Wednesday, September 30, 2009

M.T. Anderson on The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!!!












NCB
LA Board Member and
Exquisite Corpse Adventure Contributor
M.T. ANDERSON
Talks
about his Involvement
Writing for the Exquisite Corpse Adventure!


Watch these fabulous Reading Rockets videos of M.T. Anderson talking about the new Exquisite Corpse Adventure interviewed by our friends at Reading Rockets--librarian Maria Salvadore and educator Rachael Walker!!

And for more great Exquisite Corpse Adventure educational materials, check out the NCBLA's Exquisite Corpse Educational Resource Center at http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html where you will find a wealth of information, activities, and book suggestions for each and every Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode!

Reading Rockets is one of the NCBLA's and the Center for the Book's educational outreach partners for our national reading project The Exquisite Corpse Adventure!! To see the entire video and to find out about Reading Rockets' Exquisite Corpse writing contests for kids and teens, go to: http://www.readingrockets.org/books/fun/exquisiteprompt


Enjoy these Reading Rockets videos and please share it with the young people in your life!! And check back often on this NCBLA blog to get the latest Exquisite Corpse Information!!
Coming soon an NCBLA Take 5 interview with Exquisite Corpse Contributor Katherine Paterson!

And be sure to check out this You Tube video of Children's Book Ambassador Jon Scieszka reading the very first Exquisite Corpse Adventure Episode at the Library of Congress Book Festival-- Thank you Jon!!!!





Family Field Trip -The Smithsonian Museum of American History


Take Your Family, Take Your Students to See -

The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington:
Picturing the Promise
at the National Museum of American History!


While visiting Washington DC this past weekend to launch The Exquisite Corpse Adventure, I wanted to go and enjoy the recently renovated National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian. I spent a great deal of time doing research in Washington DC for the NCBLA's award-winning publication Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out and the National Museum of American History was a great place to visit for inspiration!

Visiting a museum reminds me of perusing the stacks in a library-- you go in looking for something specific, but the greatest delight is often when you discover something you weren't looking for at all-- that serendipitous discovery of the unexpected! A
nd that is exactly how I felt when I turned a corner and wandered in the Scurlock Studio Photography Exhibit at the National Museum of American History.

What a visual feast! From 1911 to 1994 the Scurlock Studios--- Addison Scurlock and his sons George and Robert--created a moving visual history of the city they loved. They "depicted the complex world of African Americans in Washington, D.C., a city whose black middle class refused to be defined or held captive by racial segregation and discrimination."

The exhibit includes photographs and action shots
chronicling the lives and interests of Howard University students and faculty; stunning portraits; editorial and news photography and so much more. I was especially struck by the Scurlocks use of light in their studio portraits as an element to reveal the individual personality and character of the person they were photographing. My favorite portraits were of a young man, Charles Tignor Duncan, and one of my education and civil rights heroes Mary McLeod Bethune .

And one section of the exhibit literally took my breath away. In a corner of the gallery there was a special exhibit of photographs detailing opera megastar Marian Anderson's critically acclaimed open-air concert on Easter Sunday, 1939 at the Lincoln Memorial. Complimenting the historical photographs on display was not only an event program autographed by Ms. Anderson, but also the fur coat she wore that day, the same fur coat that we have all seen in those historical photos and newsreels!--Only at the Smithsonian can our nation's history come alive in such a tangible manner!!!

Take your kids, your parents, your students, your friends and neighbors to see this riveting American history exhibit of breathtaking photographs--

The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington:
Picturing the Promise
at the National Museum of American History!


And be sure to share the NCBLA's award-winning publication about American history-- Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out-- and visit the NCBLA's Our White House educational website www.ourwhitehouse.org --recently named one of the American Library Association's Best Websites for Kids!-- posted by Mary Brigid Barrett, president and founder of The National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance.



About the Scurlock Studio exhibit from the Museum of American History:
"Nearly a century's worth of photographs from the Scurlock studio form a vivid portrait of black Washington, D.C., in all its guises—its challenges and its victories, its dignity and its determination. The exhibition features more than 100 images created by one of the premiere African American studios in the country and one of the longest-running black businesses in Washington. Highlights include cameras and equipment from the studio and period artifacts from Washington."

For more information go to:
http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibition.cfm?key=38&exkey=1260
http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives/scurlock/index.html

Der Untergrund


Click on map for a larger view

Die Linien, Bahnhöfe und Zonen von London Underground, London Overground und Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Als Klassiker des Designs macht die U-Bahn-Karte das Fahren im Londoner U-Bahn-Netz denkbar einfach. Diese übersichtliche Karte enthält einen Schlüssel zu allen eingezeichneten Stationen sowie die 6 Gebührenzonen.

CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE

Der Untergrund


Click on map for a larger view

Die Linien, Bahnhöfe und Zonen von London Underground, London Overground und Docklands Light Railway (DLR).

