Animal Planet: one of television's best offerings for kids
Kids are born curious. Everything is new to them and all of life is a mystery waiting to be solved. Nature is of particular fascination to them. Kids play outside and find every living creature and plant for subjects of their personal investigation and inspection. Kids have pets, too. Frogs, cats, rabbits, birds and dogs become family members. As parents, we try to teach kids how to take good care of their pets, but unless you're a vet, pet store owner or animal trainer, many of us don't know much more about these creatures than our kids do!
Learning about the animal world is valuable knowledge, especially in today's world of vanishing species amidst growing expanses of cement in urban America. Learning about the natural habitats and life cycles of the animal world makes children more sensitive to all living things.
Now, the current controversy among educators and child psychologists has parents in a tizzy over what's the right amount of television watching to allow their kids. A common sense approach surely must lead you to consider that quality programming contributes much to a child's education and personal development. Animal Planet is one channel that earns the highest accolades in this respect. Kids absolutely love Animal Planet presentations. Johnny's pet frog is happy and thriving in its 10-gallon aquarium home, but watching his pet's shenanigans may not satisfy Johnny's curiosity. One program on Animal Planet may teach Johnny more about every type of frog from around the world than he'd learn in a year at the library.
Animal Planet productions do, indeed, cover the planet. Kids can learn all about creatures they may never see in real life. Kangaroos in Australia, Manta Rays in the Caribbean or Bengal tigers in India are all topics of previous Animal Planet programming.
Once kids start watching these informative programs, they're hooked - on learning and caring - two commodities in danger of extinction among humans! Did you know that global warming, causing the melting of Arctic ice floes, now threatens the polar bear with extinction? Did you know that Oregon may be closing the salmon season before it ever begins this year because the Pacific salmon population, some 1.6 million in 2005, has shrunk to an estimated 35,000 this year?
These facts are all of great concern to our children's generation. When these kids grow up, the animal world may be greatly diminished unless people start paying attention now. Animal Planet's audience of today may well make the difference for a better planet for our kids. Watch with your kids. You, too, may become an avid fan.
Dogs Playing Poker
I used to be very entertained by the dogs playing poker poster that my grandfather had in his basement. Back then I was a kid, and my imagination was pretty vivid. I used to love to stare at the poster and think about what the dogs would say to each other. I had watched my grandfather and the other men play poker a number of times, and I sort of knew how the table talk went. Different people had different strategies. Some of them were subdued, others were loud and brash, while others were secretive and coy. Some loved to play up worthless hands as if they were perfect while others loved to play down excellent hands to lure other people into an unsuspecting bet
I would look at the card playing dogs and imagine them as the different men in my family. One of the great things about the dogs playing poker is that they all seemed to represent types so clearly. I remember a big gruff pit bull that had a cigar dangling out of its mouth in a don't mess with me fashion, and a more subdued collie looking cool and unflappable. There was even a dainty little scotty dog, completely absorbed in his own game and carefully and methodically calculating his next move.
I remember how much he seemed to like that poster. I think he even had a couple of them. Apparently, the original dogs playing poker posters were a series painted for a cigar company. There were several of them made, and they all had a different look to them. Since then, they have been imitated literally dozens of times. Nowadays, it is such a recognizable cultural icon that almost no one Remembers where it originally came from. That just goes to show how broad the appeal is.
Thinking about this, I decided to get him a dogs playing poker poster he did not own for his birthday. I knew that he would be thrilled. When I started looking for it, however, I couldn't be sure which ones he had and which he never owned. I did not want to get him a duplicate, so I decide to get him something else. I found a dogs playing poker collectible complete with several of the original dogs done in small models. It was just the kind of thing that my grandfather would like. Best of all, it would let him know that I remembered the hours I spent hanging out with him when I was young.
