Day: 1 December 2006

Safe Toys

Chris Coleman has written in to tell us about toys, and what’s more fun than toys? Nothing.

From Chris:

“Ableplay.org is a toy rating system and Website that provides comprehensive information on toys for children with disabilities so parents, special educators, therapist and others can make the best choices for the children in their lives with disabilities.

Developed by the National Lekotek Center, the leading nonprofit authority on play for children with disabilities, AblePlay will provide parents, and the professionals who work with them, access to the most useful, product-specific information about the top play and learning products and toys for children with disabilities. ”

Conversely, BoingBoing linked to a list of the most dangerous toys.

A Buzkashi Renaissance

Kabul is mad for buzkashi, a sport involving riders, fast horses … and a decapitated animal corpse.buzkashi.jpg

Imagine: groups of men dressed to ward off the chill, wearing heavy coats, woollen hats, and thick boots; impatient horses churning towards their goal: in this case, a decapitated calf corpse.  The crowd hunkers on an overlooking cliff, and gets up to cheer as a rider and his horse break free from the circle of players, dragging the heavy calf around a flagpole and into a white circle.  He’s scored a goal!

Prize money includes sums from local businessmen, ranging from $20 to $100 — a considerable amount by local standards.  Some games are modest, but some attract up to 800 riders.  More prestigious games involve warlords and politicians adding to the pot.  Foreigners are also beginning to join in the fun.

There is hope that the game of buzkashi will unify Afghans, as it did during the reign of King Zahir Shah from the 1950s to the 1970s.