Here & There: March 28, 2011

QUESTION: Is anyone else having trouble with Blogger lately? I originally typed the following links in a list--but when I published the post, everything was all squished up together. I've had to add HTML line breaks. I've also been having a problem uploading pictures.


Women’s History Book Resources (The Horn Book)


Notes from the Horn Book (March 2011 Issue)

Includes a link to the following:

- Five questions for Lee Bennett Hopkins

- Passing the poetry

- New books for young readers


Fall Children’s Books Sneak Previews(Publishers Weekly)


About Children’s Illustrator Sophie Blackall (Publishers Weekly)


ALSC & YALSA 2011 Book Picks (School Library Journal)


Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth: 2011 (Booklist)


Everyday Poetry: Poetry Tag (Booklist)


Classroom Connections: Discovering the Magic of Books—through Books (Booklist)


Books and Authors: Talking with Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer (Booklist)


Chris Van Allsburg: Stories enlightened by ‘Higglety Pigglety Pop!’ (The Boston Globe)

Crocus Poems: Variations on a Theme

Sometimes, I like to write different types of poems on the same subject. Today, my subject is crocuses. I posted three of these poems previously at Wild Rose Reader--the acrostic, haiku, and tanka. I just wrote rough drafts of the cinquain and mask poems this morning.

Acrostic

Coming up, I’m coming up,
Reaching through the softening soil, poking my petals
Out of the earth,
Collecting sunlight in my purple cup.
Up, I’m coming up.
Spring is on the way!

Haiku

Look! A starting line
of crocuses ready
to sprint into spring

Tanka (3/5/3/5/5)

Crocuses
pierce the softening
soil, push up
purple periscopes,
search for spring’s warm face.

Cinquain (Rough Draft)

Crocus
Can’t wait for spring,
Pokes its purple head out
Of the ground. Showers in sunshine
All day.


Crocus Mask Poem (Rough Draft)

I poked my head up.
What I found:
A snow quilt
Covering the ground.
Still,
I think I’ll stick around.

********************

At Blue Rose Girls, I have Silkworm Cocoon & Pupa Poems: Variations on a Theme.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at A Year of Reading.

Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic--A Book by Robert Burleigh & Wendell Minor

If you’re looking for an excellent nonfiction picture book about one of America’s most daring and courageous women to share with children during Women in History month, I highly recommend Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic. The book was written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Wendell Minor. It is an outstanding package of text and art that provides a gripping account of Earhart’s historic transatlantic flight from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to a pasture in Northern Ireland in May 1932.


Burleigh’s text is lively and lyrical. Here is how he describes the takeoff of Earhart’s Vega—her Little Red Bus:

The plane swoops like a swallow
Over dark puddles and patches of tundra.

The shore gleams in waning light.
The waves are curls of cream-colored froth.

As the pilot flies east into the darkness, Burleigh describes how the sky appears to her:

The moon peeks between wisps of shimmering clouds.
Distant stars flicker and fade. Her mind soars.


Earhart’s flight appears to be off to an auspicious start—but around midnight it becomes an adventure fraught with danger. That’s when her plane is pummeled by rain during a thunderstorm. About an hour later, her altimeter breaks. Earhart tries to climb above the storm. Her plane becomes sluggish because ice has formed on its wings. It begins to pitch and spin. Then the plane starts to nose-dive downward. Earhart finally gains control of it after it bursts through the lowest clouds. She manages to level her Vega just ten feet above the surface of the Atlantic Ocean!

Earhart isn’t out of danger yet. She still has many miles to go before she’ll reach land. Alone in the cockpit, she sniffs salts and sips juice from a can. Around three o’clock, flames stream out of the cracked exhaust pipe. By 6:00 a.m., Amelia’s eyes burn and her stomach “churns from the smell of leaking gas.”

Then…

Black turns to a watery silt. The gloomy sky pales.

Splinters of sunlight stab down through cloud slits
And brace themselves on the vault of the open sea.

Earhart looks out of her cockpit and sees: a boat…a drifting gull…an emerging coastline...train tracks. She finds a smooth pasture where she lands her plane safely.

Two thousand and twenty-six miles. Fourteen
Hours and fifty-six minutes.
Alone.

