Jimmy Stewart takes his oath to fight in World War II (photo)
March 22, 1941: A group of 41 men, including actor Jimmy Stewart, in the foreground wearing the solid black tie, takes the oath to enter the Army. Stewart was the first top-ranked Hollywood star to enter military service during the United States’ mobilization before World War ll.
via LA Times 130th Anniversary
Will books ever be the same again? – the best enhanced e-books of 2011 from iTunes Rewind
What is an enhanced book?
An enhanced book is an e-book that includes special features, such as:
- Videos
- Audio/music
- Interactive sections (like animated maps)
- Gigabytes of photos/illustrations
- Multiple storylines with quests and achievements
- Expanded annotations (like whole speeches)
They are designed for tablets like the Kindle Fire and Apple’s iPad.
On a personal note, these books are endlessly fascinating to me. They remind me of the difference between the encyclopedia and Wikipedia. Page turning with indexes compared to clicking and searching.
I grew up with encyclopedia sets but have since fallen in love with Wikipedia. Is it possible I will feel the same way about enhanced books compared to paper books?
Hard to say, but looking at the special features below this genre is here to stay.
Best Enhanced books of 2011 – iTunes Rewind
Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy
- 22 minutes of video
- They range from archival footage of Jacqueline Kennedy to recent videos of Caroline Kennedy and Michael Beschloss speaking about the book
- Accompanying annotations from leading presidential historian Michael Beschloss inform readers on political details of the era
100 Yards of Glory: The Greatest Moments in NFL History
- Bonus video produced by an Emmy–Award winning team, hosted by Bob Costas and featuring official NFL video highlights
- Examples: The Immaculate Reception. The Ice Bowl. The Music City Miracle. The Catch.
Winter watercolor – a beautiful illustration of a pretty girl
Pen, ink, watercolor. Winter inspired ink drawing for the cold days that have dominated our December.
This drawing is based on one of my student assistants. It is a relatively quick portrait sketch.
The fun part is working with a model that has large expressive-eyes. The addition of a “fur” neck-warmer seemed to balance out the drawing and help it feel finished.
In the end, I decided to add watercolor because I goofed up a few of the ink strokes and I wanted another element to minimize the importance of the wayward marks!
(the inked area is about 12 x 18 inches)
Crime Lineup from the 1930’s – Los Angeles Police Department (photo)
May 9, 1936: Suspects line up during a Los Angeles Police Department “show-up,” now known as a lineup, as victims or witnesses try to identify alleged crime perpetrators.
Crime Lineup from the 1930's – Los Angeles Police Department (photo)
May 9, 1936: Suspects line up during a Los Angeles Police Department “show-up,” now known as a lineup, as victims or witnesses try to identify alleged crime perpetrators.
The Year in Podcasts – best of 2011 from iTunes Rewind
iTunes recently released their 2011 list in the form of iTunes Rewind which covers several categories, including podcasts.
Unfortunately, it’s not available online, only in iTunes, so I pulled it out for us.
Best of All
- Best New Audio – The Jillian Michaels Show
- Best Audio – NPR’s Fresh Air
- Best New Video – Epic Meal Time
- Best Video – TED Talks
Comedy
Best New Comedy
Best Comedy
News & Politics
Best New News/Politics
Best News/Politics
Technology
Best New Technology
Best Technology
Games and Hobbies
Best New Games/Hobbies
Best Games/Hobbies
New Arts
Best New Arts
Best Arts
The Top Political Videos of 2011 – over 50 million views
The top video by far is a young man defending gay marriage (#1) and the White House Correspondent’s Dinner videos are the funniest (#2, #6).
The Republican campaign videos (#3, #7, #9) are funny or serious depending on where you sit.
And, the best news of all, tens of millions of people are watching politics and even real events, like Osama bin Laden’s death (#4).
- Zach Wahls speaks about family [defending gay marriage] – 15.99 million
- President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner – 9.18 million
- Strong [Rick Perry ad] – 7.15 million
- President Obama on death of Osama bin Laden – 6.25 million
- Brother, can you spare a trillion? Government gone wild! – 5.01 million
- Seth Meyers remarks at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner – 2.58 million
- Rick Perry – Proven Leadership – 2.13 million
- Jon Stewart Goes Head-to-Head Bill O’Reilly – 1.9 million
- Now is the time for action! [Herman Cain ad] – 1.74 million
- President Barack Obama’s First Ad of 2012 [NRSC Ad] – 1.68 million
via YouTube Trends
2011 Mandzik-Senger Christmas Farm Spectacular
A German Christmas Eve
- Bratwurst Sausage
- Blaukraut (sauerkraut with red cabbage)
- Bundt cake (“bundt” is derived from the German Bundkuchen)
The City Diner Breakfast
- Coffee
- Eggs with Potatoes
- Flapjacks
- Breakfast sausage or bacon
- Butter (regular for me, soy butter for everybody else)
- Maple Syrup with Cinnamon
- Sliced Apples
Chesapeake Christmas Dinner
- Fish with Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower Soup
- Salad (greens, apples/pears, nuts, feta)
- Bundt Cake
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – secret footage – 1988 Teaser Trailer
No part of this scene is in the movie. It was specially shot to get you in the right state of mind for the movie.
To know more about it, here is a Frank Oz interview where he talks about the scene.