Critical Thinking Sunday: Climate Edition

These pretty much speak for themselves, but man oh man is that Bill Nye awesome. Science deniers are unpatriotic! You tell 'em Bill! Have a great week.

Critical Thinking Sunday: Health Care Edition

For this Critical Thinking Sunday, here's Ben Goldacre. Sure he's a Limey and they spell "skeptic" wrong, but it's good to be aware of this effect.

And then we have this wonderful critical look at the health care debate. Now I see where Obama gets his crazy socialist ideas. That's what we get for electing the first Hawaiian to the White House.

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Recent Reads

Two very different books whose only commonality is that they are middle-aged children's novels and I read them both this past week. Well, and they both have animals in them.

Lauren St. John, author of The White Giraffe can certainly write. Her line-by-line prose is wonderful. The similes and metaphors are original and strong. When the bad guy sees something is wrong, he doesn't just "turn white as a sheet" like he would in most books. His face "goes the color of a frozen hen." The landscape of the game reserve in South Africa is lovingly detailed and never slows the pace of the book. I could totally see this as a live-action Disney-type film in the same class as The Journey of Nattie Gann or Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. But to me, that's a problem as well. Other than the gorgeous writing, it never rises above tried and true genre elements. She's gone on to write more books as part of a series and young animal lovers will, I'm sure, love these books. I am curious about the author's memoir. Apparently she actually did grow up on an animal farm in South Africa. Good thing, too, because if I hadn't known that I might have been a little harsher because, come on, a white girl in South Africa is the "chosen one?" Sheesh. Lovely read, though.

Seaman is the opposite. Interesting "story" which basically details Lewis & Clark's journey. But the line-by-line writing is, um, utilitarian to say the least. You know the old canard about "show, don't tell" in your writing? This author tells everything. And many sentences end in an exclamation point! For no apparent reason! But it's way better than reading about this journey in a textbook, so I can see why teachers might like it. One thing that bugged me: there is a slave named Knox. She never refers to him as a slave. He's a "loyal servant" but never a slave. Why the avoidance? I mean, really.

I Admit: I Am a Big Crybaby

So Betsy Bird has outed me. She runs the fantabulous Fuse #8 Production blog and is in the process of publishing a great series on her reader's picks for the top 100 children's novels of all time. Here's the link to today's post about #55-51.

Yes, that's me she's quoting (right at the top of the post!) in reference to Katherine Paterson's The Great Gilly Hopkins. Actually, Katherine Paterson has much to answer for. When I was in fifth grade my teacher read aloud both Gilly Hopkins AND Bridge to Terabithia. So the tears flowed freely that year.

It's true. When I read Gilly out loud to my students, I'm always sniffly at the ending. It gets me every time.

Are there any books you read out loud, just knowing you're going to cry? And you do it anyway?

One of the few things my fifth graders don't get sassy about is how I get a little teary when I read Pink and Say. They get so into that one, and have so many questions when it's over, they don't have time to tease me about it.

It's been a while since I read Charlotte's Web out loud to a class, but that one does it too. I don't read books that all of their classroom teachers read to them and since Charlotte is a favorite, I skip that one. I'm sure I'll be blubbering away when I read it to my daughter one day soon. Oh, and don't even get me started on Dobby the house elf...

Loxton's Evolution, Again

I mentioned this book a couple of weeks ago and was happily surprised by a comment from Erin at Kids Can Press offering me a copy for review! Here's the book at their site.

When I used to work in those big book stores, I often had someone ask for a book on a specific subject. I'd take them over to that section and point them to a few titles. I could soon tell that they didn't really want to read a whole book on the subject, just the equivalent of a long magazine article. They wanted something introductory, but not for "dummies." (Those people are now probably hitting Wikipedia rather than the bookstore for this kind of thing). If they seemed like a person who was genuinely curious and wouldn't be offended by the suggestion, I would often show them the nonfiction section in the children's department. There are some great nonfiction writers for kids that adults can benefit from as well. Think Joy Hakim, for one example. Or Seymour Simon. Or Steve Jenkins. Or David MacAuley.

