The Daily Kina

Archive

There Are Only Two Kinds of Poetry

Family asked to write poems in one of the two major styles—”If I Were In Charge of the World” or “Beans, Beans, Beans”

I went with Beans, Beans, Beans.

dad

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#1723
June 2, 2025
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“Soon It Will Be Halloween!”

Child’s brain skips entire season in search of her favorite holiday

In the traditional way: Come for the completely premature anticipation of Halloween, stay for the “Turnstiles are my favorite kind of door”

dad

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#1722
June 2, 2025
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Apprentice Tour Guide Shakes Off Parents, Shows Raphael and Cathy the Wonders of Domino Park

Mommy‘s cousin and his partner leave both inspired and well-informed

We are only at May 19th?! She was still in her tour guide phase!

dad

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#1721
June 1, 2025
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Publisher Named “Best Dancer On Recital Stage” By Critic (Her Daddy)

Standards and Ethics editors on high alert as Daddy raves about her grace and poise

I am not so learned in the dancing arts, but I was honestly taken aback at how graceful our own child was on stage. She did not get it from me.

dad

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#1720
May 28, 2025
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Roller Skating Field Trip!!

Child successfully breaks no bones on riskiest school outing yet

I am honestly shocked this was a field trip in 2025. The chaperones on this one really took their lives into their own hands.

dad

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#1719
May 28, 2025
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“Why Do We Have To Get Into All These ‘Let's Say’s?”

Our esteemed publisher has little patience for hypotheticals

She just wants me to get to the point.

dad

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#1718
May 27, 2025
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“I Have a Compliment, a Question, and a Comment About Your Jewelry”

Local reporter can’t stay objective about Mommy’s many rings

Kina approves of Mommy’s recent interest in colorful rings.

dad

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#1717
May 25, 2025
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Celebrity of the Day!

Randomly-selected family member chooses nightly entertainment

Kina brought this idea home from school, where a new classmate’s name is drawn daily from one of several enveloped tacked to the wall. Presumably, by the end of the school year, every student will have been the Celebrity of the Day. In our house, the rotation is much faster, and we have run out of new games to play.

dad

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#1716
May 24, 2025
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“Oh! I Have Nostalgia!”

Publisher experiences the novelty of looking back wistfully on life

I’ve known some coworkers longer than Kina has been alive, and so it comes as no surprise that nostalgia is a new feeling for her. I feel nostalgic, too, for the smaller version of Kina. We can share that now.

dad

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#1715
May 24, 2025
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“Don’t Say Anything, I Know You Have a Bunch of Opinions”

Kid tries to bust out tennis skirt for school uniform on 50 degree morning

I let her wear it.

dad

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#1714
May 23, 2025
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Laurea de Ocampo Is the Best Mommy

Child decorates honorary clipboard and family eats cake for breakfast on Mother’s Day

A little throwback to Mother’s Day here as we catch up. The weather was better then.

dad

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#1713
May 23, 2025
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Long Night of Allergies

The trees of New York spend evenings belching pollen, Kina’s greatest nemesis

If I remember this night correctly, it turns out she also had a cold.

dad

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#1712
May 22, 2025
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“Stop Talkin’ About the Pope!!”

Mommy’s fascination with papal selection baffles and annoys publisher

Mommy was really rooting for the Filipino one.

dad

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#1711
May 22, 2025
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“Okaayy I Don’t Wanna Hear About Your Personal Experiences”

Child pushes back on Mommy’s “I was a responsible child” narrative

Okay, I’m way behind. Let’s get back to the personal experiences.

dad

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#1710
May 21, 2025
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“I Got a Fun New Game. It’s Called ‘Whatcha Doin?’”

I just thought this was a funny headline but it is an actual game

And then you have to pack a backpack and say you’re doing something else. I swear it makes sense when she teaches it.

dad

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#1709
May 13, 2025
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Mommy and Kina Have “The Talk”

Child is informed about eventual bodily changes as mommy and daddy come to realization that she’s becoming a tween and needs tween knowledge

Laurea is doing an amazing job at helping this little girl understand what it means to be in her body—and how to come prepared.

dad

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#1708
May 11, 2025
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“Can You Please Stop Worrying About Me So Much?”

She is a big kid and can take care of herself just fine

I’m still going to worry, just more quietly.

dad

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#1707
May 11, 2025
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Cheddar Cheese and Bacon—a Long-Standing Daddy Daughter Sandwich Tradition—Has Yellow Cheese Again

Child and daddy debate the question of whether or not the yellow tastes different

I am a white cheddar guy, but I also don’t believe the yellow tastes different. Fight me.

dad

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#1706
May 10, 2025
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“The Real Me Is Better Than the Fake Me”

AI skeptic says trust no facsimile of our esteemed publisher

Accept no substitute.

dad

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#1705
May 10, 2025
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Kid Spots Horror Doll on Otherwise Pleasant Walk

Somebody put a chuckie doll in their window and it ruined the vibe

Who puts a Chuckie doll in their window?

dad

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#1704
May 9, 2025
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Third Grade Reportedly “Not As Hard As Mister Ortiz Made It Seem”

Second grade teacher overestimated difficulty of getting older

It doesn’t get easier, you just get stronger. At math.

dad

p.s. I find myself playing catch-up again. Thank you for reading about last week.

