''People seldom read a book that is given to them,'' Samuel Johnson said. If this is true, then the solution might be to give books that people don't have to read. The books in this list, arranged according to cost, do have a word or two in them, but they are to be looked at as well as read and will instantly convey your high regard for the recipient.
THE ART OF THE TROUT FLY, by Judith Dunham, photographs by Egmont Van Dyck (128 pages. Chronicle Books. $29.95). How and why 43 of the world's most practiced fly-tiers tie their favorite wets, dries and terrestrials. Books on this subject would fill a small library, but none before that I know have offered such brilliantly well-lighted and esthetically pleasing photos of the artificial creatures. Bob Mead's praying mantis, made of ''swannundaze,'' ''green and brown goose biots'' and ''fine deburred tips of peacock herl,'' belongs in a museum of natural history, not on a trout stream.
AN AMERICAN JOURNEY BY RAIL, photographs by Dudley Witney, text by Timothy Jacobson (200 pages. W. W. Norton. $29.95 until Dec. 31, $35 thereafter). America's trains and America as seen from her trains, in a journey by photograph and text that takes us from Pennsylvania Station in New York City to Union Station in Portland, Ore. As Mr. Jacobson reflects, only by train travel can you see ''that such a vast place could not have been easy to settle'' and ''that as the space filled up to the limited extent that it did, it filled up with all sorts and conditions of men who left their own peculiar signs behind them.'' This handsome volume captures those signs.
THE BOOK OF FRESH FLOWERS: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO SELECTING & ARRANGING, by Malcolm Hillier (256 pages. Simon & Schuster. $29.95). How to do so much with fresh flowers - including crystallization for the purpose of eating them - that one hardly knows where to begin. The author, who is co-proprietor of a London garden-design practice and retail flower shop, writes: ''Absolute favorites of mine and a great influence on me are the flower paintings of Odilon Redon, which were mostly painted in the early part of this century. In these paintings, the container and flowers are very closely associated and the colors seem to spring from the canvas in thrilling mixtures.'' The same can be said of Mr. Hillier's photographs.
GREAT BATTLES OF THE CIVIL WAR, by John Macdonald, foreword by John Keegan (200 pages, Macmillan. $39.95). A little fuzzy on the roles played in the American Civil War by such famous battles as Shiloh, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg? With three-dimensional computer-generated topographical maps and other unusual illustrative material, this visually appealing book makes it all a lot clearer.
LIFE IN CAMELOT: THE KENNEDY YEARS, edited by Philip B. Kunhardt Jr. (319 pages. Little, Brown. $40) and THE WAY WE WERE: 1963 THE YEAR KENNEDY WAS SHOT, edited and with an introduction by Robert MacNeil (256 pages. Carroll & Graf. $39.95). The first is an album crammed full of photographs of President John F. Kennedy's life. The second is a month-by-month visual record of the year he was assassinated. Both are difficult to look at dry-eyed, at least if you happen to have lived through those wrenching times.
WOOD, WATER & LIGHT: CLASSIC WOODEN BOATS, text by Joel White, photographs by Benjamin Mendlowitz (177 pages. W. W. Norton. $45 until Dec. 31, $50 thereafter). Untainted by snobbery, this lovely work includes a dinghy, a runabout, a lobsterboat, a peapod, a sardine carrier, an oceangoing yacht, several speedboats and all manner of sailboats. What they all have in common is wood, which combined with water and light, lend them an aura that only the eye can apprehend and that the photographs in this volume convey most delectably.
COUNTRY: THE MUSIC AND THE MUSICIANS, by the Country Music Foundation (595 pages. Abbeville. $65). How we got from the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers through Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs and the early Elvis Presley to Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Randy Travis. With over 700 photographs, behind-the-scenes history and a selected discography and bibliography, this constitutes an encyclopedia of an addiction that some sophisticated victims may prefer not to admit.
VERVE: THE ULTIMATE REVIEW OF ART AND LITERATURE (1937-1960), by Michel Anthonioz (397 pages. Abrams. $95). Verve was issued periodically in France between 1937 and 1960, with simultaneous publication of several issues in English for distribution in the United States. It was the creation of a Greek immigrant to France known simply as Teriade, who eventually collaborated in publishing art books with Albert Skira. The purpose of Verve was somewhat vague: ''To present art as intimately mingled with the life of each period and to furnish testimony of the participation by artists in the essential events of their time.'' But it succeeded at combining or integrating texts by the likes of Sartre, Joyce, Hemingway and Camus with the art of Matisse, Miro, Picasso, Chagall, Braque, Giacometti and Leger. A randomly chosen page in this sumptuous anthology offers an observation by Picasso to Teriade: ''How many times, at the very moment when I was about to apply some blue, would I realize that I didn't have any more. So I'd take some red and use that instead of the blue. So much for creative vanity.'' All in all, this was the most attractive book I came across this year.


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The Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly who promotes public access to information and protection of privacy.
Did you know....
The Government of Prince Edward Island recently updated the FOIPP Guidelines and Practices Manual. An external link to the document can be found here.
What is the Information and Privacy Commissioner's role?
The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (PDF) and the Health Information Act (PDF) provide rights of access to information, with some exceptions. The two laws also require governments and health care providers to protect personal information and personal health information.
The Information and Privacy Commissioner reviews complaints about actions or decisions relating to these two laws. If a matter cannot be settled, the Commissioner has the power to make findings and make recommendations or issue orders.
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The Information and Privacy Commissioner is an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly appointed by the Legislature for a term of five years. The Commissioner may be removed only by a vote of the Legislature.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Cherubs Chowder – exclusive recipe by Annabel Karmel taken from her new book 'Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Meals in Minutes' (available to buy from 25th August 2011).
Supernanny star Jo Frost is without a doubt the UK's most trusted nanny. In this book released in July 2011 she shares her tips to help raise toddlers with confidence and give them the best start in life.
Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy – 1 hr. 53 min.
Cars 2: 007 meets Blake Edwards' The Great Race. Pixar's Cars 2 is a spy story with anthropomorphised cars as characters and elements of The Great Race in a new modern key.
Six main issues have been outlined by Action for Children today as key in understanding further the complexity of child neglect. In today's report, Neglecting the Issue, Action for Children identifies the role of fathers, targeting families, public health and prevention, parental and carers' views, actively seeking children's views and understanding the scale of neglect as major gaps to be addressed in helping the 1.5 million UK children currently affected by neglect and preventing further children and families being affected.
Amazing summer recipe and quick to prepare.


Cake decorating tool. Size-6-cavity: About 18.7*18.6*2.5cm/7.36*7.32*0.98inDs0100. Power: Wholesale tools making flower. Coffee  tools. Diameter: Double happiness decorations. Icing piping nozzles set.
Sugar flower tools. Wholesale dinosaur molds. Accessories weed. Shc00706. Does not apply. Scale 25kg 1g. Chocolate crean pot. Kr-g26. 16pcs fruit forks + 1pcs fruit fork holder. Handle material: Wholesale wood jujube.


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Williamson County Historian
RICK WARWICK
After many years in the classroom and as a school librarian, Rick Warwick now applies his energy to collecting the history of Williamson County. Considering himself a better gleaner of facts and tidbits of history than a writer, he has compiled a shelf of published works on Williamson County over the years. As publication chairman of the Williamson County Historical Society since 1990, he has published the annual journal, as well as projects of his own choosing. This body of work includes: Leiper's Fork and Surrounding Communities (1999), Leiper's Fork and Family Albums (2000), Historical Markers of Williamson County-A Pictorial Guide (1999), Williamson County-In Black & White-A Racial History (2000), Williamson County-Out There In The First District (2001), Meet Me At Chapman's Pie Wagon (2002), Triune-Two Centuries at the Crossroads (2004), Williamson County-More Than A Good Place to Live (2005), Williamson County-The Civil Wars Revealed Through Letters, Diaries and Memoirs (2006), Freedom and Work in the Reconstruction Era: The Freedmen's Bureau Labor Contracts of Williamson County (2006), Williamson County-Civil War Veterans-Their Reunions and Photographs (2007), Wish You Were Here—A Postcard Tour of Franklin & Williamson County (2007), and Williamson County & the Civil War—As Seen Through the Female Experience (2008), Portraits of Williamson County (2010), Historical Markers of Williamson County, Tennessee Revised (2010).
Rick graduated from Middle Tennessee State University (B.S. 1969 and MAT 1971). He served on the Tennessee Historical Commission from 2005 to 2015. He volunteers as historian for the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County. In January 2017, the Williamson County Commission appointed him County Historian, replacing Mrs. Virginia McDaniel Bowman, who had served that post since 1972. He has served on the following boards: Heritage Foundation, Carter House, Carnton, African American Heritage Society of Franklin and Williamson County, and Franklin's Charge.
Since 1975, Rick and his wife Elaine have lived in an 1831 cedar log home reconstructed on Warwick's Knob off Southall Road. Since moving to Franklin in 1970, Rick has collected locally-made furniture and items related to Williamson County history with noted success. He has collected over 15,000 photographs related to Williamson County.
