Casablanca with the San Francisco Symphony

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaao2WsBJaRUE6eq0HYGCOqMvQglQvJxqaSCU5GInNh9C3d2u6_ENv-E_eCU5aOdet63sTZLm6VaGT2j0QsleSxVA5tIJnNuvGxiuO019oIKNzYK1rZhhM3OQOg_oKG2T1jDMXFJXgK8x/s1600/casablanca+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaao2WsBJaRUE6eq0HYGCOqMvQglQvJxqaSCU5GInNh9C3d2u6_ENv-E_eCU5aOdet63sTZLm6VaGT2j0QsleSxVA5tIJnNuvGxiuO019oIKNzYK1rZhhM3OQOg_oKG2T1jDMXFJXgK8x/s640/casablanca+1.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last Friday night I attended a very special screening of "<i>Casablanca </i>with the San Francisco Symphony" at Davies Hall. Conductor Michael Francis led the orchestral accompaniment and a full house spent the evening in thrall to Warner Bros.' sublime 1942 film classic and composer Max Steiner's unforgettable score. </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlUFpCDDLBk5tOllk0Z_5Zq4qsN0DMW2Mv7mRp21QEdzm_h5qbsovP1BtPhM4Es0sr39yhqnAgHydK518WT_GfUgSZ3q4e4D_U9543Tej2j1DWG7XjI40V9lCYaeBFWf3zsZz-QDNjYSM/s1600/davies_symphony_hall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXlUFpCDDLBk5tOllk0Z_5Zq4qsN0DMW2Mv7mRp21QEdzm_h5qbsovP1BtPhM4Es0sr39yhqnAgHydK518WT_GfUgSZ3q4e4D_U9543Tej2j1DWG7XjI40V9lCYaeBFWf3zsZz-QDNjYSM/s400/davies_symphony_hall.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The sell-out audience of 2,800 or so was a mix of film and music lovers of every generation. Some of the young and old attended in full 1940's attire; most spent time sipping champagne and cocktails on the mezzanine before the program got underway...</span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When the lights flickered and muted tones chimed,  it was time for my friend and I to take an elevator to the second tier balcony. From blissfully comfortable seats we spied a huge screen at center stage surrounded by the symphony orchestra. Mr. Francis entered, stepped to the podium, picked up his baton, glanced into a small monitor next to his sheet music and in a moment the hall reverberated with those oh-so-familiar notes that herald the start of a Warner Bros. picture. Then came Max Steiner's almost as familiar score:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0KGOB1WIjRs" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The San Francisco orchestra interpreted Steiner's music a bit more gently, with less bombast, than the original movie soundtrack. The experience of a live score lent both immediacy and charm to the viewing experience and it was interesting, from time to time, to steal a look at the musicians as they accompanied familiar scenes. The harpist was fascinating to watch and listen to during the Paris flashback sequence. The essence of magic that is new love seemed to float from her strings.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QrOXHgjZPQgvMyXDKir3-Eq1IIHVkoAMqJrPGn8YjvSHjR2IDYCPWtlhFNmLLoUjEbbNQLjq32ZihLYauVevQedqq0cMmvdbERcWfP_eeMlvkDrfTo843iqUTrlU6Yj15QlzSbS0w0Eh/s1600/madeleine+lebeau+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-QrOXHgjZPQgvMyXDKir3-Eq1IIHVkoAMqJrPGn8YjvSHjR2IDYCPWtlhFNmLLoUjEbbNQLjq32ZihLYauVevQedqq0cMmvdbERcWfP_eeMlvkDrfTo843iqUTrlU6Yj15QlzSbS0w0Eh/s320/madeleine+lebeau+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">...at <i>Rick's</i>, Bogart, Madeleine Lebeau and Leonid Kinskey</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've loved and admired <i>Casablanca </i>for years but it wasn't until I sat watching from high in Davies Hall that a particular thought occurred and recurred in my mind..."this film is perfect." In every respect...direction, cinematography, set design, screenplay, dialogue, wardrobe, score, editing - and the cast. <i>This</i> is Bogart at his apex as a romantic lead, Bergman at her most beautiful