Filed under: Movies, Creative projects

As you're almost undoubtedly aware, the high-anticipated Simpsons Movie finally premiered late last week, and is making hoards of money at movie theaters around the US. If you and your kids are caught up in the craze, here's a couple ways you can have fun with your favorite yellow-hued cartoon family.

1. The Simpsons Handbook. My daughter is a little too young to draw anything that isn't....abstract, but those of you with older kids can have fun re-creating Bart, Homer, Marge and more with tips from Matt Groenig, the series' creator.

2. Make your own Simpsons avatar. On the movie's official website, you can Simpson-ize you and your family with an easy-to-use tool. I put together the images I made of my daughter, partner and I, and -- while it's not the most accurate representation in the world -- it's not that far off either.

I think the best part about the whole Simpsons phenomenon is being able to say: "thank goodness my family isn't like that...much."

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Filed under: Music, Restaurants, Creative projects, Amusement parks

I'm dreading the day my daughter wants to go to Chuck E Cheese. All my childhood memories of that place (of which there are few -- my parents didn't like it either), involve being grossed out (by the food), or creeped out (by those freaky robots).

Fortunately some people are finally putting those weird, animatronic animals to good use. It's part of a movement taking place in which tech-savvy showbiz types are buying the old robots and "hacking" them for use in their homes, garages, or wherever. In the above video, the robots perform a hip hop song, during which they joyously declare that there's "booty everywhere!"

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Filed under: College, Creative projects

I went to college in the UK, where legal age to purchase alcohol is only 18 -- meaning, if you can believe it, that the drinking culture on UK campuses is even more rampent than at American universities.

Take Jack Kirby, a 23-year-old design student, for instance. He took it upon himself to drink 4 cans of Budweiser every day until he had enough to construct a life-size model of a 1965 Ford Mustang. That's a total of 4,000 cans of beer.

The fete was so impressive, that even Budweiser wanted to "congratulate Jack on his efforts." However, it's hard to say whether they were talking about the car, or the fact that Jack had drank more of their product over the last three years and any other living person.

"It was hard work," the college told the Daily Mirror.

I'm sure. Much like, say, your final exams, or a month of detox in an AA program.

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Filed under: Lifestyle, Media, Dads, Celebrity kids, Books, Creative projects, Celebrity parents

I am a big fan of actor Nicolas Cage. He's not traditional Hollywood leading man material, but that is exactly what I find appealing about him. I imagine if I ever actually met him, he would be as quirky and interesting in real life as he is in the movies.

Quirky and interesting must run in the Cage family. The actor and his 16-year-old son Weston recently debuted their comic book , Voodoo Child, at Comic-Con, a pop culture exposition. Weston came up with the idea for the main character, Gabriel, a bi-racial teenage ghost fighting bigotry in post-Katrina New Orleans. The first issue of the six-book series was released this month and Cage is hoping it makes it to the big screen.

"I have very high hopes to push 'Voodoo Child' into script and production ... and perhaps play a role in the movie," he said. "We have those ideas in motion." If it happens, Weston says he would like to play a villain in the film.

Cage says he is inspired by his son and hopes to work with him on more comic books in the future. "This is a highlight in my life," Cage said, "that I got to create something with my son." Quirky, interesting, and an involved father. I like him even more now.

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Sports

A recent study of college aged soccer players has shown them to have small amounts of brain tissue shrinkage. For those of us who are soccer moms and have avid soccer players in our homes, this is not the best news. The study used MRI's to scan a group of 20 college males, 10 of whom were soccer players and 10 who had never before picked up a soccer ball.

The researchers have yet to determine the specific significance of the gray matter shrinkage other than to report that the findings are compatible with previous studies showing that college age and professional soccer players have displayed symptoms of memory loss and attention span issues. The area of tissue shrinkage in the participants of the study was the anterior temporal cortex, or the area where soccer players make contact when heading a ball.

This should be an interesting study to follow over the next few years. For those of us who are soccer moms, a head trauma is always a scary possibility. Most of our kids will not go on to play college soccer and even fewer will become professional soccer players, but it is a good rule of thumb to monitor any and all head injuries in the game.

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Filed under: Image of the Day

One of the best parts about being a small person is that you can perch just about anywhere for a better view. Such is the case with this little guy. And doesn't he look like he thinks his bird's eye view is just about the best thing in the world? I love the way his hands are clasped over his mouth in awe as he enjoys his new view. A big thank you to windrant for sharing this moment with us here at Image of the Day.