Rick Warwick, appointed Williamson County Historian in 2017, and while not formally an employee of the Heritage Foundation, we work closely together as he maintains his office at the Heritage Foundation's LeHew Magid Big House for Historic Preservation. He can be reached in his office or by email: rwarwick@historicfranklin.com.


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"The Shawshank Redemption" Film Review
by R.A. Rowell; Co-Owner of Intent-sive Nature & the Brand Shamans network
"The Shawshank Redemption" is an absolute masterpiece of a film with its acting, story-line, and direction. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman were superb in this not-so-typical prison tale. "Shawshank" has characters that are representative of those found in most prison films; however, they are much deeper than your run-of-the-mill inmates.
Through Red's brilliant narration, we get to know Andy Dufresne, who may truly be the only innocent man in the Shawshank prison. We're also given a perspective of prison life that is new: the prisoners are all content with where they are. They know they've done their crimes, and inside the walls of Shawshank they are, in a way, innocent; they're harmless inside them.
What makes Shawshank substantially different than other prison films is how the prisoners are portrayed. The prisoners appear innocent while those running appear to be the truly evil ones: in particular, Captain Hadley and the Warden. There is something we are offered here that isn't anywhere else: after a certain amount of time, a lot of inmates are actually sorry for what they've done. Under the system, prisoners can become so dependent on prison existence, that they become "institutionalized."
There are the incorrigible few who remain bitter after serving their time and being paroled, but by the time most are let out, they're no harm to society. Such men are let go when the inmate's best years have passed, essentially at an age where the ex-con can no longer be a threat to anybody. They can't even go to the bathroom without asking permission; they have been dependent on the system for so long that they can't deal with reality as adult human beings anymore.
Red's case didn't seem much different than most. But after knowing Andy and being touched by the "hope" that he had and watching him escape, he became a new man. After thirty years and three parole hearings reading the same old message, Red spoke from the heart. He realized that the stupid kid that had done the crime was long gone, never to return. The parole officers, as rude as they may have felt he was being, apparently realized that, as well. In return for his honest statement, his parole was at last approved.
Everyone, according to this film, is redeemable. You may have heard before that water allows people to forget many things, and that it has so many magical properties. Maybe that's what Andy means when he says that the Pacific Ocean having no memory. Water has always stood as a symbol for being clean and purified. Supposedly, water can even rid you of all your unhappy thoughts. You can essentially, metaphorically, wash away your former self and become a new person.
The main emphasis of this film is that, for the most part, the American prison system works. However, the film also brings about the idea of corruption in the system. It is a sort of commentary on the corruption that happens in any "social service" that the government supplies. If you pester the government enough, though, they will most certainly do something about serious cases of corruption, as they did with Warden Norton and Captain Hadley.
"Shawshank" also brings up another interesting idea: that many prisoners actually can become content with their lives in prison. Maybe it's for simply psychological reasons: their way of coping with prison life. Or perhaps, it is that those people understand that they belong there, that they've done the crime, and they're doing the time. How many of them are actually sorry, though? It's funny how they still claim, for the most part, to be innocent. In their time of being incarcerated, have they actually become new people? Or, do they just think they've become new people?
"The Shawshank Redemption" is a fascinating film to watch, and one that is certainly worth seeing multiple times. It's one of those films that make you think about something different each time you watch it. "The Shawshank Redemption" is easily an all-time favorite film.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Film Review
Steven Spielberg, Writer and Director of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
(SPOILER ALERT!)
A Classic Film from an Iconic Director
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a Steven Spielberg classic, both written and directed by him. The protagonist of the film is Roy Neary, played by Richard Dreyfuss, who seems to have a fairly typical family, with a fairly typical life and a fairly typical job working for the electric company.
Around the world, strange things have been appearing at random in the deserts. First, war planes from World War Two appear in Mexico. When they turn the ignition, they still work. Later on, a passenger ship is found in the Gobi Desert.
Back in Indiana, Roy Neary goes out on a late-night call from work when he happens to have a close encounter with an alien ship featuring very bright lights, intense enough to leave Roy with sunburn. His encounter leaves him with far more questions than answers, and meanwhile, everyone around him thinks that he is going insane.
Roy Neary has seen something very strange, indeed. However, he is not the most articulate person around. He sees this shape of a mountain, though he does not recognize it as such at first, in practically everything after his encounter: in shaving cream, in mashed potatoes, and in mounds of mud.
Roy is not alone in seeing this shape. Others who have also encountered the UFO's seem to see this shape in their minds also. But others have a better way of expressing the shape, and it would seem the others clearly know that the shape is a mountain. The question is which mountain?
Meanwhile, the government has discovered the correct mountain through deciphering an alien message, which at first just seemed like a pattern of numbers until they figured out that they were actually latitude and longitude coordinates. The government does their best to drive people away from the mountain, deploying any measures to stop them, including nerve gas. At the same time, Roy drives off his family with his apparent insanity. People just aren't stopping to listen, notably Ronnie, to what he has to say.
After Ronnie takes herself and the kids to her sister's house, Roy continues on building his mountain model, and he finally figures out what the mountain shape was about. Apparently, the alien scout ships gave those who saw the ships a psychic message of the location of their landing site. Of course, the government doesn't want to let that happen.
When Roy discovers the identity of the mountain on the TV news, he sets off in a rental to Wyoming to get some answers. Along the way, he meets up with Jillian, whom he met earlier on just after his first encounter. It turns out that her little boy, Barry, has been taken by the aliens. They are met by many of the same people at the sightings, many of whom had not gotten this far. With all the defenses the government has set in place, only Roy and Jillian are able to make it to the top of the mountain, where they witness the most amazing thing, the arrival of the alien mother ship.
We then discover the source of these random appearances of objects around the world. It turns out that the missing Navy officers and Air Force pilots, as well as a good number of other missing folks, had been abducted by these aliens some years before. They returned to bring them back to Earth, seemingly unharmed, and they haven't aged, as well. Of course, little Barry is returned as well, quite unharmed and quite happy that they "played" with him. It is a happy ending. Roy decides, along with a few others, that they will join the aliens back to their world. Jillian is reunited with Barry, and Roy goes off into space to get some answers to his million questions.
What Makes "Close Encounters" a Classic?
What makes this film a classic? Indeed, it leaves us with many questions. It has a happy ending and all of that jazz, but what happens to Roy? A film like this does not really have to provide all of the answers. That is the beauty of this film. You can watch it and wonder why everything happens. We are left with a great many questions. Why did Roy leave Earth? What did he have to go back to? He had no home now. His wife was through with him and he had no job. The aliens had the answers to his questions.
This is a film about wonder. As we grow older, we often lose the wonder for the world that we had as a child. The whole mountain shape drives Roy insane; he can't explain what it is. Why can't he articulate such a seemingly simple idea? Roy is an everyday guy, who to some may seem a little dumb, but if you were to see something like a UFO encounter, you probably would not be able to explain it any better than Roy did. What sort of description can you use for such a magnificent sight; especially if it was bright enough to give you sunburn? (I never quite understood that part of it.) He's just your run-of-the-mill vocational worker with an ordinary family, albeit one with a wife who pretty much thought he was nuts before all this "space alien" junk started.
Though Roy doesn't understand everything that's going on, he does somehow know that the government has been hiding something very important from them. He brings up a good point. Why can't people have their questions answered? Just because they are everyday people, they can't take part in something wonderful? That's what the government says: keep everything top secret and away from all the other simple ordinary Jacks and Jills. But, people need a sense of adventure in their lives. It's a trip away from the mundane, and some people will risk their very lives to get a piece of the action.
Roy goes crazy because he wants his questions answered and no one will listen to him. He doesn't have a wife that's overly supportive of him, though his kids are fairly excited. In fact, no one is really supportive of him, other than those at the sightings. Mr. Neary is not the brightest bulb on the face of the earth, but he knows that something is very wrong. It is a perfectly healthy thing to wonder about things that cannot be easily explained, but society has limits on how far you can go with it.
Unfortunately, as Spielberg illustrates, society believes such wonder should be left to children, and adults should be the serious ones. So who does the government think they are? Were they simply trying to protect everyone? Did they somehow already really know that their missing military personnel really had been abducted by aliens? It was an incredibly good guess to be so ready to welcome all of them home! People often don't just know what to think of what they don't understand. It would seem that the older one gets, the more difficult it is for them to deal with the unknown, whereas a child can simply use his or her imagination to explain it all. Imagination is such an important human characteristic, and Spielberg definitely tried to tell us that through this film.
How Would Audiences Today View "Close Encounters?"
There are critics of this film who argue over the relaxed pace of the film, and some who will even call it "boring." It is not your typical film, and not your typical story. The movie runs much more like a book than a typical Hollywood film. This is understandable because it is actually based on a novel that Spielberg himself wrote. Therefore, his script stayed a lot more faithful to his book than the adaptations that are usually made from books to film.
