CAGNEY

<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/AVvXsEj7hBinierhsqYFARwAtvWEBbudTRXLwCZQQAPrCv6IIYnTqsnldUTCqqRLR-AyR8YL37UeXWwquTa0DXcxnmnP6mOYwDEYq36d5bIx4MjjHHYEO1CuxESvudINT8WO5pyjKC79cA4PZ7I/s1600/Cagney_by_Claroscureaux.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7hBinierhsqYFARwAtvWEBbudTRXLwCZQQAPrCv6IIYnTqsnldUTCqqRLR-AyR8YL37UeXWwquTa0DXcxnmnP6mOYwDEYq36d5bIx4MjjHHYEO1CuxESvudINT8WO5pyjKC79cA4PZ7I/s400/Cagney_by_Claroscureaux.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cagney, color by <a href="http://claroscureauxdeux.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Claroscureaux</span></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"...every time I see him work, looks to me like a bunch of firecrackers going off all at once."</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will Rogers </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">During an era when impressionists, those perform<span style="font-size: small;">ers whose gift it is to mimic the very famous, were a staple on television, Cagney w<span style="font-size: small;">as an essential in every repertoire. Cagney. An electric and singular presence, he is among the handful of Hollywood legends i<span style="font-size: small;">nstantly identifiable by just <span style="font-size: small;">one name. His film career began in 1930 and came to an end in 1981, but he is as revered by film buffs today as he was treasured by audiences throughout his active years. <span style="font-size: small;">This tribute is my contribution to The Movie P<span style="font-size: small;">rojector's Cagney Blogathon. <a href="http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>Click here</b></span></a> for links to participating blogs.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">James Francis Cagney came into the world in July 1<span style="font-size: small;">899, the second of seven children, two of wh<span style="font-size: small;">om died in infancy, born to Irish-American James and Carrie Cagney on New York's Lower East Side. The elder James Cagney was a bookkeeper-turned-bartender, a charmer and a drinker who liked to play the horses and didn't hold many steady jobs. His titian-haired wife was a gritty matriarch, the linchpin who held the Cagney clan together and inspired her children to succeed. James died at age 41 in the devastating Spanish flu <span style="font-size: small;">pandemic of 1918. Not long after, Carrie gave birth to their only surviving daughter, Jeanne. The four Cagney boys were used to working at odd jobs and contributing to the household "kitty," but <span style="font-size: small;">now the family's survival depended on them.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><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/AVvXsEgVk7hA2BnVXHtDzo3uWP9CjYCAGAjhRfGMmfg1aMV2Cvp8wq5EzGkBeBy47_j4pZNLHMtvDQ9pKxc8Nm1cG-8GqhreyJKapgX2a3L0Q5nW55irMR_FBV40_YzuEUCj_hh_x6FiggIkTlg/s1600/NYC-Lower-East-Side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVk7hA2BnVXHtDzo3uWP9CjYCAGAjhRfGMmfg1aMV2Cvp8wq5EzGkBeBy47_j4pZNLHMtvDQ9pKxc8Nm1cG-8GqhreyJKapgX2a3L0Q5nW55irMR_FBV40_YzuEUCj_hh_x6FiggIkTlg/s400/NYC-Lower-East-Side.jpg" width="328" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Lower East Side, early 20th Century</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jim<span style="font-size: small;">, known in the neighborhood as "Red," took his first regular part-time job at 14 as a copyboy with the New York Sun. At 15, with his brothers Harry and Ed, he worked part-time for the New York Public <span style="font-size: small;">Library. But he always had other small jobs on the side so he could better "feed the kitty." He never joined a neighborhood gang, but he was a street fighter, a tenacious one, and was good enough that he began training to become a pro. His mother, a staunch believer in education as the only sensible way out of poverty, put a stop to this plan the moment <span style="font-size: small;">he mentioned it to her.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Through the years, Carrie regularly sent her boys to neighborhood settlement houses for lectures and classes. Jim developed an interest in ecology through a talk he'd attended; this passion remained with him all his life. When oldest brother Harry was studying to become a doctor, Carrie decided it would be a good idea for him to learn something about public speaking and persuaded him to join the dramatics club at the Lenox Hill Settlement House. When Harry became ill just before a performance, Jim stepped in for him. It was his first turn as an actor. He relished the approval of</span></span></span> the audience and later recalled that 'little Jim' suddenly didn't feel quite so little.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cagney had <span style="font-size: small;">learned a po<span style="font-size: small;">pular<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> dance called The Peabody at Lenox Hill and when a friend tipped him to an opening for a dancer at $<span style="font-size: small;">35 a week in vaudeville, he took what he knew of dancing to the audition an<span style="font-size: small;">d was hired. The show was called <i>Every Sailor</i> and, to young Cagney's surprise, he would be performing in a dress. He later wrote, "And that is how I began to learn dancing - as a chorus girl." A quick study, he watched the other dancers and practiced what he saw. Af<span style="font-size: small;">ter the revue closed he toiled briefly as a runner for a Wall Street brokerage house and was grateful when he got a job as a chorus boy in the 1920 musical <i>Pitter P<span style="font-size: small;">atter</span></i><span style="font-size: small;">. Eventually he was offered a spot as a specialty dancer in the show and for the next few years w<span style="font-size: small;">o<span style="font-size: small;">rked in vaudeville performing specialty routines. One of the acts Cagney joined for a time was a "3-act" known as Park<span style="font-size: small;">, Rand & Leach. He took the pl<span style="font-size: small;">ace of Archie Leach (later Cary Grant) who was moving on. Park<span style="font-size: small;">, Rand & Cagney didn't last long either.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></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/AVvXsEhbr9N-Te2tQtG7jDIKkee35wuMWjSoEa55mHr1p3HjYUsJNq2js27HdwWQsTluVpZI6bWK4BbHKT3G4B4ol8ZGAlsHTI8FEW0t5eIj_0TyNJTbcRg40R_GOkvvwWxmIHrzU3Y67DiHwDc/s1600/Penny_Arcade2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbr9N-Te2tQtG7jDIKkee35wuMWjSoEa55mHr1p3HjYUsJNq2js27HdwWQsTluVpZI6bWK4BbHKT3G4B4ol8ZGAlsHTI8FEW0t5eIj_0TyNJTbcRg40R_GOkvvwWxmIHrzU3Y67DiHwDc/s320/Penny_Arcade2.jpg" width="252" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cagney and Joan Blondell onstage, <i>Penny Arcade</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In 1925 Cagney won the role of "Little Red," one of two leads in Maxwell Anderson's new drama, <i>Outside Looking In</i>. The play co-starred Charles Bickford and opened at the Greenwich Village Theatre. Receiving good reviews, the show moved uptown where it ran for four months. Of Cagney's first performance on the legitimate stage, critic Robert Benchley cited his 10-minutes of silence during a kangaroo-court scene as "something that many a more established actor might watch with profit." When <i>Outside Looking In</i> closed, it was back to vaudeville for Cagney, but from 1928 - 1929 he worked steadily on Broadway. Then, in early 1930 he was cast, with Joan Blondell, in a new show, <i>Penny Arcade</i>. Though its Broadway run ended in just three weeks, Al Jolson happened to catch it and bought the movie rights. When he sold the rights to Warner Brothers, he recommended <a href="http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/the-films-of-james-cagney-and-joan-blondell/"><b><span style="color: red;">Cagney and Blondell</span></b></a> to Jack Warner and they were cast in their original roles. A crime story about bootlegging, murder and a frame-up, the film - re-titled <i>Sinners' Holiday </i>(1930) - launched Cagney's film career. A New York Times critic reviewed the film positively, observing that "the most impressive acting is done by James Cagney..."</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The picture that made Cagney a star was his fourth for Wa<span style="font-size: small;">rners, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.classicmoviesnippets.blogspot.com/2013/04/james-cagney-blogathon-public-enemy-1931.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>The Public Enemy</b></span></a></span></span></span></i></span></i></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></i></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(1931)</span></span>. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Esquire</i>'s Dwight McDonald would write that Cagney's heartless and brutal thug, Tom Powers, made Humphrey Bogart look like a "conscience-stricken Hamlet." Though the actor always regarded his Hollywood career as transitory, Cagney would never have to look back after the break-out success of <i>The Public Enemy</i>. He received star billing thereafter.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><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/AVvXsEi8bDasIcrI7j_yG_gvNMRCabNwzy7ay2CdZKH9SH3Qw7uIYyExlV6ysWxPxEkvkjFb8cFPSww5BhQg2tWOawMdhruQisowOqVkluGllfrPeMqGKMR9TQk010jJUDZSuz-MoOouA7dLwts/s1600/Public_Enemy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8bDasIcrI7j_yG_gvNMRCabNwzy7ay2CdZKH9SH3Qw7uIYyExlV6ysWxPxEkvkjFb8cFPSww5BhQg2tWOawMdhruQisowOqVkluGllfrPeMqGKMR9TQk010jJUDZSuz-MoOouA7dLwts/s320/Public_Enemy.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cagney and Jean Harlow, <i>The Public Enemy </i>(1931)</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cagney's memories of <i>The Public Enemy </i>included <span style="font-size: small;">the on-the-set hazards of making gangster films before the use of prop ammunition<span style="font-size: small;">. Real bullets were routinely used and he had a close call in a scene involving machine-gun fire. Dodging bullets wouldn't be Cagney's only grievance with Hollywood. He'd become a headliner in less than a year, but his contract didn't mirror his popularity at the box office. Early on he vocally objected to the low pay and unholy hours the studio imposed. He called it a "factory ap<span style="font-size: small;">pr<span style="font-size: small;">oach." When the Screen Actors Guild was founded in 1933, Cagney joined and was elected to its board of directors. He later served a term as SAG president.