and pure - along with a most eloquent supporting cast: Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, S.K. Sakall, Madeleine Lebeau (the last cast member still living), Dooley Wilson, Joy Page and Leonid Kinskey. It's no surprise that <i>Casablanca</i> was honored with eight Academy Award nominations and won for Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Curtiz) and Best Screenplay (brothers Julius and Philip Epstein and Howard Koch). Humphrey Bogart was nominated for Best Actor, Claude Rains for his supporting role, Max Steiner for his score, Arthur Edeson for cinematography and Owen Marks for editing.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">  </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Perusing the program during intermission, I came upon Larry Rothe's insightful write-up on the picture and read of many things I knew and didn't know about <i>Casablanca</i>...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I found out that the timing of the film's release was auspicious. <i>Casablanca</i> premiered in New York in November 1942. The Allies had invaded North Africa earlier in the month - which was significant. Even more powerful was the fact that in January 1943 President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill met in Casablanca to discuss the terms of an Axis surrender. This became headline news at the end of discussions, on January 24. <i>Casablanca</i> had gone into national release the day before...a windfall for Warner's PR team.</span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNd6Zvfcp338PaEdj12pAPLUp4nqqsDrruTEV-42We1gIHVW2RlyfWDnqSLOUnsVoemQV4bq9jiFKvXIYkaGsZ7K7kNrTTj-jWBuNf_rr0j_g-WBGe-uf2aYe32YfN7_-ZV7RsaNkV9ml/s1600/casablanca+paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKNd6Zvfcp338PaEdj12pAPLUp4nqqsDrruTEV-42We1gIHVW2RlyfWDnqSLOUnsVoemQV4bq9jiFKvXIYkaGsZ7K7kNrTTj-jWBuNf_rr0j_g-WBGe-uf2aYe32YfN7_-ZV7RsaNkV9ml/s320/casablanca+paris.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paris on the eve of the Nazi invasion</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> According to Rothe, Steiner wove four major musical themes through the film. The first, of course, is "As Time Goes By," a song that became immortal with <i>Casablanca</i>. The second is the romantic theme accompanying the flashback to Paris. The third theme is France's national anthem, the "Marseillaise," first played as part of the title sequence, but most memorably featured when Victor Laszlo leads the crowd at Rick's in a stirring rendition of the anthem. A conscience-stirring variation on the "Marseillaise," first heard when Ilsa tells Rick about her devotion to Laszlo and the Resistance, is the fourth theme.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The entire night was thrilling (and I hope the fact that it sold out will persuade the symphony to do this again), but there was one moment I don't ever want to forget...listening to the San Francisco symphony play "Perfidia" as Bogart and Bergman dance (and he presses his face to hers) ...exquisite! </span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meanwhile, Max Steiner's day is not done in San Francisco. Friday, July 29, the Castro Theatre begins a seven-day, 13-picture program, "Legendary Composer: Max Steiner." Included in the series will be <i>Mildred Pierce</i>, <i>The Letter</i>, <i>Casablanca</i>, <i>Treasure of the Sierra Madre</i>, <i>Gone with the Wind</i>, <i>Now, Voyager</i>, <i>Dark Victory</i>, <i>White Heat</i>, <i>Angels with Dirty Faces</i>, <i>The Big Sleep</i>, <i>Key Largo</i>, <i>King Kong</i> and <i>The Searchers</i>. <b><a href="http://www.castrotheatre.com/coming-soon.html" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a></b> to learn more. </div>