A great peace wells up.
She knows she has crossed something more than an ocean.

Amelia Earhart had crossed over an ocean and entered into the halls of history. She was the second person to fly solo across the Atlantic—and the very first woman. She was indeed a true American heroine--a brave woman who broke down barriers and pushed the envelope.

Night Flight would be an excellent book to read aloud to children. Burleigh’s text is a concise and dramatic account of Amelia Earhart’s compelling and historic adventure. Wendell Minor’s paintings add to the tension and excitement of the story. He uses two-page spreads with no borders, changing perspectives, close-ups of the Vega and of Amelia in her cockpit, and a dark and foreboding color palette in a number of the illustrations. Minor draw us up into the wide-open sky with Amelia…into the ominous gloom of that stormy and eventful night. He takes us along with a fearless protagonist on her treacherous--and successful--fifteen-hour solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

The back matter of Night Flight includes the following:
- An afterword by the author
- A technical note by the illustrator
- A bibliography
- A list of Internet resources
- A selection of Amelia Earhart quotes.

Book Trailer


Amelia Earhart Last flight video


Amelia Earhart Audio Slideshow: Part 1


Amelia Earhart Audio Slideshow: Part 2


Amelia Earhart Tribute


Amelia Earhart Rare Interview


Amelia Earhart & Her Lockheed Vega (Smithsonian)

Learn More About Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart's Biography

Amelia Earhart's Achievements

Amelia Earhart Quotes

Use of Singapore CPF Medisave for treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Singapore (The Straits Times, ST)

Medisave Singapore - Bipolar Disorder

Use of Medisave for treatment of bipolar disorder in Singapore

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by!

I have been very busy lately and not able to post or visit much. It's so good to be back again and count my blessings with all of you!

♥  Thank God for giving me much grace and strength in these recent weeks when I am busy with work, family and serving in church. Thank God for giving me simple peace and joy in Him daily.

♥ Thank God that Medisave has been approved for use in treatment of Bipolar Disorder in Singapore! This was reported recently in The Straits Times (ST) Singapore newspaper, 18 March 2011. This is indeed helpful to some patients as treatment for bipolar disorder is long term.

Here is a copy of the newspaper article (Click at the image to see a larger version). It is also available online here.

Medisave (Chinese: 保健储蓄) is a national medical savings account system for Singaporeans. The system allows Singaporeans to put aside part of their income into a Medisave account to meet future personal or immediate family's hospitalization, day surgery and for certain outpatient expenses. This Medisave is part of every employee's contribution to the Singapore Central Provident Fund (CPF) every month.

Thank God that now Medisave can be used to pay part of the outpatient treatment of bipolar disorder patients. It was reported that more people are being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, affirming the recent move by the Health Ministry (MOH) to free up Medisave funds to cover their outpatient treatment bills.

♥ Thank God that I can serve the Lord through this bipolar disorder blog and help to contribute a little bit towards the awareness of bipolar disorder in Singapore, and share some resources available on treatment of bipolar disorder.

Thank God that through this blog, the reporter from The Straits Times (ST) Singapore, Miss Poon Chian Hui kindly approached me for an interview regarding this report on the approval of the usage of Medisave for the outpatients treatment of bipolar disorder. 

Thank God that through the interview I have the opportunity to share some of my concerns regarding bipolar disorder in Singapore. It is sad that there is still a lot of ignorance, misunderstanding and terrible stigma associated with bipolar disorder and depression in Singapore. Like others with this neurological condition, I too feel that much can be done to raise awareness of this condition so that more compassion and understanding can be extended to us. I suggested in the interview that employers could be urged not to discriminate against mental patients. I also suggested that employers be offered financial perks if they allow extended time off, or shorter and flexible working hours for employees with mental illnesses. Hopefully in future, there will be more acceptance and help for this condition and other mental health condition in Singapore.

♥ Previously I was also interviewed by Straits Times Singapore regarding Bipolar Blog in Singapore on how blogging helped me to cope with Bipolar Disorder. I posted about it here. Thank God that the article has helped some of my readers.

♥ I thank God for all of you, for your prayers and encouragements. Thanks for stopping by!

Take care and have a blessed week!

Warm regards,
Nancie

My brother took this lovely picture in New Zealand.

