...and a little something for the boys.

As we await the big night..

OOOPS...

Talking about Natives these days, and how to address people in a respectful manner, I just came across this article about the Victoria's secret show. This may be an interesting read for you. What do you think?

Read the article here.

Native Peoples

To kickstart you on the Natives, I want to recommend you a couple of films related to the topic. Films are a great way to inspire you and give you different angles. It may be a great way for you to want to find out more about specific topics! Here they are:

On Inuits:

Read more about it here.

On Native Americans:

Read more about it here.

On Aborigines:

Read about it here.

On Maoris:

More about it here.

Something for the ladies.

Okay, as much as we teachers would like to ignore it (since you obviously can't), Christmas prom is right around the corner. I do remember the excitement of walking into the the gymnastics room in my finest gown to date. If I was really brave, I would have posted a photo of me in my prom dress. But I won't. The important thing is that you feel amazing, and that you know that style and class has nothing to do with an expensive dress.

I wanted to show you this link, as a small contribution to making the prom cheaper (and maybe even cooler, because if you learn to do this yourself you do not need a hair dresser - ever) for you, and maybe more fun.

Here is a link to HAIR TUTORIALS you should all be able to do with some practice. If it is difficult, you'll get by with a little help from your friends.

Amazing Dubstep

So I should show you something really scary today, but then I came across this video, and it is not scary at all. It is, however, completely and utterly fascinating! I know many of you like to dance, so this video should thrill you all. Enjoy! (This post has nothing to do with English, but it deals with an even more universal language: DANCE!)

If Money Was No Object

Doing the conversations with you and your parents these days, makes me think about how lucky we all are to live in a part of the world that hands us choices. Choices of studies, jobs, friends and many other things. Still, all of these possibilities come with a lot of worries of choosing the right thing for you, and I can see that many of you worry about not being good enough or about closing doors too early in your lives. If you did not have to think about money in the future, what would you choose to do?

Take a look at this very smart lecture.

Brainy Babies

I just came across this article about kindergartens that test the kids to find out if they are smart enough to attend their school. This is SO different from the policy we have in Norway, where everyone should attend the same school no matter how high their IQ is. Still, I find it interesting that other countries do it differently. Here are some of the tests the children have to answer correctly! How well do you do?

Anglocreep?

In Norway we are constantly debating if we use too many English words when we speak. (I am terrible at this by the way). Who knew, that this is a debate in America as well, that they are using too many British words! How funny!! Alex Williams, the husband of one of my favorite bloggers Joanna Goddard, wrote a really funny article about this in the NY Times. Read it here!

Pic from here.

America From The Air

I have not forgotten about you! But you know how busy our days are, and sometimes I just cannot find the time to update. I will try to continue this blog, if you want me to! But I cannot promise daily updates... Today I am sharing with you a lovely video, that takes you from coast to coast of the USA. Any places you recognize? Enjoy!

Wheels of Change

In 1895 The New York World posted an article on the do's and don'ts for women in bikes. Many people claim that riding a bike was a big part of the women's liberation, it allowed them to move freely around, and it finally made an excuse for woman to get out of the corsets and skirts and wear pants.

The list is amazing, can somebody please tell me what a "bicycle-face" is??? And what has chewing gum got to do with anything? (BTW this was my last female-related post for now.)

Anti Suffragette Postcards

As expected, some people (and not only men) thought the idea of women voting was absolute nonsense. The Suffragettes were portrayed as angry, unattractive women. Many of the women protesting were arrested. Once arrested the women often went on hunger strikes, refusing to eat anything at all. Many of them were force-fed by the prison, as you can see it is made fun of in the card above. To see more of the postcards, go here! It is quite fascinating!

The Suffragettes

Throughout this year we will talk about freedom fighters, and oppressed groups fighting for their civil rights. The following days, I'll show you some articles and pics from the Suffragettes movement, who fought for the women's right to vote. To start it off, I think it's a good idea that you read this article in BBC news. Try to keep in mind what you know about history in the English speaking world at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Colonies? Slavery? Make a historical mind map, it will be useful later!

Remember, when talking about "freedom fighters" we often forget to include the people fighting for the rights of women!

Vampire Stories

I know many of you love vampire stories, so when I came across this article and though it would be good to share with you! The author of this book, Abbie Gibbs, is only 18 years old. Her book is supposedly really good (I have not read it myself, but they sell really well), and best of all: you can read a bit before you decide to buy the book.

