graduate school! Regarding grad school, I am certain I will learn much, read much, write much, and experience much. I am so looking forward to it. I hope to intermittently be able to post some of my graduate writings here, for your reading pleasure. That said, I'm off to achieve my four points, much like my political idol, James K. Polk. Later gators!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Long Island Art! Interviews Stained Glass Artist, Brian van Kuik
This is as up-to-date as it gets, at the moment. Since this piece I have focused primarily on a short piece for a contest sponsored by Author House and Carl Reiner, as well as my first full-length novel. While I, as yet, have nothing to show for either of those, I can assure you I am always writing and always looking to the next project. Please stay tuned for more!
Long Island Art! Interviews Stained Glass Artist, Brian van Kuik
Long Island Art! Interviews Stained Glass Artist, Brian van Kuik
Long Island Art! is always learning about
unique art forms and the talented artists who work in all of those
mediums. An old-fashioned medium is given a fresh life by artist Brian
van Kuik, who does his work in stained glass. Long Island Art! learned a
bit about what inspires Mr. van Kuik and what “foils” his productivity.
Long Island Art!: First, we’d love to know who inspired you to pursue a career in stained glass?
Brian van Kuik: A career? Um…I would have to actually say my friend Martha, and a bartender. Basically, two people I met one day who both said, “why aren’t you selling your glass?” I thought, Well, okay. So I had some business cards made up. Never thought of it as a career, though. Basically just something to keep the hobby going.
LIA!: What was the first piece you ever made?
BvK: The first piece I ever made is actually sitting in my office. It’s a yellow cross with red diamonds and ends. I had just gotten a kit as a gift and just wanted to make something. Really poorly made, too. So, of course it’s hanging in my office. I’d have to do a ton of work on it to ever make it “sellable.”
LIA!: How old were you when you started?
BvK: 5,375. I was living in my other place. I think I got my kit in 2006.
LIA!: Aside from custom works and craft fairs, do you have any events or galleries you want to attend to display your work?
BvK: I would like to get a few of my pieces into a gallery, but I don’t know which I’d like to get into. Whoever is willing to show my work, I guess. And only after I get a few more showpieces done.
LIA!: Have you tried to get into Ripe Art Gallery?
BvK: Not yet. I’d like to try.
LIA!: They’re great there. Any events you would like to tell the public about?
BvK: I don’t have any events coming up right now. I’m just working on getting pieces done. Though, I’d like to get into the New York Witch Festival in October.
LIA!: What’s on the cutting board at the moment?
BvK: My fingers! But really a piece for a friend who is redoing my business cards. A commission piece. I have a few other sketches I want to try to turn into glass, too. Some using glass my mother gave me from when she used to make stained glass pieces.
LIA!: When do you find you are best able to focus on your work? Do you think other artists would benefit from trying this technique?
BvK: I don’t know if other artists would benefit, so to speak, but I work best late at night. It depends on who is around, too. I have trouble working creatively around some people.
LIA!: The wrong company is definitely a distraction. Aside from that, what is the greatest distraction you have?
BvK: TV and video games. If I had Cable, I wouldn’t accomplish anything.
LIA!: No Cable? Wow! You must be really focused on your goals to eliminate Cable. With that in mind, what are your “big picture” goals for your creative work?
BvK: I don’t have any goals aside from some ideas I want to see through. Some will take more planning than others, but just take inspiration from products I see at the glass store.
LIA!: What are the overall goals for your business?
BvK: At the moment, I want my business to be self-sustaining. Ultimately, I’d love to be able to support myself on it.
LIA!: You can do it.
BvK: I could, but I have to get to the skill level necessary to do custom pieces for people who are really well off!
LIA!: We’re sure you’d already appeal to them. Regardless of what they like, what is your favorite piece you’ve made to date?
BvK: I would say it’s my Buddhist Knot. Then my Inushuk: that’s a nice finished-looking piece in a wooden frame.
LIA!: Looking back on your experience in your craft, what advice can you offer aspiring artists?
BvK: Dabble until you find the mediums that work for you. I have a lot of interests, but glass was just the medium that worked best for me.
LIA!: Where should people go to purchase from you or to order a custom piece?
BvK: Right now the best way is through my Facebook page, Taomoon’s Workshop. The “For Sale” folder has all available pieces with prices. As for customs, just send me a private message. We can meet to discuss it if you’re local enough. If not, we can just discuss it through chat.
To see Brian’s glass creations or to speak with him about his work, follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/TaomoonsWorkshop?ref=ts&fref=ts
Veronica Spettmann Reporting
Published: February 24, 2013
Long Island Art!: First, we’d love to know who inspired you to pursue a career in stained glass?
Brian van Kuik: A career? Um…I would have to actually say my friend Martha, and a bartender. Basically, two people I met one day who both said, “why aren’t you selling your glass?” I thought, Well, okay. So I had some business cards made up. Never thought of it as a career, though. Basically just something to keep the hobby going.
LIA!: What was the first piece you ever made?
BvK: The first piece I ever made is actually sitting in my office. It’s a yellow cross with red diamonds and ends. I had just gotten a kit as a gift and just wanted to make something. Really poorly made, too. So, of course it’s hanging in my office. I’d have to do a ton of work on it to ever make it “sellable.”
LIA!: How old were you when you started?
BvK: 5,375. I was living in my other place. I think I got my kit in 2006.
LIA!: Aside from custom works and craft fairs, do you have any events or galleries you want to attend to display your work?
BvK: I would like to get a few of my pieces into a gallery, but I don’t know which I’d like to get into. Whoever is willing to show my work, I guess. And only after I get a few more showpieces done.
LIA!: Have you tried to get into Ripe Art Gallery?
BvK: Not yet. I’d like to try.
LIA!: They’re great there. Any events you would like to tell the public about?
BvK: I don’t have any events coming up right now. I’m just working on getting pieces done. Though, I’d like to get into the New York Witch Festival in October.
LIA!: What’s on the cutting board at the moment?
BvK: My fingers! But really a piece for a friend who is redoing my business cards. A commission piece. I have a few other sketches I want to try to turn into glass, too. Some using glass my mother gave me from when she used to make stained glass pieces.
LIA!: When do you find you are best able to focus on your work? Do you think other artists would benefit from trying this technique?
BvK: I don’t know if other artists would benefit, so to speak, but I work best late at night. It depends on who is around, too. I have trouble working creatively around some people.
LIA!: The wrong company is definitely a distraction. Aside from that, what is the greatest distraction you have?
BvK: TV and video games. If I had Cable, I wouldn’t accomplish anything.
LIA!: No Cable? Wow! You must be really focused on your goals to eliminate Cable. With that in mind, what are your “big picture” goals for your creative work?
BvK: I don’t have any goals aside from some ideas I want to see through. Some will take more planning than others, but just take inspiration from products I see at the glass store.
LIA!: What are the overall goals for your business?
BvK: At the moment, I want my business to be self-sustaining. Ultimately, I’d love to be able to support myself on it.
LIA!: You can do it.
BvK: I could, but I have to get to the skill level necessary to do custom pieces for people who are really well off!
LIA!: We’re sure you’d already appeal to them. Regardless of what they like, what is your favorite piece you’ve made to date?
BvK: I would say it’s my Buddhist Knot. Then my Inushuk: that’s a nice finished-looking piece in a wooden frame.
LIA!: Looking back on your experience in your craft, what advice can you offer aspiring artists?
BvK: Dabble until you find the mediums that work for you. I have a lot of interests, but glass was just the medium that worked best for me.
LIA!: Where should people go to purchase from you or to order a custom piece?
BvK: Right now the best way is through my Facebook page, Taomoon’s Workshop. The “For Sale” folder has all available pieces with prices. As for customs, just send me a private message. We can meet to discuss it if you’re local enough. If not, we can just discuss it through chat.
To see Brian’s glass creations or to speak with him about his work, follow this link: http://www.facebook.com/TaomoonsWorkshop?ref=ts&fref=ts
Veronica Spettmann Reporting
Published: February 24, 2013
Long Island Art! Features Victor Bonacore
Long Island Art! Features Victor Bonacore
Filmmakers
wear a lot of faces: writer, editor, false church member, and
pot-smoker, immediately come to mind. At least that’s what comes to mind
when we think of Ronkonkoma filmmaker, Victor Bonacore. Long Island
Art! got the scoop on some of the wild things Mr. Bonacore has done to
get the right shot for the job, as well as some very interesting advice
to share with other aspiring Long Island filmmakers.
Long Island Art!: I think the first thing we’d love to know is how you got started with film-making.
Victor Bonacore: I’ve been making little backyard horror films since I was a kid, like “The Ronkonkoma Slasher” with my brother and sister. Then I got my own camcorder for Christmas when I was twelve, I think. I started doing re-enactments from films I liked. Every summer I would make really bad zombie movies with my friends and never finish them. Then I decided to go to college for it and try to really learn the technical aspect of film making.
LIA!: Where did you go to school?
VB: First, I went to community college because I didn’t have the money to go away to film school or anything. I made a really bad movie called “Zombie Gangster Massacre” there. Then I transferred to Adelphi University in Garden City and really started learning about 16mm film and how to edit and shit. It was there that I was able to really learn how to tell my stories and make them look good. I actually learned a lot at Adelphi. Some of the professors there were pretty cool and pushed me to do what I wanted.
LIA!: And wow, do they look good! We saw your last video on your YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/chainsawkiss), “Cool Cannon and Sixx Five ‘Bout That Life’ Official Music Video HD,” was posted around two weeks ago. How long does a music video like that usually take? And what major steps are involved?
VB: Thank you. Well, all videos are different but the same. There is a lot of planning and such that go into it, a lot of writing sessions, and back-and-forth late-night conversations. Then, to be honest, once it’s the day of the shoot, there is a lot of on-the-spot decisions, and a lot of weed, which totally helps the creative process. I really like to do music videos and turn them into little movies, and drugs usually play a big part in that. An example is Johnnie Lee Jordan’s video “Robotripping Through the Gates of Hell:” all the weed is real, and a few of the girls were even downing that “ Robitussin.” It was a wild shoot. Sixx Five & Cannon shoot was really crazy and a little different: it was just me, a little white boy with a camera, going into the hood of Newark, New Jersey, and just shooting, shooting, shooting, almost documentary style.
LIA!: You must have done a lot of different takes, too, because we noticed that there were a lot of seamless transitions from one background to the next. Does that style of filming or editing have a name?
VB: It’s really just micro-budget filmmaking. You do whatever you have to do to get your shot.
LIA!: Would you suggest marijuana as a cure to a creative block for other aspiring artists?
VB: Absolutely. A great friend and artistic mentor to me once said, “Weed is your friend,” and it really is true. It can help take an idea you have and bring it to another level or open artistic doors in your mind. My favorite thing to do when I’m having writers’ block or editors’ block is to take a bowl and go for a long walk in the woods and just smoke a ton of weed. I just come up with the best ideas that way. For some reason weed and nature just ease me, and I can think freely.
LIA!: You’re probably not alone in that mindset. You mentioned doing what you have to do to get the right shots. What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever had to do to get the perfect shot, and which piece was that for?
VB: That’s a really good question, actually. For my my film, “Ice Cream Sunday,” which is about a pedophile priest cult, I really, really wanted to shoot in a church. How could I make a film about religion and not shoot in a church? We were shooting on 16mm so I thought it would bring the production value up, and I wanted all the characters in front of authentic stained glass. So, I started going to churches in my town and trying to find the right one. I really had no money, so I wound up going to this one church in town and became a member. I went every Sunday for a little over a month and became friendly with the pastor there. I asked if I could shoot a short there and they agreed — and for only $100! So I wrote a fake three- or four-page script about a girl who is inspired by a church song or some shit like that, because I knew that if they actually read the real script for “Ice Cream Sunday,” there would be no way they would let me shoot there. In the end, I felt a little guilty because the church ended up being pretty cool: they were the only church I had ever attended that openly accepted gays and lesbians, and everyone was really nice. But, I worship art, not religion.
LIA!: Did that church ever watch your finished video?
VB: No way!
LIA!: That’s probably for the best. Do you show your work to public audiences or attend festivals to showcase your work?
VB: Yea! I like to put together little screenings when I have something to show, and “Ice Cream Sunday” has played a bunch of film festivals and cool little screenings. But short films come and go, you know? People really want to see features. I have had two features in production for years, and when they’re done, I want to do the whole festival thing again. I really enjoy traveling to different places. You get to meet some interesting people.
LIA!: May we have a little peek into what these features might be about?
