Congrats to Jennifer Sieck, the winner of this month’s Lemonade Stand Photo Contest! The photo is of her son’s first trip to the Christmas tree farm. According to Jennifer, “He could have done without the snow.” Besides being featured on the home page this month, Jennifer won a $20 gift voucher.

Get a jump on the latest contest, and submit your photo today. This month’s theme is: Celebration.

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[Editor's Note: This is a public excerpt from the private blog of Stinky, a stuffed skunk, opinionated connoisseur, and altogether jovial man about town. You can read all of Stinky’s enlightened thoughts on his blog as an official member of Club K&J.]

Well, it’s that time of year again; time for everyone in America to stand in line at Best Buy all at once.

My contractual obligations encourage me to shlep products to appease the commercial interests of my employer. Well, I may have to work for the man, but I refuse to read from his script. So, in the tradition of Oprah (another single-named celebrity), I’ve decided to assemble my own list of favorite things. Enjoy.

1. W.O.W. Christmas Card 24-pack. Christmas card sending keeps the mailmen (and women) busy this time of year. If you’re going to go through the trouble of sending me a Christmas card, make sure it’s a nice one. Not one of those lame, generic, 300-cards-for-a-nickel ones. You might as well send me a Post-it saying, "Hey, I really don’t care that much about you but I’d feel guilty if I didn’t send you something, so here." If you’re gonna do the whole Christmas card thing, do it right. I like these cards because they’re different. They’re nice. They feel special. And the nice thing is, they won’t break the bank, either. And the fact that I’m only on one of the four designs is a fact I’m willing to overlook.
2. Corporate Flashcards. If you work for a living, or know someone who does, you’ll enjoy these flashcards. They’re especially good for kids who are new to the workforce, as these cards will help them to quickly get acclimated to corporate culture and up to speed with terms like "paradigm shift" and "bandwidth." Also, if you know someone who would like to kill their boss, this would be a gift that could diffuse the tension for a bit, at least keeping them out of the national headlines through the holiday season.
3. Mini Bath Ice Cream Gift Set. I love ice cream, and I love taking baths. Normally, putting them together makes for a very sticky bath. But somehow, some wonderful team of scientists figured out how to combine the two together for a fizzy bath experience that is out of this world. They look like ice cream and they smell like ice cream, but unfortunately they don’t taste like ice cream. Oh well, as the man known as Meatloaf once said, two out of three ain’t bad.
4. Szechuan Scarf. I don’t knit myself, but I’ve heard that some people do. If I were to take up knitting, I think I’d like to knit myself a scarf. A really soft one. If I were to take up knitting, I’d definitely need some sort of guide to teach me how to knit a really soft scarf. And if I were to take up knitting, I’d probably need a pair of those chopstick things people use to knit with. This knit kit covers all of these issues. I’m partial to black, but they have different flavors.
5. Dirt Candle. Nothing says Christmas like a candle that smells like dirt. At least in the skunk subculture. Perhaps you know a skunk, a gardener, or a random man who might like such a candle, hand-poured into a steel paint can. If not, there are many more candles available, such as Apple Pie, Christmas Tree, and the fresh-smelling Clean Underpants.
6. Photo-Opoly. To be honest, I don’t know if I can recommend this game or not. One one hand, it’s based on the popular board game, Monopoly. You know, the game that can last for 59 consecutive hours because Grandma will not sell you a freaking railroad. On the spectrum of time it takes to play a game, Tic Tac Toe it’s not. On the other hand, this game is customizable. You get to add your own photos and create your own property cards. The thought of having a hotel empire on Stinky’s Place  and Skunkwalk is too good to pass up.
7. Paper Palm. Sometimes technology is a pain in the tail. This handy little crash-proof gadget is for all of the people who have ever had the urge to throw their computer out the window. (maybe that’s why Microsoft calls it Windows.)
8. Tailgating Cookbook. Many of you know of my deep passion for the pigskin. I have been among the final candidates for the Monday Night Football job more times than I can count. (I’m pretty sure Dan Dierdorf had pictures of someone.) I’m also what one might call a culinary juggernaut. Put food and football together and you’ve got a touchdown in my book, my friend.
9. Capitalist Pig Piggy Bank. Some have accused me of being all about the Benjamins. (Some have pointed to this post as proof.) It would be more accurate to say that I have a penchant for the finer things in life: a good cigar, a real French cream puff, a beach house in Miami. You can’t afford these things on my salary if you don’t save your money. So this piggy bank can come in handy. I’m pretty sure Donald Trump has one on his night stand.
10. Stud Muffin Mug. I originally had this mug custom designed for myself. (The reasons for this are obvious, so I shall not get into them here.) However, because my fan base is so large, I decided to sign off on a mass production effort. So now you too can own a faithful reproduction of the very mug that graces my desk and pretend that you are me. You’re welcome.