GOD, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
and Wisdom to know the difference.

AND THE WINNERS ARE....

Congratulations MELANIE!  You've won a $50 gift card to iTunes from our Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Congratulations DOUBLY BLESSED!  You've won a $50 gift card to Ann Taylor Loft from our Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Congratulations ELIE!  You've won a $50 gift card to Old Navy from our Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Congratulations TAMIV!  You've won the It's Timmy Time! DVD and plush doll!

Congratulations SARA!  You've won three DVDs from Nickelodeon!

Congratulations KAREN PROPES!  You've won a copy of our new favorite book, Who Said Coo?

That's a whole lot of winners!  If you were one of the lucky ones listed above, please e-mail me at afomft@gmail.com by end of day Wednesday, March 23rd to claim your prize. If I do not hear from you by then, a new winner will be chosen.

And don't forget to enter the three great giveaways we've got going on right now!

City Saky Tote from Saky Sacks (ends 3/22)

One set of Pop & Lolli Tweetie Bird Wall Decals (ends 3/23)

The Shabby Apple Dress of Your Choice (ends 3/25)

And stay tuned for lots more to come this week!

Pens v Rangers (L 2-5)

Wwweeellllll, that did not go exactly as woodstock and I had hoped. The Boys lost the game due in large part to another act of wanton stupidity from Matt Cooke. (We'll get to that in a minute...) But I finally got to see Alexei Kovalev in a Penguins jersey again!!!!!! :D :D :D The only thing that could be better would be to see Kovy and Siddo on the ice together on the same team. [*crosses fingers*]


I took all the photos in today's post. :) If you'd like to check out more of my pics from yesterday afternoon's game, click here.

Now, back to that "Matt Cooke incident:" Even as it happened, as I saw his elbow rise into Ryan McDonagh's head, my only thought was "NOT AGAIN!" You see, last year, woodstock and I were in attendance at the Bruins game when Cooke ended Marc Savard's season. Thankfully, McDonagh was not seriously injured.


When is Cooke going to get the message? How can he continue to do dumb things like this - especially after his team's owner, general manager, coach, and captain all spoke out against such behavior? I don't understand why he doesn't get it. But that's the enigma of Matt Cooke. He's a very talented player who fills a role and scores goals for us. Unlike a guy like Trevor Gillies, Cooke doesn't need to be an "intimidating" presence to be noticed in the NHL. Yet he continues to make poor decisions. That incident was the turning point of the game - despite Kuni's shorty. Cooke's not just biting the hand that feeds, he's cutting it off.


On a brighter note, the NHL Network's bottom ticker says that Siddo participated in non-contact drills with the Boys yesterday. :D So that must mean that things are going well, and he's feeling much better. Take your time and do it right, Siddo! We want you back at 100%.



Right now the Boys are in Detroit. It remains to be seen whether or not Cooke will be in tonight's lineup. Time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and kick some winged wheel butt.


GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Early Drafts of Two End-of Winter Poems

I write a lot of poetry. I've completed several poetry collections. Yet, I rarely submit my manuscripts to publishers. Why is that? I'm one of those writers who thinks she's never finished with a poem...who thinks she can always make a poem better. It's a good thing I don't have to support myself with my writing. Then again, maybe I'd send out more of my work if I needed money!

What I like about having a blog is being able to post rough drafts of poems...or poems that haven't been polished yet.

Here are two end-of-winter poems I began work on this week. The first one was inspired by a grimy patch of snow in my front yard.

In Our Yard

Winter left behind…
one patch of snow,
littered with leaves
and crusted with grime.
It’s only time
before it melts into the past.
It will not last.
Spring arrived here yesterday
and frightened old Jack Frost away.

Untitled

Winter’s fading fast.
Winter’s tuckered out.
It packed its bags. It’s leaving town.
It heard Spring’s boist’rous shout:
“Make way for me, old man…
And take your ice and snow.
Now it’s my turn to rule the land…
And time for you to go.”

**********

At Blue Rose Girls, I have an original list poem titled Things to Do If You Are the Ocean.

At Political Verses, you'll find Scott and Dot--a feminist nursery rhyme written by J.Patrick Lewis.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is over at A Wrung Sponge.