There are a number of deleted scenes from the film that were prominent in the book. For example, there is a scene about Roy's job with the electric company and the reason that he gets fired becomes a bit clearer; because of his encounter with the alien, he doesn't get to the job he was supposed to do, and loses his job over it. There is also a scene at the airport where the passengers aboard the first plane to have the close encounter are asked to hand over their cameras and other recording devices by the government. They are promised that everything would be returned to them and any pictures developed, albeit with the ones the government doesn't want turning up to be blanked out, which explains why no one has seen "photographic evidence" of the UFO's. Everything has only been first-hand accounts without solid proof, because the government has been very careful to make sure that these things stay secret. Apparently, they underestimated the aliens, who used psychic messages to contact those who were at the encounters.
These scenes were probably edited out because of the already pretty substantial, over two hours and fifteen minutes, length of the film; however, I certainly think the movie isn't complete without them. The film paces like a book, and a lot of moviegoers today wouldn't be able to understand it.
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a film that, if it were released today, probably would not be received the same way as it was back in the seventies. That is not only because of the dated special effects, but today's producers would find this film a little on the slow side. However, I found the rather slow pace of the film to be fairly relaxing, and it had a clever, well-planned story that I enjoyed following.
What I found most interesting about the film is how Spielberg was able to transition the book so well into the film; unfortunately, some telling scenes were cut from the theatrical version that would've made the film better as a whole (they are included as deleted scenes in the Collector's version.) Compared to the malevolent alien films put out there today, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a refreshing alternative with a little bit more intellectual input than your average human beings win over alien invaders plot. Spielberg certainly didn't start the aliens from space idea. But, he certainly made them a little friendlier, and it is this very legacy that makes it such a classic.
"Citizen Kane" Classic Film Review
by Richard Rowell, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff
(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!)
In the film "Citizen Kane," Orson Welles plays Charles Foster Kane who never seems to truly grow up. He began at the Kane Boarding House, and a man by the name of Mr. Thatcher is brought to take him away to a better life. The reasons for his being taken away are not made entirely clear to us at all, however, it seems that Charlie's mother wishes him to be taken to a better life. She also mentions that she wants to get Charlie away from his father, for reasons not explicitly stated. It is quite obvious that Charlie is quite content with his existence in Colorado, as we observe him playing quite gleefully with his sled in the falling snow.
Charlie Kane did not want to leave the boarding house. He is heartbroken with the news of his "trip" with Mr. Thatcher to a faraway place. He essentially is torn away from his childhood in wintry "wonderland" surroundings for a clearly more adult world. Especially to those of us who grew up in New England, snow reminds us of times of pure joy and connectedness, words most commonly associated with snow. He was more than happy with his sled.
Charlie is torn away from this pretty place, as cold and isolated as it is, to the city. He has to leave his sled, for purposes of this film affectionately named "Rosebud" behind to be buried in the snow. That next Christmas, Charlie is introduced to a new, classier sled. He wants nothing to do with it at all.
The name "Rosebud" may hold great significance. It has been suggested that the term "Rosebud" may be associated with the idea that Charlie Kane, at his sudden forced departure of the Colorado boarding house, was but a blossom about to bloom. As funny as this analogy may sound, it would seem to fit. Charlie was at a fragile age and a pivotal point in his childhood, where he was still defining himself and his personality. His mother, however, didn't want Charlie to grow up in the environment he'd been born into.
As the rest of his life would seem to show us, young Charlie's forced separation from his sled "Rosebud" essentially tore him out of his childhood and put him into a supposedly "better" situation surrounded by wealthy adults. It would seem, especially from the Christmas scene, that Charlie never really wanted this. He loved his Colorado home. He missed his mother. He wanted love. He got things, and he no doubt discovered, however inaccurately, that the more things he had, the more people "loved" him. He wasn't put into a "better" situation. He was put where he didn't belong.
Charlie constantly plays dress-up, making himself appear to be more of a giant than he truly is. He plays house when he later builds Xanadu, where everything is so much larger than it has to be. So much of it is impractical; there is so much that is unnecessary and extraneous to it: the private zoo, included. Xanadu was his play house. He built it as a monument to things because things were all he ever got, and all he understood.
Charles Kane spends the rest of his life trying to buy love. Obviously, this can't be done, but he still desperately attempts to do so. He buys things for people, and gives them great deals of money, and builds monuments to people (namely the opera house for Susan Alexander.) This is the way in which he thinks love is given, through material things. He has so many material things. But, he has no real love. Everything is just a game for him, women included.
His second wife, Susan Alexander was nothing more than a doll to him, really never an actual person, as evidenced by the room he "keeps" her in, which is clearly a child's room, complete with a doll with her likeness sitting up on the bed. When she leaves him, Kane exclaims "Don't do this to me!" as if she were a pet disobeying him. He believes he is the victim of everything.
Sadly, in a sense, Kane is correct. He never chose this existence; it was forced upon him by a supposedly "well-meaning" mother. His mother's greatest mistake was letting him go at the wrong time. When his mother sent him away, Charlie never found another true family, only things. He got money, so much material stuff, but he never really got what he needed: loving people to care for him. He obviously didn't get care. He got things, and they did absolutely nothing for him. He died a pitiful character. Charlie never grew up.
It is sad that the film must end with the burning of "Rosebud" (which apparently had been sent to him and put away when his mother passed away) and that the reporters were so ignorant to pass over it. You wonder what Kane would've been if he and the sled hadn't been so unceremoniously split and Charlie hadn't been taken off by Mr. Thatcher. Charlie Kane never grew up because he wasn't allowed to, and by the age they sent him away, his connection to the world of white, white snow and his childish companionship with his sled ended up being a traumatic experience for him, and he never truly matured into a man.
Mentally and emotionally, Charlie wasn't allowed to fully blossom. His mentality would never progress beyond that of a child. Kane dies with the snow-globe in his hand, a final reminder to him of the past, and the possibility that if he'd stayed back there he may've been a simple, but a far more content and happy person. On his death bed, he no doubt longs for another chance at the childhood he was torn away from. He, therefore, cries out in vain: "Rosebud!"
"Some Like it Hot" Classic Film Review
"Some Like It Hot" may not seem like the Number One comedy of all time to some people. It may be because it doesn't give them the "die-laughing" sort of jokes and the type of humor that they may be used to today. But when speaking of comedies in general, there are likely very few that are better than this one is in so many different aspects.
What makes "Some Like it Hot" a brilliant stand-out from many other comedies is its creative writing. It has a plot that has stood the test of time, great direction by Billy Wilder, and brilliant acting by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. It also included Marilyn Monroe, the greatest star of their era. Though she may have not been an overly talented actor, she certainly fit her part in this film as Sugar. These things are no doubt what has made many film critics dub this movie the Number One comedy of all time, as the American Film Institute did in 2001.
Here is a story that holds up over time: two guys dressing up as women will always provoke humor! Just watching Curtis and Lemmon (Joe and Jerry) in their emulations of female characters is enough to crack a few chuckles. It really isn't possible to not get quite a few laughs, giggles, or chuckles out of this film, because there is a bit of humor for each and every taste.
The film's humor for the most part is intelligent and witty. It doesn't have a lot of the slapstick (physical) humor that many folks today are accustomed to, and some of the jokes require a little bit more brain usage than other comedy films. Most of the film is littered with playful, light humor, especially one bit about the Shell gas stations (which has passed the test of time).
"Some Like it Hot" is full of unpredictable situations. There's the banquet where the other mobsters murder Colombo and his men, allowing Joe and Jerry's escape. The ending is an absolute classic, when Jerry confesses to Osgood Fielding quite animatedly of his manhood. Osgood's reply: "Nobody's perfect!"
What makes this film work so well is the fine chemistry between the actors, especially Curtis and Lemmon. They work very well together as a comedy duo, mostly because Joe/Josephine is a more serious and practical character than Jerry/Daphne who goes out of his/her way to be as un-serious as possible. These contrasts make for a classic hero and sidekick pair that is an integral part of good comedy.
Joe is the smart fellow, who devises the plans, and Tony Curtis does a good job with the voices and a certainly fine job on the accent of his millionaire persona, Junior. Jack Lemmon's Jerry scoffs at Joe's plans, but as it goes with sidekicks, he reluctantly goes along with Joe's conceptions and makes the best of the often detrimental, but amusing situations he's put through. It is comical in itself that Joe gets Sugar, and that Jerry is stuck with Fielding. This film is a prime example of the classic hero and his sidekick.
Many of the characters in "Some Like it Hot" are archetypes that have long been part of classic narrative. Joe, played by Tony Curtis, is the archetype of a ladies' man, what we would call today as the "player." Jerry, played by Jack Lemmon, is his faithful sidekick. Marilyn Monroe's Sugar is the archetype of the innocent, naïve girl, from Kansas no less - what we would today call a "dumb blonde." Spats Colombo is your classic mobster boss, surrounded by dumb fools, just like the archetypical Chicago mobsters.