VB: Well, one is a documentary that I am very close to completing. It’s called “Diary of a Deadbeat,” and follows the life of underground filmmaker, Jim Vanbebber. I started documenting Jim around four years ago, and it’s been a wild ride. I have all my interviews done for it and have collected a lot of footage of Jim. Now it’s just the editing process. The other film is “Blood Wings: A Satanic Fantasy,” and it’s really my baby. I started making that one almost five years ago now, which is scary to even think about, but it’s true. I was living and working with a bunch of filmmakers at the time, like Jimmy ScreamerClauz, Joey Smack, and Ruby Larocca. I will finish it and will continue to shoot it on 16mm, no matter what. It’s just a matter of getting the funds together. I have a shitty desk job now and aim to save all my money to put towards my films. So we’ll see!
LIA!: Is it one of your aspirations to see your work able to support itself and you so that you can quit said job and be a career filmmaker?
VB: Yes! That is my aspiration!
LIA!: You have obviously been doing this for quite some time. Who was your original inspiration in the film-making world and who continues to inspire you today?
VB: Well, my older sisters got me into weird cinema really early. My sister, Tia, worked with underground filmmakers Richard Kern and Tommy Turner, and my other sister, Ami, performed with GG Allin and Kembra Pfahler from “The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black,” so I was introduced to that underground New York scene very early. But on my own I got into Stanley Kubrick and became obsessed with him when I was in junior high. As I got older and discovered more filmmakers, it was filmmakers like Frank Henenlotter and John Waters that really influenced me.
LIA!: That is quite the list of inspirations! It’s no wonder your work spans such a wide range of genres and styles. What is the best advice you can give to other aspiring filmmakers?
VB: Really, don’t conform. Make what you want and listen to everyone but don’t listen to anyone.
LIA!: Excellent advice. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
VB: Break the rules and be an artist. Take your art seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. And never stop smoking weed.
LIA!: Who told you that?
VB: I can’t remember!
LIA!: It’s probably all that weed.
VB: Right!
LIA!: Well, we hope you’ll keep us posted when you’re ready to show your features at festivals! I’m sure the art community would love to see the works you’ve been creating!
VB: Will do. I definitely want to do a big Long Island premier when I am done!
LIA!: That would be amazing for the Long Island art community. Thank you so much for speaking with us!
VB: Thank you for doing this!
http://www.youtube.com/user/chainsawkiss/videos?flow=grid&view=0
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Island-Art/183483648460253?ref=hl
Veronica Spettmann Reporting
Published: January 25, 2013
Long Island Art!: I think the first thing we’d love to know is how you got started with film-making.
Victor Bonacore: I’ve been making little backyard horror films since I was a kid, like “The Ronkonkoma Slasher” with my brother and sister. Then I got my own camcorder for Christmas when I was twelve, I think. I started doing re-enactments from films I liked. Every summer I would make really bad zombie movies with my friends and never finish them. Then I decided to go to college for it and try to really learn the technical aspect of film making.
LIA!: Where did you go to school?
VB: First, I went to community college because I didn’t have the money to go away to film school or anything. I made a really bad movie called “Zombie Gangster Massacre” there. Then I transferred to Adelphi University in Garden City and really started learning about 16mm film and how to edit and shit. It was there that I was able to really learn how to tell my stories and make them look good. I actually learned a lot at Adelphi. Some of the professors there were pretty cool and pushed me to do what I wanted.
LIA!: And wow, do they look good! We saw your last video on your YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/chainsawkiss), “Cool Cannon and Sixx Five ‘Bout That Life’ Official Music Video HD,” was posted around two weeks ago. How long does a music video like that usually take? And what major steps are involved?
VB: Thank you. Well, all videos are different but the same. There is a lot of planning and such that go into it, a lot of writing sessions, and back-and-forth late-night conversations. Then, to be honest, once it’s the day of the shoot, there is a lot of on-the-spot decisions, and a lot of weed, which totally helps the creative process. I really like to do music videos and turn them into little movies, and drugs usually play a big part in that. An example is Johnnie Lee Jordan’s video “Robotripping Through the Gates of Hell:” all the weed is real, and a few of the girls were even downing that “ Robitussin.” It was a wild shoot. Sixx Five & Cannon shoot was really crazy and a little different: it was just me, a little white boy with a camera, going into the hood of Newark, New Jersey, and just shooting, shooting, shooting, almost documentary style.
LIA!: You must have done a lot of different takes, too, because we noticed that there were a lot of seamless transitions from one background to the next. Does that style of filming or editing have a name?
VB: It’s really just micro-budget filmmaking. You do whatever you have to do to get your shot.
LIA!: Would you suggest marijuana as a cure to a creative block for other aspiring artists?
VB: Absolutely. A great friend and artistic mentor to me once said, “Weed is your friend,” and it really is true. It can help take an idea you have and bring it to another level or open artistic doors in your mind. My favorite thing to do when I’m having writers’ block or editors’ block is to take a bowl and go for a long walk in the woods and just smoke a ton of weed. I just come up with the best ideas that way. For some reason weed and nature just ease me, and I can think freely.
LIA!: You’re probably not alone in that mindset. You mentioned doing what you have to do to get the right shots. What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever had to do to get the perfect shot, and which piece was that for?
VB: That’s a really good question, actually. For my my film, “Ice Cream Sunday,” which is about a pedophile priest cult, I really, really wanted to shoot in a church. How could I make a film about religion and not shoot in a church? We were shooting on 16mm so I thought it would bring the production value up, and I wanted all the characters in front of authentic stained glass. So, I started going to churches in my town and trying to find the right one. I really had no money, so I wound up going to this one church in town and became a member. I went every Sunday for a little over a month and became friendly with the pastor there. I asked if I could shoot a short there and they agreed — and for only $100! So I wrote a fake three- or four-page script about a girl who is inspired by a church song or some shit like that, because I knew that if they actually read the real script for “Ice Cream Sunday,” there would be no way they would let me shoot there. In the end, I felt a little guilty because the church ended up being pretty cool: they were the only church I had ever attended that openly accepted gays and lesbians, and everyone was really nice. But, I worship art, not religion.
LIA!: Did that church ever watch your finished video?
VB: No way!
LIA!: That’s probably for the best. Do you show your work to public audiences or attend festivals to showcase your work?
VB: Yea! I like to put together little screenings when I have something to show, and “Ice Cream Sunday” has played a bunch of film festivals and cool little screenings. But short films come and go, you know? People really want to see features. I have had two features in production for years, and when they’re done, I want to do the whole festival thing again. I really enjoy traveling to different places. You get to meet some interesting people.
LIA!: May we have a little peek into what these features might be about?
VB: Well, one is a documentary that I am very close to completing. It’s called “Diary of a Deadbeat,” and follows the life of underground filmmaker, Jim Vanbebber. I started documenting Jim around four years ago, and it’s been a wild ride. I have all my interviews done for it and have collected a lot of footage of Jim. Now it’s just the editing process. The other film is “Blood Wings: A Satanic Fantasy,” and it’s really my baby. I started making that one almost five years ago now, which is scary to even think about, but it’s true. I was living and working with a bunch of filmmakers at the time, like Jimmy ScreamerClauz, Joey Smack, and Ruby Larocca. I will finish it and will continue to shoot it on 16mm, no matter what. It’s just a matter of getting the funds together. I have a shitty desk job now and aim to save all my money to put towards my films. So we’ll see!
LIA!: Is it one of your aspirations to see your work able to support itself and you so that you can quit said job and be a career filmmaker?
VB: Yes! That is my aspiration!
LIA!: You have obviously been doing this for quite some time. Who was your original inspiration in the film-making world and who continues to inspire you today?
VB: Well, my older sisters got me into weird cinema really early. My sister, Tia, worked with underground filmmakers Richard Kern and Tommy Turner, and my other sister, Ami, performed with GG Allin and Kembra Pfahler from “The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black,” so I was introduced to that underground New York scene very early. But on my own I got into Stanley Kubrick and became obsessed with him when I was in junior high. As I got older and discovered more filmmakers, it was filmmakers like Frank Henenlotter and John Waters that really influenced me.
LIA!: That is quite the list of inspirations! It’s no wonder your work spans such a wide range of genres and styles. What is the best advice you can give to other aspiring filmmakers?
VB: Really, don’t conform. Make what you want and listen to everyone but don’t listen to anyone.
LIA!: Excellent advice. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
VB: Break the rules and be an artist. Take your art seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. And never stop smoking weed.
LIA!: Who told you that?
VB: I can’t remember!
LIA!: It’s probably all that weed.
VB: Right!
LIA!: Well, we hope you’ll keep us posted when you’re ready to show your features at festivals! I’m sure the art community would love to see the works you’ve been creating!
VB: Will do. I definitely want to do a big Long Island premier when I am done!
LIA!: That would be amazing for the Long Island art community. Thank you so much for speaking with us!
VB: Thank you for doing this!
http://www.youtube.com/user/chainsawkiss/videos?flow=grid&view=0
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Long-Island-Art/183483648460253?ref=hl
Veronica Spettmann Reporting
Published: January 25, 2013
Long Island Art! Features David Graham
As you probably noticed, a lot of the articles and creative works posted to this blog so far were written in late 2011 to early 2012. You might be wondering what I've done more recently. I'll admit, there was a spell during which I did very little formal writing, and certainly nothing that was published (though I'm always writing). This past December, I agreed to write interviews for a Facebook page called Long Island Art! It is a wonderful group which strives to unite the Long Island Art community. This piece is the first interview I conducted, wrote, and edited for the page.
Long Island Art! Features David Graham
Long Island Art! Features David Graham
Art is a lot of things, and many often debate what makes art what it
is. However, many people will agree that art is expression. Some art is
beautiful, some art is disturbing, and some art is beautiful because it
is disturbing. Such is the case with the work of David Graham. Long
Island Art had the pleasure of speaking with him about his aspirations
to destroy childhood memories, one work of art at a time.
Long Island Art !: Thanks for letting us pick your brain. Shall we start right in?
David Graham: Ask away.
LIA!: So when did you first begin making your art, and what was the catalyst?
DG: I have been drawing cartoons my whole life, but got into fine art in college. After college I started painting these celebrity death portraits and they became a hit. Soon after, I branched out into other ideas of creating projects. My theme for each is to be fun and childlike, but also morbid at the same time.
LIA!: Are you currently working on a specific project? And how has the focus of your work changed over the years?
DG: I am currently working on several projects. Two are in progress and the rest are still in the research/idea phase. When I first started in 2010, I was creating celebrity death portraits, which were great, but I knew if I stuck with it it would become tired. A good friend of mine took me to the MoMa to show me the works there because I had never been. I learned after that to basically create whatever I damn well pleased.
LIA!: Nice! So would you say your work is primarily self-indulgent?
DG: You can say that. I usually base my projects on fascination or any random idea that comes to mind.
LIA!: Where can the public view your work? Do you have a blog or a website, or is your work currently exhibited at a gallery?
DG: At the moment I am not on display anywhere, but I do have a website which has a link to my Facebook fan page. www.thedavidgrahamcollection.com On Valentine’s Day I will be showing a piece at Ripe Art Gallery in Greenlawn. It’s a very awful painting.
LIA!: We doubt that! What is the title of the piece that will be showing, and what time will it be open to the public to see?
DG: The name of the piece is “The Things You Do For Love,” and it shows Snow White with semen on her mouth. The semen is made with glitter. The show starts at 7:00pm.
LIA!: That sounds spectacular. Do you ever sell your work? And do you do commissioned art or replicas of your older works for willing customers?
DG: My work is for sale. I am always up for commissions and can always make copies of my previous work. In my career, my work is still in the “too weird to be hung in my home” phase for most people.
LIA: In the frame of mind of your career, what are your hopes for the future of your art and your career?
DG: The overall theme of my work is childhood and how I am basically destroying it for people (a compliment I love getting). My goal is to always create something that will either be enjoyable, devastating, or both. I want to have a future still doing what I love.
LIA!: Do you want your art to be your only career or do you aspire to have other, equally interesting careers?
DG: To support myself with art would be nice, but for the most part won’t create full stability. I also have a degree in graphic design, so that can be a possibility. Recently, I was thinking about doing set designs because every October I work at a haunted house and create rooms for them. That could be an opportunity.
LIA!: That’s very exciting. Taking your entire collection of work — haunted house work included — into account, what project or piece would you say you are most proud of or happy with?
DG: At the moment I have a series called “Monster.” It was the idea of what the imaginary friends for 50 American murderers would have looked like. I created these adorable cartoon characters, drew them on paper, outlined them with a black Sharpie, then colored them with crayons. People have said the show was either extremely disturbing or really sad. Not many people want to think of murderers as children, I guess, but this is so far a crowning achievement in my career.