Tomorrow kicks off the month of August. It is the last month of summer and we here at Image of the Day are looking for pictures with an "outside' theme. Show us how you are celebrating this last month in the bright sunshine of warm afternoons.

If you'd like your own picture featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr Pool - We'll select an image every day to highlight. Remember: we're on the lookout for shots with interesting backgrounds, cool angles, or original composition. Be sure to read the intro on the main Flickr page for more information and limit your uploading to 5 photos per day.

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Filed under: Lifestyle, Music

Like a lot of American cities, Tacoma, Washington has a problem with gangs. When the thugs aren't out doing their thug business, they tend to congregate in public places. In an effort to discourage this, city authorities are attempting to annoy them by subjecting them to classical music. Transit workers have begun installing speakers that will fill the air at the Tacoma Mall Transit Center with music from Seattle's KING-FM.

While this may sound a little far-fetched, there is a theory behind the idea. "It's based on routine activity theory and situational crime prevention. You mix different types of activities in locations that are crime-ridden to change the composition of the environment," said psychologist Jacqueline Helfgott.

Will it work? Bus driver Tony Wilson is skeptical. "It could do one of two things: It could calm the beast, or it could just stir things up," Wilson said. "I think the reason we don't have music on the buses is that you can't please everyone. It would just cause drama."

I recall something similar - maybe it was rock music - blasted at a building where hostages were being held. I don't recall if this worked, but as one who has been forced to listen to Hannah Montana music for about three weeks non-stop, I believe the idea has promise.

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Teenager

For those of us who have teenager creatures in our homes, keeping the interested and active is often a challenge. As parents it is no longer our duty to be their entertainment directors, but the necessity to keep them occupied is a vital one. One company in Mountain View, California has a creative and healthy approach: gyms made just for teens. They are places where teenagers can work out without the pressures from parents, but with a twist that makes them appealing to this age group.

Overtime Fitness, Inc, is the only gym in the country that caters entirely to the brace face population. Here kids can scale climbing walls, attend cheer leading conditioning classes or compete against each other in video game dance-offs or stationary bike races. The creators of Overtime Fitness say they are not aiming to create future gym rats, but rather are looking to keep kids busy and engaged in healthy activities. Although the gym has yet to turn a profit, the owners are hoping that more communities will take note of this innovative idea and the word will spread, taking the concept nationwide and keeping many more teens leading healthy and plugged in to wholesome activities.

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Filed under: Rumors

Poor Jen. Things were so well when she was married to Brad Pitt. We all thought it was only a matter of time before the world's most beautiful couple got down to business and started having the world's most beautiful babies.

But we all know what happened there.

These days, Jen is trying to get her love life back on track. She was most recently dating Paul Sculfor, a Levi's model, but broke it off because "Jen wants to settle down with a reliable man and start a family."

Apparently the fact that "Paul travels a lot and is constantly surrounded by beautiful women" didn't exactly make him a safe bet for future family fan.

I have to be honest: this is shocking to me. How can one of the world's most rich, famous and attractive celebrities have trouble finding a guy to settle down with and start a family? You'd think she'd be beating 'em off with stick.

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Filed under: Media, Teachers, Elementary school, Books

It was an assembly on the last day of school. More than four hundred students were gathered to bid farewell to St John's Church of England school for the summer. The head teacher stood before the gathered children to offer words of wisdom. And read the last page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the series.

A school spokesman explained that "at this assembly a very small passage from the new Harry Potter book was read aloud. The passage was carefully chosen to reflect the theme of saying goodbye. The school felt that this reading would not spoil the children's enjoyment of the book and its plot."

Many of the students, however, had not yet read the book and didn't want to hear the ending. "I put my hands over my ears and squeezed my eyes closed," said one eleven-year-old, "because I didn't want to know about it." The seven-hundred-plus page book was released less than two weeks ago and many students would have kicked off their summer reading with the volume.

The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations wasn't happy about it either. A spokeswoman for the organization made it clear that "It spoilt the book for a number of children. The good thing about Harry Potter is that it has encouraged a lot of children to pick up books and read. It is very hard to understand why anyone would do that, most of all a teacher in a primary school."

I have to agree with the PTA. I think they could have found a passage from an earlier book or even just come up with something on their own. I know I would have been rather upset had I been one of those kids.

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