Modernhood - Parenting with style » I’m a tourist

Robot playgrounds and spaceship climbers circa 1970

Thomas Porter — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:50:45 +0000

A wonderful selection of suburban playgrounds and parks circa 1970: robot slides, space cruiser climbing frames and more.

Playgrounds From the 70’s (via Divine Caroline)

NOTE: I submitted this to BoingBoing earlier today (you’re more than welcome, Caroline) – and here it is! Although I’m pretty sure the link broke my blog, I feel strangely honoured.

Playgrounds From the 70’s

Organised ‘being outside’ for city types

Thomas Porter — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:40:23 +0000

The Telegraph’s article Night walks for children: where the wild things are isn’t actually anything to do with Where The Wild Things Are. It’s about a series of ‘night walks’ organised by the London Wetland Centre for urban kids who don’t know what it’s like to sit around a campfire, play with sticks, feed birds and generally just ‘be outside’.

What the organisers don’t realise is that these urban scamps would rather be starting fires, whacking people with sticks, killing birds and staying outside all night until the sun comes up… I’m joking, of course. It’s really a fine idea and, by the sounds of things, the children (and their parents) do get a lot out of it.

Whatever happened to Cub Scouts and Brownies?

Night walks for children: where the wild things are (via The Telegraph)

Wired’s ‘5 Hacks You Can Explore With Your Kids’

Thomas Porter — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:45:26 +0000

Wired’s wonderfully-titled Geek Dad section has a cool list of ‘alternative’ things to entertain the kids with. My favourite:

“One Disney vacation we got lost on the Disney grounds. Driving around some small back roads we found a day care center and a repair depot for the monorails. It was very exciting to see parts of the Disney machine that the general public never sees. This is the thrill in urban exploring: going places the average person doesn’t get to go. The problem is, in most cases this involves trespassing and unsafe conditions. You can help keep your kids safe by going on behind-the-scenes tours organized by local urban-exploring groups.”

40m-wide lunar clock heading for London by 2012

Thomas Porter — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:47:48 +0000

Plans are underway to build a 40m-wide lunar clock by the River Thames, in time for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The proposed site is East India Dock – around six miles away from the capitol’s current king of time-keeping Big Ben. The clock, named Aluna, will be powered by the river:

“There are three giant concentric rings made from recycled glass – light shines through from the glass in time with the Moon’s cycles so the largest ring shows the lunar phase. The second ring is like the big hand of the clock [and] the third ring – the smallest – is the small hand that tracks the tide as it goes from high tide to low.”

Add it to your ’should visit’ list, along with the Olympic Games itself. (Via: BBC)

Modernhood – parenting with style

Thomas Porter — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:22:02 +0000

The first post. Sorry, it isn’t about anything. The blog needs work before I post proper because I only just set it up. Actually, I set it up last week and have done nothing until now. Not because i’m lazy, but because I am a father. And I have a job. If you have a job, and you’re a father, you’ll know what i’m saying. You know what i’m saying?

In the meantime, you can read this about me section. And then wait… because patience, my friend, is a virtue.