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With the help of his youngest brother Bill, who he had enlisted as his business manager (Harry and Ed had both become doctors), he doggedly battled Warners. Jack Warner referred to him as <span style="font-size: small;">"the professional again<span style="font-size: small;">ster<span style="font-size: small;">." Production head Hal Wallis called him "our house rebel."</span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">During a contentious separation from Warners in 1936, Cagney traveled east with a friend and spent <span style="font-size: small;">time on Martha's Vineyard. Years earlier, as a boy, he had fallen in love with the countryside while visiting relatives who lived in rural <span style="font-size: small;">New York. Now he could afford to buy a country property of his own. The Vineyard seemed the ideal location - he would own a farm surrounded by the sea. He purchased a 100-year-old farm<span style="font-size: small;">house on 100 acres that was only accessible by dir<span style="font-size: small;">t road for $7,500; annual taxes totaled just $39. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: red;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.mvmagazine.com/article.php?29665"><span style="color: red;"><b>Cagney's Chilmark Farm</b></span></a></span></span></span></i></span></i></span></b></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: red;"><b>  </b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">became a much-loved retreat</span></span></span> <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">where he could enjoy a tranquility his life in Hollywood lacked. The stand-offish Vineyard locals came to know and <span style="font-size: small;">admire him and would call him, with sincerity, a good neighbor.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><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/AVvXsEgvwisnoqoMVT0ww9dAlDjGwnC4YDEpLJsZRBIAuJbeIXtTD7WaySqBRFTNXTO29TOSeUkqhqyrW0ShskoK32JvijMuUyQun_4uNNOMuQYFxoonQWf_iBm1RNup9A7lXddlWdUOZmlUYJk/s1600/Boys_Club.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwisnoqoMVT0ww9dAlDjGwnC4YDEpLJsZRBIAuJbeIXtTD7WaySqBRFTNXTO29TOSeUkqhqyrW0ShskoK32JvijMuUyQun_4uNNOMuQYFxoonQWf_iBm1RNup9A7lXddlWdUOZmlUYJk/s400/Boys_Club.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Irish Mafia, l -r, seated: Tracy, O'Brien, McHugh, Cagney; standing: Overman</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In Hollywood, Cagney concocted another form of respite. With a close-knit band of actor friends, he started The Boys Club. An industry columnist nicknamed the informal group "The Irish <span style="font-size: small;">Mafia." Its core members were Cagney, P<span style="font-size: small;">at O'Brien, Frank McHugh, Spencer Tracy, Lynne Overman, Ralph Be<span style="font-size: small;">llamy and Frank Morgan. They sometimes talked shop but, according to <span style="font-size: small;">McHugh, their <span style="font-size: small;">nights out were more concerned with stimulating conversation and laughs tha<span style="font-size: small;">n the movie business.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cagney began work on <a href="http://1001moviesblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/angels-with-dirty-faces-1938-12.html"><span style="color: red;"><b><i>Angels with Dirty Faces</i></b></span></a> (1938) after his latest problems with Warners had been ironed out.  </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">For this film, a crime thriller about childhood friends whose lives go in different directions, the studio afforded a generous budget. A tenement set covered four city blocks and street scenes included authentic push carts and hurdy-gurdies. E<span style="font-size: small;">ven Cagney was impressed, "...when the studio put its heart into doing a thing, they went all the way.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">" This time out Cagney refused to work with live bullets. Though director Michael Curtiz assured him he was safe, the actor insisted on a process shot f<span style="font-size: small;">or a shoot-out scene. It was a good thing he stood his ground. The machine-gun fire, supplied by the same gunner who had worked on <i>The Public Enemy</i>, hit precisely where Cagney would've been standing<span style="font-size: small;"> in the shot.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><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/AVvXsEhlWeeH3o6VoElyXmqFV5ji5p0myuFLUGlC9AY6diznjqwgZ4O_GpTwtbprBBZS-mxLBLFJrnqR3QMfvJaMfWrQ_N_km1QmqXcFY731jDHkjvgv0kbWadYt0dzcJ1q31uVp1xOjRsD72p0/s1600/angels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWeeH3o6VoElyXmqFV5ji5p0myuFLUGlC9AY6diznjqwgZ4O_GpTwtbprBBZS-mxLBLFJrnqR3QMfvJaMfWrQ_N_km1QmqXcFY731jDHkjvgv0kbWadYt0dzcJ1q31uVp1xOjRsD72p0/s400/angels.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Angels with Dirty Faces </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(1938), Cagney surrounded by The Dead End Kids</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the role of archetypal gangster Rocky Sullivan, Cagney based his portrayal in part on a local character he'd seen on the streets as a kid. He was "a hophead and a pimp" who stood on a corner all day, hitching up his pants, pulling at his necktie, moving his shoulders, snapping his fingers and smacking his hands together. The mannerisms with which Cagney endowed <span style="font-size: small;">Sullivan would provide the material for a legion of impressionists years l<span style="font-size: small;">ater. An exact replica of Sing Sing's death cell and corridor to the electric cha<span style="font-size: small;">i<span style="font-size: small;">r w<span style="font-size: small;">ere created for the film. A<span style="font-size: small;">s Rocky Sullivan walked fr<span style="font-size: small;">om the cell to his fate, James Cagney was thinking of the neighborhood boy he knew best in his youth, Peter Hessling, known as "Bootah." In his autobiography, the actor wrote he would always remember July 21, 1927. On that night he was performing on Broadway, Jack Demp<span style="font-size: small;">sey KO'ed Jack Sharkey, and Bootah went to the electric chair at Sing Sing. "I wept when I heard about<span style="font-size: small;"> him,<span style="font-size: small;">" he recalled. <span style="font-size: small;">The irony that <span style="font-size: small;">art was imitating his life - with a twist<span style="font-size: small;"> -</span> in <i>Angels with Dirty Faces </i>was not lost on him. </span>Cagney received his first Best Actor nomin<span style="font-size: small;">ation from the Academy <span style="font-size: small;">for his performance and was named Best Actor by the New York Film Critics Circle.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></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/AVvXsEiLnQzVzPpQi8snuwI3YdL9vWwGMKONNOiiuyD-h_Z3Xn5mKd_DfLlzyzawdA9BzAI96t_xGuVb33YoIlqlcOWT72sBDYDkJnZNCl4dFOpcrflD6hQFZ3LXrUpdXYo02O6vXTh4N-T66T4/s1600/Cagney_Chilmark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLnQzVzPpQi8snuwI3YdL9vWwGMKONNOiiuyD-h_Z3Xn5mKd_DfLlzyzawdA9BzAI96t_xGuVb33YoIlqlcOWT72sBDYDkJnZNCl4dFOpcrflD6hQFZ3LXrUpdXYo02O6vXTh4N-T66T4/s400/Cagney_Chilmark.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cagney's Chilmark property, Martha's Vineyard, photo by David Welch</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the time he marked his first decade in Hollywood, Cagney was on<span style="font-size: small;"> his way to becoming a wealthy man. Not only did he have a more lucrative deal with Warners, but he had also begun buying real estate. His properties would include a small island at the tip of Southern California's Balboa Island, acreage in the desert town of Twentynine Palms, California, his home on 10 acres in Beverly Hills, the Martha's <span style="font-size: small;">Vineyard estate, a farm in Northridge, California, and the vast Verney Farm in Dutchess County, New York.  Also at this time, his entire family - mother<span style="font-size: small;">, sister and all three brothers - rel<span style="font-size: small;">ocated to Los Angeles. </span></span>His wife, Willie (aka/"<span style="font-size: small;">my Bill")</span>, a dancer he'd met on <i>Pitter Patter</i> in 1920 and married in 1922, didn't mix with the Cagney clan, but Jim was nevertheless thrilled to have everyone close at hand. In 1940 Jim and Willie adopted a son, Jim<span style="font-size: small;">, Jr., and in 1941 <span style="font-size: small;">they adopted a baby girl known as Casey.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div></div><br /><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/AVvXsEhB7oFL8lObqCQa1YDW3j2ktB0xdaSpHwGsuXSQ6ZZhisFR0thBpPCuPcYNdtC0ok-O323h7sla0GpeQozoZVWsroBLQMoU9yaF3aGBSIKdO7xgJMc_g9owxY2HNqMECxJf1GTN_VAP5aQ/s1600/yankee-doodle-dandy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7oFL8lObqCQa1YDW3j2ktB0xdaSpHwGsuXSQ6ZZhisFR0thBpPCuPcYNdtC0ok-O323h7sla0GpeQozoZVWsroBLQMoU9yaF3aGBSIKdO7xgJMc_g9owxY2HNqMECxJf1GTN_VAP5aQ/s320/yankee-doodle-dandy.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Yankee Doodle Dandy </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(1942)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because of his ongoing disputes with Warner Brothers and his progressive politics, Cagney had been tagged a "radical." The Dies Committee (1938 - 1944) was the first incarnation of HUAC and in 1940 when the LA County District Attorney named Cagney as a person with an interest in the Communist Party</span>, the actor met the accusation head-on. First he called a press conference and passionately denied the charge. Next he met with Rep. Martin Dies, head of the Congressional committee, and stated his case in person. Dies effectively put the matter to rest. <i><a href="http://www.classicfilmboy.com/2013/04/james-cagney-blogathon-yankee-doodle.