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Fitzgerald or Hemingway?
Rhett or Ashley?
For that matter, Scarlett or Melanie?
Jay Gatsby or Tom Buchanan?
George Wickham or Fitzwilliam Darcy? (Pride and Prejudice)
In the 90's update: Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy? (Bridget Jones's Diary)
May Welland or Ellen Olenska? (The Age of Innocence)
Arthur or Lancelot?
Charles Darnay or Sydney Carton? (A Tale of Two Cities)
Heathcliff or Edgar Linton? (Wuthering Heights)
Tonya or Lara? (Doctor Zhivago)
Florentino Ariza or Juvenal Urbino? (Love in the Time of Cholera)
Betty or Veronica?
Louis or Lestat? (Interview with a Vampire)
Dracula or Frankenstein?
Sauron or Voldemort?
Rhett or Ashley?
For that matter, Scarlett or Melanie?
Jay Gatsby or Tom Buchanan?
George Wickham or Fitzwilliam Darcy? (Pride and Prejudice)
In the 90's update: Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy? (Bridget Jones's Diary)
May Welland or Ellen Olenska? (The Age of Innocence)
Arthur or Lancelot?
Charles Darnay or Sydney Carton? (A Tale of Two Cities)
Heathcliff or Edgar Linton? (Wuthering Heights)
Tonya or Lara? (Doctor Zhivago)
Florentino Ariza or Juvenal Urbino? (Love in the Time of Cholera)
Betty or Veronica?
Louis or Lestat? (Interview with a Vampire)
Dracula or Frankenstein?
Sauron or Voldemort?
The one eye versus the nose (or lack thereof)...
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Today marks the 227th anniversary of the birth of Jacob Grimm in Hanau, Germany. Without him and his brother, Wilhelm, we might be without priceless folktales such as Rapunzel, The Fisherman and His Wife, Little Red Cap, The Bremen Towne Musicians, Rumpelstiltskin and Hansel & Gretel. To celebrate, read a folktale, either to your favorite child or just for your own pleasure!
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The world of children's literature lost another light with the passing of author/illustrator Simms Taback, who passed away on December 25th at the age of 79. Taback won the Caldecott Medal for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat (2000) and a Caldecott Honor for one of my favorite read alouds, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, with its amazing die-cut illustrations. He also created the illustrations for the first McDonald's Happy Meal Box in 1977!
Here are ust a few of his works. The world of children's books will be a little less colorful without him.
Simms Taback in his studio.
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Are you watching TV, answering email, text messaging and reading this blog all at the same time? Stop! Now! Choose one thing and do it well and with focus, then move on to the next task, and so on. Multi-tasking is bad for you. Okay, so you won't take my word for it? Here's more than a decade's worth of research on the subject from such stalwart institutions as Stanford University, the University of Michigan and UCLA. And the research all points to this fact: juggling multiple tasks, ubiquitous in our tech-laden world, hurts learning and performance as it divides attention.
The Stanford researchers set out to tackle the assumption that it is impossible for the brain to process more than one string of information at a time. They theorized that maybe people who appear to multitask must have superior control over how they focus and what they focus on. So they went hunting for the secret. But after studying 100 students, they discovered that the multitaskers don't have a special "gift," and they are, in fact, losing mental acuity.
The researchers divided their test subject into two groups: those who do media multitasking on a regular basis and those who do not. They conducted three different tests which involved ignoring irrelevant information, organizing memories and switching tasks. The heavy multitaskers underperformed on all three tasks: they were, as one researcher put it, "suckers for irrelevancy;" they were unable to filter out information unnecessary to the task at hand; and their capacity to store information to help complete a task was diminished.
The UCLA researchers examined how multitasking affects our ability to learn. In short, it does! Adversely! It may just be common sense, but it would certainly seem that the best way to learn and improve your memory is to pay attention to the things you want to remember! Like stuff you want to learn! Duh! So the next time I hear a fellow educator talk about the wonderful ability of today's students to multitask, I think I am going to scream! And then I will refer him or her to these research studies. Wow, what a concept: maybe we could achieve more by doing less.
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Since I doubt if I could write it any better, for your enjoyment, I pass along this link to Alexandra Petri's column in The Washington Post. Happy 2012!