LIA!: That’s so unique! That was obviously a success for you, and we’re sure you have many successes ahead of you, so in your experience, what do you think will best help the Long Island art community to grow?
DG: Thank you. What would help the Long Island art community is all of us working with each other. The scene is landscapes or still life or other mainstream works. There are so many of us that have new ideas or warped visions, but many galleries won’t even consider us. If we ban together and maybe start D.I.Y. art shows or even find businesses and individuals who are interested in what we have, then maybe we have a fighting chance.
LIA!: Do you think that Long Island Art is a step in the right direction? And what would you like to tell us about yourself or your art in general?
DG: Long Island Art is a great step in the right direction. It’s very helpful in getting names out to the public. What I would like to tell Long Island Art is that I am most likely going to destroy your childhood memories. If you loved it when you were little, odds are I will find a way to ruin it. I won’t apologize for it, and no one should ever apologize for creating what they want. Unless it kills someone. That is illegal.
LIA!: Well said! What pearls of wisdom, then, would you like to bestow upon other aspiring artists?
DG: I guess my pearl of wisdom for artists is to create what you love. If there is a subject you are fascinated with, make something out of it. Never be afraid to do what you want. I once, in front of an audience, painted the singer, Prince, doing something graphically sexual. I didn’t care that the old people watching left in disgust, because it is what I love doing. Just create.
Long Island Art !: Thanks for letting us pick your brain. Shall we start right in?
David Graham: Ask away.
LIA!: So when did you first begin making your art, and what was the catalyst?
DG: I have been drawing cartoons my whole life, but got into fine art in college. After college I started painting these celebrity death portraits and they became a hit. Soon after, I branched out into other ideas of creating projects. My theme for each is to be fun and childlike, but also morbid at the same time.
LIA!: Are you currently working on a specific project? And how has the focus of your work changed over the years?
DG: I am currently working on several projects. Two are in progress and the rest are still in the research/idea phase. When I first started in 2010, I was creating celebrity death portraits, which were great, but I knew if I stuck with it it would become tired. A good friend of mine took me to the MoMa to show me the works there because I had never been. I learned after that to basically create whatever I damn well pleased.
LIA!: Nice! So would you say your work is primarily self-indulgent?
DG: You can say that. I usually base my projects on fascination or any random idea that comes to mind.
LIA!: Where can the public view your work? Do you have a blog or a website, or is your work currently exhibited at a gallery?
DG: At the moment I am not on display anywhere, but I do have a website which has a link to my Facebook fan page. www.thedavidgrahamcollection.com On Valentine’s Day I will be showing a piece at Ripe Art Gallery in Greenlawn. It’s a very awful painting.
LIA!: We doubt that! What is the title of the piece that will be showing, and what time will it be open to the public to see?
DG: The name of the piece is “The Things You Do For Love,” and it shows Snow White with semen on her mouth. The semen is made with glitter. The show starts at 7:00pm.
LIA!: That sounds spectacular. Do you ever sell your work? And do you do commissioned art or replicas of your older works for willing customers?
DG: My work is for sale. I am always up for commissions and can always make copies of my previous work. In my career, my work is still in the “too weird to be hung in my home” phase for most people.
LIA: In the frame of mind of your career, what are your hopes for the future of your art and your career?
DG: The overall theme of my work is childhood and how I am basically destroying it for people (a compliment I love getting). My goal is to always create something that will either be enjoyable, devastating, or both. I want to have a future still doing what I love.
LIA!: Do you want your art to be your only career or do you aspire to have other, equally interesting careers?
DG: To support myself with art would be nice, but for the most part won’t create full stability. I also have a degree in graphic design, so that can be a possibility. Recently, I was thinking about doing set designs because every October I work at a haunted house and create rooms for them. That could be an opportunity.
LIA!: That’s very exciting. Taking your entire collection of work — haunted house work included — into account, what project or piece would you say you are most proud of or happy with?
DG: At the moment I have a series called “Monster.” It was the idea of what the imaginary friends for 50 American murderers would have looked like. I created these adorable cartoon characters, drew them on paper, outlined them with a black Sharpie, then colored them with crayons. People have said the show was either extremely disturbing or really sad. Not many people want to think of murderers as children, I guess, but this is so far a crowning achievement in my career.
LIA!: That’s so unique! That was obviously a success for you, and we’re sure you have many successes ahead of you, so in your experience, what do you think will best help the Long Island art community to grow?
DG: Thank you. What would help the Long Island art community is all of us working with each other. The scene is landscapes or still life or other mainstream works. There are so many of us that have new ideas or warped visions, but many galleries won’t even consider us. If we ban together and maybe start D.I.Y. art shows or even find businesses and individuals who are interested in what we have, then maybe we have a fighting chance.
LIA!: Do you think that Long Island Art is a step in the right direction? And what would you like to tell us about yourself or your art in general?
DG: Long Island Art is a great step in the right direction. It’s very helpful in getting names out to the public. What I would like to tell Long Island Art is that I am most likely going to destroy your childhood memories. If you loved it when you were little, odds are I will find a way to ruin it. I won’t apologize for it, and no one should ever apologize for creating what they want. Unless it kills someone. That is illegal.
LIA!: Well said! What pearls of wisdom, then, would you like to bestow upon other aspiring artists?
DG: I guess my pearl of wisdom for artists is to create what you love. If there is a subject you are fascinated with, make something out of it. Never be afraid to do what you want. I once, in front of an audience, painted the singer, Prince, doing something graphically sexual. I didn’t care that the old people watching left in disgust, because it is what I love doing. Just create.
Hare and His Camels
This was a really great piece for me, through and through. I was able to attend this wonderful free event at LIU Post. John Hare, who you will read more about in the article, is an engaging speaker and had a very well structured presentation for us. I had the pleasure of speaking with him privately after the event, which was when I realized he was just as engaging one-on-one. The editorial staff of the paper also made virtually no alterations to this piece, so I'm extra pleased with it.
Hare and His Camels
by Veronica Spettmann
On October 3rd, at 12:30, in Room 119 of Humanities Hall, C.W. Post was graced with the presence of a man with a very unique calling in life. The honors program and merit fellowship hosted a special lecture with John Hare, a British explorer and the founder of The Wild Camel Protection Foundation, who has spent the better part of the last two decades traveling deserts in Mongolia and Chinain order to study the wild camel.
These camels are extremely endangered creatures, and, accordingly, find themselves under continued threat because illegal miners invade their sanctuary in pursuit of gold.
Though the sanctuary has rangers that can, theoretically, fend off these miners, there are only about 30 rangers employed to cover an area around the size of Texas. The miners left 74 empty and seven full drums of potassium cyanide at their mining site, which is the only site in the entire desert with fresh water. It poisoned the water, killing off many of the wild camels. The miners also shot the wild camels for food.
Wild camels differ from regular camels in that they have two humps, which remain small, even after the camels drink, and they have a different, flat skull structure. In his lecture, John Hare explained that this rare species of camels survives on salt water with a higher salt concentration than seawater and live in an area that has been used for dozens of nuclear tests, yet they have still managed to survive.
When asked what he would like to share with the C.W. Post community, John Hare said, "The camel is a remarkable survivor and is under threat. Although it isn't cute and cuddly, it is remarkable." And, although John Hare speaks to over 130 schools in England alone, he felt that the C.W. Post audience was a very good and interested audience in comparison to other student bodies.
At the event, John Hare was selling books and camelhair products, like scarves and socks, for the benefit of the camel population. If anyone in the C.W. Post community is interested in contributing to the efforts to protect the wild camel species or in buying the aforementioned products, he or she may go to www.wildcamels.com for more information or to become a donating member of The Wild Camel Protection Foundation.
Published: October 19, 2011
Hare and His Camels
by Veronica Spettmann
On October 3rd, at 12:30, in Room 119 of Humanities Hall, C.W. Post was graced with the presence of a man with a very unique calling in life. The honors program and merit fellowship hosted a special lecture with John Hare, a British explorer and the founder of The Wild Camel Protection Foundation, who has spent the better part of the last two decades traveling deserts in Mongolia and Chinain order to study the wild camel.
These camels are extremely endangered creatures, and, accordingly, find themselves under continued threat because illegal miners invade their sanctuary in pursuit of gold.
Though the sanctuary has rangers that can, theoretically, fend off these miners, there are only about 30 rangers employed to cover an area around the size of Texas. The miners left 74 empty and seven full drums of potassium cyanide at their mining site, which is the only site in the entire desert with fresh water. It poisoned the water, killing off many of the wild camels. The miners also shot the wild camels for food.
Wild camels differ from regular camels in that they have two humps, which remain small, even after the camels drink, and they have a different, flat skull structure. In his lecture, John Hare explained that this rare species of camels survives on salt water with a higher salt concentration than seawater and live in an area that has been used for dozens of nuclear tests, yet they have still managed to survive.
When asked what he would like to share with the C.W. Post community, John Hare said, "The camel is a remarkable survivor and is under threat. Although it isn't cute and cuddly, it is remarkable." And, although John Hare speaks to over 130 schools in England alone, he felt that the C.W. Post audience was a very good and interested audience in comparison to other student bodies.
At the event, John Hare was selling books and camelhair products, like scarves and socks, for the benefit of the camel population. If anyone in the C.W. Post community is interested in contributing to the efforts to protect the wild camel species or in buying the aforementioned products, he or she may go to www.wildcamels.com for more information or to become a donating member of The Wild Camel Protection Foundation.
Published: October 19, 2011
Nieces and Nephews: Books on the Go
And, for the moment, this concludes my list of contributions to Savvy Auntie! I hope you've enjoyed this part of my writing history!
Nieces and Nephews: Books on the Go
By Veronica Spettmann
Veronica Spettmann is a jack of all trades with a particular passion for writing. She recently graduated with her BA in English Writing from LIU Post and is excited to present herself to the real world. She writes for a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, and has her own blog, The Five Dollar Word, where she tracks her progress (or occasional lack thereof). An ABC (Auntie-by-Choice) and former intern for Savvy Auntie, she's excited to be invited back to contribute articles to such a wonderful information super-center for Aunties!
Do you buy books for your nieces and nephews at the airport, read with them during the flight, then wish you didn’t have to tote the books around your destination with you for the rest of your trip? Well then, wish no longer, Auntie. There are now a lot of options available to help you save money on books while you travel!
With the Read and Return program available at most United States airports, you can buy a book in one city and then return it at your destination airport for half of your money back! This program, instituted in 2003, is offered by any of the 500 Paradies Shops. Books that are returned to these shops in good condition will be bought back at half price. If your nieces and nephews are a bit too rough on their books during the trip, Paradies will take it back and donate it to charity instead. This is a great opportunity to teach your nieces and nephews about doing good for others while you travel. This program is not limited to just children’s books; any book bought at a Paradies Shop qualifies. For the price of one book, Aunties can buy a book for both departing and returning flights.
Books, especially Auntie-sized tomes, can be cumbersome during travel, even if you are returning them. E-readers like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook provide light and easy-to-carry alternatives to traditional books. Many classics are free, and the prices of these e-readers are dropping as the technology evolves, which also makes them an inexpensive Auntie alternative. Many libraries will also allow e-reader owners to borrow e-books, free-of-charge.
Are you not planning a trip anytime soon but would like to see where your books would go without you? A fun program called Book Crossing is a great way to get rid of books that you, your nieces, or your nephews have already read, while providing your nieces and nephews with a fabulous geography lesson!
Here’s how it works:
1. Register your books online using their ISBN numbers or by searching the titles and authors.
2. Put a label (like a sticky note) on or in the book with a short note with the registration number in it.
3. Leave the book somewhere. Anywhere. You can leave it on your nieces’ and nephews’ favorite park bench, at the bagel shop where you eat breakfast with them, or even at the airport when you travel with them. The possibilities are endless.
4. Go on the website and see who picks up your book!
Sometimes, your books will travel around the world without you. As soon as someone goes online and enters the registration code that you put in the book, you’ll be able to track its progress (and you can point out the different locations to your nieces and nephews on a map or globe, to help them feel involved). I once had a book make it all the way to China without me!
Whether you are traveling with books or your books are traveling without you, these are some fun ways to encourage your nieces and nephews to read, while learning all about the geography of the world around them.
Happy reading and safe travels!
Published: May 21, 2012
Nieces and Nephews: Books on the Go
By Veronica Spettmann
Veronica Spettmann is a jack of all trades with a particular passion for writing. She recently graduated with her BA in English Writing from LIU Post and is excited to present herself to the real world. She writes for a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, and has her own blog, The Five Dollar Word, where she tracks her progress (or occasional lack thereof). An ABC (Auntie-by-Choice) and former intern for Savvy Auntie, she's excited to be invited back to contribute articles to such a wonderful information super-center for Aunties!