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Yes, the Kotecki boys ate Mr. T cereal growing up. We also enjoyed watching him on the A-Team and in his Saturday morning cartoon. My brother Dan even dressed up as Mr. T for Halloween one year, I believe. It is with this nostalgia that I bring you the Mr. T Virtual Playset, presented by Ironic Sans.

I pity the fool who doesn’t take the time to see what T looks like with a pompadour.

Technorati Tags: Mr. T, A-Team, mohawk, pompadour

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I read the other day that the average parent spends about 38.5 minutes a week in conversation with his or her child.

Thirty eight and a half minutes!!! A week!!!

I was never good at story problems, and I’m not sure I could pass algebra again, but even I can do that math: that comes out to only 5.5 minutes a day. And we wonder why we have things like school shootings, alarming teen pregnancy rates, record numbers of high school dropouts, and teachers that can’t teach because they’re spending too much time…parenting.

We’ve got to do better than that, folks. The culprits to this problem are legion. Long hours at work. After school activities. Distractions of the electronic variety. Obviously, it’s hard to have conversations when you’re not spending time together, and it’s hard to get too deep about things when one (or both) of you are zoned into the TV.

The problem is not as much about being unable to come up with ideas on how to spend quality time, but rather of having the desire and commitment to actually create some of it. That being said, if you are a parent and you are looking for something you and the kids can do besides watch he glowing box, I’d like to introduce you to the Toymaker, a.k.a. Marilyn Scott-Waters. Her goal is to help grownups and kids spend time together making things.

She has a charming site chock full of neat paper toys and things you can make yourself. (In fact, this might be more of a reminder than an introduction, as over 2 million paper toys have been downloaded from her web site.) I know this will come as a shock to you, dear reader (I know I have at least one), but I dare say that you don’t even need to have kids to enjoy this site. Downloading a project and spending a few minutes working on it is a great to thwart Adultitis. (And avoid those TPS reports.)

If you do have kids — or grandchildren — head on over to see what the Toymaker has to offer. Spend a little quality time working on a project or two, and maybe we can get that average up to 45 minutes a week.

Oh, and if your TV blows up or you plan on heading west in a covered wagon Laura Ingalls Wilder style, you might want to check these out.

Technorati Tags: tv, parenting, television, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Adultitis, Marilyn Scott-Waters, Toymaker, craft projects

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Back in February when we were finishing up The Escape Plan Jason shared on his blog about the long-lasting effects of Challenge #36, which was born out of some happenings from Challenge #33. Basically Jason’s Dad, Walt, who was an active participant in the 40-Day Challenge, wore a bow tie to work and it was a big hit. It even helped him land a big sale. The Escape Plan Challenge was: Accessorize your wardrobe today with a touch of childhood.

(Sidenote: I really looked forward to reading Walt’s comments each day, sharing how he accomplished each challenge. If you haven’t read them, start with Challenge #1 here.)

As Jason shared in his blog following-up with this, Tie Day was born. Jason posed these two questions: What little sliver of childlike spirit can you introduce to your home or workplace? And what kind of momentous effect might it have?