Because the parts were so well-acted in a very well written story, audiences will be able to associate with these characters for a long time. They aren't simply caricatures of people in that day, and it's possible to relate so well to the characters, because the role that each one of them plays is well-known to us through all of the narratives that we have ever experienced. A perfect example of one of these roles is Marilyn Monroe's. It is said earlier in this review that she fit her part so well, and it would seem to me that the part was written for her; although she was indeed the third or fourth choice for the part, it doesn't seem that way. Marilyn Monroe personifies in this film what we are very familiar with: the cliche "dumb blonde." The part was written so well by Billy Wilder that she slipped right into it without having to be any thing she wasn't. We seem to have a great amount of this "dumb blonde" archetype in today's films, and not enough great duos like Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are to back them up.
There are many sorts of comedies, some of which are clearly made only for laughs, others which actually have some sort of narrative with a sort of point, and others that are good films that just cannot be serious. "Some Like it Hot" is a comedy that has laughs, a narrative with cleverly hidden social commentary (Osgood Fielding's treatment of women, for example), fine acting, directing, and writing. There are very few films that can match everything done here in this masterpiece of a film. "Some Like it Hot" is a film to watch again; it's one of those comedies that you'll want to watch dozens of times, and even then it probably won't get old. Best of all, years from now, this comedy will still be funny, because it's a film about human nature. Human nature, and the archetypes of classic narrative which this film is based on, will never grow old.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like it Hot")
"Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure" Animated Film Review (Direct to DVD)
Photo credit: Amazon, Fair Use
As someone who was a huge fan of the original "Charlotte's Web" story written by E.B. White, I've always loved the classic 1973 animated film adaption. Now I'll be taking a look at the 2003 direct-to-DVD animated sequel, Charlotte's Web 2. It's an interesting film, but maybe not for the right reasons. There are some interesting sub-plots that seemed thrown on for substance. But the film is subtitled "Wilbur's Great Adventure" and it is an adventure!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
The Pros of the Film
The animation is obviously considerably different from the 1973 Hanna-Barbera version. That was to be expected. It's pleasant to look at and I don't have any problems with the updates they made to some of the characters - especially Wilbur. I didn't mind that the animators gave Aranea, Nellie, and Joy (Charlotte's daughters) cute little hairdos to tell them apart. In fact, I love how they gave each of them distinct personalities.
Aranea,the blonde one with three ponytails, has a rather comical inability to create a proper web. Apparently, she has never caught a fly in her life. We'll excuse the obvious logical flaws with that one. The red-headed Nellie, who seems to be the "leader" of the three, is a crazy daredevil always trying to pull stunts because of the "rush" it gives her. Then there's Joy with the cute purple bob, who just sort of has an attitude and is the pessimist of the group. It all works, though.
After that, the plot is very simple. There's a black sheep born named Cardigan. The other sheep (the white ones) all pick on him. Wilbur takes exception to this, bursting into the sheep's pen and instantly befriending Cardigan. Much like Jeffrey the little gosling in the original film, Cardigan decides he wants to be a pig and starts acting like one. It's a cute schtick, I guess, but not exactly original.
When Things Get Corny...
That's where things go a little downhill. The first song, "It's Not Hard to Be a Pig" is incredibly stupid and makes Wilbur look incredibly dumb. It's not well-sung, either. That's no offense to the guy who voiced Wilbur. Otherwise he and all the other voice actors did a good job.
Here's the next big thing that got me, and it's a major one. One of my greatest issues with the film is that they made Wilbur a flat-out coward. Yes, he fainted a bunch in the original film. But bloodsucking spiders and, of course, thoughts of your impending demise, can make a lot of people feel woozy. But the writers of this film decided, straight off from the beginning, to turn Wilbur back into an absolute coward. I let it go at the beginning. But it started to bother me around this point that the writers made this little alteration to Wilbur's character just to make a plot out of it. After all the courage that he gained from the original story, this was a character reversal that I really didn't appreciate.
So Zuckerman decides to take Cardigan and Wilbur back to the fair. As it turns out, it's been only a year since the previous fair. Zuckerman wants to show off his black sheep and brings Wilbur along for the heck of it. It's so they can be paired together as "Zuckerman's Famous Animals." There's nothing wrong with this part, at least.
Nellie, being the adventurous one, tags along. Of course, Templeton the Rat joins her, who can't wait to glut himself again at the fair as he did in the original film/book. Actually, the bit with his four kids shown at the end of the original film being a great handful was pretty cute. That was a part that I liked. At this point, even with the film's early problems, it was starting to come together for me.
But then there's a silly subplot about Fern. She's the girl who saved Wilbur from her father who was going to kill him because he was a runt. Fern is raising a special sort of large tomato and taking it to the fair. She goes as far to sing to the tomato and names "her" Sal. Thankfully, there are no songs featuring the tomato.
At the fair, Cardigan is getting a lot of attention, which he doesn't like. Wilbur reminds him that it's only because he's special. But when the onlookers discover that there's no web over Wilbur this time, they shrug and walk away. One walks away even suggesting that the zucchini were more interesting.
Wilbur doesn't feel so special anymore. That's understandable. But then, there's this ridiculous bit where he envisions a bunch of forks and knives chasing after him. I could have lived with that. Unfortunately, there's a song with it. The song, honestly, kind of amused me, as stupid as it all was.
Soon after, Farmer Zuckerman decides that he wants to sell Cardigan to a local farmer for his wool. Wilbur is very upset by this and Fern arrives to let her uncle (Farmer Zuckerman) know that Wilbur doesn't want him to go. But Zuckerman says it's business and ignores her. He sells Cardigan anyway.
The "Meat" of the Film
Wilbur decides he has to go on an adventure to see if Cardigan is alright. The Goose (named Gwen in this film) gives him directions. Wilbur hires Templeton (who's been to the farm that Cardigan was sold to before) to be his guide. Templeton's fee is baby-sitting his four kids for a couple of weeks.
The rest of the film is basically that adventure, of Wilbur continuing to be a coward until they reach the farm where Cardigan is. By the time he gets there though, Wilbur is an absolute mess. He has leaves, brambles and sticks and things stuck to him to the point that he looks like a wild boar. A couple of farmers driving by in the night saw him. They put out word that there's a wild pig on the loose.
This is when we get to the "villain" of the film, who was actually introduced towards the beginning of the film. Farley Fox is his name. Honestly, he's probably the most interesting character in the film. Wilbur had saved a gosling from his demise earlier, and now he makes his way to the farm that Cardigan is at.
Farley sneaks into the hen-house and takes out a hen and some eggs. Cardigan and some of the other animals at the farm urge Wilbur to stop the fox. Being the coward he is, though, Farley is able to easily escape. The farmer's wife goes after Wilbur, believing him to be a troublesome wild boar.
Farley is now gloating over his victory. His "song" which is more like a rhyming monologue put to music is probably my favorite of the four in the film. He's quite the self-centered fox genius. At the end of his little musical bit, he catches sight of Cardigan, who he immediately snatches away.
Wilbur, always the coward, suddenly remembers what Charlotte told him once: friendship is a tremendous thing. Wilbur "mans" up and decides to go after the fox to save Cardigan. Templeton is happy to join him, explaining that he had many cousins that met their demise at the paws of a fox. Now, this was a personal vendetta for him. It's great that they give Templeton such a big part in the film. One of the cows at the farm, Bessie (who makes nothing but sour milk) tags along.
A Rather Weak Conclusion
This is where the film just falls apart for me. Obviously, if a fox had caught a little lamb like Cardigan, he would've torn him to shreds almost immediately. The very fact that Farley drags him back to his "foxhole," which is actually the basement of a dilapidated old farmhouse, is just absurd. The very fact that Wilbur, Bessie, Templeton, and Charlotte's three daughters are able to outsmart him is just really, really absurd.
On a good note, the three sisters have a cute little song. It was a mite TOO cute as they work to try and spin a web to prove Wilbur's innocence (trying to write Fox). It didn't work out too well, at first. However, by the time that Farley is captured, in a web of WILBUR'S making, the girls have managed to write the word FOX in a web right above the ensnared fox. This is enough to convince the silly humans that it was a fox that was the culprit the whole time. The film ends with Aranea and Joy staying behind with Cardigan to keep him company. Meanwhile, Wilbur has to return home to make good on his promise to baby-sit Templeton's kids. It's all really silly.
Overall, this film would have never done very well had it not been packaged with the DVD release of the original film. It was a direct-to-DVD film and it shows. While it makes for a cute spectacle for fans of the original story, it has all sorts of plot-holes that kill it for me. It's clear that there was some effort put into character development, and I did enjoy seeing Aranea, Joy, and Nellie come to life. They were the best part of the film for me.
But overall, the film was so corny and cliched that it just can't hold a candle to the original. For what it is, though, it's OK. But unless you're a huge fan of the original story, it's not really worth watching.