Do you buy books for your nieces and nephews at the airport, read with them during the flight, then wish you didn’t have to tote the books around your destination with you for the rest of your trip? Well then, wish no longer, Auntie. There are now a lot of options available to help you save money on books while you travel!
With the Read and Return program available at most United States airports, you can buy a book in one city and then return it at your destination airport for half of your money back! This program, instituted in 2003, is offered by any of the 500 Paradies Shops. Books that are returned to these shops in good condition will be bought back at half price. If your nieces and nephews are a bit too rough on their books during the trip, Paradies will take it back and donate it to charity instead. This is a great opportunity to teach your nieces and nephews about doing good for others while you travel. This program is not limited to just children’s books; any book bought at a Paradies Shop qualifies. For the price of one book, Aunties can buy a book for both departing and returning flights.
Books, especially Auntie-sized tomes, can be cumbersome during travel, even if you are returning them. E-readers like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook provide light and easy-to-carry alternatives to traditional books. Many classics are free, and the prices of these e-readers are dropping as the technology evolves, which also makes them an inexpensive Auntie alternative. Many libraries will also allow e-reader owners to borrow e-books, free-of-charge.
Are you not planning a trip anytime soon but would like to see where your books would go without you? A fun program called Book Crossing is a great way to get rid of books that you, your nieces, or your nephews have already read, while providing your nieces and nephews with a fabulous geography lesson!
Here’s how it works:
1. Register your books online using their ISBN numbers or by searching the titles and authors.
2. Put a label (like a sticky note) on or in the book with a short note with the registration number in it.
3. Leave the book somewhere. Anywhere. You can leave it on your nieces’ and nephews’ favorite park bench, at the bagel shop where you eat breakfast with them, or even at the airport when you travel with them. The possibilities are endless.
4. Go on the website and see who picks up your book!
Sometimes, your books will travel around the world without you. As soon as someone goes online and enters the registration code that you put in the book, you’ll be able to track its progress (and you can point out the different locations to your nieces and nephews on a map or globe, to help them feel involved). I once had a book make it all the way to China without me!
Whether you are traveling with books or your books are traveling without you, these are some fun ways to encourage your nieces and nephews to read, while learning all about the geography of the world around them.
Happy reading and safe travels!
Published: May 21, 2012
Auntie's Anywhere Workout
As I mentioned in a previous post, I consider myself a bit of a guru when it comes to traveling lightly and on a budget. However, in my experience, I've also had to find ways to stay fit in small spaces while I travel. This article is all original information that I gleaned while I was on the road. I am very proud of this article and genuinely hope it helped some of my audience members! This was also the first piece I wrote for Savvy Auntie as a regular contributor, rather than Ms. Notkin's Editorial Intern. (My bio mentions a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, which is a lovely blog, but was not updated very frequently, so I have since stopped writing for that blog.)
Auntie's Anywhere Workout
by Veronica Spettman
Veronica Spettmann is a jack of all trades with a particular passion for writing. She recently graduated with her BA in English Writing from LIU Post and is excited to present herself to the real world. She writes for a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, and has her own blog, The Five Dollar Word, where she tracks her progress (or occasional lack thereof). An ABC (Auntie-by-Choice) and former intern for Savvy Auntie, she's excited to be invited back to contribute articles to such a wonderful information super-center for Aunties!
Are you short on space, Auntie? Do you travel a lot but don’t want to miss workouts on the road? Are you lacking the funds to buy expensive workout gear because you’d rather shower your nieces and nephews with presents? Are you looking to get toned without looking like a bodybuilder? If you’re anything like me, I personally have a space the size of a bathmat (about four feet by five feet), the budget of a college kid (zero!), and I’m never in the same place for longer than an hour.
With that in mind, I set out to find a workout regimen that would help me lose weight, tone up, and feel good. Through personal experimentation and a little bit of asking around (some personal-trainer friends proved invaluable), I have found the perfect workout solution for every Auntie.
Ideally, you should alternate cardiovascular exercise and strength training for about an hour, but the great thing about this workout is that you can customize it to your time restrictions, and involve your nieces and nephews in the fun. Here’s how you do it:
Make an hour-long (or shorter, according to the time you have) playlist full of music that gets you PUMPED! The key to this workout is to never stop your playlist, so that you’ll never stop moving. Use the first full song to warm up, moving and shaking around or doing a gentler version of one of the cardio options below. Explain to participating nieces and nephews why it is essential to warm up before any physical activity. You should never exercise without warming up, because it will put your muscles under unnecessary strain and could cause injury.
When the second song comes on, you can do any one of these cardiovascular exercises:
1. Jumping jacks: There’s a reason jumping jacks are a cardio standby. They’re easy to perform anywhere because they take virtually no space and require no equipment. If you aren’t familiar with jumping jacks, begin by standing with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Jump up and land so that your legs are separated and your arms are in the air above you, with your body forming an ‘X’. Jump back to your starting position, and repeat. That’s a jumping jack. (To raise the intensity, use weights, or the alternative suggestions I mention below if you don’t have weights, to strengthen your arms, or squat when you jump out to strengthen your legs.) Your nieces and nephews will love these because they’ll already know how to do them. Their energy may even inspire you to push yourself harder.
2. Jump rope: If you don’t have a rope, just pretend like you’re jumping rope, arms and all. This may take some practice if you’ve never used a jumping rope before (or if you haven’t used one since grade school). If you want to invest in a jump rope, it’ll run you between $7-$10. Or just borrow one from your niece; chances are she’ll have a perfectly suitable jump rope for you.
3. Run in place: Seems silly, doesn’t it? But if you actually run quickly instead of leisurely jogging, it’ll get your heart rate up so that your strength training will be more effective. Want to raise the stakes? Instead of just running in place, bring your knees up toward your chest while you run. This will simultaneously raise your heart rate and work your abs and buttocks. This would also be a great way for you and your nieces and nephews to be a little bit silly by adding wacky arm movements to your jogging!
4. Side-step: This is generally most effective if you have an aerobic step, or something similar, but you can perform this exercise without a step as well. Start with both feet together on the step. Touch one foot to the ground (if you aren’t using a step, touch one foot out to the side while bending the other knee into a lunge). Jump up and switch feet. Repeat. This movement will be great practice for outings in nice weather with nieces and nephews (it’s the same movement you make when you’re trying to catch them as they run past you).
When the third song comes on, you’ll want to target a part of your body for strength training. Here, I’ve listed one exercise that I do for each part of my body:
1. Arms: I have 2-pound weights that I use, but you could also fill matching soda bottles (or nieces’ and nephews’ baby bottles) with water, or use soup cans. Bent over from a standing position, with straight knees, a flat back and your arms flush with your sides, pull your elbows back behind you and straighten your arms again (this motion will work your triceps). Bend your arms again and re-straighten them. Do this ten times. Then, with your arms back at your sides, do a set of ten bicep curls. Alternate between the two for the duration of one song.
2. Abs: One of the most effective things to do is basic crunches. However, this becomes boring quickly. I like to spice it up by alternating different kinds of crunches, like side crunches to work my obliques. To do this, start in the basic crunch position, lying on your back, with knees bent and feet on the floor. Tip both of your knees to one side while keeping your shoulders facing toward the ceiling. Crunch up using the muscles in your side, so both shoulders leave the ground. Do ten repetitions, then switch your knees to the other side and repeat. As with regular crunches, be sure you don’t strain your neck. Let your nieces and nephews participate by asking them to hold your ankles in place (it’s great motivation to keep crunching if you try to tickle your nieces and nephews every time you come up).
3. Legs: Try squat jumps! You will hate these more than your young nieces and nephews hate broccoli, but they work wonders. These double as a cardio exercise and are very strenuous, so if they are too much for you, do regular squats until you feel strong enough to add the jump. With your legs shoulder-width apart, go into a squatting position (I find it’s easiest to get the right form when I clasp my hands in front of me). Then, using the muscles in your legs, jump up as high as you can, landing in another squat. If you can do more than 50 of these during the course of a song, you may just be a body-building Auntie! These are very tough, so don’t get discouraged.
4. Glutes: If you do glute exercises after squat jumps and some cardio, then it will almost seem like a break. Lying in the crunch starting position, place your arms on the floor at your sides. Using your booty muscles, lift your hips into the air as high as you can, and lower back down again. This is a really fun exercise to do to a beat or rhythm. Or to challenge your stamina, when you lift your hips, tell your young nieces and nephews to crawl underneath the space it makes. You can’t drop your hips until they’re out from underneath you, so it’ll motivate you to stay up!
5. Back: The back can be challenging to work out safely, so if you feel any pain at all, stop. Lying on your stomach, put your arms on the floor in front of you, fingers pointing forward. Using the muscles in your back, lift your arms and legs off the ground. Try to get your shoulders and pelvic muscles off the ground as well, to add intensity. Lower to the ground and start again. Ask your nieces or nephews to hum the Superman theme song for you if you’re struggling to keep it up!
Your pattern will be: warmup, cardio, strength one, cardio, strength two, and so on. Use your last song to cool down and stretch out the muscles you just worked so hard. Share a cold drink of water with your nieces and nephews and thank them for their help.
You’ll want to alternate one day on (doing the workout), and the other day off (resting). As with any toning or weight loss goals, it helps to have a healthy diet. Eat when you’re hungry; stop when you’re full. Stop eating about two hours before you go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep every night. Soon you’ll feel great about taking your nieces and nephews to the pool while donning your own bathing suit this summer, Auntie!
Published: March 20, 2012
Auntie's Anywhere Workout
by Veronica Spettman
Veronica Spettmann is a jack of all trades with a particular passion for writing. She recently graduated with her BA in English Writing from LIU Post and is excited to present herself to the real world. She writes for a food blog, The Flava In Ya Ear, and has her own blog, The Five Dollar Word, where she tracks her progress (or occasional lack thereof). An ABC (Auntie-by-Choice) and former intern for Savvy Auntie, she's excited to be invited back to contribute articles to such a wonderful information super-center for Aunties!
Are you short on space, Auntie? Do you travel a lot but don’t want to miss workouts on the road? Are you lacking the funds to buy expensive workout gear because you’d rather shower your nieces and nephews with presents? Are you looking to get toned without looking like a bodybuilder? If you’re anything like me, I personally have a space the size of a bathmat (about four feet by five feet), the budget of a college kid (zero!), and I’m never in the same place for longer than an hour.
With that in mind, I set out to find a workout regimen that would help me lose weight, tone up, and feel good. Through personal experimentation and a little bit of asking around (some personal-trainer friends proved invaluable), I have found the perfect workout solution for every Auntie.
Ideally, you should alternate cardiovascular exercise and strength training for about an hour, but the great thing about this workout is that you can customize it to your time restrictions, and involve your nieces and nephews in the fun. Here’s how you do it:
Make an hour-long (or shorter, according to the time you have) playlist full of music that gets you PUMPED! The key to this workout is to never stop your playlist, so that you’ll never stop moving. Use the first full song to warm up, moving and shaking around or doing a gentler version of one of the cardio options below. Explain to participating nieces and nephews why it is essential to warm up before any physical activity. You should never exercise without warming up, because it will put your muscles under unnecessary strain and could cause injury.
When the second song comes on, you can do any one of these cardiovascular exercises:
1. Jumping jacks: There’s a reason jumping jacks are a cardio standby. They’re easy to perform anywhere because they take virtually no space and require no equipment. If you aren’t familiar with jumping jacks, begin by standing with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Jump up and land so that your legs are separated and your arms are in the air above you, with your body forming an ‘X’. Jump back to your starting position, and repeat. That’s a jumping jack. (To raise the intensity, use weights, or the alternative suggestions I mention below if you don’t have weights, to strengthen your arms, or squat when you jump out to strengthen your legs.) Your nieces and nephews will love these because they’ll already know how to do them. Their energy may even inspire you to push yourself harder.
2. Jump rope: If you don’t have a rope, just pretend like you’re jumping rope, arms and all. This may take some practice if you’ve never used a jumping rope before (or if you haven’t used one since grade school). If you want to invest in a jump rope, it’ll run you between $7-$10. Or just borrow one from your niece; chances are she’ll have a perfectly suitable jump rope for you.
3. Run in place: Seems silly, doesn’t it? But if you actually run quickly instead of leisurely jogging, it’ll get your heart rate up so that your strength training will be more effective. Want to raise the stakes? Instead of just running in place, bring your knees up toward your chest while you run. This will simultaneously raise your heart rate and work your abs and buttocks. This would also be a great way for you and your nieces and nephews to be a little bit silly by adding wacky arm movements to your jogging!