Now we have Daniel Loxton to add to this list. The book is so eye-catching, you can help but pick it up. Inside, you find perfectly clear and readable explanations for all of the main questions you might have. Even if you know the subject, sometimes it's hard to get that across to a younger or more inexperienced audience. Here's your book.

But the illustrations! They sell this. It's a combination of photography, line art, and 3D computer modeling. It's been on my desk this week and a few teachers have picked it up and practically started drooling at the imagery. "This is wild!"

There are people who say they don't "believe" in evolution. This is analogous to saying you don't "believe" in the atomic theory of matter, the gravitational theory, or the germ theory. You may not believe them either, but all those theories explain a large body of facts. Actually, there are more lines of evidence backing up the "theory" of evolution than those other well-established ideas. So let's call it a fact. It's far more likely that those that don't accept the fact of evolution simply don't understand it. Then, of course, there is the far more pernicious problem of "controversy." If it's controversial, many will avoid it. Hence the dearth of good, solid books on evolution for kids. Hence a large population of people who don't understand the concept.

Granted, it can be tough to explain something as far-reaching as evolution in a mere fifty pages. But Loxton has done it. He takes all the best examples and metaphors and answers all the basic questions. He covers an amazing amount of ground in such an accessible format.

So yes, it's highly recommended. Buy it here and you'll be supporting his work at the Skeptic's Society. He's been doing all kinds of amazing things for them and, since this is a hit (Last time I checked the Amazon sales rank it was in the 1400s and was the #1 children's nonfiction book about animals and the #1 children's book about fossils and #13 in science/evolution books!), we're sure to see more from him. I cant wait to see his book on Lake Monsters and maybe one on Aliens and all the fun things that go bump in the night.

Oh, and Dr. Donald Prothero (who has written one of the best books on evolution himself) consulted on the project. So this is the real deal. Enjoy!

Chocolate & Roses: Chemistry!

Here's a fun explanation of the chemistry of chocolate & roses from The Professor including a little relationship advice at the end. It's from last year. I love The Periodic Table of Videos channel, although I'm way behind. Hope to catch up this summer. Have a great holiday! (My wife sure did. This week was a rough one so this busy mom, and this busy mom, showered her with gifts and food and all kinds of help to get her through the week. It was very appreciated. Thanks, moms!

This week my daughter has been re-reading:

Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime. The funniest bit is that the big mushy gushy "valentime" comes from [spoiler alert!] a surprise secret admirer: That Meanie Jim!

and I got her this literary gem for her gift:

She's a fan of Tedd Arnold's Fly Guy series, so she devoured this before she finished her breakfast!

Testing Answers

"And to the education world, I have to ask how this was allowed to go on and what is the next step to restore public confidence and improve teacher morale?

Many of you complain that the actions of Berry and Alexander reflect a test mania that has gotten out of hand. But without testing, how can we know for sure how students are doing? And why is testing vilified?

No one complains about testing in medicine when they are sick. Yes, you trust your doctor’s evaluations that you have a serious disease. but [sic] you undergo the tests to verify the doctor’s observations and professional judgment.

So, while parents may trust a teacher’s assessment that their child is on target, why not test to verify?"

There has been a testing scandal here in GA, and just like when it happened in TX, these are the kinds of questions being asked. The questions above are from Maureen Downey's Get Schooled blog on the AJC site.

Here's some of my answers. Most of the ideas aren't new and have been put forth by others, like Dr. Krashen, before me.

It's interesting that Ms. Downey makes a medical analogy. Krashen made the following similar analogy, but to a far different purpose. If you agree that we need standardized tests in order to compare achievement and compare groups of students, then you're in luck because we have the NAEP test. It is given to small, representative groups of students who each take part of the test and it's given every few years. Like census data, the results are statistically analyzed to project out for the larger population. There's no pointless "test prep" and there are no immediate job-related consequences for low or high scores because they're not connected to any one school or principal or teacher (who might be tempted to cheat if their livelihood depended on it). If we are honestly curious to see a general snapshot of how our students are doing, this is the answer. When a doctor wants to test your blood to check your health, she only needs a sample, not all of it, to get an accurate picture of how you're doing. Anything else would be a wasteful expense, right?

We spend far too much money and waste far too much time on these standardized tests. There is no good data that the amount of testing we're doing is having an effect. The best option would be to cut back on the absurd amount and frequency of standardized testing and focus on smaller, better tests like the NAEP that can give us real data.