"Charlotte's Web" Animated Film Review
Charlotte's Web on VHS (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Not long ago, I dug out my DVD's of both the original animated film of Charlotte's Web and its sequel (yes, there was a Charlotte's Web sequel). It was the first time I'd seen it in 10 years, as I hadn't seen it since I first bought the two-pack DVD set that had it and its direct-to-video sequel. It brought back a lot of memories of watching this movie over and over on the VHS tape that we had of it when I was little. I'm pretty sure I wore that out, and I'm not sure we even still have that tape in our possession after all of these years - unless it's shoved into some closet somewhere. The DVD is obviously better quality, though, so I'm not complaining.
The songs are as catchy and fun as I remember, and although I know they can be a bit cheesy, remember that it was a children's film made in the early seventies. The Shermans did a fantastic job with both the musical arrangements and lyrics. It still greatly amuses me that when Wilbur first learns to talk to the other animals that his vocabulary is some how college-level. Yet he doesn't understand what the words "salutations" or "versatile" mean. The film follows the classic E.B. White story very closely, and although Hanna-Barbera took some artistic license, as usual, they did a great job.
Debbie Reynolds was amazing as the voice of Charlotte. Julia Roberts in the live-action version, which I think is far inferior to this film, was nowhere as good as Charlotte, in my opinion. Henry Gibson did a fine job as Wilbur, as did Paul Lynde with Templeton. All of the voice acting was excellent. The story was well put together and the animation was beautiful. I love old-school animation.
Watching the sequel with its much updated animation (as nice as it looks) was incredibly weird. Also, before I get to it, the sequel is not based on anything that E.B. White himself actually wrote. I don't think he ever really saw a need for a sequel.
In any case, the second animated film, which was a direct-to-video film, cannot ever compare to this one. Maybe this one is dated in the eyes of some, but it's still a treasure, just like the original book. I wish the live-action film had lived up to its predecessor. Some people really loved that version, whereas I thought it was actually kind of boring. But as is the case with many remakes, the original is almost always simply far better.
Hobbies & Collecting (Trading Cards, Games, Vintage, etc)
Allegorical Films
Direct To DVD Films
Stories In Focus


THURLES DRAMA GROUP FUNDRAISER PERFORMANCE: Thurles Drama Club staged an excellent performance of The Circle by Somerset Maugham to a full house in The Source Arts Centre on Monday the 9th November. The group generously donated the proceeds of the evening to our Astro-Turf Project and we are most grateful to add that valuable contribution to our savings account. The show itself is a comedy masterpiece, brilliantly directed by Liam Ryan and performed wonderfully well by an amazing cast of local thespians. It entertained and enthralled an audience of all ages. We thank the Drama Club for their community spirit in supporting our Fundraising Project.
PRESENTATION SECONDARY SCHOOL BANK LAUNCH: On Monday 9th November our Bank of Ireland school bank was launched with a very special guest appearance by Henry Shefflin, former Kilkenny hurler. The famous All-Star winner gave a great speech on his role in Bank of Ireland and how he balanced work, sport and home life. He encouraged our students to work hard to achieve to the best of their ability but also leave some room for extra- curricular activities such as sport. The school bank will be run by five members of our transition year programme. The girls will be supported by experienced Bank of Ireland staff members from our Thurles Branch. The students have taken on the following roles; Branch manager Roisin Hennessy, Sales and Marketing manager Jessica Hayes, School bank operatives and Audit specialist Amy Shanahan and our Customer service representatives Zoe Gleeson and Edwina Cleere. The five girls had to go through a rigorous interview process to be selected, so well done to them and best of luck in their new roles in the School Bank.
THURLES CREDIT UNION ART COMPETITION 2015: Congratulations to our Art Department on their recent success in this year's Credit Union Art Competition. Meadbh Egan (2nd year) came 1st in the 11-13 years category, Breda Ryan (2nd year) came 2nd in the 14-17 years category and Therese Dwan (5th year) came 2nd in the 14-17 years category. Congratulations and well done girls.
ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP COMPETITION: Congratulations to 5thYear student Ellen Quigley on being selected to represent Presentation Thurles in the Thurles Rotary Club Area final. This competition focuses on personal achievements, work experience, planning and organisation. Ellen will be an excellent representative for our school in this competition.
PRIZE WINNING ESSAY: Congratulations and well done to our Transition Year student, Avril Hogan, who won a Samsung tablet for an essay she wrote celebrating the 40th anniversary of Thurles Citizen Information Centre. Avril was presented with her prize at The Source Arts Centre on Thursday, 12th November, at a wonderful event to celebrate the very valuable contribution the Citizen Information Centre has made to the people of Thurles over forty years. The service offers useful information, professional advice and advocacy to customers of all ages. We celebrate their success and wish them well for the future. Happy Birthday!
SENIOR SOCCER NEWS: Presentation Senior Soccer team are through to the Munster Semi-Finals after a dominant win over rivals Christ King of Cork. The Presentation ladies started the game with great determination. Leading by example, Captain Robyn Moore alongside Sarah McKevitt pushed their team forward testing the Cork team's defence. Casey Hennessy, Lauren McCormack and Cara O'Conner tormented Christ King with excellent runs, crosses and individual skill. A united team effort proved too much for the opposition with the Presentation team scoring five goals and keeping a clean sheet. A big thank you to Peake Villa for the use of their immaculate facilities. Panel: Christine Coffey, Norah Kennedy(Sarah Foley), Katie Ryan, Niamh O'Mahony(Georgina Abbot),Emer Harnett, Sarah McKevitt, Hazel McAuliffe, Robyn Moore(Ciara Maher), Cara O'Conner, Lauren McCormack(Saoirse Teer).
ENTRANCE SCHOLARS AWARDS: Congratulations to past pupils Brigid Kemerer and Mary O'Connor who will be awarded UCD Entrance Scholar Awards at a ceremony to be held on Thursday 19th of November in UCD. Entrance Scholars are first year students recognised for their excellent academic achievement in their leaving certificate exams. Brigid is a recipient of a Symphony Orchestra Scholar Award and Mary will receive an Academic High Achiever Award. We congratulate the girls on this wonderful achievement and wish them every success in their future studies.
SILVER CIRCLE DRAW: There was great excitement amongst all the students and staff on Friday, 23rd October, as the first Silver Circle draw took place in the Sports Complex before the entire school body. As the drum rolled and the winning tickets were withdrawn, there were rapturous rounds of applause for the staff and students, who won the terrific prizes for The Early Bird Draw and the monthly draw, including a 40" T.V., a weekend hotel voucher and 250 Euro cash. Our sponsors have generously donated more prizes for the further seven draws, which will take place over the next few months. The hard-working Astro-turf Committee are now pleased to announce we have 130,000 Euro lodged in our savings account for the project. Many, many thanks to all our friends and followers.
SENIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE:On Tuesday last the Senior hockey team travelled to Laurel Hill Coláiste, Limerick to take on their old rivals who narrowly beat them last year. The girls were focused from the start and opened the game with an excellent goal from Sarah Twomey who was on top form at centre forward. The girls pushed on from there and began to dominate in all areas of the pitch with the backs under leadership from Avril Hall and the midfielders kept in line by captain Emma Finlay. The second goal came from a fantastic clearance by sweeper Megan Ryan to midfielder Emma Finlay who linked up with her younger sister Isabel to rattle the back board for a second goal. The girls were on top form throughout the game and another chance at goal arose in the dying minutes as Laura Dudley got on the end of a Holly O'Dwyer cross to end the match in a 3-0 win for the deserving Presentation girls.
SENIOR 'A' BASKETBALL NEWS::The Senior 'A' basketball team had a thrilling encounter recently against the Bower Athlone. The game was fast paced with excellent skills on display from both sides. Presentation were quicker off the blocks and took an early lead. Niamh O Mahoney was very impressive picking up six points on the fast break. Post players Niamh Morrissey and Clodagh Sherman dominated the boards and picked up scores from offensive rebounds. Score at the end of the first quarter was 13-3 in favour of Presentation Thurles. The Bower Athlone found their rhythm in the second quarter and got themselves back into the game thanks to an excellent shooting display from their point guard. The game was a close affair with very little between the teams. Half time score 17-16 in favour of Presentation Thurles.Presentation came out in the second half and upped the pace of the game. Good shooting from Caoimhe O Dowd and Dorothy Wall kept the score board ticking over. Robyn Moore controlled the game from the point guard position and her passes inside to the posts were very effective. Presentation were ahead by three points heading into the final quarter when Athlone scored two three point shots to take the lead. Niamh O Mahoney picked up two steals to level the game heading into the final thirty seconds. In a thrilling finish the Bower Athlone scored a basket in the final seconds to win the game. Both teams showed great skills and a great display of basketball. The girls are focused and looking forward to the semi-final in the next few weeks.
SOCCER NEWS:The Presentation Junior Soccer team opened their Munster Cup journey with a well-deserved 2-0 win over Abbey Community College, Ferrybank, Waterford.