4. Side-step: This is generally most effective if you have an aerobic step, or something similar, but you can perform this exercise without a step as well. Start with both feet together on the step. Touch one foot to the ground (if you aren’t using a step, touch one foot out to the side while bending the other knee into a lunge). Jump up and switch feet. Repeat. This movement will be great practice for outings in nice weather with nieces and nephews (it’s the same movement you make when you’re trying to catch them as they run past you).
When the third song comes on, you’ll want to target a part of your body for strength training. Here, I’ve listed one exercise that I do for each part of my body:
1. Arms: I have 2-pound weights that I use, but you could also fill matching soda bottles (or nieces’ and nephews’ baby bottles) with water, or use soup cans. Bent over from a standing position, with straight knees, a flat back and your arms flush with your sides, pull your elbows back behind you and straighten your arms again (this motion will work your triceps). Bend your arms again and re-straighten them. Do this ten times. Then, with your arms back at your sides, do a set of ten bicep curls. Alternate between the two for the duration of one song.
2. Abs: One of the most effective things to do is basic crunches. However, this becomes boring quickly. I like to spice it up by alternating different kinds of crunches, like side crunches to work my obliques. To do this, start in the basic crunch position, lying on your back, with knees bent and feet on the floor. Tip both of your knees to one side while keeping your shoulders facing toward the ceiling. Crunch up using the muscles in your side, so both shoulders leave the ground. Do ten repetitions, then switch your knees to the other side and repeat. As with regular crunches, be sure you don’t strain your neck. Let your nieces and nephews participate by asking them to hold your ankles in place (it’s great motivation to keep crunching if you try to tickle your nieces and nephews every time you come up).
3. Legs: Try squat jumps! You will hate these more than your young nieces and nephews hate broccoli, but they work wonders. These double as a cardio exercise and are very strenuous, so if they are too much for you, do regular squats until you feel strong enough to add the jump. With your legs shoulder-width apart, go into a squatting position (I find it’s easiest to get the right form when I clasp my hands in front of me). Then, using the muscles in your legs, jump up as high as you can, landing in another squat. If you can do more than 50 of these during the course of a song, you may just be a body-building Auntie! These are very tough, so don’t get discouraged.
4. Glutes: If you do glute exercises after squat jumps and some cardio, then it will almost seem like a break. Lying in the crunch starting position, place your arms on the floor at your sides. Using your booty muscles, lift your hips into the air as high as you can, and lower back down again. This is a really fun exercise to do to a beat or rhythm. Or to challenge your stamina, when you lift your hips, tell your young nieces and nephews to crawl underneath the space it makes. You can’t drop your hips until they’re out from underneath you, so it’ll motivate you to stay up!
5. Back: The back can be challenging to work out safely, so if you feel any pain at all, stop. Lying on your stomach, put your arms on the floor in front of you, fingers pointing forward. Using the muscles in your back, lift your arms and legs off the ground. Try to get your shoulders and pelvic muscles off the ground as well, to add intensity. Lower to the ground and start again. Ask your nieces or nephews to hum the Superman theme song for you if you’re struggling to keep it up!
Your pattern will be: warmup, cardio, strength one, cardio, strength two, and so on. Use your last song to cool down and stretch out the muscles you just worked so hard. Share a cold drink of water with your nieces and nephews and thank them for their help.
You’ll want to alternate one day on (doing the workout), and the other day off (resting). As with any toning or weight loss goals, it helps to have a healthy diet. Eat when you’re hungry; stop when you’re full. Stop eating about two hours before you go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep every night. Soon you’ll feel great about taking your nieces and nephews to the pool while donning your own bathing suit this summer, Auntie!
Published: March 20, 2012
LEGO for Girls? Yes, Auntie!
LEGO for Girls? Yes, Auntie!
by Veronica Spettmann
Most Aunties acknowledge that LEGO is a pretty amazing toy brand. In fact, it’s been a toy economy darling these last few years, outpacing sales of most other toys. But LEGO system toys are largely coveted by our nephews, with themes like Star Wars and Ninjago that boys are particularly attracted to.
That’s possibly all about to change. Yesterday, LEGO Group announced that beginning January 1st, it will be selling 23 products geared towards girls ages five and older (priced $5.99 to $99.99).
LEGO Friends was designed with girls’ desires to create and role-play in mind. The sets will feature the first-of-its-kind LEGO mini-doll figure that is more realistic than the traditional LEGO people, and three new brick colors to appeal to our nieces’ wants. Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the CEO of LEGO Group, says:“We focused on creating a play experience centered on the joy of creation, while heeding the way girls naturally build and play. We are incredibly proud of the solution we deliver with LEGO Friends, and are resolved to build this platform for years to come.”
These coming years we will be introduced to five characters from the fictional “Heartlake City”: Olivia, Mia, Andrea, Stephanie, and Emma. The first sets will reflect these characters’ personalities with names like: “Stephanie’s Outdoor Bakery;” “Emma’s Splash Pool;” “Andrea’s Stage;” “Olivia’s Inventor’s Workshop;” “Stephanie’s Pet Patrol;” “Mia’s Puppy House;” and “Emma’s Design Studio.” ??Some of the larger sets will include: “Stephanie’s Cool Convertible;” “Olivia’s Tree House;” “Heartlake Dog Show;” “Butterfly Beauty Shop;” “City Park Café;” “Heartlake Vet;” and “Olivia’s House."
“Unlike previous LEGO toys for girls, LEGO Friends, at its core, does not apologize for being a construction toy and delivers, for the first time, a building experience in the same scale as our classic offerings,” says Nanna Ulrich Gudum, the senior creative director for LEGO Group.
We think we may want to live in Heartlake City too! Good thing LEGO set up an online environment for our nieces to participate in to help make this LEGO experience even more interactive: LEGOFriends.com.
The first 14 LEGO Friends products will be available at limited locations and the remainder of the LEGO System play sets will be made available sometime in the summer months.
Published: December 20, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
Most Aunties acknowledge that LEGO is a pretty amazing toy brand. In fact, it’s been a toy economy darling these last few years, outpacing sales of most other toys. But LEGO system toys are largely coveted by our nephews, with themes like Star Wars and Ninjago that boys are particularly attracted to.
That’s possibly all about to change. Yesterday, LEGO Group announced that beginning January 1st, it will be selling 23 products geared towards girls ages five and older (priced $5.99 to $99.99).
LEGO Friends was designed with girls’ desires to create and role-play in mind. The sets will feature the first-of-its-kind LEGO mini-doll figure that is more realistic than the traditional LEGO people, and three new brick colors to appeal to our nieces’ wants. Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, the CEO of LEGO Group, says:“We focused on creating a play experience centered on the joy of creation, while heeding the way girls naturally build and play. We are incredibly proud of the solution we deliver with LEGO Friends, and are resolved to build this platform for years to come.”
These coming years we will be introduced to five characters from the fictional “Heartlake City”: Olivia, Mia, Andrea, Stephanie, and Emma. The first sets will reflect these characters’ personalities with names like: “Stephanie’s Outdoor Bakery;” “Emma’s Splash Pool;” “Andrea’s Stage;” “Olivia’s Inventor’s Workshop;” “Stephanie’s Pet Patrol;” “Mia’s Puppy House;” and “Emma’s Design Studio.” ??Some of the larger sets will include: “Stephanie’s Cool Convertible;” “Olivia’s Tree House;” “Heartlake Dog Show;” “Butterfly Beauty Shop;” “City Park Café;” “Heartlake Vet;” and “Olivia’s House."
“Unlike previous LEGO toys for girls, LEGO Friends, at its core, does not apologize for being a construction toy and delivers, for the first time, a building experience in the same scale as our classic offerings,” says Nanna Ulrich Gudum, the senior creative director for LEGO Group.
We think we may want to live in Heartlake City too! Good thing LEGO set up an online environment for our nieces to participate in to help make this LEGO experience even more interactive: LEGOFriends.com.
The first 14 LEGO Friends products will be available at limited locations and the remainder of the LEGO System play sets will be made available sometime in the summer months.
Published: December 20, 2011
Five Tips to Splitting Your Holiday Time
Five Tips to Splitting Your Holiday Time
by Veronica Spettmann
Non-single Aunties out there have probably encountered the troubling situation of trying to figure out whose family to spend the holidays with. Single Aunties may be having trouble deciding how to spend time with their families while still going to those great holiday parties that our friends are hosting. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide how to split up your time between families or between friends and family:
1. Decide if you can combine everyone! If your family gets along with your significant other’s family, then just have one big day of festivities where everyone can mingle! Does your family like your friends? Have your friends over for your holiday celebrations.
2. So, they don’t get along. Or you have too many friends. It happens. Has your family always had a huge Christmas Eve party, but not done much at all on Christmas Day? If this is the case, figure out if they would mind if you spent Christmas Day with your friends or significant other’s family. More often than not, most involved will be fine with the compromise.
3. Oh dear, your friends and families all want to celebrate on the exact same day and aren’t budging and you can’t combine them all into one big party. Now it boils down to deciding if you can split up the day itself. Is everyone close enough together that you can see your family in the morning, your significant other’s family for dinner, and then go out for holiday drinks with your buddies? The extra, extra effort shows everyone that you want to see them.
4. Darn, your significant other’s family lives more than 50 miles away. What now? Unfortunately, if this is the case, you’re going to have to start thinking about who you see more often. If you live with your family or see them all the time, then you may want to consider seeing them before or after the holidays and go to see your significant other’s family or friends whom you do not see often on the holidays instead. They may not be thrilled, but they’ll understand.
5. Throughout all of these decisions it is also important to consider whom you truly ENJOY spending time with. As horrible as it sounds, some people you just like seeing more than others. You want to enjoy your holidays, too, so let this be a deciding factor. If your nieces and nephews are all on one side of the family, then by all means, go spend the day with them! Everyone else will understand!
As
long as you’re making well-thought-out choices, everyone (including
your nieces and nephews) will still see you as a wonderfully
Holiday-Savvy Auntie!
Published: December 21, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
Non-single Aunties out there have probably encountered the troubling situation of trying to figure out whose family to spend the holidays with. Single Aunties may be having trouble deciding how to spend time with their families while still going to those great holiday parties that our friends are hosting. Here are a few guidelines to help you decide how to split up your time between families or between friends and family:
1. Decide if you can combine everyone! If your family gets along with your significant other’s family, then just have one big day of festivities where everyone can mingle! Does your family like your friends? Have your friends over for your holiday celebrations.
2. So, they don’t get along. Or you have too many friends. It happens. Has your family always had a huge Christmas Eve party, but not done much at all on Christmas Day? If this is the case, figure out if they would mind if you spent Christmas Day with your friends or significant other’s family. More often than not, most involved will be fine with the compromise.
3. Oh dear, your friends and families all want to celebrate on the exact same day and aren’t budging and you can’t combine them all into one big party. Now it boils down to deciding if you can split up the day itself. Is everyone close enough together that you can see your family in the morning, your significant other’s family for dinner, and then go out for holiday drinks with your buddies? The extra, extra effort shows everyone that you want to see them.
4. Darn, your significant other’s family lives more than 50 miles away. What now? Unfortunately, if this is the case, you’re going to have to start thinking about who you see more often. If you live with your family or see them all the time, then you may want to consider seeing them before or after the holidays and go to see your significant other’s family or friends whom you do not see often on the holidays instead. They may not be thrilled, but they’ll understand.
5. Throughout all of these decisions it is also important to consider whom you truly ENJOY spending time with. As horrible as it sounds, some people you just like seeing more than others. You want to enjoy your holidays, too, so let this be a deciding factor. If your nieces and nephews are all on one side of the family, then by all means, go spend the day with them! Everyone else will understand!
Published: December 21, 2011
"App-y" Holidays!
"App-y" Holidays!
by Veronica Spettmann
Aunties can become pretty stressed when trying to make the holiday season special for their wonderful nieces and nephews. appSmitten, an online resource that helps Smart Phone users discover new applications, compiled a list of apps that will help Aunties alleviate some of that stress this year.
Easy Gift List
This app allows Aunties to keep track of who they need to buy for and what they planned to get! Aunties can create “events” for birthdays, holidays, and such. Then they can add their nieces and nephews to the events along with ideas for great gifts they had. This app also allows Aunties to set a budget and keep track of purchases, as well as mark gifts as “bought,” “wrapped,” “mailed,” and more! Free on iPhone
Find My Car!