The momentum continues to build at Maze Lumber. I’m happy to report that to this day, on any given Thursday, if you happen to find yourself at Maze Lumber in Peru, IL you will also find a couple of men proudly sporting ties, in all shapes, colors and sizes. STILL. Thursday is Tie Day. Here it is nine months later and the fun continues. Customers and coworkers expect it and enjoy it. It has turned into a playful and fun routine that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, one of the participants just went out and bought a bunch of new ties and I noticed on Walt’s Christmas list that he is asking for bow ties and neckties. It is such an important part of that week that last week a management decision had to be made about the fact that Thanksgiving was Thursday and they would’ve missed Tie Day. They had a meeting and decided to move Tie Day to Wednesday instead.

This whole thing reminds me of part of Jason’s programs. He shares,

“Inside everyone there is a little kid just dying to get out. That little kid is aching for a little silliness.”

This follow-up story is living proof of that! It’s safe to say that Walt and Pete (in the picture above) are trying their hardest to keep Adultitis away from their historic lumberyard.

Way to tie fun and work together! (no pun intended)

Technorati Tags: The Escape Plan, Maze Lumber, ties, bow ties

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Although some people may not want to admit it, every single one of us, at one point in our lives, was a child. Yep, it’s true. And sometimes the effects of that long lost childhood shine through in some peculiar ways. Sara Cantor is The Curious Shopper, and she recently made the observation that although Barnes & Noble has a plethora of perfectly plush seating available, it’s not uncommon to spot many browsers sitting…on the floor. She offers a few reasons why she thinks this phenomenon occurs, and they all harken back to the hard wiring of childhood.

I feel that Barnes and Noble has designed spaces which, intentionally or not, signal to the weary that it’s okay to sit. And the cues, oddly enough, seem to relate to childhood - a time when sitting on the floor happened every day.

A big part of this is the carpet. It’s not super plush, but it’s incredibly clean and consistent. Like the living rooms of childhood, or the floors of kindergarten. It doesn’t exactly look cozy enough to lay on - but it sure looks good enough to be touched by your butt, legs and feet.

Next, there is a nice contrast between low, open spaces and tall bookshelf hallways. When we are little, we like to hide from grownups. When we are grownups, and hiding is socially inappropriate, we welcome the chance to go around a corner, lean against a wall, and slide down into our books. The tall aisles provide physical, visual, auditory and mental separation from the rest of the world.

And finally, Barnes and Noble emanates the design aesthetic of our local childhood favorite - the library. The stores have giant rolling ladders, lots of wood, stepstools in the stacks, employees with the knowledge of librarians, and an overall emphasis on reading to learn and grow. They feel hometown, they feel safe, they feel like one of the great pillars of democracy. They feel like the place where we used to crawl around during storytime.

I think this is a rather insightful perspective. It is interesting that as rusty as we can be when it comes to exhibiting some of the childlike qualities we once mastered with ease, there are other sides that subconsciously seep into our day-to-day actions.

I’m also happy to have an explanation as to why I love Barnes & Noble so much.

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble, Sara Cantor, childhood, bookstore

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I had the honor and pleasure of meeting one of Kim & Jason’s biggest little fans this past weekend while in Virginia. Joey is four-and-a-half, and has been reading Kim & Jason since he was three. (You may remember Joey; he has appeared previously on this blog here and here.) His mom invited us over for dinner when she learned that we’d be in the area.

During dinner, Joey’s dad admitted to having read the annuals to his son at least five times each. The books themselves are, shall we say, very well-loved. I had the chance to draw a few pictures for Joey, and included a cartoon version of him standing with the regular cast of Kim & Jason. I hope I was able to stem the tide of his previous disappointment…

You see, when Joey first learned that he’d be meeting the "real" Kim and Jason, he was ecstatic. Then one day, after talking to his mom about the upcoming visit, he became quite crestfallen. The light bulb went off as he realized that the Kim and Jason he’d be meeting were not, in fact, his age. Visions of embarking on grand adventures with the pint-sized characters in the comic strip went up in smoke.

He didn’t seem to show as much disappointment when we actually arrived, although near the end of the evening, Kim thought she caught Joey telling his dad, "Well, her hair is longer, but at least it’s blonde…" All in all, it was a fun evening, and I was quite flattered by the compliments on the strip. Thank you, Ellie and Andrew, for the kind invitation and wonderful dinner.