Will it be the end of the world as we know it? Well, I feel fine!
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Check out Florence & The Machine: Ceremonials. A unique voice, incredibly atmospheric music. I am reminded of Sinead O'Connor at her best, as well as Kate Bush, but Florence Welch is definitely a talent unto her own. She crosses genres and moods; mixes rock, soul, pop and the Romantic poets!
Click to watch a video for No Light, No LIght
My favorites? After just a few listens, No Light, No Light is a true standout, as well as What the Water Gave Me. But this is one of those CDs that requires close listening over a period of time to truly appreciate its artistry.
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When a librarian is tired and unable to come up with an interesting post, she resorts to trivia and factoids. Hence, this birthday salute!
Born on this day:
1721 - Madame De Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis the 15th (what would we have named the hairdo?)
1776 - Charles Macintosh, Scotland, patented waterproof fabric (what would the Brits call their raincoats?)
1800 - Charles Goodyear, inventor (vulcanization process for rubber) (how would we get around?)
1808 - Andrew Johnson, Raleigh NC, 17th president (1865-69) (Discuss an alternate direction of the Reconstruction)
1914 - Billy Tipton, American musician (d. 1989) (Jazz pioneer born a woman, who lived as a man for most of her adult life)
1917 - Tom Bradley, American politician (d. 1998) (first, and so far only, African-American Mayor of Los Angeles)
1921 - Robert C. Baker, Inventor of the chicken nugget (d.
2006)
1937 - Mary Tyler Moore, actress (Mary Tyler Moore show, Ordinary People)
1938 - Jon Voight, Yonkers, NY, actor (Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy)
1946 - Laffit Pincay Jr, jockey (Kentucky Derby 1984, Belmont 1982-84, Swale)
1946 - Marianne Faithfull, Hampstead England, vocalist (Mick Jagger's main squeeze for a time in the '60s)
1951 - Yvonne Elliman, US actress/singer (Original Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar; I Don't Know How to
Love Him)
1972 - Jude Law, British actor (Cute foil for Robert Downey, Jr. in Sherlock Holmes flicks)
1973 - Theo Epstein, the Cubs' new general manager (formerly of Boston)
Born on this day:
1721 - Madame De Pompadour, mistress of French King Louis the 15th (what would we have named the hairdo?)
1776 - Charles Macintosh, Scotland, patented waterproof fabric (what would the Brits call their raincoats?)
1800 - Charles Goodyear, inventor (vulcanization process for rubber) (how would we get around?)
1808 - Andrew Johnson, Raleigh NC, 17th president (1865-69) (Discuss an alternate direction of the Reconstruction)
1914 - Billy Tipton, American musician (d. 1989) (Jazz pioneer born a woman, who lived as a man for most of her adult life)
1917 - Tom Bradley, American politician (d. 1998) (first, and so far only, African-American Mayor of Los Angeles)
1921 - Robert C. Baker, Inventor of the chicken nugget (d.
2006)
1937 - Mary Tyler Moore, actress (Mary Tyler Moore show, Ordinary People)
1938 - Jon Voight, Yonkers, NY, actor (Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy)
1946 - Laffit Pincay Jr, jockey (Kentucky Derby 1984, Belmont 1982-84, Swale)
1946 - Marianne Faithfull, Hampstead England, vocalist (Mick Jagger's main squeeze for a time in the '60s)
1951 - Yvonne Elliman, US actress/singer (Original Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar; I Don't Know How to
Love Him)
1972 - Jude Law, British actor (Cute foil for Robert Downey, Jr. in Sherlock Holmes flicks)
1973 - Theo Epstein, the Cubs' new general manager (formerly of Boston)
This one looked especially yummy!
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Today is officially "Scrub the dark marks off the corners where the cats rub their filthy little heads" Day, an occasion celebrated by cat-lovers everwhere. And a day upon which they ask the question, "How do my cats' heads pick up dirt when the closest they get to the outside is a nose pressed against a windowscreen?"