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#1703
May 9, 2025
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Daddy Scolded for Coming Home Too Early

Kina’s precious Mommy-daughter bedtime interrupted unjustly

I’m just not a stay-out-late guy. I’m sorry.

dad

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#1702
May 8, 2025
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Child Is “Sick of Bread”

She has eaten her last sourdough country loaf breakfast

I keep telling her this is a good problem to have.

dad

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#1701
May 8, 2025
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Child Spends Many Hours in Long Island Socializing with Mommy’s Friends and One Infant

Demands active gameplay from “that lady”, “big bozo”, and “Scott”

I only just now realized that the headline should have read “ON Long Island”. Big Bozo.

dad

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#1700
May 7, 2025
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Environmentalists Gather Trash, Eat Cake at Annual Celebration of Futura’s Birth

mob of civic-minded third graders collect recyclables from strangers in McGolrick Park

Reader, the children were so proud to have collected the trash that they forgot to figure out what to do with the recently-emptied cooler full of cans afterwards.

dad

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#1699
May 7, 2025
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An Age of Big Feelings

Publisher finds herself easily upset lately, triggering release of extra hugs

Eight is turning out to be an emotional year for the big girl.

dad

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#1698
May 6, 2025
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Kid Is Brought To Work

On-camera correspondent and cookie decorating chef gets a taste of life at Daddy’s other newspaper job, brings joy

I really had to hustle to introduce her to A.G. Publishers gotta hang out.

dad

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#1697
April 29, 2025
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“I’m the Smoothie DJ!”

noise-sensitive smoothie lover dons headphones to make breakfast

The headphones come in handy for independent smoothie production.

dad

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#1696
April 29, 2025
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“We Were Just In London—Let’s Get Back to New York!”

Child tires of parents’ incessant nostalgic vacation musings

I mean, it was a nice vacation. We should be able to enjoy the afterglow.

dad

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#1695
April 28, 2025
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Fashion Critic: “Mommy Has a Lot of Confusing Garbage Shirts”

Mommy, fashion icon, takes review in its intended complimentary spirit

I wish I could actually show you the absurdly confusing shirt Kina was talking about. It really is great.

dad

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#1694
April 23, 2025
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Jetlagged Publisher Rises at 3:30 AM to Hunt for Chocolate Eggs

She expects Daddy to devise rhyming clues for each hidden egg

I was particularly proud of “An egg is like a CHICKEN BUBBLE—go find this one or you’re in _______”

dad

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#1693
April 23, 2025
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Publisher Takes in Majestic Views of Hyde Park From Private Nook in Ritzy Hotel Room That Mommy Booked

Kina wears fuzzy slippers, eats baked beans and orange slices at breakfast buffet, goes on unplanned easter egg hunt in hotel restaurants, then bids a fond farewell to London

Kina looks out over London on our last morning. What a trip.

dad

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#1692
April 21, 2025
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And a Fox to End the Trip

Kina’s furry friend provides a coda, is less cute when she’s screaming

Have you ever heard a fox’s natural night call? Go find one on Youtube and imagine what Londoners live with. I’ll take the rats.

dad

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#1691
April 21, 2025
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Kid Takes a Break From Tourism to Frolic in a Selection of London Playgrounds

She parents go down a steep slide on Columbia Road but allows them to rest on a bench while she makes a sand path in the Regents’ Park

It was only on this day that I realized I’d never before been to a playground in Europe. First time for everything.

dad

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#1690
April 20, 2025
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Theatre Critic Is Blown Away By My Neighbour Totoro

The miracle of puppetry has publisher at the edge of her seat in Drury Lane

Eventually, this staged version of My Neighbor Totoro will make its way to New York, at which point all my NYC readers should make their way to see the giant Totoro puppet. So sayeth the Publisher.

dad

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#1689
April 20, 2025
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Kid Rides Double-Decker Bus Home from Soho with Harrods Bag in Epic London Tourist Gesture

She absent-minded brushes away crumbs from Victoria Sponge on the 38

Monday was a very London day, even if Kina and I were like oil and water for a bit there. The double-decker bus ride home made it all better.

dad

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#1688
April 18, 2025
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Publisher Visits Young V&A with Local Expat Child Friends

Kina joins Tilda and Cecilia on romp through London’s new kids’ museum

Much spanking and boba skepticism from the child crew today after a visit to the kids’ V&A—which is almost astonishingly free of charge and wonderful.

dad

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#1687
April 18, 2025
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“What Am I Gonna Eat at the Pub?!”