Parking can be daunting if you forget to take note of where you parked, especially when Aunties are shopping at crowded malls for holiday gifts for nieces and nephews. Well, ditch that outdated “hit-the-alarm-button” trick. This app uses GPS navigation to pinpoint your car and give you walking directions back to it when you’re done navigating the stores! Free on iPhone
Postcards from Santa
This app is amazing for preventing the disappointment nieces and nephews feel when their “Dear Santa” letters never receive a reply. It costs $1.99 to send a completely personalized response postcard from Santa, but the app is free to download. The postcard will incorporate your nieces’ and nephews’ names, hometowns, and a Santa image. Free on iPhone and Android
Pinterest
This app is great for keeping track of gift ideas you find online for your nieces and nephews. It allows you to “pin” any image you find online to various “boards” or files that you create in the app. It will also allow you to pin photos that you take with your phone camera, which is a great way to organize those holiday photos of your nieces and nephews. Free on iPhone
Fancy
This app allows Aunties to find beautiful images that they may find inspiring, which may be just what Aunties need to unwind from holiday stressors. Aunties can browse images by topic categories then say whether they “fancy” an image or not. They can even upload their own photos for others to vote on. Free on iPhone, iPad, and Android
Red Laser
This app is like the Price is Right for the practical shopping Auntie. Scan an item (a food item for the holiday feast or a gift for a niece or nephew) and the app will tell you where else you can find the item (local listings and online retailers are listed) and what those other locations are charging. If there is no barcode, the app even allows Aunties to search the product manually. Free on iPhone and Android
The Find
This app is a lot like Red Laser, except it will allow Aunties to browse catalogs as well. There are hundreds of catalogs listed. The app shows the items with the prices attached for easy viewing. Free on iPhone and Android
Published: December 14, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
Aunties can become pretty stressed when trying to make the holiday season special for their wonderful nieces and nephews. appSmitten, an online resource that helps Smart Phone users discover new applications, compiled a list of apps that will help Aunties alleviate some of that stress this year.
Easy Gift List
This app allows Aunties to keep track of who they need to buy for and what they planned to get! Aunties can create “events” for birthdays, holidays, and such. Then they can add their nieces and nephews to the events along with ideas for great gifts they had. This app also allows Aunties to set a budget and keep track of purchases, as well as mark gifts as “bought,” “wrapped,” “mailed,” and more! Free on iPhone
Find My Car!
Parking can be daunting if you forget to take note of where you parked, especially when Aunties are shopping at crowded malls for holiday gifts for nieces and nephews. Well, ditch that outdated “hit-the-alarm-button” trick. This app uses GPS navigation to pinpoint your car and give you walking directions back to it when you’re done navigating the stores! Free on iPhone
Postcards from Santa
This app is amazing for preventing the disappointment nieces and nephews feel when their “Dear Santa” letters never receive a reply. It costs $1.99 to send a completely personalized response postcard from Santa, but the app is free to download. The postcard will incorporate your nieces’ and nephews’ names, hometowns, and a Santa image. Free on iPhone and Android
This app is great for keeping track of gift ideas you find online for your nieces and nephews. It allows you to “pin” any image you find online to various “boards” or files that you create in the app. It will also allow you to pin photos that you take with your phone camera, which is a great way to organize those holiday photos of your nieces and nephews. Free on iPhone
Fancy
This app allows Aunties to find beautiful images that they may find inspiring, which may be just what Aunties need to unwind from holiday stressors. Aunties can browse images by topic categories then say whether they “fancy” an image or not. They can even upload their own photos for others to vote on. Free on iPhone, iPad, and Android
Red Laser
This app is like the Price is Right for the practical shopping Auntie. Scan an item (a food item for the holiday feast or a gift for a niece or nephew) and the app will tell you where else you can find the item (local listings and online retailers are listed) and what those other locations are charging. If there is no barcode, the app even allows Aunties to search the product manually. Free on iPhone and Android
The Find
This app is a lot like Red Laser, except it will allow Aunties to browse catalogs as well. There are hundreds of catalogs listed. The app shows the items with the prices attached for easy viewing. Free on iPhone and Android
Published: December 14, 2011
Mozart Music Does Not Make Babies Smarter
Mozart Music Does Not Make Babies Smarter
by Veronica Spettmann
A recent article on lifehacker.com defined nine myths about the human brain that won’t seem to go away. One of these is a myth that even some Savvy Aunties have fallen for: that playing Mozart for your baby nieces and nephews will help turn them into super-baby geniuses.
The study that originally caused some to believe this myth actually never produced substantial conclusive evidence that Mozart made babies smarter. Dr. Gordon Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher originally found that a specific piece of Mozart music temporarily boosted cognitive skills in young children. Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid podcast adds: "although they had some promising preliminary results from a particular Mozart piece which made immediate worldwide headlines, the full study eventually showed no significant result." Nevertheless, these findings led to entire businesses created to capitalize on the myth, producing products and claims centered around the benefits of Mozart for babies.
While playing Mozart symphonies around young nieces and nephews will certainly not cause them any harm, Aunties should not expect them to turn out to be baby geniuses. Only close guidance and strong teachings by parents, teachers, Aunties and other loving adults can do that kind of work!
Published: December 14, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
A recent article on lifehacker.com defined nine myths about the human brain that won’t seem to go away. One of these is a myth that even some Savvy Aunties have fallen for: that playing Mozart for your baby nieces and nephews will help turn them into super-baby geniuses.
The study that originally caused some to believe this myth actually never produced substantial conclusive evidence that Mozart made babies smarter. Dr. Gordon Shaw and Dr. Frances Rauscher originally found that a specific piece of Mozart music temporarily boosted cognitive skills in young children. Brian Dunning of the Skeptoid podcast adds: "although they had some promising preliminary results from a particular Mozart piece which made immediate worldwide headlines, the full study eventually showed no significant result." Nevertheless, these findings led to entire businesses created to capitalize on the myth, producing products and claims centered around the benefits of Mozart for babies.
While playing Mozart symphonies around young nieces and nephews will certainly not cause them any harm, Aunties should not expect them to turn out to be baby geniuses. Only close guidance and strong teachings by parents, teachers, Aunties and other loving adults can do that kind of work!
Published: December 14, 2011
A Disney Princess for Little Girls
Back to Savvy Auntie, but I think this run will finish off my contributions to that site. (That's not to say I won't submit more articles in the future, but for personal reasons, I have stopped writing for them for now.)
A Disney Princess for Little Girls
by Veronica Spettmann
“Sofia the First” will be premiering in her own Disney movie on Disney Channel and Disney Junior in the fall of 2012, Aunties. This is the first time in Disney princess history that the story will be centered around the princess as a little girl. Sofia the First is a character that is meant to appeal to our preschool-aged nieces.
Sofia the First starts as a regular girl until her mom marries the king, at which point she is moved to the glamorous and confusing royal castle. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather (Aunties’ favorite fairies from the childhood classic, Sleeping Beauty), will star as the headmistresses of Royal Prep, the school that Sofia attends with other princes and princesses.
The movie release in 2012 will be followed by a television series that will air on the same channels in the spring of 2013. Senior Vice President of Disney Junior Worldwide, Nancy Kanter, says, “Although Sofia will have plenty of pretty dresses and sparkly shoes, our stories will show Sofia, and our viewers, that what makes a real princess is what’s inside, not what’s outside. That the inner character of kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, and grace make you special, not the dress you wear.”
Sofia the First is going to be a wonderful character for Aunties to share with their young nieces. It can help Aunties teach their nieces that it is important to be a good person, while reminding them that they will always be princesses to their Aunties!
Published: December 14, 2011
A Disney Princess for Little Girls
by Veronica Spettmann
“Sofia the First” will be premiering in her own Disney movie on Disney Channel and Disney Junior in the fall of 2012, Aunties. This is the first time in Disney princess history that the story will be centered around the princess as a little girl. Sofia the First is a character that is meant to appeal to our preschool-aged nieces.
Sofia the First starts as a regular girl until her mom marries the king, at which point she is moved to the glamorous and confusing royal castle. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather (Aunties’ favorite fairies from the childhood classic, Sleeping Beauty), will star as the headmistresses of Royal Prep, the school that Sofia attends with other princes and princesses.
The movie release in 2012 will be followed by a television series that will air on the same channels in the spring of 2013. Senior Vice President of Disney Junior Worldwide, Nancy Kanter, says, “Although Sofia will have plenty of pretty dresses and sparkly shoes, our stories will show Sofia, and our viewers, that what makes a real princess is what’s inside, not what’s outside. That the inner character of kindness, generosity, loyalty, honesty, and grace make you special, not the dress you wear.”
Sofia the First is going to be a wonderful character for Aunties to share with their young nieces. It can help Aunties teach their nieces that it is important to be a good person, while reminding them that they will always be princesses to their Aunties!
Published: December 14, 2011
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Breaking up another run of Savvy Auntie articles with this poem I wrote. It was published in another college compilation called Word from the Herd: The Horse Course Roundup. I happen to like this poem far more than the fable I published in the other college compilation. A photograph I took was also featured in this compilation. It will also be featured below. I hope you enjoy it!
"Horse Rhythm"
by Veronica Spettmann
Thump:
We blink.
Thump-thump:
My racing heart.
I thump
your sides with my heels.
Thum-um-um-ump:
Speeding hooves on decaying leaves.
Thump...thump...thump...
as we slow to a silence in which you
hear the
thump
of the pulse of history.
And I thump
your side with my hand in thanks for
the thump
of natural rhythms.
"Horse Rhythm"
by Veronica Spettmann
Thump:
We blink.
Thump-thump:
My racing heart.
I thump
your sides with my heels.
Thum-um-um-ump:
Speeding hooves on decaying leaves.
Thump...thump...thump...
as we slow to a silence in which you
hear the
thump
of the pulse of history.
And I thump
your side with my hand in thanks for
the thump
of natural rhythms.
Don't Trick Your Infant Nieces and Nephews, Auntie!
Don't Trick Your Infant Nieces and Nephews, Auntie!
by Veronica Spettmann
Your baby nieces and nephews will likely mimic you, Auntie, but won’t for long if you trick them, a new Canadian study shows. Researchers at Concordia University in Montreal found that when adults trick babies, they will no longer mimic the sounds, facial expressions, or actions of that person.
Diane Poulin-Dubois of the psychology department at Concordia says, “Specifically, infants choose not to learn from someone who they perceive as unreliable.” The findings published in Infant Behavior and Development showed that babies can differentiate between credible and un-credible sources.
The experiment looked at infants between the ages of 13 to 16 months. The babies would be excitedly presented with a box and were left to discover if there was actually a toy inside or not. Only 34 percent of those babies paired with the unreliable adults actually followed suit when the adult used his or her forehead to turn on a push-on light, while 61 percent of the babies paired with a reliable adult mimicked the action of turning on the light with their foreheads.
After this study, Aunties may want to think twice before playing what is believed to be a harmless prank on their infant nieces and nephews!
Published: December 14, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
Your baby nieces and nephews will likely mimic you, Auntie, but won’t for long if you trick them, a new Canadian study shows. Researchers at Concordia University in Montreal found that when adults trick babies, they will no longer mimic the sounds, facial expressions, or actions of that person.
Diane Poulin-Dubois of the psychology department at Concordia says, “Specifically, infants choose not to learn from someone who they perceive as unreliable.” The findings published in Infant Behavior and Development showed that babies can differentiate between credible and un-credible sources.
The experiment looked at infants between the ages of 13 to 16 months. The babies would be excitedly presented with a box and were left to discover if there was actually a toy inside or not. Only 34 percent of those babies paired with the unreliable adults actually followed suit when the adult used his or her forehead to turn on a push-on light, while 61 percent of the babies paired with a reliable adult mimicked the action of turning on the light with their foreheads.
After this study, Aunties may want to think twice before playing what is believed to be a harmless prank on their infant nieces and nephews!
Published: December 14, 2011
5 Tips to Help Teen Nieces and Nephews Travel on a Budget
This article is another one of my favorites. Traveling on a budget is a bit of a specialty of mine, so I was happy to be able to apply what I had learned through first-hand experience to information pertinent to my audience.
5 Tips to Help Teen Nieces and Nephews Travel on a Budget
by Veronica Spettmann
Parents can’t always take their kids on vacations around the world. Often, Aunties can’t either. But if kids wait until they are adults to travel, they likely won’t have the time or resources anymore. If they do, they may not have the experience behind them to make the trip enjoyable.
With that in mind, Aunties may realize that they best time for their nieces and nephews to travel is in their later teens and early 20s. By then, they’ll likely have a job, and won’t have very many expenses that Mom and Dad won’t be helping them with. Their jobs won’t pay much, though, so if your nieces and nephews are expressing an interest in getting away (winter or spring breaks, perhaps?), here are some tips you can share with them to help them get where they want to go on a meager budget:
Book Flights with Lesser Known Airlines:
Believe it or not, all pilots have to go through the same training and certification to fly jets. Always check an airline on the Better Business Bureau or in Consumer Reports to be sure people have been satisfied in the past. But if some airline from another smaller country is flying from your airport to your vacation destination for hundreds less than the bigger airlines, just go for it!