Bogart Casablanca Casablanca with the San Francisco Symphony Claude Rains Ingrid Bergman Max Steiner Michael Curtiz Paul Henreid Peter Lorre Sydney Greenstreet The Lady Eve (author) Casablanca with the San Francisco Symphony

Last Friday night I attended a very special screening of " Casablanca with the San Francisco Symphony" at Davies Hall. Conductor M...

Read more »

Hey Ya'll!

Joel and I had a safe and awesome trip to/from Savannah, GA.<br /><br />We spent 10+ hours in the car (we stopped a few times on the ride down and back), but the actual drive time was 9.5 hours.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjkT04yBRVF53sqVvSEIEjENidqnIciZCmNqlHya4pgXr2DPl0EoeRw1_knGg5P74Gx_2mNRi59Iv6t7my3QpcwNLXfWwuv98zkT1VqsmaL8HQcMsGn_gdDE-88wYERSrf5BMx-kyr2s/s1600/savannah+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjkT04yBRVF53sqVvSEIEjENidqnIciZCmNqlHya4pgXr2DPl0EoeRw1_knGg5P74Gx_2mNRi59Iv6t7my3QpcwNLXfWwuv98zkT1VqsmaL8HQcMsGn_gdDE-88wYERSrf5BMx-kyr2s/s400/savannah+012.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />We spent half of our week in Savannah and the other half in Tybee Island.<br /><br />The time spent in Savannah was filled with LOTS of walking.  In the first full day there, we walked over 6 miles on just the self walking tour alone!  We made sure to check out as many of the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil hotspots as we could, including a tour of the Mercer-Williams house.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqgQ2kj6SnAj8WVwCvj_lowCWy90UZX35e656rW8iMoTHpguB2kRNbHgic8p-h32HhNylBnMMyVoKGALXFQxy6BuBF0OWL8WBUFDuDhYydiK1gnRKAk9Nw_P8r0MI0uCsXzWv7FUe7rg/s1600/savannah+115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqgQ2kj6SnAj8WVwCvj_lowCWy90UZX35e656rW8iMoTHpguB2kRNbHgic8p-h32HhNylBnMMyVoKGALXFQxy6BuBF0OWL8WBUFDuDhYydiK1gnRKAk9Nw_P8r0MI0uCsXzWv7FUe7rg/s400/savannah+115.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />We toured the entire Historic District, along with the River district. We did a lot of shopping and did a few guided tours as well.  We took a river boat cruise.  We rode around in a trolley bus listening to ghost stories about the townsfolk (Savannah is one of the most haunted cities!) and also took the lovely Paula Deen tour :).<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizvJ0pT_zd9pOGbdMM411CXIH8Qfu9uT0qPcEsLhg8iXEUODPLG-tql-Jx05wnxYFJuKZhhuGE1Anwt_91rIFElQEC0rJIGvSjMx9twXVg49WMEXJ06fW7yhfVif4ERIY7ZZ6IxVXIRCI/s1600/savannah+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizvJ0pT_zd9pOGbdMM411CXIH8Qfu9uT0qPcEsLhg8iXEUODPLG-tql-Jx05wnxYFJuKZhhuGE1Anwt_91rIFElQEC0rJIGvSjMx9twXVg49WMEXJ06fW7yhfVif4ERIY7ZZ6IxVXIRCI/s400/savannah+004.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The church where her and her current husband were married.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />My honest assessment overall on some of the things we did is this: I pictured the River District to be a little more....."cool" - filled with sidewalk-dining eateries, coffee shops, antique stores, local arts stores etc.  Not really the case at all.  I know the town is probably trying to maintain the original "look" to this part of town, but I just wasn't impressed.  The shops were mainly those that you find at the beach - filled with stuff that is "Made in China".  The ones that pertained to local artistry were way out of our budget!  We stopped into a few bars and had drinks and even ate dinner down there at one point, but this was definitely not what I had pictured and not my favorite part of Savannah.  I enjoyed the Historic District most - the tree lined streets were definitely in full swing!  As for the PD tour - the only things we really did that were exclusively PD related was going to tour the church her and Michael were married in, which sits on a property that Paula has invested a lot of money in - a boys home called Bethesda.  The rest of it was spent driving us around to various local shops (including a candy store and cookie store).  Overall, I still really enjoyed the tour - we had an awesome guide who knows PD personally and told us a lot of stories about how she got her start in Savannah and on the Food Network.   <br /><br />Of course, I had good intentions of trying to stay On Plan while on vacation, and I failed..... miserably.  