We are in a budget crisis here in GA, as in nearly every other state. If the Governor gave a press conference and only required our state's schools to give the federally mandated number of tests and did away with high school graduation tests (which have been shown in a comprehensive Indiana study to be basically meaningless) we would instantly be saving millions of dollars and our graduation rate would go up without any compromise to accountability or high educational standards. This would be the proverbial win-win situation, but it should just be the start. With funds as hard to come by as they are, this cutting back--not of testing entirely, but of unnecessary and unproven testing--is something that needs to be looked at seriously.

Pale Blue Dot Valentine

I love this photo. It's our Earth as seen from Voyager I back in 1990 on Valentine's Day. Here's the whole story on NPR. It is a useful perspective to have.

It's the photo Carl Sagan was referring to when he wrote this wonderful paragraph:

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every 'superstar,' every 'supreme leader,' every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

Too Bad, Percy Jackson Deserved Better

The reviews for The Lightening Thief are in and it doesn't look good. You know it's a bad sign when even the most positive reviews prevaricate. "For the most part, it works" (Bill Goodykoontz). "Has 'Percy Jackson' cracked the 'Potter code? In terms of overall quality, not even close" (Ethan Alter). And those guys liked it. Of course, it's the bad reviews that are more fun to read. "Chris Columbus, true to his namesake, has charted new waters of lazy hackdom with this 'Clash of the Titans' remade as a CW tween soap" (Nick Starkey).

It will make money because of the book and the marketing. But only in a couple of weeks will we know if the target audience liked it. The Slate reviewer said his daughter didn't, but Alter thinks at least the spectacle in the film "could make it a modest hit with the 8 to 12-year-old set."

Maybe 20th C Fox will get different directors, like Warner's did with the Potter franchise. It wasn't until Columbus left that series that the movies started getting interesting.

For now, I'll stick with the books.

Blizzard!

Ms. Yingling is snowed in. It made her recall the Blizzard of '78. I was there! In Ohio. We lived on a hill and our driveway had to be plowed. The ensuing piles were our favorite playground. In '78 my brother, a friend and I spent a few days digging out a tunnel system under a huge snow drift. We even embedded florescent camping lights in the walls. We begged our parents to let us sleep out there igloo-style. No dice.

That night the blizzard hit. It was deadly. We would have been part of the permafrost.

Good times.

Growing Readers

This week's Booking Through Thursday question is right up my alley. In fact, I'm sure you've probably heard all of this advice before. But you can say it too many times. Barbara H. wants to know the best way to encourage her reluctant readers.

I teach English Language Learners and they are all, for the most part, reluctant readers. My own dad and brother would not put reading at the top of their list of fun things to do. Even many of the teachers I work with may talk a good talk a good game about the importance of reading, but rarely do it for pure pleasure.

To grow good readers:

1. Read

Sounds so obvious, but kids really do imitate us. My students never touch a dictionary unless there's a lesson involved. But once during SSR, I put down my book, walked over and looked something up, mumbled, "I didn't know that," and went back to reading. Now the kids in that group periodically look things up. They're the only group that does. I need to do the same thing for my other groups...

2. Feed Their Interests

So they're not reading the classics, or even chapter books at all. Buy them interest-specific things and they will read them. Skateboarding magazines, comics, video game code books, celebrity magazines, anything. That's reading. Reading leads to more reading. My dad and brother are both big golfers and have subscriptions to every golfing magazine there is. They are experts in their field (and even read books about golfing). And hey, because of them there are even golfing books I have found enjoyable now and then.

3. Bait

The back of the driver's side car seats in both of our vehicles are stuffed with magazines and slim books that my daughter likes. There's no DVD player (except on long trips). Guess what she does when she's not bopping to the music? There's also a basket of magazines and books in both bathrooms. There's one with her name on it next to her bed she can dig into when she can't get to sleep. If you build it, they will come...

4. Read Aloud

Jim Trelease nailed it when he said we should be reading to them until they leave our house. There is no good reason to stop just because they can do it on their own. The popularity of audio books shows me that we all like hearing a good story. He would make his teenagers do the dishes while he would sit and read stuff to them from newspapers and magazines they were interested in like those old Cuban lector de tabaquerias. Half the books my students choose to read are based on things I've read to them earlier in the year.

