Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Ben And Me
This is the book I remember reading as a kid, the full title is apparently "Ben and Me: An Astonishing Life of Benjamin Franklin by His Good Mouse Amos"
I don't have a strong recollection of the plot, but as I recall it had a pseudo-nonfictional introduction in which historical surveyors are confused by the discovery of mouse-sized furniture in a wall of Benjamin Franklin's old home. The rest was a first-person narration by the mouse, Amos, mostly involving him helping Franklin formulate some of his more famous ideas. I think there was more emphasis on the writing of Poor Richard's Almanack and Franklin's famous scientific endeavors (the kite experiment, naturally) than anything else. I also seem to recall that the book painted Franklin as a bumbling, spacey guy who relied on Amos to help strengthen his thoughts through rigorous debate, and took credit for ideas that Amos actually came up with (but being a mouse, couldn't publish himself). I can't decide whether Franklin would be insulted or amused by this portrayal, though after reading the first half of his Autobiography I'm inclined towards the latter.
I don't have a strong recollection of the plot, but as I recall it had a pseudo-nonfictional introduction in which historical surveyors are confused by the discovery of mouse-sized furniture in a wall of Benjamin Franklin's old home. The rest was a first-person narration by the mouse, Amos, mostly involving him helping Franklin formulate some of his more famous ideas. I think there was more emphasis on the writing of Poor Richard's Almanack and Franklin's famous scientific endeavors (the kite experiment, naturally) than anything else. I also seem to recall that the book painted Franklin as a bumbling, spacey guy who relied on Amos to help strengthen his thoughts through rigorous debate, and took credit for ideas that Amos actually came up with (but being a mouse, couldn't publish himself). I can't decide whether Franklin would be insulted or amused by this portrayal, though after reading the first half of his Autobiography I'm inclined towards the latter.
I have never seen the Disney short film (released in 1953 and apparently Disney's first animated short subject) so I can't speak to its quality, but here it is in its entirety on Youtube if you want to watch it:
Sunday, January 26, 2014
1665 Pilgrim house restored
Hi everyone!
This morning, I ran across an article that is very relevant to Bradford, Bradstreet, and our studies in English 348-- someone just restored a 1665 pilgrim house in New Hampshire, though the house was orginally built in Massachusetts. I appreciated the visual image of the saltbox and the accompanying buildings (there are 35 stunning pictures of the interiors and exteriors of the structures!) and thought I'd pass along the link.
http://homes.yahoo.com/photos/for-sale-pilgrim-era-saltbox-built-by-one-of-america-s-earliest-settlers-1390523782-slideshow/for-sale-pilgrim-era-saltbox-built-by-one-of-america-s-earliest-settlers-photo-1390523617104.html
Katherine
This morning, I ran across an article that is very relevant to Bradford, Bradstreet, and our studies in English 348-- someone just restored a 1665 pilgrim house in New Hampshire, though the house was orginally built in Massachusetts. I appreciated the visual image of the saltbox and the accompanying buildings (there are 35 stunning pictures of the interiors and exteriors of the structures!) and thought I'd pass along the link.
http://homes.yahoo.com/photos/for-sale-pilgrim-era-saltbox-built-by-one-of-america-s-earliest-settlers-1390523782-slideshow/for-sale-pilgrim-era-saltbox-built-by-one-of-america-s-earliest-settlers-photo-1390523617104.html
Katherine
Those Puritans Made Some Expensive Books!
Hi again! Here's a link to a video about the recent auction sale of The Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in English in the American colonies. There are a few more copies out there, so start saving your pennies...
Bay Psalm Book Sets an Auction Record
Bay Psalm Book Sets an Auction Record
American Lit Playground
Hi guys,
Hopefully you all just received an email invitation to join this blog. Basically, this is an experiment. Hopefully as the course proceeds, you'll start to see links to our course material everywhere you look. And instead of just keeping it to yourself or sending it to me, why not share it with the class? Sharing is caring, right? So consider this blog an American literature playground of sorts, an opportunity to post related articles you found interesting, pictures, links, videos, deep thoughts on American themes--whatever you want, really. I think of it as an informal supplement to our CLEo "Forums" postings. It's also prettier, which is nice. Since I'm new to Blogger, you'll have to bear with me a bit as I figure it out. I'm going to try to link it to our CLEo site, but for now you should be able to access it through your Whitmail account. You can find it at the top right corner of your account if you click on the applications tab next to you email address and then again on "more." Alright, that's all for now. I'm going to attempt a trial post, so here goes...
Best,
Adam
Hopefully you all just received an email invitation to join this blog. Basically, this is an experiment. Hopefully as the course proceeds, you'll start to see links to our course material everywhere you look. And instead of just keeping it to yourself or sending it to me, why not share it with the class? Sharing is caring, right? So consider this blog an American literature playground of sorts, an opportunity to post related articles you found interesting, pictures, links, videos, deep thoughts on American themes--whatever you want, really. I think of it as an informal supplement to our CLEo "Forums" postings. It's also prettier, which is nice. Since I'm new to Blogger, you'll have to bear with me a bit as I figure it out. I'm going to try to link it to our CLEo site, but for now you should be able to access it through your Whitmail account. You can find it at the top right corner of your account if you click on the applications tab next to you email address and then again on "more." Alright, that's all for now. I'm going to attempt a trial post, so here goes...
Best,
Adam
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