Als Klassiker des Designs macht die U-Bahn-Karte das Fahren im Londoner U-Bahn-Netz denkbar einfach. Diese übersichtliche Karte enthält einen Schlüssel zu allen eingezeichneten Stationen sowie die 6 Gebührenzonen.

CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Botanic Gardens Dublin


Botanic Gardens_HDR, originally uploaded by roryhogan.

My good buddy Rory Hogan is a talented photographer and has some outstanding photos on Flickr. My own favourites are his superb studies of one of my favourite places and a childhood haunt in Dublin, the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin.



>
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/botanic-gardens-glasnevin-dublin_31.html

For more gardening Blogs see on my Blog Sidebar under "Hortus Praetorius" - Latin for "Head Gardener"!





Look up Rory's work on;



http://www.flickr.com/photos/roryhogan/



One of the undoubted unsung joys of Ireland’s Capital City of Dublin are its delightful Botanic Gardens set in its Northside suburb of Glasnevin around 3 miles from the city centre. Glasnevin is a village which was been swallowed up by the city’s expansion in the 1900’s but still has much charm and character due to its setting along the Tolka River and numerous historical and literary associations including with the poet Joseph Addison and the satirist Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and author of “Gulliver’s Travels”. It is a place I’m particularly fond of as my parents live not too far away and I went to junior school nearby so the gardens were my childhood happy hunting grounds after school. Even today they are a serious horticultural celebration with little commercialism and unlike Kew Gardens in London which charges a disgraceful £12.25 pounds entrance fee, here entry is free.









The Great Palm House



The Palm House Complex at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, won a top European award for its restoration, the 2006 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Medal.



Dating from 1884, the Great Palm House at the National Botanic Gardens was magnificently and faithfully restored over a two year period by the Office of Public Works (OPW) until its completion and reopening in 2004.



Costing £800 when it was built in 1884, the Great Palm House, which was made of wood and iron, was prefabricated in the Scottish town of Paisley by James Boyd & Son. It was shipped to Ireland in pieces, then assembled on site: a Victorian flat-pack greenhouse, 65 feet high, 80 feet wide and 100 feet long. In 2004 it reopened to the public after a lengthy restoration which saw it dismantled, conserved and repaired and reassembled.





Scarecrow





Walk in Sepia









A River runs through it - The River Tolka and a canal run through the gardens providing extra visual interest













Venus Fly Trap



The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves comes into contact with one or more of the hairs twice in succession, the trap closes. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against a waste of energy in trapping objects with no nutritional value.













Orchid



The orchid family includes 20,000 to 30,000 species and more than 70,000 hybrids or cultivars. The largest number, and most popular, come from Asia. South America is also rich in wild orchids.



Orchids have two main ways of growing:



Monopodial growth - one, usually upright, axis from which leaves appear.

Sympodial growth - the axis is a prostrate rhizome from which shoots appear. Many sympodials develop pseudobulbs, thickened shoots from which the leaves grow. These act as storage organs for water and nutrients.





Within these two broad groups, orchid can be narrowed down to four types:



Terrestrial orchids - have their roots in soil.

Climbing epiphytes - found in tree tops, with roots clinging to the bark to absorb nutrients and water.

Lithophytes - grow on rocks or in very little soil.

Saprophytes - get their nutrition from dead or decaying matter through symbiotic relationships with fungi.













Strelitzia



Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom, wife of George III. The common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its flowers to the bird of paradise. In South Africa it is commonly known as a crane flower.









Sequoia



Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Common names include Coast Redwood and California Redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but "redwood" per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living for up to 2,200 years, and this species includes the tallest trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.5 m (379.1 ft) in height and 8 m (26 ft) diameter at breast height. It is native to coastal California and the south-western corner of Oregon within the United States. Sequoias are the oldest living species on the Earth.







The National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin is Ireland's premier botanical and horticultural establishment and is a rewarding and attractive garden for gardeners and non-gardeners alike containing over 20,000 different plant species and cultivars including many exceptional specimens. It provides an excellent visitor attraction and an oasis of peace and tranquility a short distance from Dublin’s bustling city centre by taxi or on bus routes 11, 13 or 19. With its excellent visitor centre, restaurant and informative layout and signage it is a good place both to absorb the beauty of the gardens and recharge your own batteries.











National Botanic Gardens

Glasnevin

Dublin 9

Ireland.




Telephone No: + 353 1 804 0300

Fax No: + 353 1 836 0080



Website http://www.botanicgardens.ie





The bell which is rung from 15 minutes before closing time to warn visitors to leave

Botanic Gardens Dublin


Botanic Gardens_HDR, originally uploaded by roryhogan.

My good buddy Rory Hogan is a talented photographer and has some outstanding photos on Flickr. My own favourites are his superb studies of one of my favourite places and a childhood haunt in Dublin, the National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin.