5. TV Limits

I love TV and books. Most good readers do too. When her boys were about to flunk out of school, Ben Carson's mom turned off the TV. They could only watch it after finishing homework and reading two self-chosen books from the library. Both boys went on to academic success. TV was allowed, but limited. The books were self-chosen, so still of interest. I've done yearly surveys with all my students and the ones who have TV limits are always the best. For some it's no TV during the week. For some it's no TV on the weekends. For some it's a certain daily amount. It doesn't seem to matter, as long as there are limits of some kinds. The ones with no limits (and worst of all, a TV in their room) don't do nearly as well. This is not always true, but true enough in the main that I think some kind of limits on "screen time" (tv, computer, gaming) helps not only with school work and reading, but just creativity in general. It's good to be bored sometimes. You never know what they might do. They might even surprise you and pick up a good book...

School Libraries Head for the Edge

I got a treat in the mail a couple of weeks back and I'm ready to give you a full report. For some unknown reason, Doug Johnson asked his publisher to send copies of his new book to about a dozen school library bloggers to review. Well, the reason is pretty obvious but why I was included on a list with some of the top names in the school library field remains unknown to me. I'll just have to step up and try to give it a good whack and see what happens.

The book is called School Libraries Head for the Edge: Rants, Recommendations, and Reflections put out by Linworth Publishing. It's a collection of his essays originally printed in Linworth's own Library Media Connection magazine (and it's predecessor, Technology Connection).

Now the first and most obvious question any reviewer will have to answer about a book like this is, "Why should I pay for this when most, if not all, of these essays are available for free on Doug's own website?"

I'll give you three reasons:

First of all, not everyone will read the essays online. Not all of them. Second, you'll have the best of his stuff all in one place and you won't even need batteries to take it down and read. Third, you'll want to underline, markup and sticky note your copy. Trust me.

I mean just check out the table of contents! The book is divided up into seven chapters, or themes and the articles are in chronological order in each theme.

Ch. 1: On Libraries and Education in Transition

Ch. 2: On Professional Skills and Dispositions

Ch. 3: On Reading, Research, and Technology Skills

Ch. 4: On Technology in Libraries

Ch. 5: On Technology in Education

Ch. 6: On Managing Good

Ch. 7: On Determining Our Values

An amazing breadth of topics! Okay, I'd probably change the "managing good" title, but the book is a great meditation on nearly every aspect of the field. This is your "other" book, after you've read about collection management and instructional design and selection and cataloging and all the rest from your professors, you still need another book that tells it like it is from an insiders point of view after you read all those dry texts. This is that book.

He has a great attitude toward technology, running your program and keeping your focus. This book will keep you grounded. With good humor, the ideas that we must share our knowledge and see opportunities in problems (and no whining!) Johnson is a perfect guide to the profession.

You won't always agree with him and I'm sure he would joke that it as a sign of good taste if you don't. He's unafraid, and even relishes, going after sacred cows. But our job, as he likes to say, is not to make you believe but to think and this is certainly something he does with this collection.

There are only a few caveats. Even though he doesn't include every article he's written and he has gone through and updated these, there are still some dated passages. This is a minor quibble; especially in comparison to the massive amount of hard-earned wisdom that packs this slim volume. No, the only major defect in the book lies with Linworth. They must have rushed this into print without the slightest copyediting. These were magazine articles written on a deadline so of course there would be typos. In a collection such as this, they shouldn't pop up with the frequency the do. I hope this is corrected in future editions because the book deserves better.*

Johnson really does cover all the biggest topics. The importance of embracing change, of having a positive attitude, of keeping our teaching relevant and meaningful, how changes in technology are making us rethink our roles, how we can help our fellow teachers make sense of new digital tools, the importance of being an effective manager (vs. an inefective "leader"), and--most importantly, I think--how to help us make choices based on what he (and I) consider to be our core values:

"...understanding the concepts of intellectual freedom; being aware that most moral judgments center around privacy, property, and appropriate use; and believing that individuals should act out of awareness, not ignorance..."

