Tune for Tuesday - Stop Animation

This is a cool stop animation

MENTOR MONDAY

At the Oregon SCBWI Spring conference I went to a workshop led by Heather Vogel Frederick. She was great.

E.B. White was one of her childhood mentors. She talked about his wonderful characters and how he built them in Charlotte’s Web.

We all knew Templeton was a rat, before we ever saw him.

Next, she used photos from magazines and had us make-up names for the people pictured. It was a great writing practice.

After that she recommended we all read Essays of E.B. White.

So, who was your writing mentor?

Here Comes Summer!

It's official in our house. Summer has arrived. It isn't because of the weather or a certain date on the calendar. No. Instead it's when school's out and all the kids are back home.

We drove down to Eugene yesterday and picked up our son for the summer. So glad to have all the kids home.

On the way back to Portland, we had a little traffic jam. We all looked up ahead to see what the problem was. It was a flock of geese. They were crossing the street.

I'd never seen that before.

David Sedaris - My Impression

David Sedaris is a funny guy.

That was my impression after reading Me Talk Pretty One Day and I thought it even more after Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and then I was sure when I read When You’re Engulfed in Flames but I'm convinced after hearing him holler, "Obama! Obama! Obama!" as he talked about politics in America and France, on Wednesday night--in person at Powell’s--in Beaverton. The guy is a quick-wit, who can think fast on his feet while getting the audience to applaud and laugh, even while standing for hours in an over-crowded bookstore, waiting . . .

He said he didn’t like pictures, or I would have some for this post. I love to take photos but I wanted to respect his wishes, since he was sharing his stories and reading to us—for free. Of course I had to buy another one of his books and then I waited like an hour to get it autographed. Now, I have an autographed Sedaris book. :)

It was a fun night but when I got home I was so tired and I wasn’t even the one up in front of the audience—one can only dream.

EARTH-FRIENDLY FATHER'S DAY

DON'T FORGET JUNE 21ST IS FATHER'S DAY You have about one week to think. . .

So you wanna get Dad something special? Not another tie he'll stuff in the back of his drawer until spring cleaning in 2012. This year give him something he'll really enjoy and go green at the same time.

Take Dad out for an afternoon of golf on the greens. And, if you can't afford 18 holes on a course, what about the putt-putt variety . . . ?

Father's Day is really about showing Dad you care and what better way to show you care than by spending time with people you love?

And, if you don't like golf, what about buying Dad something he's sure to use - like a pair of socks - or how about three? These socks are sustainable and made from bamboo. Check them out here. For about $10.00 you can get Dad a renewable-source sock.

And, if that's too much money, what about making a meal for the good-ole guy? You can cook an old fashioned BBQ of chicken, or hotdogs and hamburgers and show him you love him by filling his belly and letting him rest his feet.

Remember everyone has to eat and this way, you'll be killing two birds with one stone, so it might as well be a chicken. If you cook a wonderful meal - that's a gift. And the second part of that gift is that Dad doesn't have to stand over a hot grill on his special day.

These are just a few ideas of how to celebrate on the 21st with your Dad. If you have other ideas, please post them in the comments section.

Answer to Thought for Thursday

Answer: Michelangelo played a part, the question is how much of a part did he play?

If you'd like to read more, please click here.

Thought for Thursday

Question: What artist is sometimes considered crooked for having played a part in the Cupid Case?

Do you know the answer? If not, take a guess anyway.

Come on, it's more fun when people play.

(Stop back by around 3:00 to see the answer)