Universal tweens

While in London, I visited a family in Hammersmith Barnes: 11-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister--lovely, sociable kids living with a single Anglo-Guyanese mother.

They were perfect tweens. The boy loved his Wii, the Simpsons, soccer stars, and Playstation.The girl loved her iPod, Ashlee Simpson, Brittany Spears, Jamelia and Hannah Montana.

I offered them an Edgar & Ellen "Rare Beasts" Book. The boy's eyes lighted up. "I LOVE them!" He said. He had found Edgar & Ellen's "Under Town" and "High Wire" in his school library.

Now I'm crossing my fingers that Edgar joins Bart in his heart. And that his mainstream tastes predict that the twins will catch the big tween wave.

Giant strollers

As I watched a Dad muscling a heavy stroller into the backseat of an SUV, I thought of all the strollers-wrestling I see in airport jetways. Parents need an iPod of strollers: light, compact, and tasteful.

Today's strollers are the equivalent of yesterday's boom boxes.