Cartoon(s) of the Week – Calvin & Hobbes  Somehow, this past week, I got sidetracked reading about Calvin & Hobbes, one of my favorite comic strips.  I found it fascinating!  There is a lot of interesting trivia about the strip (including its controversies) and its creator (Bill Watterson) that I didn’t know.   To see and explore for yourself, visit Calvin & Hobbes Info.  For example:

Did you know that in June ’82, Calvin actually re-named the Big Bang event in one of the Sunday strips, and that it caught on informally with scientists for awhile?  (Some even labeled it the “HSK” after the strip.)  To see that strip, visit C&H – Big Bang.

Or, that Susie Derkins, Calvin’s classmate rival, was the only ‘main’ character with a first and last name, and was actually based on the kind of gal that Bill Watterson liked (and eventually married)?!  To see her first appearance (back in December ’85), see Susie Derkins appears.

Krazy Pic  It’s not so much the picture that’s “Krazy”, here, but the element of the unexpected!  This pub was across a ‘public square’ outside our hotel in Edinburgh.  When I took the picture, I thought it was just a typical ‘Scottish pub’ shot with a clever name as a bonus.  Turns out the name has a surprise origin!  Click KrazyPic 15-8 to see both the picture and the unexpected name source.

Answers to Brain Teasers  For answers to last week’s Brain Teasers, see BT Solutions.

Ah, Yogi, We Miss You!  Baseball fans will certainly remember Yogi Berra, one of the greatest catchers the New York Yankees ever had!  But others will remember him too, as the forerunner of the fractured phrase!  Long before Dan Quayle or George Bush (and our own Aunt Edna?!), Yogi was delighting reporters with some of his quotes!  So, in the vein of our usual 365 Stupidest Quotes entry, here is a whole collection of “Yogi-isms”:  Yogi Berra!

Will You Help?  As a reminder, June marks the one-year anniversary of the Weekly Photo/Sharings.  As a result of this, we’ll be spending much of June evaluating everything about this adventure . . . will you help?  Are you still having fun?  What features do you like most?  Which ones are you tired of?  What other changes would you suggest? (One possible change being considered is shown below.)

Later this month – perhaps even this week – I’ll be sending around a separate survey, and I hope you’ll consider spending 2 or 3 minutes giving your input.  It would be very helpful to both of us!  In the meantime, if you have any input or thoughts (good or bad) that occur to you right now, click here – Contact Form – and send it to me. Thanks for being along on this adventure with me!

Are You Kidding Me?!  I’ve recently filled out some reference forms for former students.  You will NOT believe what fascinating and frustrating feature these forms shared – or actually didn’t share!!  My thoughts here appeared as a column in the Springfield News-Leader this past week.  To see them, visit  Reference forms – really?!

The item above is one of the changes being considered as we head into Year 2 of the Weekly Photo/Sharings.  Not many subscribers read the “Educational Thought” anymore (which I understand!), so I’m considering replacing it with the Guest Voice feature each month.  These educational thoughts now appear twice a month in the News-Leader, so I can still share links (as above) for those who are interested.  What do you think?