Having enjoyed last year’s Wild Thing: Epstein, Gaudier-Brzeska, Gill at the Royal Academy, and being an admirer of Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth and other 20C British sculptors, I had Henry Moore's Sheep Piece at Perry Green high hopes of this exhibition. It got off to a good start but then rapidly went downhill - Andrew-Graham Dixon and Brian Sewell say it all. There are some things worth seeing, but £11 is a lot to ask. There could have been so much more, and far better. I'm too unsophisticated to appreciate the irony or whatever of a few 'Page 3s' from The Sun pinned to a wall – passé in a back street garage these days. So enjoy this instead from last year’s on form exhibition:  Anthony Turner Seven sweet peas Connemara marble 50 x 100 x 20 cm

A lovely letter came from a ‘hillbilly fan’ named Blair, who lives in Lagrange, Kentucky, to my husband’s wonderful Red Hand Files and he asked me if I would post it on Stuff.

In this lesson, students examine each Wild Thing's physical characteristics, using the free printable below to help them identify the various attributes.

Blogged here: spinsandneedles.com/stuff/2009/10/31/diy-last-minute-wher...

How artists weaponized the ennui of New York in the late '70s.

Bring your wild things to the Academy for Riveropolis, Bugtopia, and other hands-on programs. March 9-April 28.

My 1st Graders just read 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak. Then, we made our own cute and very scary 'wild things'...

Learn about the nutritional density of edible wild food varieties, like dandelion, compared to their cultivated counterparts.

Little Brown Bat Printable What with Halloween approaching, my kids are currently obsessed with bats – and after watching the Wild Kratt’s little brown bat episode – well, now we …

Find great Where the Wild Things Are lesson plans, games and movie links here. Where the Wild Things Are is getting released in movie theaters in October 2009!

The Big Wild Rumpus is a national campaign to celebrate the nations love of Where the Wild Things Are – a true children's book classic that I vividly remember reading as a child, and have rediscovered since having my own children and reading it to them. As part of the celebrations, you're encourage to host or join

David Brook reviews this collection of Penelope Spheeris' cult classic music documentaries, The Decline of Western Civilisation Parts 1-3.

Here’s a little boredom buster that’s sure to keep the rock-lovers happy in your house. This is a FREE Rock and Mineral Properties Activity Sheet for immediate download. My boys loved t…

The Foraging Course will have you foraging wild edibles and herbs safely and sustainably, and creating herbal recipes to fill your apothecary!

This week it is time to get out and explore the world of herbalism in the wild with some family wildcrafting.

This week it is time to get out and explore the world of herbalism in the wild with some family wildcrafting.

Deep in the jungles of central Africa, there are stories told about a fierce flying beast that might be a creature left over from the age of dinosaurs. Natives of the region fear Kongamato and flee in terror at any report of a sighting. Even some European explorers years ago claimed they had seen the beast, but it has so far eluded modern scientists-or been clever enough to get rid of those who dared come close enough to study it. Chomp! The few people who believe they have seen Kongamato (and l

These printables are mostly black and white so they will save ink when printing . Click on the little image to go to the download via G...

One of my favorite books of all time is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. This month in first grade music we used this story as a way to practice our listening and playing skills. After reading the book, we discussed some ways to add sound effects to the story. "What instrument makes the sound of an ocean sailing by?" "Which instrument would make the best sound for 'roar their terrible roar? A wood instrument? A metal instrument? A drum?" Students used their problem solving skills to match classroom instruments with words and phrases from the book. Next we read and played the story again. Our favorite part was "Let the wild rumpus begin!" Boy, do these first graders know how to have a wild instrument rumpus!

What not to do when your film gets an Oscar nod.