All the best stuff. But the absolute best thing? The most important and motivating thing of all?

He's having fun doing it.

Thanks Doug!

*(Doug has something to say about this, natch.)

Critical Thinking Sunday

(via Bad Astronomy) The doofus didn't even use spell-check on "indigestion" and "prostate!"

Also, check out "I Was Wondering..." put together by The National Academies of Science and based on this series of books. It's all about women in science, which we need more of, obviously. (via Jodi and ticktock).

Amazon V. Macmillan Fail

Amazon v Macmillan: Free Market Fail by Scott Westerfeld explains the whole debacle succinctly.

I like this bit:

This is not a case of two corporations pissing down on us mere mortals with equal disdain; it's a case of complex negotiations in an ancient industry with many arcane traditions that's in a state of technological flux. And suddenly, out of the blue, one of the sides in this negotiation spat their pacifier across the room in a very public and embarrassing display of petulance. And that corporation was Amazon.

Accelerated Evil

Last week I summarized a much more complete post by Mark Pennington which more completely summarized some of the main criticisms of the Accelerated Reading program used in many schools.

Today, thanks to a fellow list-maker who took the time to compile a list which exemplifies the problem with number four on the list (explained here by Mr. Pennington):

4. Using AR tends to encourage some students to read books that most teachers and parents would consider inappropriate for certain age levels. Although Renaissance Learning is careful to throw the burden of book approval onto the shoulders of teachers and parents, students get more points for reading and passing quizzes on higher reading levels and longer books. Although an interest level is provided as is a brief synopsis/cautionary warning on the AR site, students often simply select books by the title, cover, availability, or point value. Thus, a fourth grader might wind up “reading” Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (4.7 ATOS readability level) and a sixth grader might plow through Camus’ The Stranger (6.2 ATOS readability level). Hardly appropriate reading material for these grade levels! Content is not considered in the AR point system and students are, of course, reading for those points.

The list-maker, I must confess, also came up with the witty title of this blog post and emailed the whole thing to me because it was felt mine was a grubbier venue for this tawdry exercise. No, that wasn't it. Wait. Oh, never mind.

Now not everything in these books, oh say like human sexuality, is actually evil. And while I hardly think school and by extension the library should be a reality-free zone and that everyone should be able to read pretty much whatever they want to, I think you'll agree that many people would question the validity of recommending this list of books to 11-13 year olds. I like many of the books on the list and there may indeed be readers of those ages perfectly suited to reading some of them. Hell, I read Forever in middle school and didn't need AR points for motivation!

The argument may be made that Renaissance Learning, Inc. (the producers of AR) are not necessarily recommending these titles for middle schoolers. Bah! Read again what Mr. Pennington points out above. They induce children to read for points, not content. If a kid that's an avid AR point scrounger comes across a book "on their level" with a nice point spread, they'll read it. If it has sex, drugs, and rock and roll in it? All the better! Look at this list and Mr. Pennigton's point is made clear. (All information is from renlearn.com):

All the Way Behrens, Andy Level 4.3 Points 7

Hoping to have sex for the first time with a girl he has met on the Internet, seventeen-year-old Ian drives with his two best friends from Illinois to South Carolina.

Anatomy of a Boyfriend Snadowsky, Daria Level 5.0 Points 9

Text contains sexual situations throughout.

Boy Toy Lyga, Barry Level 4.5 Points 15

The plot contains profanity and graphic sexual references.

Claiming Georgia Tate Amateau, Gigi EN 5.0 UG 6

Twelve-year-old Georgia Tate feels loved and safe living with Nana and Granddaddy, until her sexually abusive father tries to win custody of her. This plot contains sexual situations.

Crank Hopkins, Ellen Level 4.3 Points 5

Visiting her absentee father, Kristina's life turns upside-down when he introduces her to the dark world of crank, or crystal meth. The story, told in jagged free verse, contains profanity, explicit sexual situations and blatant descriptions of drug use.

The Da Vinci Code Brown, Dan Level 6.4 Points 23

Doing It Burgess, Melvin Level 4.4 Points 12

Three teenage friends, Dino, Jonathon, and Ben, confront the confusions, fears, and joys of adolescent male sexuality.

