Japanese Playgrounds + Cranium!

The NYTimes (free reg. req.) has a fantastic slideshow on avant-garde Japanese playgrounds. A must-see. And while you are at it, there is also an article on marketing to children that deals more with food than with toys and games, but if you are serious about this ludology thing, you need to broaden your perspectives, right? Last, but not least, CollisionDetection's Clive Thompson reviews Cranium toys (another must-read. This is a FANTASTIC piece). Thanks Clive for making my Xmas miserable: I now have too many toys on my list and Santa is probably going to think that a Nintendo DS is more than enough for me :( .
rTalking about playgrounds, there is a terrific one right next to my house in Copenhagen, designed for handicapped children. I should have taken pics during the summer, because now leafless means lifeless. But I promise to do it, as soon as the sun gets back (in about 100 months probably)
rTo sum up, you should spend at least an hour browsing through this Sunday's NYT Magazine. It mainly deals with all-things-children. If you read this on Monday, you now have a good excuse for doing nothing at the office.