The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson's New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure is now available in paperback. More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing--kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery--one that will change Rithmatics--and their world--forever. A New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of 2013 Product DetailsISBN-13: 9780765338440 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Tor Publishing Group Publication Date: 05-13-2014 Pages: 384 Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d) Age Range: 12 - 17 YearsAbout the Author Brandon Sanderson grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. He lives in Utah with his wife and children and teaches creative writing at Brigham Young University. His bestsellers have sold 32 million copies worldwide and include the Mistborn saga; the Stormlight Archive novels; and other novels, including The Rithmatist, Steelheart, and Skyward. He won a Hugo Award for The Emperor's Soul, a novella set in the world of his acclaimed first novel, Elantris. Additionally, he completed Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. Visit his website for behind-the-scenes information on all his books.Read an Excerpt Read an Excerpt CHAPTER 01 "Boring?" Joel demanded, stopping in place. "You think the1888 Crew-Choi duel was boring?" Michael shrugged, stopping and looking back at Joel."I don’t know. I stopped reading after a page or so." "You’re just not imagining it right," Joel said, walking up and resting one hand on his friend’s shoulder. He held his other hand in front of him, panning it as if to wipe away their surroundings— the green lawns of Armedius Academy— and replace them with the dueling arena. "Imagine," Joel said, "it’s the end of the Melee, the biggest Rithmatic event in the country. Paul Crew and Adelle Choi are the only two duelists left. Adelle survived, against all odds, after her entire team was picked off in the first few minutes." A few other students stopped on the sidewalk to listen nearby as they passed between classes. "So?" Michael said, yawning. "So? Michael, it was the finals! Imagine everyone watching, in silence, as the last two Rithmatists begin their duel. Imagine how nervous Adelle would have been! Her team had never won a Melee before, and now she faced down one of the most skilled Rithmatists of her generation. Paul’s team had shielded him at their center so that the lesser players fell first. They knew that would get him to the end practically fresh, his defensive circle almost completely untouched. It was the champion against the underdog." "Boring," Michael said. "They just sit there and draw." "You’re hopeless," Joel replied. "You are going to the very school where Rithmatists are trained. Aren’t you even a little interested in them?" "They have enough people interested in them," Michael said with a scowl. "They keep to themselves, Joel. I’m fine with that. I’d rather they weren’t even here." A breeze ruffled his blond hair. Around them spread the green hills and stately brick buildings of Armedius Academy. Nearby, a clockwork crab continued its quiet duty, chopping at the grass to keep it level. "You wouldn’t think that way if you understood," Joel said, getting out some chalk. "Here, take this. And stand here." He positioned his friend, then knelt and drew a circle on the sidewalk around him. "You’re Paul. See, defensive circle. If that gets breached, you lose the match." Joel paced back a ways on the concrete quad, then knelt and drew his own circle. "Now, Adelle’s circle was nearly breached in four places. She quickly began to shift from the Matson Defense to . . . Okay, you know what, that’s too technical. Just know that her circle was weak, and Paul had a strong, dominant position." "If you say so," Michael said. He smiled at Eva Winters as she walked past, holding books in front of her. "Now," Joel said. "Paul started pounding her circle with Lines of Vigor, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to shift defenses quickly enough to recover." "Pounding . . . Lines of what?" Michael asked. "Lines of Vigor," Joel said. "Duelists shoot them at each other. That’s the point; it’s how you breach the circle." "I thought they made little chalk . . . things. Creatures." "That too," Joel said. "They’re called chalklings. But that’s not why everyone remembers the 1888 Melee, even some twenty years later. It was the lines she shot. Conventional wisdom would have been for her to last as long as she could, draw out the match, make a good showing of it." He set his chalk out in front of his circle. "She didn’t do that," he whispered. "She saw something. Paul had a small weakened section on the back of his circle. Of course, the only way to attack it would be to bounce a shot off three different lines left by other duelists. It was an impossible shot. She took it anyway. She drew one Line of Vigor as Paul’s chalklings ate at her