Read an article about the book here.

Read the first pages here!

The History of English in 10 minutes

A while ago I posted a part of this in connection to Shakespeare. The whole film is quite amusing, and very useful for you! Watch it several times if you do not get it all.

Very Useful!

Okay, maybe not the catchiest headline, but I am showing you a really useful website today. This will be useful in many subjects! It is an overview of British history, and is quite simple to navigate and read. It gives you the highlights! ENJOY!

Pic from here

Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover...

Many of you may have seen this. I find it so facinating, I keep returning to it. This is, of course, an excellent commercial for make-up, but more importantly, I think it is a story about a young man finding his identity in trying to be as different from other people as you possibly can, unlike many people who do everything they can to fit in. What do you think? A desperate call for attention, or a brave expression of a true self?

PS. I do not recommend this for ANYONE. There are SO many other ways to express yourselves without going to these extremes.

Nothing Good Gets Away.

Many of you have probably not (yet) heard about John Steinbeck, but trust me: you will. He is a very famous author. However, the letter he has written that I'm about to show you, has nothing to do with fame. Steinbeck's teenage son, going to school away from home, has fallen in love and told his father. In a letter, Steinbeck gives his advice on love.

This is his reply.

I love this, because he takes his son so seriously. People tend to write off teenager's relationships as "puppy love" even though we all know that you are capable of falling just as hard in love as an adult is. Have your parents given you any good advice on love? Share with me. I want to make sure I never underestimate my boys when they fall in love.

Talking about Steinbeck, here are six REALLY good tips on how to write from Steinbeck himself.

Pic from here.

We Are All Connected

I came across this video from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and thought it perfect as we round up our lessons on ecosophy. This is the basics, this is what it is all about according to that philosophy: we are all connected. I have found it interesting to read up on the subject, and I am happy so many of you find it interesting, I have enjoyed reading many of the texts you handed in. Enjoy this beautiful little video!

Tavi Revisited

Before recommending this page to you, I wanted to make sure it was really as good as I thought. I posted the video on Tavi Gavinson in the spring. I could tell from the stats on the blog that many of you watched it, and hopefully you found it inspiring. Tavi is the editor of the online magazine ROOKIE. It is nothing but FANTASTIC. I wish I had something like this to read when I was your age. She has many contributors, and there are some many amazing articles on everything from fashion to politics. Please, take some time to browse through this page. You can get some really good ideas on how to write good articles, and maybe some of it helps you "to figure yourselves out." Enjoy!

Here is an article about Tavi from New York Times.

A Tip From Ella's Mum!

I was so happy when I finally managed to check my mail today, Ella's mum had sent me a tip on this beautiful little story. It is truly thought-provoking, and reminds us what is important in life. I do not know about you, but I need that reminder every now and then.

If you like the story, I have two book recommendations for you, both by Mitch Albom.

They were once recommended to me by my friend Jenny from Denver, Colorado, and they are quite easy to read, especially Tuesdays With Morrie. Press "Read On" to read the story. And please bring me tips from you, or your parents if you find things you would like me to share on the blog! And not only those of you in 10 CD, you are all welcome to!

To My Old Master

The link I'm going to show you today is nothing but amazing. We have in 9th grade talked about the slavery in the US and we are going to talk more about it after Christmas, but I just cannot wait to show you this. We have talked about how many former slaves stayed with their slave owners, because they had nowhere else to go, and were bound to a life in poverty.

The letter I am linking to is written by a former slave in 1865 (the year the American Civil War ended - remember?) and is an answer to his former slave-owner who wants him to come back to work for him.

Read this and have a goose-bump moment. I did.

Uncovering the MJ-secret

You all know I am a HUGE Michael Jackson fan. (If you've missed out on this, you have not paid enough attention in class....). When I was younger, I was amazed by the Smooth Criminal video, where Michael and his dancers defies gravity. I was even more amazed when I saw this live in Oslo. Of course I knew that it had to be some kind of patent, but I ignored it and continued to wanting it to be magic. Then I came across these drawings, and the spell was forever broken. Oh well, the video is still AMAZINGLY cool. What is your favorite MJ-song?

Pic from here.