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No, it has nothing to do with the "sweet science" of pugilism. And how the sport of boxing was given that moniker is a whole 'nother post. And it's not about returning those unwanted gifts. Boxing Day, which is celebrated in Great Britain and most of the Commonwealth nations on December 26th, apparently got its name from the practice of the gentry giving their servants boxes of celebration leftovers and other small gifts on this day. The servants would have to work on December 25th but would then be given the following day off, along with their presents.
An alternative explanation is that the church alms boxes where parishioners would deposit coins for the poor would be opened on this day and distributed to the destitute of the parish. As years passed, the custom of giving small gifts grew to include anyone who had rendered a service over the course of the year.
December 26th is also the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Saint Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poverty-stricken. For the success of his preaching and his religious devotion, St. Stephen was stoned to death by a mob outside the city of Jerusalem. As he died, he begged God not to punish his killers.
An alternative explanation is that the church alms boxes where parishioners would deposit coins for the poor would be opened on this day and distributed to the destitute of the parish. As years passed, the custom of giving small gifts grew to include anyone who had rendered a service over the course of the year.
December 26th is also the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Saint Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poverty-stricken. For the success of his preaching and his religious devotion, St. Stephen was stoned to death by a mob outside the city of Jerusalem. As he died, he begged God not to punish his killers.
After a long night of flying, the reindeer need to let off a little steam...
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Here’s a Christmas Smackdown to enjoy while you await the arrival of the big jolly elf...
Category: Christmas Icons
Rudolph vs. Frosty
A four way match-up between St. Nicholas vs. Santa Claus vs. Kris
Kringle vs. Pere Noel
Category: Christmas Icons
Rudolph vs. Frosty
A four way match-up between St. Nicholas vs. Santa Claus vs. Kris
Kringle vs. Pere Noel
A nose so bright vs. a magic hat
Category: Music
First up, a three-way match-up for the most intolerable version (or best version, your choice) of “Last Christmas:”
George Michael vs. Taylor Swift vs. Glee cast
Most Depressing Christmas song:
The Christmas Shoes vs. A Soldier’s Silent Night
Category: Christmas theatre cash cows
The Nutcracker ballet vs. A Christmas Carol
First up, a three-way match-up for the most intolerable version (or best version, your choice) of “Last Christmas:”
George Michael vs. Taylor Swift vs. Glee cast
Most Depressing Christmas song:
The Christmas Shoes vs. A Soldier’s Silent Night
Category: Christmas theatre cash cows
The Nutcracker ballet vs. A Christmas Carol
Sugar Plum Fairy vs. Scrooge
Category: TV Specials (as they were called back in the day)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas vs. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Category: Classic Christmas Movies
It’s a Wonderful Life (an angel gets its wings) vs. A Christmas
Story (you’ll shoot your eye out)
Category: Flora
Holly vs. Ivy
Evergreen tree (real) vs. Evergreen tree (artificial)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas vs. A Charlie Brown Christmas
Category: Classic Christmas Movies
It’s a Wonderful Life (an angel gets its wings) vs. A Christmas
Story (you’ll shoot your eye out)
Category: Flora
Holly vs. Ivy
Evergreen tree (real) vs. Evergreen tree (artificial)
Holly vs. Ivy (both wondrously green)
Category: Food
Fruitcake vs. Anything
Sugar cookies vs. gingerbread cookies
Candy canes vs. peppermint bark
Fruitcake vs. Anything
Sugar cookies vs. gingerbread cookies
Candy canes vs. peppermint bark
Sweet and delicious vs. spicy and delicious
Category: Decorations
Christmas lights vs. Inflatables
Polar bears vs. Penguins
“Themed” Christmas trees vs. any ornament you happen to like plus the home- or school-made masterpieces
Christmas lights vs. Inflatables
Polar bears vs. Penguins
“Themed” Christmas trees vs. any ornament you happen to like plus the home- or school-made masterpieces
Only one of these animals lives anywhere near the North Pole (and it's not the one in the tux)
Category: Preferred locations for the “stuffer” gifts
Stockings vs. Shoes
Stockings vs. Shoes
Depends on where your ancestors came from...
Category: Anticipation
Christmas Eve vs. New Year’s Eve
Christmas Eve vs. New Year’s Eve
Santa vs. the ball drop in Times Square
Category: The Morning After
You get the idea...