Twenty Years Ago this Month - Olympic Flashback

Are you old enough to remember the "Miracle on Ice," the ice hockey game in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY? Russia was highly-favored to win the gold but the US team, made up of college and non-professional hockey players, defeated them in one of the medal rounds and went on to take the gold.

So inspirational was the victory, that twice the story was told on the big screen. The first movie, Miracle on Ice came out in 1981. In the second movie, Miracle (2004) there is a well-known scene where Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell), the coach gives a pre-game pep talk to the US team. For reference, you can see the clip here:

Miracle - Coach Brooks Addresses Team Pre Game

Here's a young boy who has memorized that speech and delivers it here. Cute.

BookBook

Hardback leather case for MacBook Pro available at Twelve South

February 14th Birthday: Paul O. Zelinsky

For the past few weeks I have been reading folktales from various countries to my students in preparation for Rockwood Reading Week: Read Around the World. One of my (many) favorites is Paul O. Zelinsky's version of Rapunzel.


Not only has Zelinsky crafted the words, but he is the illustrator as well. I love how he has captured the Italian Renaissance style in his oil paintings. He truly is a gifted artist.

He has shown similar style in other picture books, two of which are Rumpelstiltskin









and Hansel and Gretel



So I am always interested when an artist takes on another style that seems so unassociated to what I have come to expect from him/her. Here's Zelinsky's cover art for a more current book called Shivers in the Fridge, written by Fran Mahushkin.



This is the story of a family who live in a cold, dark place. They are not happy here, always startled and frightened by sudden blinding light accompanied by a monster's hand reaching in to remove part of their edible furnishings. They need a new place to call home.

Clever story and artwork, but I find it's always good to look at other examples of work in order to get a better picture of the scope of the artist's talent.

Known for his versatility, Mr. Zelinsky does not feel his work represents a specific style. He said the following in an interview:

"I want the pictures to speak in the same voice as the words. This desire has led me to try various kinds of drawings in different books. I have used quite a wide stretch of styles, and I'm fortunate to have been asked to illustrate such a range of stories."

You can find out more about Zelinsky and his books at his website.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's a nice, inspirational website:

Photo of the Day

Today's photo is "True Hearts" by Mark Westlake. Awwwww...fitting for the day!

A Fun Game to Play

Here's a sophisticated, amazingly well-made game that is lots of fun to play. It's called Get the Glass! and is produced by the California Milk Processor's Board. You will see the "Got Milk?" logo at the bottom of the opening screen.

The storyline for the game is this: The Adachi family are in search of milk and they are in trouble with the law because they will go to any lengths to procure a glass of the white stuff. You roll the dice to move them along on the gameboard, but the police are always in hot pursuit. When the family is caught they are taken to Milkatraz, get it? Alcatraz, Milkatraz. They have various ways to escape and continue on the gameboard. Here are a couple screen shots from the game. When you have a few minutes, give it a try.



Oh, and the Got Milk website is really clever, too.

...and here's another reason why I need an iPhone

You can use the Brushes application to create drawings and then send them to your friends.

Read Through the Bible in a Year

Pastor Chris Smith, of Resurrection Presbyterian Church here in St. Louis, offers links to various Bible reading plans in his December 31st blog entry. I like the one called "Bible Reading Plan for Shirkers and Slackers," 'cause, hey, that's me! So I'm going for it. And the good thing is, there's no pressure. Shirkers and slackers have low expectations.

Need Books?

The St. Louis County Library is in the process of converting a number of the branches into self-checkout. It's quite an undertaking as the materials for the new system are quite expensive. So, right now there's a lot of "weeding" going on in all sections (fiction, non-fiction, childrens, etc) at a number of the branches. Except for the processing labels, many of the books are library-bound and in new condition. I know that Oak Bend is just starting, Daniel Boone and Eureka Hills have been underway for awhile. Others, too, I just don't know which ones. Toward the end of January there will be a big sale, 10 cents a book, but I noticed that some of the books are already going out on the sale table at my local library. I'm sure they will be advertising, so, if interested, be on the lookout or ask your friendly neighborhood librarian for more information.

Photo: Copyright FreeStockImages.org

Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain performing the Theme from Shaft

This is fun, and it really gets particularly good around the one minute mark.



I think I may like this one (Theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) even better.

The Power of an Inspirational Teacher

I think you'll enjoy this video:



These are the students in the Chorus at PS22, Staten Island, NY. This is not a magnet or fine arts school, but a typical big city public school, with a different group of fifth grades making up the chorus each year. Wow! The faces and the body language! Note the two girls on the right side of the aisle playing their imaginary pianos during the introduction. No doubt these kids are involved and loving it.

You can read more about the chorus and their instructor, Gregg Breinberg, in this ABC News article: Music Class Is Hit With Kids, Online Viewers

The chorus was formed in 2000 and Breinberg started blogging about their activities a few years ago. If you scroll to the bottom of the home page there are many links to past performances. They've been on various TV programs and performed at major special events, but I had never heard of them. Of course, I live under a rock. Had you heard of them before now?