Stories Within Stories

I came across this wonderful blog the other day. It is made by a second-hand bookseller, and his blog has recently been turned into a book. He describes his blog like this:

A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages

and is a collection of random book-marks found within the pages of a book he has gotten into his store. Does it ever happen that you grab the piece of paper closest to you to use as a bookmark, when you put the book away? Well, I do. And many other people do as well obviously. But what can this piece of paper say about you? Or your family?

Take a look at this wonderful blog!

It's Sunday After All

What I am showing you today can hardly be described as useful. But I warned you, not everything will be. This is a video by The Slow-Mo Guys, who do weird things, film it, and then play it in slow motion. This sequence contains a water melon and a whole bunch of rubber bands. Enjoy! It's sunday after all.

When Fashion Becomes Art

There are several fashion blogs out there. You do not need me to introduce you to those, and many of you are simply not interested. (If you need tips on good ones, do not hesitate to ask me, whatever makes you read English makes me happy.) However, the "kompetansemål" tell us to teach you about art, and there is no doubt that fashion can be art. My favorite designer has always been Alexander McQueen, basically because his clothes and runway shows are so much more than clothes. Take a look  at this part of a show, where the dress is sort of made right in front of the audience. Cool or what??

How Obama Tackled the Race Issue

During the last presidental campaign, Obama managed to avoid talking about race for a very long time. That was until the media found out that he had been attending the church of the controversial minister Jeremiah Wright. In this video, by THNKR, different speechwriters who has worked for presidents (you didn't think they write their own speeches?) analyzes the speech Obama gave as an answer to the critique. This may sound boring, but trust me: if you like to learn how to use words as a weapon, you want to watch this! You can learn A LOT. Notice the different parts of the speech, emphasized by the green headlines.

Exotic Pets

Do you remember we watched Christian the Lion? I think that may have been in the C-class. we found it interesting that you could actually go into Harrods and buy a lion. Well, it turns out that exotic pets were not that uncommon back in the days! Check it out!

Many of the people you see here are famous movie stars or artists, Google them!

History of English: Shakespeare

A quite funny little video about what Shakespeare has meant for Britain and the English language. It is made for the Open University, and is part three of a series called The History of English. SO useful for you!!

The burning house

I came across this art project a while ago, and have been thinking about it a few times since. I want to share this with you. Here is a description:

The idea is that although we spent so much money on material things, what we would take with us if the house started burning are not the most expensive stuff we own, but small things with a lot of affectionate value. Even though these are just picture of things, it somehow seems very personal and private. I really like it, and it makes me think what my pic would look like. If any of you would like to share your pic, I'll be more than happy to post it on this post!

See the pics here.

Where Children Sleep and Learn - James Mollison

I would like to introduce you to a very interesting photographer called James Mollison. There are two very interesting exhibitions/books I would like to show you. The first one is called "Where Children Sleep", and is a documentation of children and their beds all across the world.

The other one is called How Children Learn, and that is pictures from classrooms. I find these pictures really fascinating and thought provoking. Seeing them all at once really brings out the contrasts.

Elizabeth - The Movie

Here is a good movie tip from me. In 1998 a very good film was made about Elizabeth 1, who reigned at Shakespeare's time. It is really very good, and give you great insight into Britain in the 16th century. In 2005 a sequel was made "The Golden Age", which I actually haven't seen - I will have to now! Let me know if you watch any of them!

Watch the trailers here and here.

What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks

We have now started to explore the wonderful world of Shakespeare (whoever he was..) and we will only have time to show you some of it, but I hope you will continue to read and watch his works for the rest of your lives. One of the fun things about classical plays is that you can see them many times with different directors, at the theater or films and compare and contrast them. In week 39 we will see a modern version of Romeo and Juliet, so I wanted to show you a more traditional version as well.

In the clip above you will see the director Zefferelli's version of "The Balcony Scene", that we will read  in class. What do you think?

What's up with Broadway?

1.

2.

If you look at a map of Manhattan, NYC, you will notice that all the streets are planned in a grid. The streets are planned in straight lines. The ones going from the top of the map in the pic are the avenues, and the ones join across are streets. They are all numbered.

In the second pic you'll see all the areas. You will probably also notice that the streets of lower Manhattan ant Greenwich Village are not on the grid. You will also notice the street going diagonally across the whole map, that street is the famous Broadway.

Take a look at this short film to see the explanation as to why this is so!