Consider Staying in Youth Hostels:
Any Auntie who has seen the Hostel movies is not going to want her nieces and nephews staying there, but they really aren’t bad. Rooms are generally clean and shared between groups of people of about the same age. There are generally communal bathrooms, but as long as your nieces and nephews aren’t licking the toilets, there won’t be a problem. The prices for rooms in youth hostels are absolutely unbeatable. If you’re concerned for their belongings, buy them luggage locks and have them keep the key on a decorative chain around their necks or wrists for stylish safe-keeping.
Only Pack What is Absolutely Necessary:
Fees for overweight or additional luggage are always on the rise and can wring a young adult’s wallet for hundreds of dollars. Make sure your nieces and nephews understand that it is okay to do laundry in the sink while they are away. This way they will only have to pack three or four outfits that they can wear on a rotation. Have them pack detergent in their checked luggage so they won’t have to pay extra for it if the prices are higher at their destination. Also pack some non-perishable food items (like Ramen noodles), so they won’t be tempted to spend a ton of money on eating out while they are away.
Travel with the Right Amounts of Money:
Travel, especially to foreign countries, requires very careful money withdrawals. When using debit cards abroad, it is very important to remember that the bank fees for ATM withdrawals will be exorbitant, so take out a lot at a time as infrequently as possible to avoid these excess account charges. It is also a good idea to go with a reasonable amount of cash in one’s wallet to begin with. Travel with too much cash, and your nieces and nephews will lose too much if they are robbed. Travel with too little and you may be stuck in a bind if a location doesn’t take debit or credit. Just remember those bank fees!
Skype or Oovoo:
This may sound silly, but trust me. Internationalizing a cell phone is very expensive, especially over long periods of time. Purchasing a calling card for pay-phones when everyone already has cell phones is silly. Buying an international SIM card for your phone when you are abroad is a hassle to start up (especially for teens, who will need ALL of their parents’ account information to boot it up). Skype, however, is completely free, allows you to not only talk to the person, but see the person, no matter where you are, and can be done from the comfort of a hotel room or lobby (almost all of which are equipped with WIFI by now). If the hotel or hostel doesn’t have WIFI, there are internet cafes and coffee shops everywhere.
These are just some tips (learned from experience) to help your nieces and nephews have the experiences of a lifetime on the limited budgets of young adults. (Though, cash contributions from Aunties are always welcome. Keep that in mind around the holidays and their birthdays!)
Published: December 14, 2011
5 Tips to Help Teen Nieces and Nephews Travel on a Budget
by Veronica Spettmann
Parents can’t always take their kids on vacations around the world. Often, Aunties can’t either. But if kids wait until they are adults to travel, they likely won’t have the time or resources anymore. If they do, they may not have the experience behind them to make the trip enjoyable.
With that in mind, Aunties may realize that they best time for their nieces and nephews to travel is in their later teens and early 20s. By then, they’ll likely have a job, and won’t have very many expenses that Mom and Dad won’t be helping them with. Their jobs won’t pay much, though, so if your nieces and nephews are expressing an interest in getting away (winter or spring breaks, perhaps?), here are some tips you can share with them to help them get where they want to go on a meager budget:
Book Flights with Lesser Known Airlines:
Believe it or not, all pilots have to go through the same training and certification to fly jets. Always check an airline on the Better Business Bureau or in Consumer Reports to be sure people have been satisfied in the past. But if some airline from another smaller country is flying from your airport to your vacation destination for hundreds less than the bigger airlines, just go for it!
Consider Staying in Youth Hostels:
Any Auntie who has seen the Hostel movies is not going to want her nieces and nephews staying there, but they really aren’t bad. Rooms are generally clean and shared between groups of people of about the same age. There are generally communal bathrooms, but as long as your nieces and nephews aren’t licking the toilets, there won’t be a problem. The prices for rooms in youth hostels are absolutely unbeatable. If you’re concerned for their belongings, buy them luggage locks and have them keep the key on a decorative chain around their necks or wrists for stylish safe-keeping.
Only Pack What is Absolutely Necessary:
Fees for overweight or additional luggage are always on the rise and can wring a young adult’s wallet for hundreds of dollars. Make sure your nieces and nephews understand that it is okay to do laundry in the sink while they are away. This way they will only have to pack three or four outfits that they can wear on a rotation. Have them pack detergent in their checked luggage so they won’t have to pay extra for it if the prices are higher at their destination. Also pack some non-perishable food items (like Ramen noodles), so they won’t be tempted to spend a ton of money on eating out while they are away.
Travel with the Right Amounts of Money:
Travel, especially to foreign countries, requires very careful money withdrawals. When using debit cards abroad, it is very important to remember that the bank fees for ATM withdrawals will be exorbitant, so take out a lot at a time as infrequently as possible to avoid these excess account charges. It is also a good idea to go with a reasonable amount of cash in one’s wallet to begin with. Travel with too much cash, and your nieces and nephews will lose too much if they are robbed. Travel with too little and you may be stuck in a bind if a location doesn’t take debit or credit. Just remember those bank fees!
Skype or Oovoo:
This may sound silly, but trust me. Internationalizing a cell phone is very expensive, especially over long periods of time. Purchasing a calling card for pay-phones when everyone already has cell phones is silly. Buying an international SIM card for your phone when you are abroad is a hassle to start up (especially for teens, who will need ALL of their parents’ account information to boot it up). Skype, however, is completely free, allows you to not only talk to the person, but see the person, no matter where you are, and can be done from the comfort of a hotel room or lobby (almost all of which are equipped with WIFI by now). If the hotel or hostel doesn’t have WIFI, there are internet cafes and coffee shops everywhere.
These are just some tips (learned from experience) to help your nieces and nephews have the experiences of a lifetime on the limited budgets of young adults. (Though, cash contributions from Aunties are always welcome. Keep that in mind around the holidays and their birthdays!)
Published: December 14, 2011
Gingerbread Cookies
I nearly forgot that the image for this activity article was one that I took. Not only that, but it is a photo of cookies that I baked and decorated. Fantastic!
Gingerbread Cookies
by Veronica Spettmann
At this time of year, our nieces and nephews want to feel like they are contributing to the festivities. They are into the season and want to help in any way they can. Why not let them help you with your holiday baking? Kids love sinking their hands into food, and there are some recipes out there that are so easy, your nieces and nephews can do them without (much) help!
Gingerbread cookies are on almost every Auntie’s holiday baking list. This cookie is actually perfect to make with nieces and nephews of all ages. Here’s what you’ll need:
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For later, you’ll need:
Icing
sprinkles
food coloring
This is a great chance to help young nieces and nephews to learn how to measure. If they are old enough, show them the right size measuring cup, and show them what they will be measuring. This will help them with their math skills, just as baking will help with their science skills.
Have them measure all of the dry ingredients into one bowl and all of the wet ingredients and brown sugar into another bowl. Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet. Separate the dough into 3, 1.5 inch thick pieces and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (This is the perfect opportunity to make dinner with your nieces and nephews!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Have your nieces and nephews lightly flour your surface (you may want to emphasize lightly for them). Then, let them roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. You may need to help them with this, but they’ll appreciate that you’re letting them try. Rolling pins are fascinating to kids.
Then let your nieces and nephews cut the dough with fun, holiday-shaped cookie cutters (Santas, dreidels, stars, and regular people shapes are all fun options).
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the cookies look dry but are soft to touch. When the cookies are cook, you can set your nieces and nephews loose! Set them up with icings of different colors. To make it easy, scoop the different colors into the corners of plastic baggies and cut the tiniest hole in that corner. This will allow them to draw pretty much whatever they want in icing. Show them where to find the sprinkles, then let them have at it!
They’ll love showing off their holiday cookie creations to the family, you’ll have made cookies for everyone to enjoy, and you’ll have had some valuable bonding time with your nieces and nephews. Your house may even end up looking like a winter wonderland (remember, flour LIGHTLY)!
Image Courtesy: Veronica Spettmann
Published: December 14, 2011
Gingerbread Cookies
by Veronica Spettmann
At this time of year, our nieces and nephews want to feel like they are contributing to the festivities. They are into the season and want to help in any way they can. Why not let them help you with your holiday baking? Kids love sinking their hands into food, and there are some recipes out there that are so easy, your nieces and nephews can do them without (much) help!
Gingerbread cookies are on almost every Auntie’s holiday baking list. This cookie is actually perfect to make with nieces and nephews of all ages. Here’s what you’ll need:
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
For later, you’ll need:
Icing
sprinkles
food coloring
This is a great chance to help young nieces and nephews to learn how to measure. If they are old enough, show them the right size measuring cup, and show them what they will be measuring. This will help them with their math skills, just as baking will help with their science skills.
Have them measure all of the dry ingredients into one bowl and all of the wet ingredients and brown sugar into another bowl. Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the wet. Separate the dough into 3, 1.5 inch thick pieces and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (This is the perfect opportunity to make dinner with your nieces and nephews!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Have your nieces and nephews lightly flour your surface (you may want to emphasize lightly for them). Then, let them roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thick. You may need to help them with this, but they’ll appreciate that you’re letting them try. Rolling pins are fascinating to kids.
Then let your nieces and nephews cut the dough with fun, holiday-shaped cookie cutters (Santas, dreidels, stars, and regular people shapes are all fun options).
Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the cookies look dry but are soft to touch. When the cookies are cook, you can set your nieces and nephews loose! Set them up with icings of different colors. To make it easy, scoop the different colors into the corners of plastic baggies and cut the tiniest hole in that corner. This will allow them to draw pretty much whatever they want in icing. Show them where to find the sprinkles, then let them have at it!
They’ll love showing off their holiday cookie creations to the family, you’ll have made cookies for everyone to enjoy, and you’ll have had some valuable bonding time with your nieces and nephews. Your house may even end up looking like a winter wonderland (remember, flour LIGHTLY)!
Image Courtesy: Veronica Spettmann
Published: December 14, 2011
Tantrum Trouble? Try This, Auntie
Tantrum Trouble? Try This, Auntie
by Veronica Spettmann
Have you ever looked after your young nieces and nephews and had to deal with a traumatizing temper tantrum? Did you ever try to console them or tease them just to find that the tantrum gets worse? Well, scientists decided there may be patterns behind tantrums to help desperate parents (and Aunties) deal with these situations.
In a recent article on WNYC.org, Aunties find relief for tantrum woes. Michael Potegal of the University of Minnesota and James A. Green of the University of Connecticut discovered that children’s tantrums have patterns that fluctuate between anger and sadness. The one way to get past the anger, which is associated with the screaming and kicking, is to simply ignore it. The article says, “Once the child was past being angry what was left was sadness, and sad children reach out for comfort.”
The article advises that Aunties not even acknowledge their nieces and nephews when they are in the heat of anger. Asking children questions or teasing them during a tantrum could only make matters worse, because they won’t have the capacity to process the new information.
Recognizing that tantrums have a rhythm can not only help Aunties to end their nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums more quickly, but will give Auntie a sense that she is in control. Scientists recognize that it is easier to say you will ignore a child’s tantrum than to actually do so, but their study of more than 100 temper tantrums proves that Aunties really need to try to stand firm.
The article explains that tantrums can be studied scientifically like thunderstorms, and says, “Studying them as scientific subjects rather than experiencing them like parents can cause the tantrums to stop feeling traumatic and even become interesting.” While describing tantrums as “interesting” may seem to be a bit of a stretch, learning how to control nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums is something every Auntie is interested in!
Published: December 7, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
Have you ever looked after your young nieces and nephews and had to deal with a traumatizing temper tantrum? Did you ever try to console them or tease them just to find that the tantrum gets worse? Well, scientists decided there may be patterns behind tantrums to help desperate parents (and Aunties) deal with these situations.
In a recent article on WNYC.org, Aunties find relief for tantrum woes. Michael Potegal of the University of Minnesota and James A. Green of the University of Connecticut discovered that children’s tantrums have patterns that fluctuate between anger and sadness. The one way to get past the anger, which is associated with the screaming and kicking, is to simply ignore it. The article says, “Once the child was past being angry what was left was sadness, and sad children reach out for comfort.”
The article advises that Aunties not even acknowledge their nieces and nephews when they are in the heat of anger. Asking children questions or teasing them during a tantrum could only make matters worse, because they won’t have the capacity to process the new information.
Recognizing that tantrums have a rhythm can not only help Aunties to end their nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums more quickly, but will give Auntie a sense that she is in control. Scientists recognize that it is easier to say you will ignore a child’s tantrum than to actually do so, but their study of more than 100 temper tantrums proves that Aunties really need to try to stand firm.