Forever Blume, Judy Level 4.1 Points 5

A graphic novel of a teenage senior-year love affair based primarily on sexual attraction.

Gluttony Wasserman, Robin Level 5.2 Points 9

The plot contains adult language and sexual activity. Book #6 (Oddly, the book Lust doesn’t have an AR test, but others in the series do.)

The Lovely Bones Sebold, Alice Level 6.0 Points 16

Nineteen Minutes Picoult, Jodi Level6.0 Points 29

Residents of Sterling, NH, are affected after a shooting at the high school leaves ten people dead and the judge presiding over the trial tries to remain unbiased, even though her daughter is a witness. The plot contains sexual references and violence

Nothing Can Keep Us Together: A Gossip Girl Novel von Ziegesar, Cecily Level 6.8 Points 10

The plot contains profanity, sexual situations, alcohol and drug use.

Punkzilla Rapp, Adam Level 6.2 Points 9

A runaway teenager, having overcome an addiction to meth, travels across the country to reconnect with his dying brother and meets a colorful cast of characters along the way. The plot contains sexual situations and profanity.

Push Sapphire Level 4.0 Points 5

The plot contains adult themes including graphic sexual situations and violence. The movie Precious is based off this.

Smack Burgess, Melvin Level 4.6 Points 13

Two English teenagers share their stories of being runaways and becoming heroin addicts.

Weetzie Bat Block, Francesca Lia Level 5.0 Points 2

This story follows the wild adventures of Weetzie Bat and her Los Angeles friends, Dirk, Duck, and My-Secret-Agent-Lover-Man. The plot contains profanity and sexual situations.

Apparently I Am a Fabulous Sugar Doll

Today's post is care of Ms. Yingling who wanted to do a little decorating over here and add some more pink fluffiness. So I am to:

•Thank the person who gave this to you.
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
• Link the person who nominated you.
• Name seven things about yourself that no one would really know.
• Nominate ten “Sugar Dolls.”
• Post links to the ten blogs you nominate.
• Leave a comment on each letting them know you nominated them.

Ms. Yingling: I can't thank you enough. There.

Logo is, as you see, displayed prominently on this blog (post which will soon disappear into the archives).

Ms. Yingling has been properly linked.

I'll list 7 things, but I'm sure someone already knows. I'm just not that interesting.

Oh, I'll nominate ten"sugar dolls" all right.

Ten links? Do you people think I have all day? I already linked to all of my favorite commenters! Oh, ok, fine. Ten links as well!

Ten comments! My goodness, is this an award or a punishment! Ok, ok, I'll do it, but I can't promise how long this will take. Sheesh!

Ten "sugar dolls":

(figuring the people most likely to be interested in more readers are people with newish or under-read blogs, I nominate the following...)

On the road to finding myself & taking wrong turns has been a follower of mine for sometime and has the benefit of already having plenty of pink and has recently gotten back into blogging, so this might help.

M.S. Dolittle Quilter, like Ms. Yingling, is a librarian, reader and quilter.

Free Philosophical Discussions is a reader, a thinker, and someone who needs more pink frills, I am sure.

Inspired to Read is from another teacher, dad, and reader. He needs some pink as well.

The Book Bench is a fun place to hang out. A mom, a teacher and a lover of kids books.

Saving the World, One File at a Time is by a mom, reader, lover of "flare" and crafty lady who happens to married to another Sugar Doll!

ICBS Everywhere is from an awesome educator who doesn't take any B.S.! She's in the middle of a blog move, so some new pink decorations might help the place.

Library Stew is a school librarian in my district who loves science, books and doesn't have AR at her school! The trifecta!

Too Busy Too Hate will probably not participate in this, but I want to link to him so you'll look at his fantastic work and see his most recent photo essay on the "phantom of the fox." I really love this site.

Sew Transformed is a master bookseller, reader, and makes her own clothes! She's as fabulous as they come.

Seven things about me? Ok, but I'll drag you all into this as well...

1. I went to Dragon*Con last fall (and am going next fall as well) where I saw Michael from Free Philosophical and Barbara from ICBS and many more.