I took some WW friendly snacks, and while the trip started off well, it quickly went downhill.  I'm not good at staying On Plan when eating out.  Whats the point in eating out if you have to order things you really don't want to eat?  Despite all our walking, I still gained weight on this trip.  I actually even took the scale with me, with the intention of weighing in each day to help keep me on track.  Instead, I became scared of it and only weighed in on the first morning  (which, btw, I did have a loss that morning - why couldn't I keep the momentum going??) :(.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWmYM4iR5hZWMtD0r5X8hMiz6yuN0490LFP0Gc9quFJaasVWyUOrE4NyW-1PzsOYQWrjPTa1fAsZqH_91JLbDSNAWLaH0hca9OXVonEU7_7Lxyt34I6sM2Q5rj94ebWOpaNCPVohj1r8/s1600/savannah+119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWmYM4iR5hZWMtD0r5X8hMiz6yuN0490LFP0Gc9quFJaasVWyUOrE4NyW-1PzsOYQWrjPTa1fAsZqH_91JLbDSNAWLaH0hca9OXVonEU7_7Lxyt34I6sM2Q5rj94ebWOpaNCPVohj1r8/s400/savannah+119.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not exactly the type of homes I imagined, but still pretty none the less</td></tr></tbody></table>I weighed in last Friday at 261.2 - no surprise.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4it4PFTTVLIEm22KR2ruX6PPurBmpQ4CmkPuHV-Mz3hqoGZ7E3AWy5mLL4DFKsdumGlr7RXNHW8vc2F-hiGags65S2Z-YEAgXKl1fnYzkQclRYtX9a6qK8LeSswxW0uLqiJLKtC4jm4/s1600/savannah+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4it4PFTTVLIEm22KR2ruX6PPurBmpQ4CmkPuHV-Mz3hqoGZ7E3AWy5mLL4DFKsdumGlr7RXNHW8vc2F-hiGags65S2Z-YEAgXKl1fnYzkQclRYtX9a6qK8LeSswxW0uLqiJLKtC4jm4/s400/savannah+017.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of Bonaventure Cemetery - from The Book</td></tr></tbody></table>I'm jumping back on the wagon this week and giving it another go... as per the usual.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCxfyoF3F3gY7TsLmW2nZt_EGBgOJMhXuu2JIasehcA7WOLXt4iqyTP42wa7oDQe-dujCy-DXSWg5xyarYyYxeLc6qT8m79FKN8aW72JD8XTIxIMfSCXys1sgwRASG-OcugU4942JWPU/s1600/savannah+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaCxfyoF3F3gY7TsLmW2nZt_EGBgOJMhXuu2JIasehcA7WOLXt4iqyTP42wa7oDQe-dujCy-DXSWg5xyarYyYxeLc6qT8m79FKN8aW72JD8XTIxIMfSCXys1sgwRASG-OcugU4942JWPU/s400/savannah+012.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lady & Sons Restaurant (Paula Deen's place!)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstPiHL3_yyZNEc6PqbrHcR9zIa74YWYRtxnP3Zdg6Qp7y7CaEwsB5Wjc48CLqOkctUc1Fv3Um6yc4ecu6FsYQV0IXdKmfQyjFCa6eBJiUDdEYP7TZhKxR50ilfRoIPgFTr0jsUuPIzZU/s1600/savannah+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstPiHL3_yyZNEc6PqbrHcR9zIa74YWYRtxnP3Zdg6Qp7y7CaEwsB5Wjc48CLqOkctUc1Fv3Um6yc4ecu6FsYQV0IXdKmfQyjFCa6eBJiUDdEYP7TZhKxR50ilfRoIPgFTr0jsUuPIzZU/s400/savannah+005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>We then spent the latter half of the week in Tybee Island, and I worked on finishing The Book while sitting with my toes in the sand :) - I LOVE this life!  I would give up my current situation in a heartbeat if I knew that I could survive comfortably with some other job near the beach if I could do this on a more regular basis - but then again, who wouldn't?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPMPpMoVljOPdJeBe_IFano0NYXOBUyq8KlgqYFeCY63GsF5Pwf_Y2pShWg3O5aDkx5vyRbtZqY_Y5Lmam2w_0QfMD1TWfCNaCdwHDzBsgQZrQNlSbDOz10sDxTn_-WQgW_clVeqC2pY/s1600/savannah+085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsPMPpMoVljOPdJeBe_IFano0NYXOBUyq8KlgqYFeCY63GsF5Pwf_Y2pShWg3O5aDkx5vyRbtZqY_Y5Lmam2w_0QfMD1TWfCNaCdwHDzBsgQZrQNlSbDOz10sDxTn_-WQgW_clVeqC2pY/s400/savannah+085.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Joel fished a lot - and only caught sharks. <br /><br />We definitely loved our vacation, and even though it was a long drive, we were grateful and blessed for a safe and uneventful journey to/from Virginia.  <br /><br />Anything else you care to know about Savannah?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEjfWQbC83dAaOL33PjCP9Fx8W6zmi_nhnDJc0WWd9ZOIUcilBXUti_6VM77PUjg2ePE3hTxT8XptTTSiAmf7SikW7095y-yVHOfRcXcrrz2Rnseq8Fj-vvyL9KE2bZRIHzuRgz5gcmU/s1600/savannah+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEjfWQbC83dAaOL33PjCP9Fx8W6zmi_nhnDJc0WWd9ZOIUcilBXUti_6VM77PUjg2ePE3hTxT8XptTTSiAmf7SikW7095y-yVHOfRcXcrrz2Rnseq8Fj-vvyL9KE2bZRIHzuRgz5gcmU/s400/savannah+004.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Back at it again folks...