The first half saw both teams having moments of dominance. Captain Hazel McAuliffe led by example in her central midfield role breaking up play and pushing her team forward. Casey Hennessy and Mary Burke dominated their wings showing great speed and strength, with both players doing exceptional work. Lauren McCormack came close to scoring twice but was denied both times by the safe hands of Abbey's net minder. Score at half time, 0-0.
Presentation Scoop Top Award in "A Taste of Ballyhoura" Country Festival Schools Cook-Off !
Presentation Secondary School, Thurles scooped the top award at A Taste of Ballyhoura Country Festival Cookery Competition held recently. Led by their Home Economics teacher Mrs. Maura Carroll the Transition Year students qualified for the final held in Deebert House Hotel, Kilmallock, Co Limerick and fought off stiff competition from John the Baptist Community School, Hospital, Co. Limerick, St. Mary's Secondary School, Charleville and St. Mary's Secondary School, Nenagh to become the outright winners. These schools were shortlisted for the final from an earlier round with nine schools competing initially including another team of Presentation TY students under the guidance of their teacher Mrs. Frida Dunne. Each school brought together two teams of three cooks to present a main course and dessert dish using a range of food from within the locality of Thurles. In a very close cook-off the Presentation Transition Years were awarded the Ballyhoura Schools Masterchef Competition first prize which included A Taste of Ballyhoura perpetual trophy, €1000 voucher presented by Musgraves towards the purchase of cookery equipment and a cash prize.
The judges were hugely impressed with the finished presentation, tastes and creativity shown by the Presentation students and commented on the good quality ingredients and food flavours of restaurant quality standards. The Presentation are very grateful to the Tipperary local food producers for supplying all their ingredients to complete their top quality presentation.
THURLES DRAMA GROUP FUNDRAISER PERFORMANCE: Thurles Drama Club staged an excellent performance of The Circle by Somerset Maugham to a full house in The Source Arts Centre on Monday evening last, 9th November. The group generously donated the proceeds of the evening to our Astro-Turf Project and we are most grateful to add that valuable contribution to our savings account. The show itself is a comedy masterpiece, brilliantly directed by Liam Ryan and performed wonderfully well by an amazing cast of local thespians. It entertained and enthralled an audience of all ages. We thank the Drama Club for their community spirit in supporting our Fundraising Project.
THURLES CREDIT UNION ART COMPETITION 2015: Congratulations to our Art Department on their recent success in this year's Credit Union Art Competition. Meadbh Egan (2nd year) came 1st in the 11-13 years category, Breda Ryan (2nd year) came 2nd in the 14-17 years category and Therese Dwan (5th year) came 2nd in the 14-17 years category. The girls will receive their prizes next Tuesday night in the Thurles branch. Congratulations and well done girls.


I finished book #2 of my summer reading challenge: Parents & Teachers Working Together. I tend to have fabulous relationships with my students' families, but I still learned a LOT about how I can make those already-fabulous relationships even more fabulous!
Connecting with families can be really difficult. I consider myself lucky because my school does such a great job of taking on this task. We have an incredible PTA, an amazing staff, and so many interesting, meaningful events at school. However, not all teachers are as lucky to have so much of that connecting work done for them by their school. Some teachers have to do this all by themselves. Some teachers don't work in a welcoming school with staff that work hard to create a positive, supportive environment for families. Of course, even if you're in the best school, you still have to work to connect with families.
Whether you're in my boat, or, sadly, you're in the other boat, I promise that this book is worth your time. You will get some great ideas that are easy to implement in your room. I'm going to write about the ones that I'm planning to use this year. I'm really excited!
The first strategy I'll be using this year is writing a weekly newsletter.
I have done this for years, but it has always taken me a lot of time. I draft up an email, re-word it a million times, check for typos, sometimes attach pictures... the whole enchilada! Honestly, since I want to be so thorough and give such a genuine snapshot of what happens in a day, this task ends up taking me an hour a week, easily. I know how important it is to communicate, but I knew there must be a better way to do this quickly. Well, there is. I am SO thanking the universe for pointing me in the direction of this book. Writing a newsletter won't take me longer than five minutes anymore, and if I want to give a really conservative estimate--ten minutes maximum! HOW!? How, you say!? I'll tell you how!
I created a really easy-to-use classroom newsletter. You can get it by clicking the picture above. The link will take you right to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. This cute, editable newsletter template is a wonderful tool to help you connect with your students' families! Because you will be following a simple, bulleted list format to write about the bulk of the goings-on in your classroom, you will be saving yourself a lot of time. Additionally, this format keeps your newsletter simple and easy to read, which greatly increases the likelihood that families will read it. It's easy for a parent to forget about your 234098324-page-long email update. If you send it when they're busy (which is probably MOST of the time), they might intend to read it later but then never get around to it. I know I do that with a lot of my personal emails! Don't you? Most importantly, the "Ask Me About" section of the newsletter helps to create meaningful conversations about school within families. The bottom line is: you no longer have to spend hours writing up a fancy newsletter for your families!
The "Ask Me About" section on the newsletter is my favorite. It is SUCH a brilliant idea. The bulleted list will include things you did during the week that parents should ask their kids about. Wait, it's that simple!? Yup, it's THAT. SIMPLE. You can decide on topics to include in the newsletter on your own or you can involve your students in the process. Involving students always makes any experience more significant for kids, so since the brainstorming session can easily be done in only a minute, why not involve them? It would be a great do-now question or activity to do while waiting for students to be dismissed at the end of the day. Jot their ideas onto a post-it note quickly and type it up later. You could even try to make it a shared writing experience and type directly into the PowerPoint document on your Smart board or projector. I recommend sending this newsletter home once per week on Fridays, but you can also send it home bi-weekly or even monthly. If you involve your class in generating content for the newsletter, you can easily ask them in a flash on Thursday afternoons. That way, plenty of the week will have gone by. You could always add something special on your own if you know you're doing it on a Friday too (for example, attending an assembly).
There's a section to include a picture, so you can include a photograph of your kids, student work, or anything relevant for that week. Just make sure not to break any school rules about taking pictures of your students. There's also a section to include any important reminders, which might range from field trip days, due dates, a change in the lunch schedule, conferences, etc. There's even a spot to put the date. All the work of making it pretty is done. You have minimal editing to do because you're using a bulleted list. And best of all, you have a more meaningful newsletter that really stimulates conversation! I LOVE IT! I am so glad I am going to be doing things this way now. Sometimes I would avoid sending emails home because I felt like I didn't have the time to deal with it. If you choose to download the newsletter template, all of the cute fonts and images will be on your screen (they don't need to be installed on your computer), and the text boxes are right there for you to start writing with right away.
The next strategy I'll be using this year is sending home positive news.
It is so easy to not contact families until we have a problem. The problem with that is that our relationship seems to start off on a negative tone. This can make families understandably defensive. I want to make sure to send home positive notes and emails and call home to share positive stories for my students regularly. Let's say the average class has 25 kids. If you can manage to notice 5 awesome things a day and contact home about it, you can contact each family in one week. Keep track of who you've been noticing so you can make sure everyone gets a positive contact home. This is so easy, and it involves minimal effort from you. You can even send home postcards! I thought that was a really personal touch that the students would love. I know if I had received a positive-news postcard as a kid, my mom would definitely have put it on our fridge and made a big deal about it.
Adjust this system so it works for you. If you can do this two weeks a month, you will be a really caring teacher in most parents' eyes. If you can't deal with noticing five kids a day, can you notice two kids? All you need to do is keep track and make sure that everyone gets to experience the feeling of taking a positive note home.
Another strategy I will use this year is a weekly exit pass.
This one is easy, peasy! I also have a form I'll be using. It's a freebie on my Teachers Pay Teachers store. It's my Weekly Exit Pass For Self-Directed Learners. You can grab it by clicking on the picture below!
Basically, I will be having the kids fill out this exit pass each week. This particular exit pass is a wonderful tool to help you connect with your students' families, but it's still simple and easy for kids to use! I'm not using this to teach handwriting or writing--it's meant to get students thinking about their work and their choices over the past week. It will assist families in having worthwhile conversations about school.
Even though this activity is very short, it helps students to become more self-directed because they set goals for themselves and reflect on choices they made that week that made them proud. This should take you no longer than a few minutes to complete each week. I recommend having students fill out the exit pass on Friday afternoons and bringing it to a closing circle to share with a partner at the end of the day. Then they can take it home to share with their families.
Another plan I have is to start Wonderful Wednesdays.
This will involve more planning, but I'm really excited to try it. Wonderful Wednesdays are an opportunity to invite parents into the classroom at any time during the day. They simply drop in and act as participants for as long or as short as they'd like to stay. Many trained Responsive Classroom teachers have this every Wednesday, but I will probably try for once every month or two until this feels comfortable for me. If you choose to try this, I suggest starting small so you can reflect and be successful. The trick is to invite parents in as participants, not presenters.