And to Joey: "Candy hands lead to candy walls and candy doorknobs!" [an inside joke]

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A few weeks ago when Jason and I were in Denver we had the chance to do some of the Escape Plan challenges and Jason shared them in his blog. As you probably read in Jason’s recent blog, Adultitis: Ground Zero, we just spent a week in D.C. We managed a delicate balance of work and pleasure. Jason had five speaking programs and we had a few half-days in the city to sightsee and enjoy our nation’s capital. We had the chance to do a few Escape Plan challenges that I thought I’d share. Here are some ways to fight Adultitis in D.C.

#3: Says You: Do something that is typically seen as inappropriate for someone of your age.

While making a quick jaunt through the National Museum of Natural History, we found our way to the dinosaur section. (Jason was thrilled!) I got some funny looks as he took this picture of me almost getting eaten by a T-Rex.

#10: Memory Maker: Create a memory today with someone you care about that will mean a lot ten years from now.

As some of you know our company has a line of greeting cards named the W.O.W. cards, named after Wilbur and Orville Wright. They are such an inspiration to us as a company as they have modeled childlike curiosity and persistence in the pursuit of their crazy big dream of creating a “flying machine.” We hope and pray that we will have the courage to follow in their footsteps as we journey towards our own big dreams, as crazy as they seem sometimes. We were both speechless as we stood there in The National Air and Space Museum and stood inches away from that crazy flying machine that changed all of our lives. We were not alone in our amazement. There was a gentle silence in the room as everyone seemed in awe of what they were seeing. I know Jason and I will never forget that experience.

#12: Dear Hero: Write a letter to a childhood hero (real or fictional).

Last January when Jason and I did the 40 days of challenges I wrote a letter to Mr. Rogers’ wife, telling her how much his work had impacted me as a child. When we got to D.C., we found out that The National Museum of American History was closed for renovations, but they had a few exhibits open at another location, so we weren’t sure how many things they would have there. I was elated to see Mr. Rogers’ red zip-up sweater. It was surreal. What a cool follow-up from this challenge a few months ago.

#23: Photo Safari: Take a picture of the most childlike spot in town.

One thing that amazed me about D.C. was the Smithsonian Museums. There are tons of them filled with amazing discoveries and all free! We could’ve easily spent the entire week museum hopping and still wouldn’t have seen it all. Here are some of the childlike highlights. (I had a hard time picking just one.)

From left to right: The real ruby slippers and Scarecrow’s costume, the first teddy bear and the original Kermit.

#7: Indulge Thyself: Spend 15 – 30 minutes doing something you love that you don’t often have the chance to do.

I love visiting historical sites! There was something very humbling visiting the landmarks in our capital. Walking the National Mall and seeing the monuments for Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington, as well as the Vietnam Wall, World War II Memorial, etc., was just awesome in the truest sense of the word. It really made me appreciate all that our ancestors have done to ensure our freedoms. We are so blessed!

Technorati Tags: Washington D.C., Adultitis, The Escape Plan, Denver, Colorado, dinosaurs, T-Rex, National Museum of Natural History, Wilbur and Orville Wright, National Air and Space Museum, dreams, dreaming, Mr. Rogers, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian, Kermit, National Mall, Jefferson Monument, Lincoln Monument, Washington Monument, Veitnam Wall, WWll Memorial, freedom

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Every month, one Club K&J subscriber is drawn as the winner in the Supremely Wonderful & Exciting Loot Lottery. This month’s lucky recipient is Janet Jakupcak! She wins 2 copies of Annual #4! Congrats, Janet!

Join Club K&J for your chance to win this month’s prize Loot Lottery!

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If you have had the opportunity to check out the new website put out by the Cure Adultitis Institute, you may have seen the list of Adultitis hospitals. In case you’re wondering, an Adultitis hospital is a highly specialized treatment facility that is exceptionally effective in treating especially aggressive cases of Adultitis. There are many such hospitals located throughout the world.

