As Heat Bears Down, a Dad and Kid Watch Moana

It was crazy hot out yesterday, so after Kina woke up from her nap(!) I offered her a choice: Go run in a hydrant or watch a movie. As soon as I said it, I knew I’d made a critical error in judgement, and so I spent the next ten minutes trying to convince her of the merits of running through the water before the rain started, telling her we’d go buy a snack, offering to take her out on the scooter. But the movie prevailed, as I should have foreseen, and per the child’s demand, Moana was cued up.

A few minutes into the movie, I was feeling better overall. The air conditioning was a lot better than a rando hydrant on a 93 degree day, and Moana is actually a really good movie that holds up to repeat viewings. The soundtrack is good, the jokes are good, The Rock is outstanding, the emotional climax is good. You know what else is good? Taking a nap while your child sings along to a Disney movie featuring a non-white princess.

This morning, Kina requested some time with the Moana activity book, which is basically a coloring book of the entire movie, peppered throughout with Moana-themed spelling exercises. At the back of the book is a single, precious sheet of stickers; from it, Kina peeled off a particularly angry-looking Moana decal, affixing it to my upper arm like a tattoo while I looked at my email. I finally noticed it at lunch today, having walked all over the city on my day off like a huge Moana fan (pictured below).

In closing, true Moana heads will understand how thrilled I am with today’s logo.

Local Artist Discusses New Commission

When I asked Kina to draw in the bottom right corner the “something beautiful” that she was pretty sure I would like, Kina instructed me instead to draw a picture of a folded napkin, which I think means I have become an art fabricator in the studio of a tiny Jeff Koons. On most days, the beautiful things she’s drawing for us are abstractions in orange and pink marker. Today’s (which will likely make the Parade on Sunday) featured “a boot”. Kina is no rote drafter, does not draw horses, has no love of figure. She is proud of her work, though, even as she resists the public’s efforts to understand it. Less Koons, more Twombly, maybe. You’ll probably like it. If you do, let her know.

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