defenses. She fired it and . . ." Caught up in the moment, Joel finished drawing the Line of Vigor in front of him, raising his hand with a flourish. With surprise, he realized that some thirty students had gathered to listen to him, and he could feel them holding breaths, expecting his drawing to come to life. It didn’t. Joel wasn’t a Rithmatist. His drawings were just ordinary chalk. Everyone knew that, Joel most of all, but the moment somehow broke the spell of his story. The gathered students continued on their way, leaving him kneeling on the ground in the middle of his circle. "And let me guess," Michael said, yawning again. "Her shot got through?" "Yeah," Joel said, suddenly feeling foolish. He stood up, putting away his chalk. "The shot worked. She won the Melee, though her team had been lowest favored in the odds. That shot. It was beautiful. At least, so the accounts say." "And I’m sure you’d love to have been there," Michael said, stepping out of the circle Joel had drawn. "By the Master, Joel. I’ll bet if you could travel through time, you’d waste it going to Rithmatic duels!" "Sure, I guess. What else would I do?" "Oh," Michael said, "maybe prevent some assassinations, get rich, find out what’s really happening in Nebrask. . . ." "Yeah, I suppose," Joel said, pocketing his chalk, then jumping out of the way as a soccer ball shot past, followed by Jephs Daring. Jephs gave Michael and Joel a wave before chasing down his ball. Joel joined Michael, continuing across campus. The beautiful, low green hills were topped by flowering trees, and green vines wound their way up the sides of buildings. Students darted this way and that between classes, in a variety of dresses and trousers. Many of the boys wore their sleeves rolled up in the late spring warmth. Only the Rithmatists were required to wear uniforms. That made them stick out; a group of three of them walked between buildings, and the other students casually made way, most not looking at them. "Look, Joel," Michael said. "Have you ever wondered if maybe . . . you know, you think about this stuff too much? Rithmatics and all that?" "It’s interesting to me," Joel said. "Yes, but . . . I mean, it’s a little odd, considering . . ." Michael didn’t say it, but Joel understood. He wasn’t a Rithmatist, and could never be one. He’d missed his chance. But why couldn’t he be interested in what they did? Michael narrowed his eyes as that group of three Rithmatists passed in their grey- and- white uniforms. "It’s kind of like," he said softly, "it’s kind of like it’s us and them, you know? Leave them alone to do . . . what ever it is they do, Joel." "You just don’t like that they can do things you can’t," Joel said. That earned Joel a glare. Perhaps those words hit too close to home. Michael was the son of a knight-senator, a son of privilege. He wasn’t accustomed to being excluded. "Anyway," Michael said, looking away and continuing to hike down the busy sidewalk, "you can’t be one of them, so why keep spending all of your time talking about them? It’s useless, Joel. Stop thinking about them." I can’t ever be one of you either, Michael, Joel thought. Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be at this school. Armedius was horribly expensive, and you either had to be important, rich, or a Rithmatist to attend. Joel was about as far from any of those three things as a boy could get. They stopped at the next intersection of sidewalks. "Look, I’ve got to get to history class," Michael said. "Yeah," Joel said. "I’ve got open period." "Running messages again?" Michael asked. "In the hope that you’ll get to peek into a Rithmatic classroom?" Joel blushed, but it was true. "Summer’s coming up," he said. "You going home again?" Michael brightened. "Yeah. Father said I could bring some friends. Fishing, swimming, girls in sundresses on the beach. Mmmm . . ." "Sounds great," Joel said, trying to keep the hopeful tone out of his voice. "I’d love to see something like that." Michael took a group each year. Joel had never been invited. This year, though . . . well, he’d been hanging out with Michael after school. Michael needed help with math, and Joel could explain things to him. They had been getting along really well. Michael shuffled his feet. "Look, Joel," he said. "I mean . . . it’s fun to hang out with you here, you know? At school? But back home, it’s a different world. I’ll be busy with the family. Father has such expectations. . . ." "Oh, yeah, of course," Joel said. Michael smiled, banishing

Photo: Mike Marsland/WireImage for One for the Boys/Getty Images On a private island off the coast of Abersoch in North Wales, the world’s sexiest survivalist lives with his wife Shara and three young boys; Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry. The wind blown, 20 acre St. Tudwal’s Island West, with sheer, jagged cliffs [...]

Discover the art of wildcrafting and the science of plant identification through this captivating voyage into wild edible and herbal botanicals!