The article explains that tantrums can be studied scientifically like thunderstorms, and says, “Studying them as scientific subjects rather than experiencing them like parents can cause the tantrums to stop feeling traumatic and even become interesting.” While describing tantrums as “interesting” may seem to be a bit of a stretch, learning how to control nieces’ and nephews’ tantrums is something every Auntie is interested in!
Published: December 7, 2011
Good News, Auntie. They're Not Sexting. Much.
Good News, Auntie. They're Not Sexting. Much.
by Veronica Spettmann
“Sexting” or the sending of sexual text messages or photos, has become a highly discussed issue in the media in recent years, especially as it pertains to adolescents. But should Aunties be concerned about their own nieces’ and nephews’ potential participation? Survey says, probably not.
Kimberly Mitchell, a research assistant psychology professor at the University of New Hampshire conducted research that reveals that only 1 percent of children aged 10 to 17 have shared nude photos of themselves or others. Past surveys revealed as many as 20 percent, but these surveys also included a higher age range.
The results of Mitchell’s study reveal that most sexting is not malicious and is not something parents should panic about. Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston says that exploring sexuality is normal behavior, even through text messages. He says, “We’ve been doing that since somebody scribbled a picture of a nude woman on the side of a cave and the guys gathered around to check it out.
Researchers conducted a separate study to see how police have dealt with teen sexting of photographs. Results show that they don’t seem to be over-reacting. Of the nearly 4000 reported sexting cases nationwide in 2008 and 2009, only a little more than one-third of them ended in arrests.
All in all it appears that sexting is just this generation’s way of sneaking a peek at a dirty magazine. The important thing for Aunties to remember is that they should remind their nieces and nephews about responsibly using their computers and cell phones, and to let them know they should not be afraid to ask their ConfidAunt about sex. Aunties are in the perfect position to help their nieces and nephews grow through these hormonal stages in life.
Published: December 7, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
“Sexting” or the sending of sexual text messages or photos, has become a highly discussed issue in the media in recent years, especially as it pertains to adolescents. But should Aunties be concerned about their own nieces’ and nephews’ potential participation? Survey says, probably not.
Kimberly Mitchell, a research assistant psychology professor at the University of New Hampshire conducted research that reveals that only 1 percent of children aged 10 to 17 have shared nude photos of themselves or others. Past surveys revealed as many as 20 percent, but these surveys also included a higher age range.
The results of Mitchell’s study reveal that most sexting is not malicious and is not something parents should panic about. Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston says that exploring sexuality is normal behavior, even through text messages. He says, “We’ve been doing that since somebody scribbled a picture of a nude woman on the side of a cave and the guys gathered around to check it out.
Researchers conducted a separate study to see how police have dealt with teen sexting of photographs. Results show that they don’t seem to be over-reacting. Of the nearly 4000 reported sexting cases nationwide in 2008 and 2009, only a little more than one-third of them ended in arrests.
All in all it appears that sexting is just this generation’s way of sneaking a peek at a dirty magazine. The important thing for Aunties to remember is that they should remind their nieces and nephews about responsibly using their computers and cell phones, and to let them know they should not be afraid to ask their ConfidAunt about sex. Aunties are in the perfect position to help their nieces and nephews grow through these hormonal stages in life.
Published: December 7, 2011
Five of Auntie's Favorite Christmas Reads
Five of Auntie's Favorite Christmas Reads
by Veronica Spettmann
It’s easy for Aunties to get lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, especially when we try so hard to make it a special time for our nieces and nephews. But it’s important to remember to spend quality time with them, and what better way to do that than by curling up with your nieces, your nephews, and a delightful Christmas book to read? Here are some of Savvy Auntie’s suggestions this Christmas season:
Christmas is Coming: A Holiday Pop-Up Book by Stephen Lambert
A twist on The Night Before Christmas, this story follows a Mama Mouse who must look through the house for items to make Christmas special for her baby mice. Your nieces and nephews will love that this story is told with shining foil pop-ups!
The Elf on the Shelf by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell
This book allows children to help Santa’s favorite scout elf interactively, which is great for kids with active imaginations and a love of play-time!
Auntie Claus: Home for the Holidays by Elise Primavera
Auntie Claus is bringing the North Pole to New York to see Sophie Kringle play the Sugar Plum Fairy in her school play in this completely unique and fun Christmas story.
Olivia Claus by Kama Einhorn
This story about the popular children’s character, Olivia, encourages children to give this Christmas season.
My Penguin Osbert by H.B. Lewis
This beautifully illustrated story is a reminder to children that they should be careful what they wish for, or else they’ll end up like protagonist, Joe, who is very specific about his Christmas wishes!
So get your hot cocoa, grab your Christmas book, and sit down with your nieces and nephews to enjoy a day of Christmas reading. It may just be that special thing you do this season that will stick with them for life.
Published: November 30, 2011
by Veronica Spettmann
It’s easy for Aunties to get lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, especially when we try so hard to make it a special time for our nieces and nephews. But it’s important to remember to spend quality time with them, and what better way to do that than by curling up with your nieces, your nephews, and a delightful Christmas book to read? Here are some of Savvy Auntie’s suggestions this Christmas season:
Christmas is Coming: A Holiday Pop-Up Book by Stephen Lambert
A twist on The Night Before Christmas, this story follows a Mama Mouse who must look through the house for items to make Christmas special for her baby mice. Your nieces and nephews will love that this story is told with shining foil pop-ups!
The Elf on the Shelf by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell
This book allows children to help Santa’s favorite scout elf interactively, which is great for kids with active imaginations and a love of play-time!
Auntie Claus: Home for the Holidays by Elise Primavera
Auntie Claus is bringing the North Pole to New York to see Sophie Kringle play the Sugar Plum Fairy in her school play in this completely unique and fun Christmas story.
Olivia Claus by Kama Einhorn
This story about the popular children’s character, Olivia, encourages children to give this Christmas season.
My Penguin Osbert by H.B. Lewis
This beautifully illustrated story is a reminder to children that they should be careful what they wish for, or else they’ll end up like protagonist, Joe, who is very specific about his Christmas wishes!
So get your hot cocoa, grab your Christmas book, and sit down with your nieces and nephews to enjoy a day of Christmas reading. It may just be that special thing you do this season that will stick with them for life.
Published: November 30, 2011
Concert Savvy Aunties
A bit of backstory:
This article is one of my favorites. If you click the link, you'll see the photograph (also attached below) used to accompany the article. That is me with my friends' daughter, Skye. We went to her dad's rock show together and had the best time, so I was really excited to write this article, inspired by our experience. I hope you enjoy it!
Concert Savvy Aunties
by Veronica Spettmann
Do you love listening to heavy music with your nieces and nephews or going to particularly wild concerts with them? Or do you wish you could take them to see some of your favorite bands in concert, but are just too afraid that they aren’t old enough? I was lucky enough to spend an evening at a metal show with my niece-by-choice and her parents recently, and I realized that a lot of Aunties may not bring their younger nieces and nephews to cool shows like that because of the obvious concerns surround that kind of environment. Here are some pointers to put your mind at rest so you can enjoy your favorite bands together, no matter what the volume.
If you're afraid a show or concert may not be appropriate for your nieces and nephews, there are a few things to consider. Of course, this is primarily up to the discretion of your nieces’ and nephews’ parents. Their word is law, and if they deem a show to be inappropriate, then you’ll have to respect that decision. However, if Mom and Dad say you’re okay to go, then there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.
Will there be mosh pits at this show? - A lot of rock and metal bands have mosh pits and crowd surfers at their shows, which is all fine and fun, but could be a hazardous nightmare for kids. If you want to be close to the stage, be prepared to act as a human shield for them. If that doesn’t appeal to you, consider getting a spot further from the stage; this will keep them out of harm’s way and will also be safer for their hearing.
Does this particular artist curse a lot? - If the answer is yes, you can either choose to take your nieces and nephews to another show, or you can make it very clear to them before you go that some words are completely inappropriate and that they should not repeat them if they hear them. Aunties are a great influence on their nieces and nephews, so they’ll listen to you. If your nieces and nephews are really young, they may not even know what most of the lyrics mean, so you won’t have to worry too much.
Do your nieces and nephews handle crowds well? - If not, consider taking them to see less popular bands where there will be smaller crowds, or try to find another way to share your musical passions that will involve fewer people. If your nieces and nephews love the excitement of being surrounded by people, then rock on! Just be careful to keep your nieces and nephews close to you and to have a back-up plan should you be separated from each other.
Should you be concerned for your nieces' and nephews' hearing? - kidshealth.org, a great reference for kids and adults alike explains that the volume at concerts is high enough to cause temporary hearing damage or hearing loss. Most Aunties have probably experienced this at some point: that feeling that you are wearing earmuffs after a show when you aren’t actually. The same happens to kids, though extended exposure to volumes like that can cause serious permanent hearing loss for your nieces and nephews. If you want to bring your nieces and nephews to those bass-filled hip-hop shows or to a blaring loud metal concert, consider providing them with earplugs to protect their hearing. There are even custom earplugs for musicians or frequent show-goers! And don’t worry, these shows are loud enough that your nieces and nephews won’t have any trouble hearing and enjoying the show.
Don’t let concerns like these get in the way of enjoying a rockin’ show with your younger nieces and nephews. As long as you’re safe, well-informed, and stay close to your nieces and nephews, these concerts and shows can be a great way to bond with your favorite kids in the world. You’ll also be the coolest Auntie around!
Published: November 30, 2011
This article is one of my favorites. If you click the link, you'll see the photograph (also attached below) used to accompany the article. That is me with my friends' daughter, Skye. We went to her dad's rock show together and had the best time, so I was really excited to write this article, inspired by our experience. I hope you enjoy it!
Concert Savvy Aunties
by Veronica Spettmann
Do you love listening to heavy music with your nieces and nephews or going to particularly wild concerts with them? Or do you wish you could take them to see some of your favorite bands in concert, but are just too afraid that they aren’t old enough? I was lucky enough to spend an evening at a metal show with my niece-by-choice and her parents recently, and I realized that a lot of Aunties may not bring their younger nieces and nephews to cool shows like that because of the obvious concerns surround that kind of environment. Here are some pointers to put your mind at rest so you can enjoy your favorite bands together, no matter what the volume.
If you're afraid a show or concert may not be appropriate for your nieces and nephews, there are a few things to consider. Of course, this is primarily up to the discretion of your nieces’ and nephews’ parents. Their word is law, and if they deem a show to be inappropriate, then you’ll have to respect that decision. However, if Mom and Dad say you’re okay to go, then there are a couple of things you should keep in mind.
Will there be mosh pits at this show? - A lot of rock and metal bands have mosh pits and crowd surfers at their shows, which is all fine and fun, but could be a hazardous nightmare for kids. If you want to be close to the stage, be prepared to act as a human shield for them. If that doesn’t appeal to you, consider getting a spot further from the stage; this will keep them out of harm’s way and will also be safer for their hearing.
Does this particular artist curse a lot? - If the answer is yes, you can either choose to take your nieces and nephews to another show, or you can make it very clear to them before you go that some words are completely inappropriate and that they should not repeat them if they hear them. Aunties are a great influence on their nieces and nephews, so they’ll listen to you. If your nieces and nephews are really young, they may not even know what most of the lyrics mean, so you won’t have to worry too much.
Do your nieces and nephews handle crowds well? - If not, consider taking them to see less popular bands where there will be smaller crowds, or try to find another way to share your musical passions that will involve fewer people. If your nieces and nephews love the excitement of being surrounded by people, then rock on! Just be careful to keep your nieces and nephews close to you and to have a back-up plan should you be separated from each other.
Should you be concerned for your nieces' and nephews' hearing? - kidshealth.org, a great reference for kids and adults alike explains that the volume at concerts is high enough to cause temporary hearing damage or hearing loss. Most Aunties have probably experienced this at some point: that feeling that you are wearing earmuffs after a show when you aren’t actually. The same happens to kids, though extended exposure to volumes like that can cause serious permanent hearing loss for your nieces and nephews. If you want to bring your nieces and nephews to those bass-filled hip-hop shows or to a blaring loud metal concert, consider providing them with earplugs to protect their hearing. There are even custom earplugs for musicians or frequent show-goers! And don’t worry, these shows are loud enough that your nieces and nephews won’t have any trouble hearing and enjoying the show.
Don’t let concerns like these get in the way of enjoying a rockin’ show with your younger nieces and nephews. As long as you’re safe, well-informed, and stay close to your nieces and nephews, these concerts and shows can be a great way to bond with your favorite kids in the world. You’ll also be the coolest Auntie around!
Published: November 30, 2011
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