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>Yankee Doodle Dandy</b></span></a> </i>(1942) began making its way toward production soon afterward. The role of Broadway's legendary and multifaceted George M. Cohan was a perfect fit for Cagney, who said of himself, "once a song-and -dance man, always a song-and-dance man" and neatly described his own style as "flash, with always a dash of the eccentric and a bit of humor." The film lifted his career to another peak; his performance earned him an Academy Award and his second Best Actor award from the New York Film Critics. <i>Yankee Doodle Dandy</i>, released in the early days of World War II, also cemented his reputation as a good and patriotic American.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On behalf of the war effort, Cagney took part in many war bond drives, traveled with the USO and gave the U.S. Army access to his Vineyard property for use in its maneuvers. Also during the war years, Jim and his brother Bill established Cagney Productions. The company produced three features before it was absorbed into Warner Brothers as a production unit.</span><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/AVvXsEgWaJioRfO_d41KtDZm_nXd3367DM5nXT1mPlER5m6wSmqhJ-stxO4jD5JLQ8X3nhZ0DRkzzhnv2E2mSbdLx_DWvvUA8L68iEZlU7O6lBAJyyVc0RmSbW6PegpseNmlm51XypE16Tk83Y0/s1600/WhiteHeat_1949_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaJioRfO_d41KtDZm_nXd3367DM5nXT1mPlER5m6wSmqhJ-stxO4jD5JLQ8X3nhZ0DRkzzhnv2E2mSbdLx_DWvvUA8L68iEZlU7O6lBAJyyVc0RmSbW6PegpseNmlm51XypE16Tk83Y0/s400/WhiteHeat_1949_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">White Heat </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(1949)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">John McCabe's 1997 biography, <i>Cagney</i>, opens with a disturbing domestic scene. Young Jim sits in the kitchen closely watching his father across the dining table. The elder Cagney starts rocking from side to side and then begins a "low keening" that will build to a wail. These episodes were called "Dad's fits" and would portend Cagney's Cody Jarrett in <i><a href="http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2013/04/white-heat-1949.html"><b><span style="color: red;">White Heat</span></b></a> </i>(1949). The actor considered it "a good picture in a number of ways." The original script had been typical formula, what he called "the old knock-down-drag-'em-out," so, as he he often did, he set about making improvements. He suggested to the writers that the story be modeled on Ma Barker and her boys and that Jarrett be psychotic. This, Cagney reasoned, would be a natural set-up to his character's climactic demise. It was also his notion that Jarrett be a mama's boy and proposed a scene with Cody sitting on his mother's lap. "Let's see if we can get away with this," he said to director Raoul Walsh. They did. Virginia Mayo, who played Cagney's mistress, remembered of working with him that, "he always gave to you more than you gave to him" and was astonished that he wasn't Oscar-nominated for his performance.</span><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/AVvXsEjEXPug_10djM8EI1NPmgll9c0bJNmcqjldst7pdwlM-xBjb3xF-fqhiFZa72JAG64yrHcfIQwx8wTYdPIs4v4zgHirK8a24dElJ9Z-yCRH0Fm9RTjtLTwQomvxrzhrGuetu6YJMKIC51A/s1600/love-me-or-leave-me-day-cagney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEXPug_10djM8EI1NPmgll9c0bJNmcqjldst7pdwlM-xBjb3xF-fqhiFZa72JAG64yrHcfIQwx8wTYdPIs4v4zgHirK8a24dElJ9Z-yCRH0Fm9RTjtLTwQomvxrzhrGuetu6YJMKIC51A/s320/love-me-or-leave-me-day-cagney.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Doris Day and Cagney, <i>Love Me or Leave Me </i>(1955)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Cagney would receive his final Academy Award nomination for <i><a href="http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2013/04/love-me-or-leave-me-1955.html"><b><span style="color: red;">Love Me or Leave Me</span></b></a> </i>(1955), the film that revealed Doris Day's dramatic potential, and most of his later film performances were well received. The making of Billy Wilder's <i><a href="http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2013/04/one-two-three-1961-directed-by-billy.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>One, Two, Three</b></span></a> </i>(1961) was a frustrating, unhappy experience for Cagney and during filming he decided to retire when the picture wrapped. For the next 20 years he would spend most of his time on his working farm in New York and on Martha's Vineyard. His cherished pastimes included raising Morgan horses, sailing and painting.</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/AVvXsEhIYnB7nWe2pVK_ZSF8Js7m3NXff_eumRnWuoPXoXsCymDvUaPkIaJHLeuTtaavGq8M4piLm57WsXv776OKa3WJLozRdOk90hqqiRdocC2VvJOedcFPWkTAbPXwsYN6It3uTR6Fbzd99zc/s1600/ragtime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYnB7nWe2pVK_ZSF8Js7m3NXff_eumRnWuoPXoXsCymDvUaPkIaJHLeuTtaavGq8M4piLm57WsXv776OKa3WJLozRdOk90hqqiRdocC2VvJOedcFPWkTAbPXwsYN6It3uTR6Fbzd99zc/s320/ragtime.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Ragtime</span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> (1981)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In 1974 he became the first actor to receive the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was accorded Kennedy Center honors in 1980, and in 1981 returned to the screen for a high-profile cameo role in <i>Ragtime</i>, Milos Forman's film adaptation of E. L. Doctorow's best-seller. In 1984 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Of Cagney, Orson Welles said, "He always played right at the top of his bent, but he was always <i>true</i>. Sure, acting <i>can</i> be too <i>broad</i>. Broad is wide - spread out. Cagney was <i>focused</i>. Christ, like a laser beam! Cagney was one of the biggest actors in the whole history of the screen. Force, style, truth, and control - he had everything. He pulled no punches. God, how he projected! And yet nobody could call Cagney a ham. He didn't bother about reducing himself to fit the scale of the camera; he was much too busy doing his job."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Elia Kazan, who'd had a small role in <i><a href="http://thegirlwiththewhiteparasol.blogspot.com/2013/04/movie-review-city-for-conquest.html"><span style="color: red;"><b>City for Conquest</b></span></a> </i>(1940), recalled Cagney as "a completely honest actor." Kazan erroneously assumed that Cagney had fully worked out his performance in advance, at home, and marveled that "what he did always seemed spontaneous."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Late in life Cagney looked back on working with a young actor who went through intense preparation before every scene. When a scene had to be re-shot, Cagney viewed the second take. "There I realized what the difficulty was...he was doing it for <i>himself</i>, not the audience. He was psyching himself up to <i>be</i> the character, instead of just understanding the character and playing it for the audience." Cagney's philosophy on acting was simply stated and often quoted, "You walk in, plant yourself squarely on both feet, look the other fella in the eye and tell the truth." Those who worked with him would doubtless agree that is exactly what he did.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">James Cagney died at Verney Farm in 1986 at age 86. His pallbearers included a former heavyweight champion (Floyd Patterson), a ballet legend (Mikhail Baryshnikov), an Academy Award winning film director (Milos Forman), movie producer A.C. Lyles, and one of his closest long-time friends, actor Ralph Bellamy. He was eulogized by the President of the United States and his New York Times obituary mourned the passing of the "Master of Pugnacious Grace."</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">CAGNEY ACCEPTING THE <span style="font-size: x-small;">AFI'<span style="font-size: x-small;">s <span style="font-size: x-small;">LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN 1974</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XXxZCrM04uI" width="420"></iframe> <br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cagney's AFI ceremony was said to be "the most star-studded <span style="font-size: x-small;">gathering in Hollywood history" and that "if a bomb had been dropped on the assemblage, Hollywood would have been wiped out."</span></span> </span></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><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/AVvXsEgIlCJeGekFXgw4gCbcuEG4ZcnxwBYrn3yaqHUxZzmpYjv4GDrXsfjig9mPItgH2mogKljSma9qbUcJjBrbjExR97SZd5IRDkPauu0lIKD7eYfRLwtTmsDSyD5K_cZbUSvCgBlSGWJbeRI/s1600/art_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlCJeGekFXgw4gCbcuEG4ZcnxwBYrn3yaqHUxZzmpYjv4GDrXsfjig9mPItgH2mogKljSma9qbUcJjBrbjExR97SZd5IRDkPauu0lIKD7eYfRLwtTmsDSyD5K_cZbUSvCgBlSGWJbeRI/s1600/art_2.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Still life paintings by James Cagney</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u>Notes</u>:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Cagney by Cagney</i> by James Cagney, Doubleday (1976)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Cagney</i> by John McCabe, Knopf (1997)</span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2IJAqF_wB2pUhih7XA8c2AuT9bb3dQpIim0XQzLy61SRcahuqOPLy5RVoDfI5GdOHg_-KXceylzl96dzNmWX6COoKTuEYib97pWGulP7SdjD6UeitiXRqyPGTIRncEIjIHr8MzqKM_k/s1600/CIMBA+Performer+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd2IJAqF_wB2pUhih7XA8c2AuT9bb3dQpIim0XQzLy61SRcahuqOPLy5RVoDfI5GdOHg_-KXceylzl96dzNmWX6COoKTuEYib97pWGulP7SdjD6UeitiXRqyPGTIRncEIjIHr8MzqKM_k/s320/CIMBA+Performer+2013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">The Classic Movie Blog Association honored this post with</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><i> the 2013 CiMBA Award for Best Profile of a Performer</i></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>