American child introduced to British tradition of the Sunday Roast

She cannot quite grasp why you’d eat Thanksgiving dinner at a bar.

dad

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#1686
April 17, 2025
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In London for Barely 3 Hours, Kina Spots a Fox in the Car Park

Stereotypically British catdog a good omen to start her trip

An auspicious start to the trip: random fox, a charmed immigration officer, and the return of Oakwul.

dad

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#1685
April 17, 2025
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Publisher Is Off To London!

Family makes their way to favorite morning flight hotel sleepover

Time for you all to meet us in London, where we are spending Spring Break and listening to Kina’s burgeoning London accent. Mind the lift!

dad

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#1684
April 16, 2025
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Catchup Edition: The Bit Before We Go To London

Okay, needed a bit of a break after the fifth anniversary post, and now we’re in London, which I do want to get to. And so: Here’s everything in between, starting ten days ago.

“When I Graduate from College, Am I Supposed To Get an Apartment or a Job First?“

Kid gets pretty stressed out over customer entry to adulthood

“Are You Staring at Your Written Destiny?”

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#1683
April 14, 2025
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The Daily Kina Is Five

One thousand eight hundred twenty-six of the most momentous days in the history of the world, as experienced by this one kid in Brooklyn

The other day, we were all sitting around and watching videos of a much younger Kina, laughing at her squeaky little voice as she wore headphones and stomped around our apartment dragging a tiny wooden wagon full of blankets, threatening to go to the seashore because I wasn't listening to her.

That video is from April 9, 2020. Kina was three years old, and The Daily Kina—the newspaper you are reading right now—was six days old. Today, she is eight, and this esteemed publication is exactly five years old. If I am correct that I have not missed a single day, then there are one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six (1,826) editions of this periodical expression of one child's life sitting in several archival boxes on a shelf in her room.

Looking through those boxes would show you a change so gradual that you'd barely notice how much Kina was changing. A day is still a day, and one to the next is much the same, on paper as in life. But give it an hour or so—at a minute per issue, say—and you'd see Kina getting more curious, learning to read, trying to express herself, making sense of time. You'd notice me as I stopped calling her “toddler”, as I drew her a bit taller (and with real limbs), as her participation in the tradition of drawing a Sunday Parade tapered off, and then again as she started drawing and writing some of these pages herself. By the time you reached today's edition, some thirty hours later, you'd feel like you watched Kina grow up, but even then you just barely did. You missed the tantrums and the sleeping and the goofy laugh and all the things I forgot to write down and the way she still holds my hand when she crosses the street. I sometimes turn to the paper to figure out when something happened; sometimes it's in the boxes, often it's not. There's so much here. You missed so much.

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#1682
April 3, 2025
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“You’re a Nice Mommy but Not Too Nice Because You Have Expectations”

Publisher understands that even Mommies with expectations are nice

Kina’s helping me paint a lot of these editions lately. Sometimes she makes a little accidental blotch with the paint, and she says, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to!”

I tell her there are no apologies in art. It’s all there for a reason.

dad

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#1681
April 3, 2025
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Lala Visit Catchup Edition

Kina’s Lala came for a long weekend, and I forgot to post up. Let’s investigate!

Publisher Stays Up Late to Greet Lala at Hotel

Surprise Kina reveal spoiled by Lala’s overeager car driver

Crowds Gather As Mommy and Lala Pick Kina Up From School

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#1680
April 2, 2025
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“You Don’t Know What It’s Like In the Third Grade!”

Child seems to think parents have forgotten being 8; she’s right.

I can’t even remember why she said this, let alone my third grade teacher’s name.

dad

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#1679
March 28, 2025
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“You Probably Have To Go To 3 or 4 Years of Training To Be a Heart Surgeon”

Kid admires learned skills of specialists who fixed Lolo Mon’s ticker

Kudos to Lolo Mon and his new heart valve. Maybe Kina will spend a few years learning to fix hearts.

dad

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#1678
March 28, 2025
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“I Need a Hug To Get Into the Spirit of Bed”

child gets up to go pee, needs hug reset to get back into “the zone”

There is something grandiose about The Spirit of Bed that I really admire. It was worth the hug.

daf

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#1677
March 27, 2025
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“Would You Give Me Some Tips On How To End a Conversation?”

Chatty swim lesson attendant holds polite publisher hostage in convo about fountain pens; she turns to Mommy for guidance

You could also just slowly walk away, but that is more advanced.

dad

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#1676
March 25, 2025
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“Reality Is Reality”

Child philosopher accepts her place in the multiverse, doesn’t dwell on what might have been

Sometimes you pick up the remote as you walk across the room. Maybe you don’t get quite as far in two seconds. That’s reality. It’s okay.

dad

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#1675
March 24, 2025
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“Would You Rather Be Weird and Know or Be Weird and Not Know?”

Kid contemplates the double-edged sword of self-awareness

Maybe actually I’d like to know.

dad

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#1674
March 23, 2025
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