Gain Miscellaneous Savannah GA Weight Loss Challenges Hey Ya'll!

Joel and I had a safe and awesome trip to/from Savannah, GA. We spent 10+ hours in the car (we stopped a few times on the ride down and back...

Read more »

Southern Stars

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">SchoolnetSA has encouraged some superstars to shine over the past few years. With support through training and access to innovative practices, several teachers have had the opportunity to shine on the international stage.<br />At the moment, there are 5 such “Southern Stars”<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhws0Ev7XA_gE8gdWyQwt5gXQHHnfRwuiNSQYbINQ7FbvzmHFswxBCFsTEmFa3H7q6t8Tx5S7K-tgwIg1jo44erEoV0y0NCsE0khp5kGG0OWujK5uoiiTHdmB5eF42BpSmefZH4NDN0hsw/s1600/hlengiwe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhws0Ev7XA_gE8gdWyQwt5gXQHHnfRwuiNSQYbINQ7FbvzmHFswxBCFsTEmFa3H7q6t8Tx5S7K-tgwIg1jo44erEoV0y0NCsE0khp5kGG0OWujK5uoiiTHdmB5eF42BpSmefZH4NDN0hsw/s200/hlengiwe.jpg" width="159" /></a></div>Hlengiwe Mfeka’s story is found on the Case Studies page of the Blog. She and 2 learners are off to Santa Clara, California on the 2 August to attend the Adobe Youth Voices Summit. Hlengiwe’s mentorship has helped learners at Mconjwana High School in rural KZN to produce a very thought provoking and moving movie on Street Children.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Another Southern Star who has just returned from dazzling teachers in the Northern Hemisphere is Warren Sparrow. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnKkLS-7IrUwgj24w5yPeeTxH1ilaKL2RsDsFr74R3yG0aLBlvhu6Av7p8EWJ5Rn6_liijJYvmE1OKxDe3kd4kEJ9UyN08ifubx2QqTeWr_Hhg3EuB_33gwvifFwq4K5ceWw1IeiioiA/s1600/warren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnKkLS-7IrUwgj24w5yPeeTxH1ilaKL2RsDsFr74R3yG0aLBlvhu6Av7p8EWJ5Rn6_liijJYvmE1OKxDe3kd4kEJ9UyN08ifubx2QqTeWr_Hhg3EuB_33gwvifFwq4K5ceWw1IeiioiA/s200/warren.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>Warren is a previous Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum winner. His “Veggie Man” media project has been selected to be showcased as part of the Adobe Youth Voices Festival. This project will be screened with other projects during the International Education and Resource Network (IEARN) Conference in Taiwan. This conference was held in Kaohsiung City (2nd Largest city in Taiwan) and the theme was Green Tech, Green Life, Green Era. SchoolNetSA staff felt it was a bit sad for his media piece to go to Taiwan without him, and managed to find a sponsor so that he could accompany it! We look forward to hearing Warren’s reflections on the IEARN conference. You can see his video at http://www.schooltube.com/video/58be1f70e1973c694fad/Super-Veggie-Man<br /><br />The other three “Southern Stars” are on their way to Washington USA right now. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49tpiPmnJ50B-xh3qxD93Ic2OxeYm2VkTn4_KTGi-Ez4rk8cwJUcaOxUFL-2ggs_jPSYu_rgcphaiRAOBh9r57au_8sLVFTRSYyySnM5vE4KXy7m1wS1cjoD-5R1QdwKU31mtiexZYUc/s1600/fiona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi49tpiPmnJ50B-xh3qxD93Ic2OxeYm2VkTn4_KTGi-Ez4rk8cwJUcaOxUFL-2ggs_jPSYu_rgcphaiRAOBh9r57au_8sLVFTRSYyySnM5vE4KXy7m1wS1cjoD-5R1QdwKU31mtiexZYUc/s200/fiona.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Fiona Beal, Ngaka Ralekoala and Cheryl Douglas. They have been selected to be part of the inaugural Microsoft Partners-in-Learning Institute week at MS Headquarters in USA. The Partners in learning Network has identified the top innovative teachers in the World, and Fiona, Cheryl and Ngaka are amongst the less that 500 teachers globally who have been invited to join the circle and the even more exclusive group who have been invited to attend the workshop. All three have been winners in the South African Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum in the past. We look forward to profiling them and their excellent work soon.<br /><br />These are all exceptional teachers – but all Premium Members have the opportunity of becoming exceptional. SchoolnetSA is committed to helping all teachers grow to new levels of innovation. Being involved in PM interventions and entering the Innovative Educators Forum competition next year is a good place to start.</div>

profiles Southern Stars

SchoolnetSA has encouraged some superstars to shine over the past few years. With support through training and access to innovative practic...

Read more »