I'm not talking 'bout the linens....

And I don't wanna change your life,
But there's a warm wind blowin' the stars around,
And I'd really like to see you tonight.

Ugh, that's the song in my head right now, courtesy of RiteAid Drugstore. I'm pretty sure the first line is actually "I'm not talking 'bout movin' in", but I like my version better.

What's on my mind today? Dinosaurs. And guts.

I'll admit (along with my pal, D'nah) that I enjoyed the movie "Jurassic Park". In fact, the dinosaur scenes reduced me to enraptured crying joy: "Whoa, dinosaurs, and they look real! Beautiful!" I experienced dorky slack-jawed wonder when the first brachiosaurus strolled across the screen.

Regrettably, there were humans running all over the place like bugs -- screaming, being cute, saying annoying things, getting sneezed on, being eaten, and so on. I remember wishing that I could simply watch a documentary about dinosaurs minus the twee children and luddite message.

Now it exists! The BBC series (also shown on the Discovery Channel) "Walking With Dinosaurs" is marvelous and has no humans. I tried to watch this series with Beanie, but nature being as red-in-tooth-and-claw as it is, we could only watch a little of it. The website is interesting and Beanie-friendly; if you have kids, you should show it to them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dinosaurs/

I highly recommend browsing around in the "Fact Files" section; there are neat little movies (including clips from the series), made-up dinosaur sounds, and lots of cool information. Beanie's favorite dinosaur (actually a flying reptile) is Tapejara, with its big, bony crest.

While you're at the BBC website, you can take a gander at another fun place where Beanie and I spend a lot of time:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/

Try the interactive body games; they're fun and incredibly educational, even for grown-ups. Beanie likes to play them over and over (and over!) The "Organs" game is the easiest. Now Beanie and I know where a human spleen goes. I had no idea it was so large!

Speaking of body parts, check out the Colossal Colon! Our family went to see it last summer in downtown Seattle, and now my husband eats fiber cereal every day. I was the only one of us with the gumption to climb all the way through it. I think Beanie went halfway, but it was kind of dark in there.