Ok, I made up the title, but I totally see a Picasso-esque man in this drawing carrying a hobo stick over his shoulder. What do you see?

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I asked Ella to draw my our family – left to right is Eva, Ella, Mom and Dad. Of course, she had to be persuaded into including little Eva. I found it interesting that she drew the hair first – who does that? I think my beard is awesome.

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Father’s Day was great – Ella woke me up with Twizzlers and cards. We spent the day at Buckner Park with the Schermerhorn clan. Then we relaxed around the house and watched Inception at night – what a great movie! (Erin was not into it at all, but she let me watch it anyway.)

Here is my official Father’s day card from Ella:

Here is the other card, she gave me while proudly exclaiming “It says, ‘you are a fairy!'” – luckily I know that she considers it a high compliment to be like Tinkerbell. So the bigger question was why she went with winter pics when its like 90 degrees outsite.

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Check out this incredible floating stage on Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria. The Bregenzer Festspiele (Bregenz Festival) has become renowned for its unconventional staging of shows. Verdi’s opera, “A Masked Ball” in 1999, featured a giant book being read by a skeleton.

See more images of this and other grand stages they have used at Bregenz Festival

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Saudi women are being encouraged to challenge the status quo and get behind the wheel today.

Though there are no traffic laws that make it illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, religious edicts are often interpreted as a ban against female drivers. One female motorist spent more than a week in custody in May, supporters said.

The day is expected to be a test of wills — and authority — between police and the Women2Drive campaign being promoted via social media (Women2Drive on Twitter & Women2Drive on Facebook.)

Authorities stopped Manal al Sharif, 32, for driving a car on May 21 and detained her the next day. She said she was forced to sign a form promising not to drive again and spent a week in jail.

Al Sharif has not been charged, but the case remains open and she may be called back, according to human rights activist Waleed Abu Alkhair.

In an interview with CNN before her detention, al Sharif said she was determined to speak out.

“We have a saying,” she said. “The rain starts with a single drop. This is a symbolic thing.”

Strict segregation by sex means women in Saudi Arabia can’t travel without a male relative or take public transportation.

Source: CNN

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Ella had her first soccer practice the other day and it was lots of fun. Having played soccer, I couldn’t help but feel some pride watching her – she really looked like she knew what she was doing. She has a crazy high kick form going – pretty impressive. It was also fun that we have some friends there to hang out with too!

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http://gawker.com/5810891/

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• “I am going to call you The Solutioner. Is that ok?”
• “I want the Pacers to win; don’t you, daddy?”
• “This place is boring.” (Talking about being at home)
• “Did you know the dinosaurs went unskunked? That means they lived a long time ago, but not now.”
• “I just want to thank her for the game. (Not all the nice clothes grandma also gave her.)”
• “This is the best day of my life.” (after letting her stay up to watch Pacers, way past her bedtime)
• “Why don’t you ever clean your office? I don’t think you will ever do it, so I will clean it for you.” (uh, oh, she is starting to sound like her mother)



• “We need to fly our rocketship all the way to Indy.” (while playing spaceship in my office)
• “Your the worst daddy ever!” (after saying I could not go play , because I had to work – so sad)
• “We gotta get this party rockin’ … Its a rockin’ day … Lets rock this party up.” (Random exlamations during one of our dance parties.)
• Me: “What’s wrong with you?”, Ella: “I’m just wound up today, that’s all.”
• Ella handed me a magic ring and said: “Just use it when you need it. You know if your in traffic or there are bad guys.”
• “Duh, everyone know its bad to kill people.”
• Ella: “Go make mom interesting?”
  Me: “Do what?”
  Ella: “I mean, make her interested. You know interested in something else, so I sneak in and get my blanket.”
  ME: “Oh, you mean distract her.”
  Ella: “Yeah, ‘stratct her. You need to ‘stract her so she won’t see me.”

• Mom: “I love you a million times.”
  (pause)
  Mom: “Aren’t you going to say something to me?”
  Ella: “You’re a sandwich”

• “Guess who is the best dancer? Ella is.”
• “I’m 4, but I look 3.”
• “Boo-hoo Bulls, you’re not so tough.”
• “Just like ‘Chopped’.” (When I explained how teams get eliminated from playoffs.)
• “I love Frank.” (Referring to Pacers coach)

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