2. Ms. Dolittle is my library internship advisor. She also has more pets than you can imagine.

3. I used to work with Toni from Sew Transformed and miss it. She's the sassiest thing alive.

4. The "Noah-isms" on either of the Taylors blogs come from their 4th grade son who is hilarious and in my wife's class.

5. I just got a new camera and would desperately like the time to try to put together something like what John at Too Busy to Hate does. I'm not as good as he is, but I used to sell some of my photography. Maybe I'll start posting some on this blog. How about Photo Fridays?

6. There's actually a little photo contest site called "Photo Friday" in which they give you a theme and you have the week to take a photo on that theme and send a link. Then people vote on their top picks and those show up in the "noteworthy" section and you're considered a Photo Friday winner. I won one for the theme "Gatherings." I'll have to find and post that photo sometime, because the link there is long dead.

7. I get this joke and think it's hilarious. I haven't posted about it because I assume you don't and I'd have to explain it. Luckily the Ocillator has done this for me!

Great New Books (& some editorializing)

Theodore Gray has a great website for his new book about The Elements as well as the wonderful video above. I keep hearing differing opinions about these kind of book trailer and their effectiveness at, you know, actually selling books but there's no doubt that when this clever they will invariably get passed around on the intertubes and be seem by more people than might have been the case with traditional marketing.

Of course I heard about this video from the estimable Jacquie Henry at her blog Wanderings, but she gave the credit to that large behemoth online bookseller of large South American river proportions. It's funny because that bookseller had nothing to do with it other than allowing it to be posted on their site. But I thank her for the heads up on a fun video.

Before reading Ms. Henry's post, I had come across two references to what looks to be another amazing popular science book. It's called The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. The first reference was in Seed Magazine's always great Books to Read Now column (which I can read now, but the books take me more time). Then there was a brilliant and thoughtful appreciation of not only the book but what the writer put into it and the changing face of book marketing by one of my favorite science writers and bloggers, Carl Zimmer.

Funny thing was, Carl parenthetically mentioned that Amazon was on his "blacklist at the moment" because of what he calls their "book-disappearing act." He's talking about this whole dustup the bookseller (why do I keep referring to them as that? They hardly sell just books. They're practically they're own online mall.) had with Macmillan which was horrible to behold as a former bookseller myself a a friend to many authors. John Scalzi has an excellent rant on this if you want to know the outrage felt by many authors burned by this ham-handed corporate maneuvering. Here's more from the BBC. Google it. It was big news if you care about publishing at all.

So yes, praise to some excellent authors and their books. Interesting thoughts now to ponder about the changes our digital culture brings to the publishing industry. But Amazon? Meh.

Evolution by Daniel Loxton

Daniel Loxton is all kinds of awesome. And for such a shy guy, I sure do keep hearing him everywhere. I guess that's what you have to do when you have a book to plug. For those of you that don't know, Daniel is the editor, writer, and illustrator of Junior Skeptic magazine which is sold as an insert with the great Skeptic magazine published by Michael Shermer's Skeptic Society.

But now he's got a fantastic book out and he's a regular contributor to Skeptiblog, is a special guest host on this week's The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, and was recently featured on the Skepticality podcast.

That's all well and good, but I wouldn't link to all those just because. Each one is worth checking out. His work at Jr. Skeptic is always of a high standard and will make for a dozen more great books. His blog posts are always thoughtful and well written. The SGU guest hosting was informative and funny (I hope he does it more often). The Skepticality podcast goes more in depth on all of his work.

Now to the book. Evolution: How We and All Living things Came to Be. Haven't got my hands on it yet, but it's based on a two part series he did in Jr. Skeptic issues #26 and #27 which I did get to see. The illustrations are superb. The science concepts are not watered down at all, only the technical language. It's a well-known unspoken secret that many subscribers to the magazine skip right to the Jr. section first before reading the rest. Sometimes the Jr. version is all you really need to know (and it has those great illustrations). It's informative and fun, usually on about a 5th-9th grade level. Want to know why, if apes evolved into humans, there are still apes? If evolution is the way life works, how do scientists really know? What about religion? If you want to know and don't want to read long evolutionary biology books just for fun (like I do, because, hello: nerd!) then this is the book for you. The only people who have issues with evolution don't really understand both the beautiful simplicity and complexity of it all. Let a master guide you. You'll do two of my favorite things: you'll learn something and have fun doing it.