Pic1 from here.
Pic2 from here.

Underground book blog

I hope to introduce you to some of the amazing blogs out there. Hopefully you'll find some of them interesting enough to follow, which will give you great insight into many aspects of the English speaking world.

The blog I'm introducing you to today, is called Underground New York Public Library.
The girl behind this blog takes pictures of people reading on the underground. At first, this may seem odd, maybe even boring. But it is actually quite interesting! Who reads the Bible or the Quran? Not always the kind of people you would expect! Maybe you like the style of someone and want to read what they are reading? Maybe that big, bearded man is reading Winnie the Pooh? You'd be surprised!

Shall I Compare Thee..

You are now introduced to Sonnet 18, and hopefully you learned something, I think you all did fantastic! I promised to post a video of it with music. Here is the guitarist of Pink Floyd, and the version he made for his wife. Enjoy!

Gender-neutral Toy Stores

I came across this article in The Guardian this summer, and I found it interesting. Whenever you walk into a regular toy store, you can immediately spot which direction to go just by looking at the colors. In the pink section you will find the girls' toys, and the boys' section will be darker, maybe dominated by blue. Some stores even divide the store into "boys" and "girls". Read this article and tell me what you think: is this a good way to avoid labeling toys as stereotypical "boys" and "girls"-stuff, or are we just fooling ourselves?

I have to admit, I would LOVE to see more girls like the one in the Lego commercial above, without the puffy pink dresses.

The article is found here.

Pic from here.

USA Common Sense

Just like we in Norway have created stereotypes of Norwegians, or even Europeans (the French are snobbish, the Italians flirty, the Scottish cheap etc), the Americans have stereotypes connected to the different States. Here you see a map with the American stereotypes. Which state do you think "fake boobs and oranges" is? If I hadn't seen it on the map I would be torn between two. Quite fun! Can you explain more? How do you think these came about? Which state is called Scandinavia for example, and why?

via this link.

Great Site!

Cheyenne and Oline came to me today and asked if I have any books they could borrow. This made me spend quite a lot of time in front of my bookshelves, as I put a bit of pride in recommending you the right books. I started exploring the web for recommendations, and came across this great web site:

http://www.goodreads.com

Here's how it works: You create a profile, you tell them what genres you like (young adult for example) and then you can rate the books you have read, and the site automatically recommend similar books. Isn't that great?? I have just started exploring this site, but something tells me this will be a long night. Sign up now, I think we even can create groups! My name username is "Siri".

The pic is from here, and is the London Book Maze, which is made from 250,000 books. 

Welcome Back!

Men Throwing Rocks With The Other Hand from Juan Etchegaray on Vimeo.

I really look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. We have such an exciting and intense year ahead of us, and I hope I am prepared to lead you through. I have thought a bit about this blog during summer, and started to wonder if I should try to find stuff more related to the topics we are dealing with in class. But I soon realized that it would take the fun out of it. So to prove that I will still post fun stuff, I am sharing this hilarious video of men throwing rocks with the other hand. I actually had to try this myself after watching. I am left-handed, and throwing with my right is almost impossible.

I will continue writing this blog, and if I find good stuff directly relevant: great! But most of all I want this to be a blog where you 1. read a bit of English, 2. maybe find something you will explore further, which makes you read even more English AND get new interests and ideas, 3. learn something.

Hopefully you can give me tips as well!
Get a good night's rest, tomorrow starts the most important but also the most interesting year so far.
BRING IT ON!

Hope you are enjoying your summer holiday!

The last days before summer went a bit too quickly for me, and I never got to wish you a lovely holiday here on the blog. Oh well. I hope you are all doing really well, and that you are happy and charging your batteries for an exciting, demanding and extremely eventful last year. I know I am. 

I will continue to run this blog from mid-August. Looking forward to seeing you all again. Do not hesitate to contact me on the blog or on the e-mail on this blog, I will be able to answer quite quickly.

Enjoy!

Pic from here.

Goodnight iPad

This made me laugh (and think). Watching the fear in your eyes as we collected your phones in the evening at the camp, made me think how many of these gadgets we surrouond ourselves with every day, and maybe night? I think I need to get this book...

Behold! Great article!

