iPad, Tintin and Fulham

Here is this Sunday’s smorgasbord:

Image courtesy of Apponmyi.com

iPad for Kindergarteners: CNET carried an analysis of how every child in elementary schools in Auburn, Maine is going to receive an iPad. The school superintend for the schools, Tom Morrill, spoke highly of the value of iPad for young children and of the merits of introducing children early on to new media and new tools. He also went on to say that the iPad is “even more important than a book.” Here is something we have been anticipating now for some time – school, education and books are not going to be linked together for ever. While there has been a lot of focus on MacBook’s in colleges, elementary school is where the habits of a new generation is going to start. If you play word association with a kindergartener from Auburn, I wonder what she will say if you say “read.”

 

 

Image courtesy of Forbidden Planet

 

2nd Tintin Movie?: Tintin fans most likely know that Spielberg is directing Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and that it is due out around Christmas 2011. Now MTV reveals that plans are afoot for a second Tintin movie – Prisoners of the Sun and Anthony Horowitz is on the cards as a writer. Horowitz of the Alex Rider series – a sort of James Bond for kids. Tintin is such an iconic character that I wait with some trepidation for the movie. It is great to hear of future plans but will they get it right?

Michael Jackson and English Football: Yeah, you are not the only one wondering what they have to do with each other! As Time magazine reports,  Fulham FC fans have to put up or shut up about the Jackson statue that adorns the stadium front. Owner Mohammed Al Fayed is unmoved by questions about “Why Michael Jackson” and feels that those who do not appreciate his tastes can become fans of , wait, Chelsea! He told the BBC, “If they don’t understand and don’t believe in things I believe in they can go to [rival soccer team] Chelsea, they can go to anywhere else.”

“April Fool!” – Celebrate Silliness!

Image courtesy of Bigoo

I like April Fool’s Day. I like the idea of jokes and pranks. Mine are fairly tame and I try to think of ones where the ‘Fool’ feels kind of good  about the joke. I know that sort of defeats the purpose, but that is the way I like it. For example, I have changed the time on the clock to cause some panic in the morning and then told my family they have that extra 10 or 15 mins. I love the details of a prank more than the elaborateness of if. My approach is – Keep the basic idea simple but make the conversation detailed and make sure to give the performance of your life time!

I find this day the ultimate secular celebration and a true universal tradition. It is an equal opportunity day which goes beyond gender, race, color, creed and sexual orientation. And we get to celebrate it without spending a penny. What is not to love about April Fool’s Day?

While on the topic, I have to share this link – http://www.socialmediablackoutday.com. Do you think this is a prank?

Here is wishing everyone a Happy April 1st! Hope you get to pull a prank or two! And if someone plays a joke on you, remember to enjoy the spirit of silliness!

Theater, Art and a Deceased Obit Writer

Here is this Sunday’s Smorgasbord.

Staging Titus Andronicus: There has been much interest in using digital tools for education and teachers from elementary schools to universities are experimenting with ways to use their students’ technological prowess. The New York Times carried an article about an interesting way that a Bryn Mawr professor is helping her students relate to Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. The Theatron3 website allows the students to have a very real experience of how the play would have worked in the Globe Theater, where Shakespeare’s works were stages. The palpable reality of the experience makes the play come alive. The Theatron website includes many of the ancient world’s exciting theaters such as the Odeion of Agrippa and the Theatre of Pompey. Take a peek at the Globe here:

Image courtesy of LACMA

Art Lover as Couch Potato: For a while now we have been hearing about museums bringing their collections online. The idea that I can sit at home and tour the best world museums is exhilarating. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced recently that it is offering free access to high-resolution images of its extensive collection through its Image Library. So, today I got to sit and browse through a range of images from Ancient Chinese Art to German Expressionism and got to see this haunting 17th century painting by Georges de la Tour called The Magdalen with the Smoking Flame.

 

Taylor Outlives Obit Writer: In one of those stories that falls under “Life’s Little Ironies,’ I read a piece in the Huffington Post that the New York Times obituary writer who drafted the famous actress’ obit died in 2005. It is an accepted, though macabre, practice of major publications to have an obituary prepared for famous people to handle potentially tight deadlines. In this case, the obit writer Mel Gussow got his piece published last week following Elizabeth Taylor’s demise on Wednesday. The obituary was published crediting Gussow as principal writer with “William McDonald and the Associated Press contributed updated reporting.” RIP Gussow and Taylor.