This is going viral, which is awesome and has partially restored my faith in humanity. PBS it seems has undertaken to create remixes of iconic figures from its catalogue of shows, beginning with Mister Rogers. Symphony of Science / Remixes for the Soul's John D. Boswell, aka melodysheep, put together this absolutely wonderful piece.
If you grew up with Mister Rogers like I did, this will probably resonate strongly. For me, remembering Mister Rogers conjures up memories of my parents' basement rec room with its orange carpet and wood panelling, and the ancient television set with the rotor that you turned to align the antenna so it would pick up the station. Along with Sesame Street and the occasional viewing of The Friendly Giant, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was a regular part of my formative years.
I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
A Note on Being Neglectful
So while I've been in blogger-limbo, a number of super awesome bloggers have nominated me for this award:
Apologies to those of you who've handed this to me without acknowledgement. I've buzzed by to let you know I still love you.
Go visit these people, will you?
Sherry Ellis, mommy blogger extraordinaire. Sherry writes short sharp hilarious pieces about family life. She should be more famous. I bet her books, The Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN (for parents) and That Mama Is a Grouch (for kids) are full of her great humour.
Jim Wright lives in Amman, Jordan. I loved Jim's blog from the moment I set eyes on it because his exceptional life takes centre stage. Lately he's been posting parts of a story called The Wall Crack'd, which is super intriguing and makes me want to pick up his book, New Yesterdays.
I am always happy when I land at Catherine Stine's Idea City because of the gorgeous banner at the top of her page. Catherine's book Fireseed One is on my TBR list. It should be on yours, too.
I'm short on time today so I'm not gonna nominate anyone for this award, but if you want it, please grab it!
I am supposed to put seven random facts about myself here, but I would love it if you left a random fact about you in the comments. I'll claim it for my own, and thus appear much more interesting than I otherwise would.
4. Last
but not at all least, hand this on to seven deserving others.
Amanda notes: "Just
to mention in passing, I really want to change the questions and most of them
are vague or slightly
daft, but tradition is tradition I suppose." Yeah. I guess they are supposed to be ice breakers or something? I will forge ahead and do my best but I am also providing alternatives that may be no less vague or daft for those to whom I pass on this award.
The
questions:
1.
What's your favorite song?
I don't know. But this is always fun:
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Name one song you listened to over and over as a teenager.
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: What are you having for lunch today?
3. What
do you do when you're upset?
Either transition quickly into laughter / making fun of myself, or start talking and trying to explain myself and end up crying and sick of the sound of my own voice. It's a win / win, really.
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Describe the last time you were bored.
4.
Which is your favorite pet?
Yikes. I have three pets right now, so I'll tell you which is my least favourite: the fish, partly because he's on his way out, and is taking his time. He might live, but he probably won't. I am not very attached to him, although he is pretty and I have enjoyed having him around. (I am doing everything I can for him and yeah it's not over until it's over but there is not too much to do, really.) He is also the most plant-like. Don't get me wrong: I like plants, just not as much as I love my dog and cat.
You've all seen Dizzy:
And this is Ben:
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Which is your least favourite pet? He or she doesn't have to belong to you.
5.
Which do you prefer? Black or White
What?
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Which do you prefer? White or whole wheat?
6. What
is your biggest fear?
Doing something that seems reasonable at the time but turns out to have horrible consequences, like, for example, going away for the weekend after there's been a wee bit of a flood in the basement and coming home to a smell like the entire house is coated in cat pee but is in fact rancid with mildew. Oops!
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Name one of your strong points or special skills.
7. What
is your attitude mostly?
Good. Unless there is no coffee or someone is trying to take advantage. Then bad. Very bad.
ALTERNATIVE QUESTION: Do you think it is better to help people or leave them alone?
TEN RANDOM FACTOIDS
Okay, I am borrowing / adapting Amanda's because she is cool and I spent too long on the questions. You can read her original factoids in their pristine state here:
Amanda: I regard garment shopping as a form of
purgatory. ET: Yup, me too.
Amanda: I love walking barefoot (this might
have come up before - in which case, I do apologise, but I'm
not really that interesting) ET: Yes.
Amanda: I am a balrog in the morning. ET: If you mean one of these guys, then yes me too.
Whistling People chewing ice freaks me out and makes my spine
wobble.
I have a broken nose collar bone from a left-over
riding cycling accident.
Amanda: I have a horrible effect on technology.
Batteries run down in days, computers act funny, stuff does
not work as it should. Magnetic field misfire is my theory. ET: Yo, you're a SLIder! I occasionally mess with streetlights, but it sounds like you've got an extreme version of the syndrome.
I adore airports and deeply fear flying. In some ways I wish we still lived in the days of steamships. I would like to feel exactly how large the ocean is as I move across it.
Amanda: I get stagefright before every class I
teach. ET: This totally used to happen to me. Since I started teaching tai chi and qigong exclusively and got away from the university, it doesn't.
Amanda: I fall asleep reading. Sitting up with a
book in my hand. ET: If I am reading, I can't fall asleep.
Amanda: I failed my first driving test in
spectacular style by backing into a lamp post. ET: Awesome. It happens, right? I only passed my driving test on the first go because it was a couple of days before Christmas and the examiner was in a festive mood. True story!
SEVEN DESERVING BLOGGERS
Okay look, I know this kind of thing can be a pain in the arse. Just remember this means I think you are awesome:
Mark K! RPGer extraordinaire and all-round cool guy, Mark blogs at The DM's Screen. (I have not met Mark in person, but I suspect he is really, really nice. He and his wife raised a guide dog that they then had to pass off to the person who needed the dog. That is how nice he is.)
Bluestocking! She's been rocking the short story publications lately and I think we'll see much, much more from her soon (no pressure, Bluestocking). Follow her now at The Bluestocking Blog.
Madeline Mora-Summonte! She's one of several hosts of the year-long challenge Write 1, Sub 1, and a proud owner of tortoises. She blogs at The Shellshank Redemption.
Shannon Lawrence! She was an A-to-Z co-host and she's hard at work novelling. Cheer her on at The Warrior Muse.
Chris Kelworth! He's a local writing buddy and all round nice guy. He blogs about life stuff, writing, reading, expanding the capacities of your gadgetry through the superpowers of software programming, and whatnot at The Kelworth Files.
Jan Morrison! Jan writes mysteries and literary fiction and blogs about writing and life. She shares her wisdom at her eponymous blog.
Catherine Stine! I am in love with her blog header. And the best part is, the illustrations are from her book, FireSeed One. P.S. FireSeed One is on sale for 99 cents right now! Okay this is too much excitement. Go now to Catherine Stine's Idea City and be amazed.
Feel free to add yourself to the list. You know I adore you and do not want you to feel left out.