Ahhh... this is why this blog is so useful, I can reach you whenever I find something and I do not have to wait until our next lesson (of which there are too few). I found a GREAT article, here! I have earlier recommended a book, Once, by Morris Gleitzman. He is a great author of books for teens and children. And in that article, he gives you his top 5 tips on how to write a great story! Read and learn, print and store for next year, or practise during summer. Maybe you even want to enter a short story writing competition?

To top it off, here you can read a short story by Gleitzman!

America's Dead Sea

Sometimes it seems like the fear we have when it comes to our environment is all about the future. It is important to be reminded that the things we do to our planet affects us here and now as well. This is from World Press: 

"Salton Sea in the Colorado Desert of Southern California is a former tourist destination that has turned into an environmental disaster. Born by accident 100 years ago when the Colorado River breached an irrigation canal, the lake soon became a popular resort. Yet with no outflow, and with agricultural runoff serving as its only inflow, the lake’s waters grew increasingly toxic. Though the resort towns were soon abandoned, the skeletons of these structures are still there; ghost towns encrusted in salt."

Isn't this scary and sad? Watch a short film here, notice how cleverly they use the old soundtrack with the new pictures.

LEGO

I bet you all have some. I have plenty, my two boys love it. I showed you this post earlier, a way to creatively use LEGO. I came across this patent drawing from 1958, isn't that cool? Imagine what a great invention that has been.

As the nerd I am I have started collecting LEGO buildings for my sons. A combination of great architecture and toys, what a great way to learn about wonderful buildings! The first we bought was the LEGO Guggenheim museum, which is a wonderful museum in New York City, designed by an architect called Frank Lloyd Wright. read the story behind the building here, believe me, it's a building worth recognizing.

(BTW this was also very cute. Get it?)

Pic from here.

Meet Tavi Gevinson

A couple of weeks ago one of my friends sent me a video and asked me if this could be interesting to you all, and I knew it would be. Tavi Gevinson is a 15 year-old girl who started her own fashion blog. This speech is called "A teen just trying to figure it out" and is such an honest, beautiful speech about how society and media tell you young girls what you should be like, when it really should be all up to you.

You are all at an age where you really are just trying to find your place in class, school and in the world. I hope this speech inspires you to realize that the choice of who you want to be, is all yours.

Thank you so much 9cdef for lovely days at Oksnøen, you were fantastic! I hope you had as much fun as I think you had. Enjoy the weekend, see you monday.

The Universe

Last year, when I came back from maternity leave, I was a substitute for Magnus in 9ef while he was on paternity leave. The only problem was, he teaches science - I definately don't. So, I know some of my old students from that class read this blog, we have to admit we did watch a lot of films. Revelant films of course. I thought: "there is nothing I can explain to these students that the BBC does not explain better." I really wish that I had come across this little film, about distances in the universe. LOVE IT!

And for those in 9ef, do you remember this one? Girls, let me tell you, you are going to meet so many boys like this, doing everything to impress you while it all seem a bit silly...

Have a nice trip! (And the cutest song)

Today you are all leaving for the camp! I met some of you today and you seemed excited. As soon as I finish my exam I will join you, but until then: have LOVELY time. Trips like the one you are about to go on today, creates lasting memories. Make sure they are good ones for everybody.

I will still share something with you today, since there are more people following this blog than the students in 9cd! The song I share is the cutest I know. My oldest son was obsessed with it when he was a toddler. Hope you love it as much as I do.

See you Thursday!

Welcome to The White House!

The White House in Washington DC (which is NOT in Washington State) is where the president of the USA lives and has his office. Now, you can take an amazing tour of The White House! Take a look at the video posted here to see how they did it, and then grab something cold to drink and take the actual tour here.

Enjoy!

Olympic comeback?

I do not know if you have noticed, but I know nothing of sports. I even need you to tell me how my second cousin is doing with his skiing! Still, there is something about the Olympics and this year it's being held in my favorite city, London. The Olympics have evolved a lot, and I found this facintating article on 10 sports that are no longer a part of the Olympics, but once were. Maybe they are ripe for a comeback?

Read the article here!

Made by hand

It was very interesting to read all your term papers. In addition to discussing the distribution of wealth, many of you chose to write about materialism. You all seem to agree that your generation is far more materialistic than the previous one. I do in many way think you are right, but at the same time we see huge movements of people starting to appreciate the simpler things in life. A small well-cooked meal. A hand knitted sweater. Gardening. The man who chose to live without money. The two brothers making small quantities of perfect chocolate. We are somewhat tired of everything that can be bought in bulks.

