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Now here is a classy guy from Kauai, Hawaii who loves his Runt Farm books! Hey, thanks for the picture. And we got a fantastic review from another reader too that I’ll be sharing with you very soon. Books 1 and 2 have reached the finalist stage in the judging for Book of the Year Awards by Foreword Magazine. Should I go to New York for the big announcement? What do you think? Trish Dziko created the Technology Access Foundation to assist young people of color to acquire the skills they need to be future leaders, and to pursue careers in technology. Cletus, the resident techno-mouse of the Runt Farm book series, would like to introduce you to Trish here and thank her for becoming the most recent Runt Farm Family Advisor. Take a look at this video to learn more about TAF and Trish. Cletus: Ms. Dziko, so nice of you to stop by the Runt Farm for a chat. Trish: Well, it’s my pleasure. Nice place you have here. Cletus: Oh, it nothing like the lab I had at NAARF, but I make do. Some of the rejectamenta around this old barn has come in handy. Trish: I can imagine. And I understand you built your own computer? How did that work out for you? Cletus: Well, it was a modest undertaking really, but it got me into quite a pickle with Tooth. Trish: Hmm yes, so it seems. What did you learn from that experience? Cletus: To be more respectful of the power of cheese to lead one astray. But really I’d much rather hear about your work, um . . . if you don’t mind. What does TAF do? Trish: The Technology Access Foundation prepares students of color for success in today’s technology-driven world. Our goal is to see that more students graduate from high school ready to go on to college. Cletus: I understand you have a Degrees Matter Campaign, tell me more about that. Trish: We have set a goal to change the trajectory of 20,000 students of color in Washington State public schools every year by 2020 by providing mentoring, classes and hands-on experience, improving math and technical skills, and setting high performance standards. Cletus: Bravo to you and TAF! Wouldn’t mind having some of your students intern here at Runt Farm sometime. I have a lot of high tech projects planned around here. Trish: Thanks, I look forward to that. You can also learn more about Trish Dziko and TAF at RuntFarm.com or on the TAF website at TechAccess.org.
As you know my friend Cletus is into tools, inventions, and science. He’s a fair hand with an electron microscope and a quick study. Today he’s been telling me a bit about how the brain works. And I thought you might like to hear it too — ’cause this is cool stuff. According to his latest research key components of the brain are called microtubules. Seems these things are all kinda twisted up together and they actually talk to one another, only using chemicals as their words. And get this — when a person gets anesthesia, say before an operation, the little microtubules actually unwind from one another. See I told you this was cool. So just remember being awake to see, hear, taste, touch and smell the world around you is based on the amazing world within you. You are a walking around miracle. If you would like to know more about microtubules and see pictures and drawings of how they look check out this site: Ah . . . my all time favorite children’s book reviewer, Betsy Bird, has graced Runt Farm in her final Publisher’s Weekly Fuse 8 column for books published in 2009. Catch her remarks from our Review links on this page. Betsy is one of the best reviewers out there — sassy, smart, and in person she is a jewel of information and wit. Happy to have a one-liner from her any day!
And that reminds me, do you know that Tooth of Runt Farm has a lens? Yes, a Squidoo lens (all these new fangled things!) and it’s about tea. Seems my friend Veronica and Tooth have a lot in common! Take a look when you have a moment. Just put the kettle on, have a cuppa, and see what Tooth is up to. You can find a link on the Blogroll over on the right side. (Yes, I know . . . I have more that just blogs listed in the roll, but you don’t mind, do you darlings?)
To help you visualize the structure of the scale you can take a look at this graphic of a piano keyboard.