This week, Kim and I have been in the Washington D.C. area. Between speaking engagements and working out of our satellite office (a.k.a. The Hampton Inn), we have had a chance to ride the Metro rail into the city for a little sightseeing. On Wednesday, I was able to photograph the very antithesis of an Adultitis hospital. Rather than treating Adultitis, this place is a breeding ground for the deadly pandemic. As far as I can tell, everyone who works there is infected, and it’s in the business of spreading Adultitis far and wide.

Officially, it’s known as the Internal Revenue Service building. On the street, it’s known as an Adultitis Haven.

In fact, in my brief visit, I’ve found that the entire city of Washington D.C. has an unusually high concentration of Adultitis sufferers, particularly around the Capitol building and its offices. You can feel it in the air. I wonder how much differently this country would run if the Adultitis problem was snuffed out of this otherwise great city. Ironically, when our Capitol tour guide found out that I was a speaker, he asked me if I had an interest in running for office someday. What worries me is that this question seems to come up more and more frequently these days. I told him that I was quite happy — and busy — in my current post. Privately, I wondered if it was even possible to inject myself with enough Adultitis to have a snowball’s chance in winning. I also wondered if not wearing a tie everyday would be grounds for impeachment.

Other than the abnormally high amount of Adultitis percolating through the city, Kim and I have had a good time. We got to see the Lincoln Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial, the International Spy Museum, and even the Hope Diamond. Yesterday we got to tour the White House and Capitol building. Tomorrow our goal is to see the original Wright Flyer and Kermit the Frog. I have a feeling the National Air and Space Museum is going to be added to the list of Adultitis hospitals.

P.S. You tell me: have I been too critical of the IRS? Is there anybody out there who works for the IRS and doesn’t have a full-blown case of Adultitis? Prove me wrong.

Technorati Tags: Washington D.C., Adultitis, politicians, politics, IRS

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So it’s been said that the average kid laughs around 400 times a day. When it comes to laughing, the average kid kicks the butt of the average grown-up, who laughs about 15 times a day. I think this video serves as ample proof. Sure, the source of humor is not exactly Robin Williams doing improv, but the kid sure looks like he’s having fun.

And another note: A laugh is a laugh is a laugh. When Kim was teaching kindergarten, she’d come home every day thinking she was Jerry Seinfeld. Kindergartners are a very easy crowd. But if you can up your own laugh quota by getting a kid to laugh at something YOU don’t think is particularly funny (like someone “Bloop” over and over again)…more power to you. It’s still better than the scowl most grown-ups wear.

Hat tip to RodeoClown for the find!

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Good humor has an element of truth to it. Really good humor stems from tragedy. (Think about Lucy endlessly pulling the football away from Charlie Brown.) Check out this article from this week’s Onion:

Area Man Achieves Your Dream

CHARLOTTE, NC—After almost two decades of dreaming on your part, 34-year-old Stephen Hochenko achieved your goal of opening up a small bookstore and café last Thursday, coincidentally in the exact location you had planned to open yours.

"This proves that no matter what your dreams are, someone out there can achieve them if they just do a little homework, save their money, and believe in themselves," said a satisfied Hochenko as he arranged tables and chairs for a Monday night wine tasting and reading featuring acclaimed author Neil Gaiman. "I’m happier than you can even imagine or will probably ever experience yourself." (Read the full article.)

Funny? Yes.

True? You bet. (Everyone has had a moment when they said, "Hey, I thought of that years ago!")

Tragic? Sadly, yes. Almost everyone I know has a few big dreams deep down in their heart. They lay buried for one reason or another (only you know what your reasons are.) One of the things that spurred me on to chase this crazy dream of mine was a conversation I had with myself shortly after graduating college. I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to wake up some morning in the future, sixty years old, wondering why in the heck I didn’t go after my dreams. The fear and pain of regret ended up being worse than any fear or uncomfortability I’d experience along the way.

It hasn’t always been easy (see here and here for some tales), but at least I don’t have to wake up to the morning paper announcing that an area man has achieved my dream. So dream big, and get busy chasing them.

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