Angels With Dirty Faces Cagney Blogathon James Cagney The Lady Eve (author) The Movie Projector The Public Enemy White Heat Yankee Doodle Dandy CAGNEY

Cagney, color by Claroscureaux "...every time I see him work, looks to me like a bunch of firecrackers going off all at once." Wil...

Read more »

Nutty about nuts?

I posted about my so called healthy snacking habit on chocolate covered rice cakes a day or two ago. One reply I received talked about how they snack on seeds and nuts. I agree that this a better option then the high carb rice cakes as seeds and nuts are high protein.<br /><br />Unfortunately I am allergic to walnuts and have suffered an anaphylactic episode in the past. Now I am so cautious when it comes to consuming walnuts and other nuts.<br /><br />It is a bug bear of mine how complacent staff in cafes or restaurants can be about nuts in their products. Most times when I ask if their are walnuts in an item I get a vague response like "I don't think there are nuts and if there are, they aren't walnuts"!!!! This is not good enough for me, I need a definitive answer. This is why I like Starbucks so much. All of their products are labelled with allergens and the staff are knowledgeable about what they are selling.<br /><br />A recent example was the cafe next door to my work. Before I ordered a brownie to take away I asked were there nuts in it. I got told no so I bought it. I take it back to work, take 4/5 bites of it and then come across a nut!!!!<br /><br />I took it back next door. I hand it back to the staff member and told them what happened. I even remind them that I asked about nuts. I didn't even get an apology or a refund!! It's such a serious thing I can never get over the complacency of some people. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYKomEwfY0t1gTf0Mm2iML-GGI0yUM-94-g09VsiPWnj8vUuZoLPImMYUdz8J8pr60naqs9-JsQmU5Ey_xmvTiUesm-Cxl63qhTxY1QZD_16vsew0XGHMffkPgxpA_RWFv7zaNiof4fV/s640/blogger-image-670146533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZTYKomEwfY0t1gTf0Mm2iML-GGI0yUM-94-g09VsiPWnj8vUuZoLPImMYUdz8J8pr60naqs9-JsQmU5Ey_xmvTiUesm-Cxl63qhTxY1QZD_16vsew0XGHMffkPgxpA_RWFv7zaNiof4fV/s640/blogger-image-670146533.jpg" /></a></div>

Nutty about nuts?

I posted about my so called healthy snacking habit on chocolate covered rice cakes a day or two ago. One reply I received talked about how ...

Read more »

that console has style

I was looking thru old magazines the other night and with one little image, an idea hatched in my head. Who knows if it will work or not, but I'll be doing a little furniture moving this weekend. Followed by some console styling if things go well. I'll keep you posted.<br /><br />Styling is hard, I think, but so fun to play around with. Running up and down the stairs to shop the house for what might work best. It's my cardio.<br /><br />So to get me in the mood, let us take a gander at these winners.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWkvhS3VTxXPJ5h464rlGzTdZv5_Y_xfczGRDb9BehRVt2C77ql0IKRlbvioEV-RZd5Bn2VhuN2-cJzIFUQAqlWTJv7xezvkkoRaRpVY26L_AeWvtlA9-RvjEbGtre4uOMyBfvGTeSG3s/s1600/4508efd767a1b5aa64a5953403587bc6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWkvhS3VTxXPJ5h464rlGzTdZv5_Y_xfczGRDb9BehRVt2C77ql0IKRlbvioEV-RZd5Bn2VhuN2-cJzIFUQAqlWTJv7xezvkkoRaRpVY26L_AeWvtlA9-RvjEbGtre4uOMyBfvGTeSG3s/s400/4508efd767a1b5aa64a5953403587bc6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUve3OfWpoNOHiQmwStS29QGsQkYAhTc5JHbH5_IYtKsaBGHpVe8Lv1WyIu7nJT4NtWDd81KihFZF6FSaLlFxvy_Qie3Vv3F_DHcnmF7cP-mJoouXsi6Av_rdMdQ6T8aPHcKrdoKNQ-KNM/s1600/6549fae40de4054ef3e1d49278455ca5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUve3OfWpoNOHiQmwStS29QGsQkYAhTc5JHbH5_IYtKsaBGHpVe8Lv1WyIu7nJT4NtWDd81KihFZF6FSaLlFxvy_Qie3Vv3F_DHcnmF7cP-mJoouXsi6Av_rdMdQ6T8aPHcKrdoKNQ-KNM/s400/6549fae40de4054ef3e1d49278455ca5.jpg" width="383" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtgtojW1GSEqafIndIvwkp4H8MhwFFfaSQmLID1DT-1bVtuJsQJbfuei4SVCSpFcCrRRdpNzJz5KWANeW8ZulTmMzSsnlGVkr-bZw_43dW59lgp7IGKvP1HmYrfPrFnKQAENwDTX4XInK/s1600/6eebfd03ec0dedae38e17d4a5d61df2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtgtojW1GSEqafIndIvwkp4H8MhwFFfaSQmLID1DT-1bVtuJsQJbfuei4SVCSpFcCrRRdpNzJz5KWANeW8ZulTmMzSsnlGVkr-bZw_43dW59lgp7IGKvP1HmYrfPrFnKQAENwDTX4XInK/s400/6eebfd03ec0dedae38e17d4a5d61df2b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tZZBXAVUCq-V_hPb4O4bLJ6BFBlEmvswWdYsyrCYfRxD0mmw4xeJ5WEoiEUPnQHid7PW6PoGpaZ1fwyBnkHchWZDqhAbk8Y2STqMUobD08uVa3smI7pLbw7l5n9pmSGGXFZWYDQsGz6U/s1600/a65e39b773cd17f1c6b1400811f6c308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tZZBXAVUCq-V_hPb4O4bLJ6BFBlEmvswWdYsyrCYfRxD0mmw4xeJ5WEoiEUPnQHid7PW6PoGpaZ1fwyBnkHchWZDqhAbk8Y2STqMUobD08uVa3smI7pLbw7l5n9pmSGGXFZWYDQsGz6U/s400/a65e39b773cd17f1c6b1400811f6c308.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BEv7fJMIoiFLpabpr29DYVBSk0TujvT_vk5QCNrakGj5EWyAJr4MzVcnDNTAuuYEZ_8zQkfV0SgXVjvgv09OTAg46ObHJWTy15Dy3TrRO0lw3lvnYHRDMHTfHs2nsiXNbsAe3077QvOl/s1600/bd57866758f53dd1f8c82a1bb993fc83.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BEv7fJMIoiFLpabpr29DYVBSk0TujvT_vk5QCNrakGj5EWyAJr4MzVcnDNTAuuYEZ_8zQkfV0SgXVjvgv09OTAg46ObHJWTy15Dy3TrRO0lw3lvnYHRDMHTfHs2nsiXNbsAe3077QvOl/s400/bd57866758f53dd1f8c82a1bb993fc83.jpg" width="267" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmOkXWdNEVQcmPt0lmapLAiDPe_Z9YhaO6aCETZSqg4NUJxUnpFdw3fOLjkkirakLacXILdnhw_eSC6aI6doQ8IC00jLImbM3QbiNvjElShv_PyzxsKLJKLeIRM6ybSA98lB4yc8OnWqR/s1600/56aa46a00c6ac2dca46f9a441bdffe3d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgmOkXWdNEVQcmPt0lmapLAiDPe_Z9YhaO6aCETZSqg4NUJxUnpFdw3fOLjkkirakLacXILdnhw_eSC6aI6doQ8IC00jLImbM3QbiNvjElShv_PyzxsKLJKLeIRM6ybSA98lB4yc8OnWqR/s400/56aa46a00c6ac2dca46f9a441bdffe3d.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l2URIJ7HsK_i4_AuPioZDsSKUBOnm6vDfcZ2cd-1GBpcbMu4KuK3uV7agfyc5-z-8cQXzKT2wmt4jXqOlpi_qHzVuFGVCj_8AzlVySWr4NE65ggSX1pKNPjeTNbbl3KNeg2cx_45TN7z/s1600/cdf6fde1f7771788cc337a90902c2409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l2URIJ7HsK_i4_AuPioZDsSKUBOnm6vDfcZ2cd-1GBpcbMu4KuK3uV7agfyc5-z-8cQXzKT2wmt4jXqOlpi_qHzVuFGVCj_8AzlVySWr4NE65ggSX1pKNPjeTNbbl3KNeg2cx_45TN7z/s400/cdf6fde1f7771788cc337a90902c2409.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjZwEyeLx1hZAzilVoycaz919aXt0-h5eJl68S8c8lYajsN_O8b2bukES4J_g_fMHTwuApgvXwRkdOJy3TYlhg794hfYa3lwU5FMe1nzIsS2G0peJYJXiDZ4z5YwhfF1ht7CfWhVfeTid/s1600/e7614beaae60b92ea0b61b2e139dbc26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjZwEyeLx1hZAzilVoycaz919aXt0-h5eJl68S8c8lYajsN_O8b2bukES4J_g_fMHTwuApgvXwRkdOJy3TYlhg794hfYa3lwU5FMe1nzIsS2G0peJYJXiDZ4z5YwhfF1ht7CfWhVfeTid/s400/e7614beaae60b92ea0b61b2e139dbc26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2CWFlvGRRBkpZGMrFG1eFa1Y7DmPg0ZsMP83jGfTbs-TR52JmEfGylqWYebqrWBFvDM3ClZDNSEu12wnBrz2n3nYDB8mns_vC4HbD2mR5bIArkqP9V_L9xMGS4bnMArasclAPWgHMVZY/s1600/f7c602cffc9e8cd7ed0ffde13d188747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2CWFlvGRRBkpZGMrFG1eFa1Y7DmPg0ZsMP83jGfTbs-TR52JmEfGylqWYebqrWBFvDM3ClZDNSEu12wnBrz2n3nYDB8mns_vC4HbD2mR5bIArkqP9V_L9xMGS4bnMArasclAPWgHMVZY/s400/f7c602cffc9e8cd7ed0ffde13d188747.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">All images via my <a href="http://pinterest.com/ladybaum/styling/" target="_blank">Styling Pinterest board</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Which one is your favorite? Do you get a charge out of moving things around your house? Do you love a well styled table as much as I do?</div>

that console has style

I was looking thru old magazines the other night and with one little image, an idea hatched in my head. Who knows if it will work or not, bu...

Read more »

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/12/2013

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.gpb.org/blogs/the-ignite-show/2013/04/10/students-leading-%E2%80%93-let%E2%80%99s-listen">Students Leading – Let’s Listen!</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Student Voice Summit is in New York this Saturday. You can participate. Here's some more information from my friend Anne Ostholthoff, host of the Ignite Show. "Listening: This Saturday, April 13 in NYC, the first-ever Student Voice Summit happens. It is presented LIVE and sponsored by Dell and hosted by Microsoft in their NYC Office. You can be there – no matter where you are via Livestream: http://new.livestream.com/Dell/stuvoicelive . Also, be sure to follow these students via the #StuVoice hashtag on Twitter @stu_voice and http://www.stuvoice.org/ Here the hope is for a meaningful exchange between stakeholders in the education policy debate"</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/students">students</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/edreform">edreform</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://globalcollaboration.flatclassroomproject.org/Flat+Classroom+Workshop+2013">globalcollaboration - Flat Classroom Workshop 2013</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">If you're heading to ISTE and you're ready to collaborate globally, Julie Lindsay, Flat Classroom cofounder will be hosting a Flat Classroom workshop at the International School of San Diego on June 20-21 - here's the  information. "Julie Lindsay, co-founder and Director of Flat Classroom, award winning global collaborative projects, and Flat Classroom Conference and Live Events Inc. unique collaborative live events for teachers and students, announces the June 20 & 21, 2-day 'Flat Classroom Workshop - Seven Steps to Global Collaboration'. Educators who want to transform their learning and embrace global collaboration in their curriculum are invited to join Julie for a unique professional development experience at International School of the Americas in San Antonio, Texas."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclassroom">flatclassroom</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/all_teachers">all_teachers</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://webapp.nozbe.com/gtd/forum/section-1/post-d4ca201d/howto:_create_nozbe_tasks_using_ifttt">Howto: Create nozbe tasks using ifttt : Feedback and Feature Requests : Getting Things Done Community : Feedback and Feature Requests : Getting Things Done Community</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">I really love Nozbe. This tip lets you create a nozbe task using ifttt and email. Make sure you use the * in the body of the email to create the task. They weren't showing up for me, it was because I didn't do that.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/productivity">productivity</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://netgened2013.flatclassroomproject.org/Keynote">netgened2013 - Keynote</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">John Langley, teacher, keynoted our Flat Classroom and NetGen projects talking about collaboration and how it should extend from entertainment into schools. If you want to see how a "keynote" works asychronously, this is the format we use. John works with the student leaders on NetGen to help them facilitate their videos. "As digital natives, your generation (labeled by Don Tapscott as the Net Generation) have become naturals at communication and collaboration. You have grown up with technology tools at your fingertips. My four year old daughter has proficiently used her iPod to play games and listen to her favorite Taylor Swift songs since she was one and a half. My 14 year old daughter stressed about one of her best friends getting enrolled in an academic program next school year across the country until she realized the Skype conversations that they have nearly every day will not change. The Net Generation is used to communicating and collaborating for fun. The business world is already using technology tools to communicate and collaborate, to be more efficient and productive, to reach a wider, more diverse market. It’s our responsibility as educators and students to use technology tools in education to communicate and collaborate through projects like the Flat Classroom projects that will prepare students for global citizenship."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclassroom">flatclassroom</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://hastac.org/blogs/dsparks/2013/04/10/understanding-centrality-bias-teams">Understanding "Centrality Bias" in Teams | HASTAC</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">We all tend to think we are more central to a project than we really are. This is no surprise but is very important for those who think they are indispensible because you're not. ;-( I just think being realistic is important. This is also a challenge for us in Flat Classroom because students think they are important and central EVEN if they aren't communicating and reaching out to partners and this is a problem. I've had kids claim they "did all the work" and when looking at the words, it doesn't bear out. They are shocked when they realize how little they've done. I think this thought process is a a problem for collaboration. No matter what people do, they think they did it all even if the wiki says otherwise or data says otherwise. For this reason, it is important to point out this disparity to teammates and also how to quantify the participation of others. "Do you provide information or materials which are necessary for them to do their job? To what extent are the tasks you each do related? Now imagine that everyone in the group does a similar exercise, quantifying their own relationship to everyone else. According to research from Jonathon Cummings of -Duke's Fuqua Business school, you are likely to overestimate the degree to which others on your team depend on you!"</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/collaboration">collaboration</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://feedly.uservoice.com/forums/192636-suggestions/suggestions/3743385-feedly-channel-in-ifttt">Feedly Channel in IFTTT – Customer Feedback & Knowledge Base for Feedly</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Feedly is not yet integrated with ifttt and we really need that (as well as Diigo integration. I can't find another RSS reader except Google reader with the integration.  Content sharers automate everything and I'm hoping this will happen or there will be room in my dashboard for the first RSS reader that does.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/feedly">feedly</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://blog.feedly.com/2013/03/14/tips-for-google-reader-users-migrating-to-feedly/">Tips for Google Reader users migrating to feedly | Building Feedly</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">If you're moving to Feedly from Google Reader, go ahead. Nice tool. The only drawback is lack of Diigo integration. I hope you'll go over to Feedly and ask for that if you use it like I do so we can have voices asking for it! Here are the steps.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/feedly">feedly</a> <a href="https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/GoogleReader">GoogleReader</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='https://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/12/2013

Students Leading – Let’s Listen! Student Voice Summit is in New York this Saturday. You can particip...

Read more »

Ad men of Madison Avenue

Do you watch Mad Men?<br /><br />I adore this programme from the characters, to the clothes, to the setting, to the script, to the sexism, to the smoking and drinking. I adore it all!!<br /><br />My favourite scene is the <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2bLNkCqpuY">Kodak pitch</a></p> <br /><br />I know the new season was shown in the States during the week. We probably won't see it here in Ireland for a few weeks.<br /><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7dCYhOzLSZOqRHf7yaoNczuFhMKcEyiBhVwXdjj8JajS6X4a2yQ34KNyuI9pSryARjJL2ZdLBeek4HpTeP_1bFKVVsO_WnReb-sFKDrKH3i9RpIC34rxg3AVuNIFm1VXiCqBGvB-NzgV/s640/blogger-image--1100576664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7dCYhOzLSZOqRHf7yaoNczuFhMKcEyiBhVwXdjj8JajS6X4a2yQ34KNyuI9pSryARjJL2ZdLBeek4HpTeP_1bFKVVsO_WnReb-sFKDrKH3i9RpIC34rxg3AVuNIFm1VXiCqBGvB-NzgV/s640/blogger-image--1100576664.jpg" /></a></div>

Ad men of Madison Avenue

Do you watch Mad Men? I adore this programme from the characters, to the clothes, to the setting, to the script, to the sexism, to the smoki...

Read more »

The African Storybook Project downloadable brochure

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxFGCHACZiL0qhCZH_RSX0yKIIYPJuFqF6Zi65mIz4QYgEB1egQ_2m8R6bjLgTlmZponrIs4KBD8gS6Q-P_UvHLTSio0W7bvGyU_sdFXduxM6QV96YlMtLx6N8_db70yhz79j4PUPLzE/s1600/African+Storybook+Project+Logo+FINAL-3+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxFGCHACZiL0qhCZH_RSX0yKIIYPJuFqF6Zi65mIz4QYgEB1egQ_2m8R6bjLgTlmZponrIs4KBD8gS6Q-P_UvHLTSio0W7bvGyU_sdFXduxM6QV96YlMtLx6N8_db70yhz79j4PUPLzE/s200/African+Storybook+Project+Logo+FINAL-3+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below is a brochure about the African Storybook project that has been put out by <i>Saide (South African Institute of Distance Education) </i>in Johannesburg<i> </i>. Saide is administering this great project which aims to facilitate availability, access to, and use of sufficient good stories for early reading practice for African children ages 2 to 9. It will do this by setting up an interactive website with stories for early reading and by encouraging educators and literacy development organisations working in early literacy of young children in African countries:</span><br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to access openly licensed digital reading resources of various levels and types on the site</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to translate and/or adapt the stories into a familiar language and context for the children they work with</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to create their own stories and upload them in the templates provided,</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to contribute already published stories and make them available under an open licence,  and</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to use them in a variety of ways for literacy development.</span></li></ul><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Free online short course 'Digital storytelling and the African Storybook Project'</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next week (15th April) we start with a free online four week course for interested teachers around the country entitled '<i>Digital storytelling and the African Storybook Project</i>'. If you would like to know more about the course and possibly sign up  please visit out SchoolNet blog on this URL: <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/p/courses.html">http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/p/courses.html</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Downloadable brochure</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the brochure put out by <i>Saide </i>on the project. This can be downloaded if desired. To download click on the image and when the e-book appears go to the bottom right and choose the icon which has an arrow pointing down. Follow the prompts. </span><br /><a href="http://www.youblisher.com/p/600590-The-African-Storybook-Project/" target="_blank"><img alt="The African Storybook Project" src="http://www.youblisher.com/files/publications/101/600590/200x300.jpg" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></div>

African Storybook Project The African Storybook Project downloadable brochure

Below is a brochure about the African Storybook project that has been put out by Saide (South African Institute of Distance Education) in Jo...

Read more »

List for the day

My to do list for the day. <br /><br />I'm off work today (but working tomorrow) as I work alternate Friday/Saturday every week. I have a few items to do and as Ciaran left the dog at home with me I will take him for a walk along with me as I do my chores.<br /><br />Check back later to see some photos if my day as I get through my to do list.<br /><br />I've just received a text from Woodies about a sale they are having. I was planning on buying a new ironing board so I will check theirs out after work tomorrow. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_Eft3WnhV3xsIje-ImQdxyDvWyfwEotEmvqLksr3CDjUxp5eoGL3qpoqO54pEhIvGWk7Zq85siW3VQcH5EHGfDDf4VOdXG9wPuih4aSemudlltQOkjYrSrCK_JNhrHBZ-rpeBlfJZgWp/s640/blogger-image--1803341778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_Eft3WnhV3xsIje-ImQdxyDvWyfwEotEmvqLksr3CDjUxp5eoGL3qpoqO54pEhIvGWk7Zq85siW3VQcH5EHGfDDf4VOdXG9wPuih4aSemudlltQOkjYrSrCK_JNhrHBZ-rpeBlfJZgWp/s640/blogger-image--1803341778.jpg" /></a></div> <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoUMmzFZsnVj-AzqWJ7MxTz9W16rmpyYuJl1drAdDOPq7xo3uw3A9aKjr6-rah61Oj_7QEl62oGoRA3-J6-8RkugQb4b0sqCYpAsELUAfgmy11uTnsIU6tDzIB4Z4AKOkbycRDmb6oEPu/s640/blogger-image--1437598601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoUMmzFZsnVj-AzqWJ7MxTz9W16rmpyYuJl1drAdDOPq7xo3uw3A9aKjr6-rah61Oj_7QEl62oGoRA3-J6-8RkugQb4b0sqCYpAsELUAfgmy11uTnsIU6tDzIB4Z4AKOkbycRDmb6oEPu/s640/blogger-image--1437598601.jpg" /></a></div>

List for the day

My to do list for the day. I'm off work today (but working tomorrow) as I work alternate Friday/Saturday every week. I have a few item...

Read more »

Cold Tub

<p>Hot tub fail!!  </p><p>It was cold in Ireland last night so to chill out we decided to relax in the hot tub. I jumped in to discover that it was down to 31 degrees Celsius (87 f)! Yikes!  My sister and were in it the other night and one of us must have hit the off button by mistake. I checked it this morning and it is thankfully back at 38 (101f) degrees so I will enjoy it later.</p><p>From a conversation with someone yesterday i realised that I really miss my compost heap.  We had one in our last house because we had a bigger garden.  Luckily I currently have a brown bin service that takes away our organic waste but I did find it very satisfying in the last house when my compost heap changed into usable compost - or black gold as I called it!!</p><p>Click here for a good blog post about <a href="http://www.greenmommas.net/2013/04/ten-reasons-to-grow-vegetable-garden.html">why you should grow veggies.</a></p><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN30Uz2Pszg4zky8Z3O_Qnu8CmcZRLsGFOcjB8uQwOuRjsH-ZT1FaGtbr0c14Xsm236YPjF-BQQmsStaUozVVSpsqxRgiinbouhFIfzpNhDYkX-ljChie9S3XBt7evkRCswFtkWkxYNMkr/s1600/20130412_082055.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN30Uz2Pszg4zky8Z3O_Qnu8CmcZRLsGFOcjB8uQwOuRjsH-ZT1FaGtbr0c14Xsm236YPjF-BQQmsStaUozVVSpsqxRgiinbouhFIfzpNhDYkX-ljChie9S3XBt7evkRCswFtkWkxYNMkr/s400/20130412_082055.jpg" /> </a> </div>

Cold Tub

Hot tub fail!!  It was cold in Ireland last night so to chill out we decided to relax in the hot tub. I jumped in to discover that it was do...

Read more »

TV Show ‘Glee’ Depicts School Shooting

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Less than four months since 20 children and six educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the television show “Glee” depicted a school shooting in Thursday night’s episode.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The episode, titled “Shooting Star,” began with a disclaimer reading, “This episode of ‘Glee’ addresses the topic of school violence. Viewer discretion is advised.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Halfway through the episode, Will Schuester, the glee club coach played by Matthew Morrison, gathered his students in the choir room to begin their practice.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Let’s get started,” he said, clapping his hands together as a gunshot was heard in the background. A second shot rang out and Schuester and a coach ran to shut the door to the choir room. They quickly moved students to secure spots in the classroom, hiding them behind speakers or in far corners.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Start texting, tweeting, let everyone know what’s going on but don’t tell them we’re here. Alright?  Shooters have smart moves too,” Schuester said to the teenagers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I love you guys,” he told them.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For ten harrowing minutes, the students and two teachers were trapped in the classroom, sending texts to their loved ones and filming videos of each other in case they didn’t survive.  One student tried to leave the room when he realized his girlfriend was missing, but the teachers restrained him before he can leave.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a different scene, one cheerleader stood atop a toilet in case the shooter tried to enter the restroom.  She and two other students were eventually rescued by Schuester, and the SWAT team rescued the students trapped in the choir room.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’ll never forget the look on their faces when that gun went off.  Something was taken from them. Their innocence, their idealism, their feeling of safety,” Schuester later said as he watched students pass through metal detectors set up at the high school following the shooting.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sue Sylvester, the cheerleading coach played by Jane Lynch, eventually turned herself into the school principal, saying she accidentally shot the gun, which she kept in a safe at school to protect herself and students in light of recent gun crimes.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font: inherit; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“It’s registered.  I have a license for it.  I’m sorry, but in light of recent events, I feel more safe with it in my office,” Sylvester said. “It’s a different world from when you and I started teaching…the safety net of the public mental health system is gone. Parents with troubled kids are too busy working three jobs to look after them. And the gun yahoos have everyone so worked up about Obama taking away their guns has a readily available arsenal.”</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But as the show ended, Sylvester revealed to the viewer that the gun actually belonged to Becky Jackson, a teenage girl with Down syndrome played by Lauren Potter.</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I was scared coach, about graduating, being out in the world. With no one to protect me,” Becky said as she showed Sylvester a gun she had brought to school. “I wanted to be prepared and protect myself.  I need help.”</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“It’s my dad’s.  I wanted to be ready,” Becky said.  As Sylvester tried to convince her to hand over the firearm, Becky accidentally shot the gun twice, setting off the series of events highlighted in the episode.</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ahead of the “Glee’s” airing, the Newtown Action Alliance sent an e-mail Thursday with a warning from a Newtown organization about the sensitive nature of the “Glee” episode.</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I would suggest if you do watch this TV show to either not watch it tonight or watch with caution,” the message read.</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ryan Murphy, the co-creator of “Glee,” tweeted last week that he was excited about the episode.</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 15px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Just saw the rough cut of next week’s “Shooting Star”. It is the most powerful emotional Glee ever. So proud of the cast & crew,” <a href="https://twitter.com/MrRPMurphy/status/319530045750247425" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(255, 94, 153); color: #30659c; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Murphy tweeted</a> last week.</div></div></div>

Glee TV Show ‘Glee’ Depicts School Shooting

Less than four months since 20 children and six educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the television show “Glee” depic...

Read more »

Candice Glover brings 'The Cure' for ailing American Idol (+video)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><h2 class="subhead" itemprop="description" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">American Idol recap: On Wednesday night, Candice Glover overcame the constrains of theme night and delivered the best performance from an American Idol contestant in years with The Cure's, 'Love Song.'</div></h2><div class="sByline" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">By <a class="ui-author" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/About/Staff/Jodi-Bradbury" style="color: #205d87; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Jodi Bradbury</a>, <span class="ui-staffline" style="font-style: italic; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Contributor</span> / April 11, 2013</div><div class="sByline" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><img src="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/2013/american_idol041013/15517735-1-eng-US/American_Idol041013_full_380.jpg" /></div><div class="sByline" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div class="sByline" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">After an emotional goodbye to Burnell Taylor last week, made even more bitter by the injustice of it all, the final <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/American+Idol" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">American Idol</a> six contestants had to tackle two themes this week: First song from the songbook of <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Burt+Bacharach" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Burt Bacharach</a> and <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Hal+David" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Hal David</a> and the second a song that they wish they had written.</div><div class="podStoryRel p402_hide" style="color: #333333; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; width: 250px; z-index: 1;"><div class="podBrdr" style="border: 2px solid rgb(234, 242, 238); margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 4px;"><div class="pod" style="background-color: #f2f7f4; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;"><ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em; padding: 0px;"><div class="listing" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="thumbnail" style="float: left; margin: 0px 5px 3px 0px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/American-Idol-best-selling-artists?nav=655185-csm_article-leftColRelated" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" height="60" src="http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/content/csm-photo-galleries-images/in-pictures-images/2012/02/idols/05-fantasia/11745504-1-eng-US/05-fantasia_thumbnail_90.jpg" style="border: none; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 5px 0px; padding: 0px;" title="" width="90" /></a></div><div class="ui-caption" style="margin-bottom: 0.6em; padding: 0px;"><span class="gal" style="color: #666666; font-size: 11px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In Pictures:</span> <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Photo-Galleries/In-Pictures/American-Idol-best-selling-artists?nav=655185-csm_article-leftColRelated" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">American Idol best-selling artists</a></div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div></li></ul></div></div><div class="podBrdr" style="border: 2px solid rgb(234, 242, 238); margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 4px;"><div class="pod" style="background-color: #f2f7f4; font-size: 11px; line-height: 1.3em; margin: 0px; padding: 10px;"><div class="podHd" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 7px; padding: 0px;">Related stories</div><ul class="relatedStories" style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;"><li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em; padding: 0px;"><h5 style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2011/0310/How-much-do-you-know-about-American-Idol-Take-our-quiz?nav=655185-csm_article-leftColRelated" style="color: #205d87; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">How much do you know about American Idol? Take our quiz.</a></h5><div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></li><li class="related-not-first" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em; padding: 0px;"><h5 class="ui-caption" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a class="" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2013/0405/American-Idol-One-more-contestant-leaves-singing-the-blues?nav=655185-csm_article-leftColRelated" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">American Idol: One more contestant leaves singing the blues</a></h5></li><li class="related-not-first" style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px 0px 0.8em; padding: 0px;"><h5 class="ui-caption" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;"><a class="video-icon" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2013/0404/American-Idol-What-really-goes-on-behind-the-scenes-video?nav=655185-csm_article-leftColRelated" style="background-image: url(http://www.csmonitor.com/extension/csm_base/design/csm_design/images/icon_vid.gif); background-position: 100% 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 22px 0px 0px; text-decoration: none;">American Idol: What really goes on behind the scenes? (+video)</a></h5></li></ul></div></div><div class="podBrdr" style="border: 2px solid rgb(234, 242, 238); margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 4px;"><div class="ad_box1" id="ad_unit" style="border: none rgb(192, 192, 192); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 230px;"><table class="ad1" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; width: 230px;"><tbody style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><tr height="5%" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; vertical-align: top;"><a class="abg" href="http://www.google.com/url?ct=abg&q=https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/request.py%3Fcontact%3Dabg_afc%26url%3Dhttp://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2013/0411/Candice-Glover-brings-The-Cure-for-ailing-American-Idol-video%26gl%3DUS%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dca-pub-6743622525202572%26ai0%3DCKenemblnUefkI4KukwSen4HgBb6lpaMDzrPK1yve_7GwTRABII3w5QVQs_jXkQJgyebshsijkBmIAQGgAeqi3fcDyAEBqAMBqgTLAU_QY4qqFoQm2SsS53qab32211MJZz05w1FRvCwB649BNYYEgupzgp9yXCVnWIFMForSGq5DTMEfC01OlzdNcShM8CbprT8_r6JytzvTgDmXDVN8ZTBY4JFm3N3uh73qPJb0Z3t6yMTG5jJV7da-ewJp0KaVvuXH-cbv2ZakODsoDFDyVwBSkm24R0XlUbLepFWcTdGdEnY9OZMf6lFPVQmM6iTfrtFd4yGYnY0uxBHqkKkhxY_HhR25gAQjdearYisnIJbNcN_ax63DiAYBgAf-3KII&usg=AFQjCNHvxAlLaOoVY6e2HPvmokKko0d3xA" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Ads by Google</a></td></tr><tr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><td style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 2px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="single_center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="adTitle1_a" href="http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CKenemblnUefkI4KukwSen4HgBb6lpaMDzrPK1yve_7GwTRABII3w5QVQs_jXkQJgyebshsijkBmIAQGgAeqi3fcDyAEBqAMBqgTLAU_QY4qqFoQm2SsS53qab32211MJZz05w1FRvCwB649BNYYEgupzgp9yXCVnWIFMForSGq5DTMEfC01OlzdNcShM8CbprT8_r6JytzvTgDmXDVN8ZTBY4JFm3N3uh73qPJb0Z3t6yMTG5jJV7da-ewJp0KaVvuXH-cbv2ZakODsoDFDyVwBSkm24R0XlUbLepFWcTdGdEnY9OZMf6lFPVQmM6iTfrtFd4yGYnY0uxBHqkKkhxY_HhR25gAQjdearYisnIJbNcN_ax63DiAYBgAf-3KII&num=1&cid=5Gg-H2WslZhfd-jEn-MPg84F&sig=AOD64_1yzncZxTv9WTofpVurjwAkerQSxA&client=ca-pub-6743622525202572&adurl=http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/full_episodes%3Fiq_id%3D49381543%26mid%3D12917969" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="adTitle1" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Watch Full TV Episodes</span></a></div><div class="adText1" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Catch Your Favorite TV Show Now!<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Free & Online at xfinity.com/tv.</div><div class="single_center" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="adLink1_a" href="http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CKenemblnUefkI4KukwSen4HgBb6lpaMDzrPK1yve_7GwTRABII3w5QVQs_jXkQJgyebshsijkBmIAQGgAeqi3fcDyAEBqAMBqgTLAU_QY4qqFoQm2SsS53qab32211MJZz05w1FRvCwB649BNYYEgupzgp9yXCVnWIFMForSGq5DTMEfC01OlzdNcShM8CbprT8_r6JytzvTgDmXDVN8ZTBY4JFm3N3uh73qPJb0Z3t6yMTG5jJV7da-ewJp0KaVvuXH-cbv2ZakODsoDFDyVwBSkm24R0XlUbLepFWcTdGdEnY9OZMf6lFPVQmM6iTfrtFd4yGYnY0uxBHqkKkhxY_HhR25gAQjdearYisnIJbNcN_ax63DiAYBgAf-3KII&num=1&cid=5Gg-H2WslZhfd-jEn-MPg84F&sig=AOD64_1yzncZxTv9WTofpVurjwAkerQSxA&client=ca-pub-6743622525202572&adurl=http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/full_episodes%3Fiq_id%3D49381543%26mid%3D12917969" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="adLink1" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">xfinitytv.comcast.net</span></a></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div id="leftcol_subscribe" style="border-top-color: rgb(242, 247, 244); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 2px; margin: -10px 0px 15px; padding: 15px 0px 0px; width: auto;"><div class="subscribe-ad_title" style="color: black; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; padding: 0px;">Subscribe Today to the Monitor</div><div class="subscribe-ad_message" style="color: black; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.25em; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; padding: 0px;"><a class="click" href="https://w1.buysub.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=CSZ&cds_page_id=114269&cds_response_key=I2GZSPTL1" style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Click Here</a> for your <a href="https://w1.buysub.com/servlet/OrdersGateway?cds_mag_code=CSZ&cds_page_id=114269&cds_response_key=I2GZSPTL1" style="color: #cc0000; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">FREE 30 DAYS</a> of<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />The Christian Science Monitor<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Weekly Digital Edition</div></div></div></div><div class="video videoObjectEmbed p402_hide" style="clear: both; color: #333333; float: left; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 1em 97px 0px; padding: 30px 0px;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="266" marginheight="0px" marginwidth="0px" noresize="" scrolling="no" src="http://embed.newsinc.com/Single/iframe.html?WID=2&VID=24730178&freewheel=90962&sitesection=csmonitor&height=266&width=425" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="425"></iframe><div class="video-description" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(http://www.csmonitor.com/extension/csm_base/design/csm_design/images/brdr_pxl.gif); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; font-size: 12px; margin: 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px;"><div style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></div></div><a href="" name="nextParagraph" style="color: #205d87; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></a><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"></span><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">If you are still stuck on the Burt Bacharach and Hal David reference, you're not alone. In the face of plummeting ratings, American Idol has opted to double down on their old, stodgy, relics of songs, despite the fact that The <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/The+Voice+(TV+Show)" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Voice</a> on <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/NBC+Universal+Inc." style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">NBC</a> is closing in the ratings, and putting Idol to shame with current music which viewers can relate to.</div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">To put this in perspective, the American Idol contestants were required to sing from a songbook that is five-decades old, when they themselves have only been on earth for two. How exactly does Idol hope to compete with this kind of model?</div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">While there is no expiry on good music, if American Idol producer <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Nigel+Lythgoe" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Nigel Lythgoe</a> wants to take a trip down memory lane and reminisce then perhaps he should start producing a singing competition for an older demographic featuring contestants old enough to actually know and love this era of music. To try and appeal to a younger viewer base by putting a maximum age of 28 on the talent and then subjecting them to music they have no desire to sing or listen to is a sure way to alienate a fan base.</div><div class="promotion-tag" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="promotion-tag-p" style="font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">RECOMMENDED: <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/TV/2011/0310/How-much-do-you-know-about-American-Idol-Take-our-quiz?nav=655185-csm_article-promoLink" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">How much do you know about American Idol? Take our quiz.</a></div></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">The second half of the evening was dedicated to songs that the contestants wished they had written, a theme that may as well have been called "Songs that Idol Usually Won't Let Us Sing."</div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Angie Miller</b> was the first to perform; the first to have to take an old, dusty memory of a song and try to make it relevant. Angie is a great singer but she's not a magician so her performance of  “Anyone Who Had A Heart” by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Dionne+Warwick" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Dionne Warwick</a> just didn't match the bubbly, excitable girl who just admitted to making ridiculous heavy metal <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/YouTube+LLC" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">YouTube</a> videos with her best friend. When <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Keith+Urban" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Keith Urban</a>complained that she didn't seem to have passion and <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Nicki+Minaj" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Nicki Minaj</a> said she sounded old-fashioned,<a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Mariah+Carey" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Mariah Carey</a> suggested that it was because Angie enunciated her words too well. Ah yes, that must have been it. Clearly it had nothing to do with forcing her to sing a song from 1963! <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">B-</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Amber Holcomb</b> was the next to face the music, and she chose to perform, "I Say A Little Prayer” by Dionne Warwick. Amber sounded better Wednesday night than she has for the last month, despite the judges' non-stop over-exuberant feedback of the last few weeks. And if they were over-exuberant when she wasn't great, one can imagine the hyperbole that was flying about the studio this night. Nicki, claimed that with that song Amber became her favorite girl in the competition and <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Randy+Jackson" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Randy Jackson</a> announced that Amber has arrived. Suddenly, flashbacks of last season and the panel's blatant favoritism of <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Jessica+Sanchez" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Jessica Sanchez</a> started resurfacing. So when Keith Urban claimed that he felt like a summer breeze had just blown in, I had to agree that there certainly was a lot of hot air being blown about. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">B</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lazaro Arbos</b> graced the stage with what has to be the ugliest suit seen on American Idol since<a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Paul+McDonald" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Paul McDonald</a> rocked his red rose suit in 2011. In fairness, Paul had the gleaming smile to help ease the pain and Lazaro offered nothing to help ease the pain of his suit or his performance. Lazaro sang "Close to You" by The Carpenters and suddenly the injustice of Burnell's elimination became almost unbearable. Randy got right to the point by telling Lazaro that it was horrible and his worst performance since he's been on the show. Mariah, who claimed that she had been reprimanded by the powers that be, who reminded her she was there to judge and not be nice, gave a two-minute, disjointed, convoluted, lecture about why Lazaro was bad. That'll teach them to force you to judge, Mariah! Nicki, who was nearly in hysterics, passed up on giving feedback otherwise they would be there until midnight. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">F</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">As if Lazaro could have felt any worse, next came <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Kree Harrison</b> with her performance of, "What the World Needs Now is Love" by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Jackie+DeShannon" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Jackie DeShannon</a>. She absolutely enamored the audience. The song, especially when it started in A cappella, was breathtaking. Keith said it was the best Kree had ever been and Nicki claimed that Kree is ready to be a country music performer. Randy then went on to drive the stake deeper into Lazaro's heart by saying he was glad she sang after Lazaro, because this is what singing is all about. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A-</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">It was clear that Kree was going to be a rose between two thorns on Wednesday when <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Janelle Arthur</b> performed, “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” by Burt Bacharach. While not quite as offensive as Lazaro, Janelle's performance made us feel like we were watching a <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Dolly+Parton" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Dolly Parton</a>-inspired puppet on <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Mister+Rogers'+Neighborhood" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Mister Rogers' Neighborhood</a>. The judges couldn't seem to decide whether they liked the performance or not, with Mariah being the most confused of them all. Perhaps Mariah knows what she's trying to say, but it's quite certain no one else does. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">C</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Candice Glover</b> was as stunning as she normally is with her performance of, “Don’t Make Me Over” by Dionne Warwick. In the early half, the theme-iness of it seemed to be constraining her but by the second half, Candice let loose a barrage of awe-inspiring vocals that drove everyone to their feet. Nicki exclaimed that Candice was born to do this and Randy relied on his same old phrases like, "In it to win it," and "This is what the show is all about." <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A</b></div><a href="" id="eztoc15517663_1" name="eztoc15517663_1" style="color: #205d87; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></a><h2 style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px;">Part Two: Songs the contestants wished they had written</h2><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Angie Miller</b> returned to the piano with an unfamiliar, Christian-rock ballad, “Love Came Down” by Kari Jobe. Angie seemed sure that this song would get her into the top five and while the judges seemed to agree, Angie's performance gave this Idol critic a tooth ache with its ultra-earnest, devotional emotion, complete with doves soaring through the background. Nicki claimed that the only way Angie can compete is to stay behind the piano because otherwise Kree, Amber, and Candice will take all the trophies. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">B-</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Everything that is wrong with <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Amber Holcomb</b> was evident in her performance of “Love On Top” by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Beyonce+Knowles" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Beyoncé</a>. Starting in a key that is just too low for her, she did hit some of her <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Whitney+Houston" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Whitney Houston</a>-like notes later in the song but while those notes may be enough to earn the judges forgiveness, some of us feel that the entire song should be judged not just the high notes. The judges were once again so over the top in their praise that one can't help but wonder if the producers aren't pushing an Amber win for some reason. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">B-</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Lazaro Arbos</b> somehow continues to come out on stage no matter how many times he gets knocked down. He tried to win back some of the judges' respect with "Angels" by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Robbie+Williams" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Robbie Williams</a>. While it was slightly better than his last performance, the gap between his talent and that of some of the others becomes more apparent each week. Nicki isn't even offering critiques at this point, while the rest of the judges are just agreeing that he has no place in the final six. Let's hope his supporters see that voting for Lazaro week after week is only putting him in situations that are becoming increasingly more difficult for him. Time to let Lazaro go, <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/United+States" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">America</a> - if you love him, set him free. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">D</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Kree Harrison</b> chose what she called a simply beautiful song, "Help Me Make It Through the Night," by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Kris+Kristofferson" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Kris Kristofferson</a> and she was simply beautiful. The judges all agreed.<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> A-</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Janelle Arthur</b> wished she had written, “The Dance” by <a class="inform_link" href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Garth+Brooks" style="color: #205d87; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_self">Garth Brooks</a>. What was evident in her performance was that Janelle truly loved the song and she made viewers really connect to it. Keith earned his paycheck when he told Janelle that she should have performed that song with just the guitar. It was great advice but chances are even that wouldn't have been enough to get a leg up on the other girls.<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> B</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Candice Glover</b> selected “Love Song” by The Cure, explaining that love is one of her favorite things to sing about. Words cannot express just how incredible Candice's performance was. She had viewers absolutely transfixed from the very first note all the way to the last. At the end, three judges were on their feet while Keith was on his knees bowing down and Mariah even approached the stage to toss glitter on Candice. Randy was not exaggerating when he called it the best performance in 12 years of Idol. <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">A+</b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> And that, Mr Lythgoe, is what can happen when you allow your talent to sing music that means something to them.</div><br /></div>

Candice Glover Candice Glover brings 'The Cure' for ailing American Idol (+video)

American Idol recap: On Wednesday night, Candice Glover overcame the constrains of theme night and delivered the best performance from an Am...

Read more »