If you played only the black keys you would hear a pentatonic scale. One of the cool things about this scale is that there are no dissonant combinations, so you can play around using just these notes and it will all “go together” quite nicely. Most of my Runt Farm characters make up their own tunes from time to time, and it’s possible some of those tunes are being sung in the Pentatonic scale, or even the Dorian, Lydian or Mixolydian modes. Why not? What songs have you been singing today? Whether just for fun, a ditty to remember your shopping list or a grand aria, make music of your own this New Year. Sing your own song! And if you sing it wearing a hat, so much the better. You might think I was after these turkeys to make them a part of my Thanksgiving dinner. But, no. They were way too fast for me! And when I heard the little babies saying Peep peep peep just like my character The Peep from the Runt Farm series I just had to let them go their merry way. I’m spending this Thanksgiving with my mom. It’s just the two of us, so it’s extra-specially cozy and quiet. At first I wasn’t so sure I would like celebrating without tons of family around, and lots of dishes made by many great cooks. Mom doesn’t see so well these days, so if we were going to have a good meal it was up to me. I didn’t exactly do the best job of marketing before hand and when it came time to start cooking today, there were some things missing. The town where Mom lives is kinda small so the market was closed. And really I’m all for that, as everyone should have some time off for the big meal and even some football if they like that sort of thing. Usually I can sneak next door to supplement our food supply. But my sis and her husband were off to see the grandkids and the doors were all locked tight. Hmmm, how can I make pumpkin pie without evaporated milk? Turns out it is possible and yummy, even if it was a bit less firm than I would have liked. I couldn’t find any powdered ginger to put into the mix, so I minced up some of the candied ginger that I brought along this trip. Yum! When it came to the Yam and Potato casserole I was missing the flour and a few other things, but corn meal mixed with an egg and some stock seemed to fill in nicely. Well, Mom will eat just about anything we put in front of her, so I wasn’t worried. And sure, the recipe called for Mozarella cheese, but cheddar worked just fine. (Cletus would have approved I’m sure.) A couple of slices of smoked turkey, steamed zucchini and some cranberry sauce rounded out the menu perfectly. Well, maybe not perfectly, but we didn’t choke or anything. Mom is a diabetic so of course she ate the cranberry sauce first and saved room for pie too. All in all I liked being on my own and experimenting with the materials at hand to make a meal. I felt all grown up somehow and peaceful inside. Here’s a wish that your holiday be filled with just the right ingredients to make you truly thankful!
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Well, yes I know . . . it’s a bit early in the season, but my friends and I couldn’t resist a little holiday dancing. Go on, ElfYourself this year. It’s fun and you get to wear these cool pointy hats. You know how I am about hats, right?
Okay, here’s one more from Hip Hop Amanda Lorenzo.
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
 Guess which one is Amanda Lorenzo? This Halloween a couple of friends and I went out to a local community center to see what was happening. Kids, parents and young people were out in force to celebrate and the gym had been transfromed into a well lit carnival of games and contests of skill. We had fun playing Frog Toss Tic-Tac-Toe, Ping Pong Ball Bounce (the object of which was to bounce balls into bowls floating in a wading pool), and watching the Thriller dance team come to life to entertain us! We posed for pictures, saw some spiff costumes including a kid in a robot suit, checked out the spin art table, and guessed how many Smarties were in the big jar by the door. No, we didn’t win, but it was a great way to spend the evening an no one got soaked wandering around Trick or Treating in the dark! Yup, I like the new Halloween. It reminds me of a spooky (but safe) night at Runt Farm. Apple cider anyone? Here are some cool pix and a video of the Thriller peeps.  Hey, check out the ghosts creeping out of the paintings!  Wow, this is getting pretty spooky!
 Queen Anne has seen better days, clearly.
 Darling, what a big nose you have!  The Count will see you now . . .  Does this body make me look fat? So much is happening these days it’s hard to know where to start. But I have to give a shout out to the organizers of Seattle Book Fest 2009. Paul Doyle, Molly Horne-Brine, and all the cool volunteers did an amazing job putting it all together for the biggest book-loving city in the world – Seattle! And another big round of applause to the Columbia City community and business owners – this is one happening place! I had a blast meeting readers of all ages, teachers, publishers, book sellers, other authors, kids and my favorites – librarians. (Really, they are so cool.)  Would you like my autograph? My publisher, BooktiMookti Press, had a table in Room 11, the best room ever. We shared with Fantagraphics, Top Shelf, All Bilingual Press, and CeciBooks. Plus we had an artist in residence right there in the room too — Jennifer Carrasco. Clearly Room 11 was the place to be. The Columbia City Event Center where Book Fest was held this year is the former Columbia Elementary School. All around us were bits and pieces of the lives of the last teachers and students to use those rooms. Names next to coat hooks, art projects on the walls. And in the room where I did a reading from my first Runt Farm book, a set of brightly colored candles sat waiting to be released from their molds.  I Get to Read! I had fun playing with the secret doors too. In every room the walls rolled up and down revealing hidden coat racks, shelves and cubbies. I so want a secret rolling wall in my house!  This guy is multi-lingual and muy guapo too! Book Fest disappeared back in 2003 and it’s so good to have it back! If you missed Book Fest this year do yourself a favor and don’t miss it next year. Read on!
Okay, a few more pictures!
 Jennifer is colorful!  A Girl Named Jack (acutally Jacq with Fantagraphics!)  Leigh - He knows his books! |
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