I will be sending a schedule of our day home to parents prior to the Wednesday I choose so that they know what we'll be doing for the day. Parents can participate in whatever the day's schedule involves. For Reader's Workshop, I'll have them bring a book. For Writer's Workshop, I'll have them bring a notebook. During word study, they can play spelling games with the class. During math, they can work on the project we're working on. You get the point. The big thing here is that the parents aren't under pressure to perform--they are simply participating in the daily classroom routine alongside their child. They get to see what their kids are learning and experience our classroom culture first hand.
I will not be starting Wonderful Wednesdays until my classroom community feels really strong. I will also not be inviting parents to specials (Can you imagine how annoying that might be for another teacher!?) or lunch. Of course, I'll make sure the day is OK with my administrator and check my school calendar too. The best part of this experience, though, is that parents can come in for part of the day whenever they want. They might come visit for 15 minutes during their lunch break, stop by for Morning Meeting before heading off to work, or something else they can manage to fit in. It's a great way to excite the kids about learning too.
Those are the biggest things I am really hoping to get done this yea to really involve my students' families. Honesty, it's a lot to start doing in one year, so I am pumped to see what kind of positive changes I see these ideas making in my room.
Do you like free stuff? Of course you do! That's why I'm giving away my newsletter template to a few readers who comment on the A Word On Third blog, Instagram, or Facebook community. That is ALL you have to do. Winners will be announced on Wednesday. So get commenting, Teachers!! What strategies do you use to connect with families? Comment below for a chance to win my newsletter template for free!
That's all for now! I'm off to read my next book in my summer reading challenge.


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Tag: Comics
TV THIS WEEK: Freeform's Siren premieres, Supernatural meets Scooby Doo, new Krypton and more
Mar 27, 2018, 5:49 PM EDT (Updated)
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There's a little bit of everything this week. From dark mermaids to Scooby-Doo crossovers with CW staples, prepare to start checking some stuff off your bucket list.
Freeform's new series Siren makes its debut this week, while Supernatural crosses over with Scooby-Doo for what promises to be one heck of a meta episode (loaded with Dean hitting on Daphne, we'll assume). It's not exactly genre, but FX's acclaimed thriller The Americans is also back this week. SYFY has a new episode of the Superman prequel Krypton, as well as some political fantasy intrigue on The Magicians.
Rounding out the week, there are also new installments of The Walking Dead, iZombie, Black Lightning, Last Man on Earth, and a whole lot more. Check out our full rundown below and let us know what you'll be watching.
Krypton (SYFY), Wednesday 10 p.m. - "House of El"
After suffering a tragedy, Seg is forced to adjust to a new life, a new rank, and a new threat.
Video of KRYPTON | Season 1, Episode 2: Sneak Peek | SYFY
Siren (Freeform), Thursday 8 p.m. - "Pilot," "The Lure"
SERIES PREMIERE: In the series premiere, a mysterious girl arrives in a small coastal town, leading to the return of vicious mermaids who are seeking to reclaim their rule over the ocean. Then: On the North Star, Ben discovers a strange device in the water that could lead to Chris.
Video of Trailer | She's All You Can Think About | Siren
Supernatural (The CW), Thursday 8 p.m. - "Scoobynatural"
Sam, Dean, and Castiel are transported into the animated world of Scooby-Doo, where they join forces with the Scooby gang to solve a ghostly mystery.
Video of Supernatural | Scoobynatural Extended Trailer | The CW
The Walking Dead (AMC), Sunday 9 p.m. - "Still Gotta Mean Something"
A Heaps prisoner makes a discovery; Carol searches for someone in the nearby forest; Rick and Morgan find themselves in the company of strangers.
Video of 'Still Gotta Mean Something' Next on Ep. 814 | The Walking Dead
The Last Man on Earth (Fox), Sunday 9:30 p.m. - "Release the Hounds"
Todd sinks into a deep depression, leaving the rest of the gang to console him. Meanwhile, Tandy and Carol can't keep their hands off each other.
Video of Karl Is Gone For Good | Season 4 Ep. 12 | THE LAST MAN ON EARTH
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (The CW), Monday 8 p.m. - "I, Ava"
When Ava disappears, Sara and Ray set out to find her after some prodding from Time Bureau agent Gary and a disturbing truth about Ava. Amaya tasks Zari with helping train Rory in controlling his own Totem power. Meanwhile, Nate and Wally set out on a mission that goes awry when they pair with an unlikely person to try and get a Totem.
Lucifer (The CW), Monday 8 p.m. - "Orange is the New Maze"
When Maze is the prime suspect in a murder, Lucifer and Chloe enter the world of bounty hunting to investigate. Maze decides she wants to go back to Hell, but after Lucifer refuses, she turns to Pierce for help.
Video of Lucifer 3x19 Promo "Orange Is The New Maze" (HD) Season 3 Episode 19 Promo
The Terror (AMC), Monday 9 p.m. - "Go for Broke; Gore"
An accident at sea cripples a Royal Navy expedition 200 miles from finding the Northwest Passage, forcing its captains to make a dire choice. Series premiere.
Video of The Terror 360 Experience: Inside the Ship
iZombie (The CW), Monday 9 p.m. - "Goon Struck"
While tracking the murder of a hockey player, Liv stumbles onto Chase Graves' evil plan. Meanwhile, Major is forced to make a horrible decision. Lastly, Peyton tries to contain a volatile situation.
Video of iZombie | Goon Struck Trailer | The CW
Scorpion (CBS), Monday 10 p.m. - "Foul Balls"
Team Scorpion must use their high IQs to win a softball game when the homeland director challenges, with all of their future government contracts on the line. Also, Walter's secret night out with Florence puts Toby and Happy on edge.
Video of Scorpion - Foul Balls (Sneak Peek 2)
Final Space (TBS), Monday 10:30 p.m. - "Chapter Five"
Gary, Quinn, and Avocato trace the gravitational disturbance to an eerie bioluminescent planet.
Video of Final Space: Escape from the Butterflies | Chapter 5 [CLIP] | TBS
Shadowhunters (Freeform), Tuesday 8 p.m. - "The Powers That Be"
The Warlocks' magic is corrupted by a demonic presence while Izzy and Luke try to track down more information on the recent series of possessions.
Video of Season 3, Episode 2 Promo | The Powers That Be | Shadowhunters
Black Lightning (The CW), Tuesday 9 p.m. - "Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption"
Black Lightning attempts to rescue several long-missing children reveal a secret he did not anticipate, and its resulting connections. Gambi struggles to stay strong while in a compromising position. Jefferson begins to view things differently.
Video of Black Lightning | Sins Of The Father: The Book Of Redemption Trailer | The CW
Riverdale (The CW), Wednesday 8 p.m. - "Chapter Thirty: The Noose Tightens"
Just as the town's mayoral race gets underway, Riverdale High's own student council election heats up. Archie steps up to help after learning that Hiram's mobster associates have come to Riverdale to stir up some trouble. Meanwhile, things take a dangerous turn for Alice, Betty, and Chic when an unexpected guest shows up at the Cooper residence. Finally, Toni, Veronica, and Josie team up to solve a strange mystery involving Cheryl.
Video of Riverdale | Chapter Thirty: The Noose Tightens Trailer | The CW
The Magicians (SYFY), Wednesday 9 p.m. - "The Fillorian Candidate"
The political situation in Fillory comes to a head. Julia makes amends and Alice makes a confession.
Video of THE MAGICIANS | Season 3, Episode 12: Sneak Peek | SYFY
See more in our "Highlights" section above.
The Americans (FX), Wednesday 10 p.m. - "Dead Hand"
SEASON PREMIERE: Season 6 opener: In the autumn of 1987, a major arms-control summit looms, and Elizabeth is pushed to her limits as never before; and Philip has settled into running their expanded travel agency, until an unexpected visitor makes a disquieting request.
Video of The Americans | Season 6: First Look | FX
Gotham (Fox), Thursday 8 p.m. - "A Dark Knight: One of My Three Soups"
Arkham's "finest" give Gordon and Bullock a run for their money as they hatch a plan to escape the asylum. Meanwhile, Bruce devises his own strategy to thwart their plans. Also, Barbara gets an offer she can't refuse.
Video of Gotham 4x16 Promo "One of My Three Soups" (HD) Season 4 Episode 16 Promo
The Big Bang Theory (CBS), Thursday 8 p.m. - "The Gates Excitation"
Penny gets the opportunity to host Bill Gates at work when his company wants to partner with her pharmaceutical company. Also, Leonard, Koothrappali, and Wolowitz do everything in their power to meet him, while Sheldon thinks he is the victim of an April Fools prank.
Video of The Big Bang Theory - The Gates Excitation (Preview)
Arrow (The CW), Thursday 9 p.m. - "The Thanatos Guild"
Nyssa Al Ghul returns to Star City to warn Thea that a group of renegade League of Assassins members are planning to attack her. This group, led by Athena, is intent on finding a mysterious box that Malcolm left behind and will stop at nothing to get it. Nyssa helps Oliver come to a life-changing realization.