>
http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/botanic-gardens-glasnevin-dublin_31.html

For more gardening Blogs see on my Blog Sidebar under "Hortus Praetorius" - Latin for "Head Gardener"!





Look up Rory's work on;



http://www.flickr.com/photos/roryhogan/



One of the undoubted unsung joys of Ireland’s Capital City of Dublin are its delightful Botanic Gardens set in its Northside suburb of Glasnevin around 3 miles from the city centre. Glasnevin is a village which was been swallowed up by the city’s expansion in the 1900’s but still has much charm and character due to its setting along the Tolka River and numerous historical and literary associations including with the poet Joseph Addison and the satirist Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and author of “Gulliver’s Travels”. It is a place I’m particularly fond of as my parents live not too far away and I went to junior school nearby so the gardens were my childhood happy hunting grounds after school. Even today they are a serious horticultural celebration with little commercialism and unlike Kew Gardens in London which charges a disgraceful £12.25 pounds entrance fee, here entry is free.









The Great Palm House



The Palm House Complex at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, won a top European award for its restoration, the 2006 European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Medal.



Dating from 1884, the Great Palm House at the National Botanic Gardens was magnificently and faithfully restored over a two year period by the Office of Public Works (OPW) until its completion and reopening in 2004.



Costing £800 when it was built in 1884, the Great Palm House, which was made of wood and iron, was prefabricated in the Scottish town of Paisley by James Boyd & Son. It was shipped to Ireland in pieces, then assembled on site: a Victorian flat-pack greenhouse, 65 feet high, 80 feet wide and 100 feet long. In 2004 it reopened to the public after a lengthy restoration which saw it dismantled, conserved and repaired and reassembled.





Scarecrow





Walk in Sepia









A River runs through it - The River Tolka and a canal run through the gardens providing extra visual interest













Venus Fly Trap



The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves comes into contact with one or more of the hairs twice in succession, the trap closes. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against a waste of energy in trapping objects with no nutritional value.













Orchid



The orchid family includes 20,000 to 30,000 species and more than 70,000 hybrids or cultivars. The largest number, and most popular, come from Asia. South America is also rich in wild orchids.



Orchids have two main ways of growing:



Monopodial growth - one, usually upright, axis from which leaves appear.

Sympodial growth - the axis is a prostrate rhizome from which shoots appear. Many sympodials develop pseudobulbs, thickened shoots from which the leaves grow. These act as storage organs for water and nutrients.





Within these two broad groups, orchid can be narrowed down to four types:



Terrestrial orchids - have their roots in soil.

Climbing epiphytes - found in tree tops, with roots clinging to the bark to absorb nutrients and water.

Lithophytes - grow on rocks or in very little soil.

Saprophytes - get their nutrition from dead or decaying matter through symbiotic relationships with fungi.













Strelitzia



Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom, wife of George III. The common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its flowers to the bird of paradise. In South Africa it is commonly known as a crane flower.









Sequoia



Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae. Common names include Coast Redwood and California Redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but "redwood" per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-lived, monoecious tree living for up to 2,200 years, and this species includes the tallest trees on Earth, reaching up to 115.5 m (379.1 ft) in height and 8 m (26 ft) diameter at breast height. It is native to coastal California and the south-western corner of Oregon within the United States. Sequoias are the oldest living species on the Earth.







The National Botanic Gardens at Glasnevin is Ireland's premier botanical and horticultural establishment and is a rewarding and attractive garden for gardeners and non-gardeners alike containing over 20,000 different plant species and cultivars including many exceptional specimens. It provides an excellent visitor attraction and an oasis of peace and tranquility a short distance from Dublin’s bustling city centre by taxi or on bus routes 11, 13 or 19. With its excellent visitor centre, restaurant and informative layout and signage it is a good place both to absorb the beauty of the gardens and recharge your own batteries.











National Botanic Gardens

Glasnevin

Dublin 9

Ireland.




Telephone No: + 353 1 804 0300

Fax No: + 353 1 836 0080



Website http://www.botanicgardens.ie





The bell which is rung from 15 minutes before closing time to warn visitors to leave

THe Exquisite Corpse Adventure is Underway!!!!



What Is NCBLA Board Member Author M.T. (Tobin)
Anderson Saying About The Exquisite Corpse Adventure?









"Writing the Exquisite Corpse
story is like playing a game of hot potato, tossing the spud from person to person, passing it down a line of friends.

Sure, everyone wants the potato to stay in the air. But it's also really fun if you can put some spin on it when you throw it so the next person has to really reach to grab it. The fumble and save is part of the thrill of the game."



Read the riveting first episode of The Exquisite Corpse Adventure at: http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

Find great Exquisite Corpse activities and much more for kids at the NCBLA Exquisite Corpse educational resource center at: http://www.thencbla.org/Exquisite_Corpse/exquisite_home.html

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is a joint project of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance and The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress!