Wannado City

I laughed out loud at Pat Kane's post about Wannado City, a job-focused theme park for kids. He somehow manages to describe the theme park, weaves in the perfect Marxist quote, and throws in a reference to one of my favourite old campy movies about an Old West theme park for adults who end up getting maimed when the robots run amok.

I really like the idea of young people trying out possible futures, but this concept will only appeal to younger kids who won't get any career-planning benefits out of the deal. Why not take your kids to a real fire station instead of to a cheesy theme park? It's one those real-world places that sounds like it should only exist in a Simpsons-Go-to-Florida episode when Disney World is closed for repairs.

Kate Yandoh seems to share my skepticism, wondering whether kids are more into the pizza parlor than the life-like surgeon's hospital their parents are trying to steer them towards.