Video of Arrow | The Thanatos Guild Trailer | The CW
Blindspot (NBC), Friday 8 p.m. - "Mum's the Word"
The FBI team and Avery attend a gala hosted by their target Hank Crawford in hopes of arresting him. Roman grows closer to the Crawfords.
Video of Blindspot 3x17 Promo "Mum's The Word" (HD) Season 3 Episode 17 Promo
MacGyver (CBS), Friday 8 p.m. - "Riley + Airplane"
When Matty and the team search for a former government tech who stole classified intel and has been evading capture, they reunite with the Coltons, the family of bounty hunters, who are pursuing the same man for different reasons.
Once Upon a Time (ABC), Sunday 8 p.m. - "Sisterhood"
The latest episode of the fairy tale drama.
Video of Once Upon a Time 7x15 Promo "Sisterhood" (HD) Season 7 Episode 15 Promo
Josh Gates' Destination Truth (Travel), Friday 9 p.m. - "Bigfoot in Malaysia and the Argentinian Lake Monster"
Josh journeys to Malaysia to investigate recent reports of Sasquatch sightings in the rainforest. Then he cruises across Argentina, on the hunt for a massive creature said to be similar to the Loch Ness monster.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC), Friday 9 p.m. - "Rise and Shine"
Coulson uncovers General Hale's true agenda, and it could be the end of the world if S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't help her.
Video of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD 5x15 Promo "Rise and Shine" (HD) Season 5 Episode 15 Promo
Ghost Adventures (Travel), Saturday 9 p.m. - "The Alley of Darkness"
Zak and the crew investigate an iconic Los Angeles recording studio plagued with a dark presence that may be tied to its past.
Counterpart (Starz), Sunday 8 p.m. - "No Man's Land, Part Two"
The latest episode of Starz's mind-bending thriller.
Video of Counterpart | Inside the World of Counterpart: Season 1, Episode 9 | STARZ
Ash vs. Evil Dead (Starz), Sunday 9 p.m. - "Tales From the Rift"
Ash's wild adventure continues as he takes on all sorts of undead baddies.
Video of Ash vs Evil Dead | Inside the World of Ash vs Evil Dead | Season 3, Episode 4 | STARZ
See more in our "Highlights" section above.
More TV This Week
TV THIS WEEK: American Gods returns; Marvel Legends; The Expanse; SYFY's The Movie Show
TV THIS WEEK: WandaVision brings MCU to Disney+, Batwoman returns, SYFY's Movie Show


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WAGs Wednesday
NASCAR Krissy
Baggy Dizzle
Joe Pontillo
Posts Filed Under Music
Breaking Down Lebron's Latest Attempt at Rapping
April 2, 2014 by Hasib
Yesterday, Lebron unveiled a track on the internets that caused my ears to bleed. It was, one would say, a cover of Jay-Z's "Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit" and my first response to it before listening to it was "Oh, just in time because I'm in a terrible mood" and it definitely brought much laughter to my day. I feel like this song deserves the Baggydizzle treatment so let's break it down. Read the rest of this entry »
The Blatant Hate on Macklemore is Pure Bullshit
January 29, 2014 by Hook
If you watched the Grammy's or heard anything about early coverage from the day the nominations came out, you know that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were noms in Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Album, to which he took home four wins. Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert, Madonna (ew), and Queen Latifah made history by pissing quite a few people off and stirring up the hate that has been following this amazing dude since the mainstream get go. Check out the video after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Baggydizzle's Favorite Songs of 2013
December 30, 2013 by Hasib
156 songs. Yeah, you read that correctly. This playlist is 155 song monstrosity filled with badassery. You probably are wondering how I had the time to find all of these songs and turn them into a playlist? Well, let's just say that anytime I heard a song that I thought was dope at any point this year, I dropped it into this playlist on Spotify which was curated throughout the past 12 months. If at any point I got tired of a song, it got the ax. Read the rest of this entry »
Kanye West's "Bound 2" Music Video Premieres on The Ellen Degeneres show and it's Terrible
November 19, 2013 by Hasib
Soooooooo Kanye just premiered the video for Bound 2 on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Yeah, that's right…the show that Ellen Degeneres hosts. I'll wait till you've stopped laughing. Are you done? No? You're still going? Okay. Are you done yet? Good. So if you haven't seen it yet, peep game after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Miley Sparks Up On Stage at the MTV EMAs, Somehow People are Surprised
November 12, 2013 by Hook
Why people are surprised by anything Miley Cyrus does absolutely blows my mind. So when there was yet another hubbub around her recent actions at the MTV European Music Awards, I just had to laugh. Guys, have we learned nothing? Every word out of her mouth, every move she makes is 100% calculated- by HER. And all you crazy haters just keep bitching about it. Silly, silly people thinking that she is just losing her mind when she's just ruling the world. Check out what she did in the dopest 30 seconds in EMA history after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
The TSB Crew Reviews Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP2"
November 9, 2013 by Earl
The rap game is full of one hit and one album wonders these days. But when one of the titans of the game comes out with a new album, everyone drops what they are listening to and scours the internet for leaked tracks and release dates. Eminem's "Marshall Mathers LP2" is the final piece in the trifecta of monster releases. First is was Kanye's "Yeezus" in June, then Jay-Z's "Magna Carta…Holy Grail" in July, and then it was MMLP2 a few days ago.
Everyone has their own opinion and none of them are wrong. The TSB Crew is scattered all over the country and has a mixed bag of reactions to the new album.
There is One Appropriate Word to Describe Lorde: Interesting
October 28, 2013 by Hook
Someone asked me what I thought about Lorde today, and I realized that this blog is long overdue. I'm sure everyone has heard "Royals" more times than they care to admit, and it's pretty difficult not to sing along. Her second US single, "Team" dropped recently, and it's pretty catchy too. Her voice is seriously hard to ignore, as is the fact that she's only SIXTEEN. That's six years younger than me. I feel like such an underachiever. But there is something about her that doesn't sit right with me. I've done my research to come to these conclusions; read interview transcripts, found articles, overall just stalked her life a little bit. She's a feminist with contradictory viewpoints, and that pisses me off a little. Read the rest of this entry »
Eminem Makes My Head Explode With "Rap God"
October 17, 2013 by Hasib
Okay, I'll admit it. I've been down on Eminem for awhile. I haven't been the biggest fan of his since The Eminem Show dropped. Yep, there have been 3 albums that Marshall Mathers has dropped since then that I don't care about. Encore was trash lyrically. Relapse was an overall strange album marked by the fact that he used a really ridiculous accent/vocal tone on a lot of the songs. Recovery seemed like an attempt at making stadium rap that didn't have the typical Eminem vibe to it. One could say that I should have replaced all the toilet paper in my house with his last three albums. Read the rest of this entry »
Miley Cyrus, Jimmy Fallon, & The Roots Preform A Cappella Version Of "We Can't Stop"
October 9, 2013 by Earl
Jimmy Fallon is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It's taken me a while, but I think he is one of the best hosts on television. His talent was completely wasted on SNL and now that he's doing his own thing, he's really bringing his "a" game. Tonight on "Late Night", Miley Cyrus stopped by to promote her new album and this insane new persona. So, much like her other musical colleagues, she did a song with Fallon and The Roots. It didn't disappoint. Check out "We Can't Stop".
Rihanna's "Pour It Up" Video Makes Me Feel Like I Need a Tetanus Shot
October 3, 2013 by Hook
It's a big week for music videos, apparently. Rihanna teased us with five thousand Instagrams from behind the scenes, my "favorite" above. I'm asking a favor of you guys. Watch the video in it's entirety and tell me that what Miley Cyrus did at the VMAs and her video for Wrecking Ball is more disgusting than this. I defy someone to come at me with concrete evidence that the licking of a sledgehammer is nastier than pole dancing in a jort thong and fancy pasties. Please. I seriously need to go wash my hands and hug a baby after watching this because I feel violated. Check it out at the link after the jump and let me know your thoughts. (YouTube won't upload the video for censorship issues, as far as I understand.)
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event :: world military champs
14 June 2005 by guest world
Russian Clean Sweep at WMC.
There were no British entrants at this years World Military Championships, held over the weekend in Finland, but there was tough racing dominated by the Eastern-bloc countries as well as Norway and Switzerland.
The Russian team took all four gold medals available, with young Leonid Novikov and sister Julia winning the middle distance (big brother Valentin was in action in Sweden over the weekend), while Evgeny Fadeev and Tatiana Ryabkina triumphed in the Long. But they didnt have it all their own way, rising star Andrie Kramov struggling in both races.
Mattias Merz looks to be in good shape ahead of the summers races, finishing 3rd in the long distance and 7th in the middle, 1 second behind his friend, rival and team mate Daniel Hubmann.
It was this strength from the Swiss men which won them the team prize, while the Russian women had the depth to take the team prize with the Lithuanian team taking second.