Here is another example. A girl in Brooklyn, New York who has started bee keeping to make her own honey. I just love it.

(If you feel like making small, quality gifts, why not make someone a jar of home made jam or knit them something nice!)

What's for lunch?

Lately, we have been talking a lot about healthy and nutritious food. We have watched Supersize Me, and I have told you about visiting my niece and nephew's schools in New Jersey last month. I was really shocked to see what their classmates ate for lunch.

I just came across this funny blog I wanted to show you, it fits right in with what we have been talking about. A nine year old girl (I think it's a girl?) from the UK has started a blog where she takes pics of her school lunch every day! This is to make people aware of what children actually eat every day. I do suspect her parents help her a bit with the writing, she is incredibly snappish, but still, a very intersting blog!

Find the blog here!

The man who chose away money

I have now corrected almost 60 term papers, all dealing with money and money-related issues. You have made some really good points! Many of you argue that money creates more problems in the world than it does good. Well, here is a man who agrees with you and who has chosen to live without it. He left his savings (which was about $30) in a phone booth, and walked away. That was 12 years ago. Now, a book has been written about him. Look at this film, isn't it facinating?

Here is the book, I wonder if that will make its way to my reading-list for the summer... (That list is getting very long.) If it does, I will definatly tell you about it when we return to school!

Historical misconceptions

Do you remember we watched the video about the geography of the UK with the man who speaks really fast? Even faster than me! Well, this video must be by the same guy. He deals with 5 general historical misconceptions! Do you get them? Watch it a couple of times and see how much you get. It is such good knowledge to have. I knew about the vikings, but the rest were new to me!

By the way, someone in class asked me if the Romeo and Juliet-trailer I posted earlier is a real film, and of course it is! And we will watch it next year - can't wait!!

Be up to date!

BBC has some really good sites to teach you English. One I found is a game where you have to kick a ball into the square with the right answer (you will probably figure it out in no-time, you are much more computer-savy than me..). The point of the exersise is to learn common expressions in English. Try it! Have a look around the BBC Learning English web site, there are LOTS of good stuff!

You will find the explanations to the words here, and the game here.
This is good stuff for improving your grade!

World Englishes

Learning about the different types of English is an important part of our subject. Most of you strive to have a British or an American accent, and you do really well! However, I should mention that Indian-English is also an accepted English accent! Wouldn't it be fun if some of you wanted to talk Indian English? London is, like New York, a melting pot of different cultures, and particularly many people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Listen to this funny salesman at a market in London, singing to attract costumers like he was a part of a Bollywood movie! I will definately go to see him the next time I´m in London.

Talking about Bollywood, here is the song me and my husband did our wedding dance to. It is from one of the most famous love movies in India, and you probably do not understand a word!

Inventions from the past

Imagine how many things are invented or re-designed every day. From the smallest little nail, to trains and cars and space shuttles. Then you can imagine all the things that people invent that will never be put in production and sold on the market for us to buy. Sometimes, in your essays, you have som great ideas too! Here are some interesting inventions from the past. The one in the picture is a snowprotector!

What do you think will be the gratest invention of the next 50 years?
Here are some silly ideas already invented.

Is he right?

I found this article the other day, and it immediately caught my attention. This writer, Terry Deary, is saying that he prefers his books NOT to be read in schools! He says schools kill the joy of reading for children, and hopes that teachers does not recommend his books. Oh my.. He would have hated me, I try to spend every silent moment recommending you a book. But, for all I know he may be right! I remember having a teacher who made reading the most horrible task in the world. Luckily for me, the love of reading sits in my spine, but what about those of you who does not enjoy it? 

This is your chance to give me a reality check. By next Monday, people!

(You can also read this if you like more reflections on the matter.)

Adding color

Street art can be so inspiring. When done legally in the right places, or when they are removable, it adds something new and refreshing to our surroundings. I came across these pics of the work of Jan Vormann, who repairs destroyed buildings with Lego bricks! Isn't it wonderful? Wouldn't it make you happy to come across one of these installations if you were out walking?

I know May is a really rough month for you, with a lot of term tests and presentations. Try to look for the small colorful things in your days!

See more of his art here.
If you really are stressed, here are 50 ways to cope with it.

Weird library building

As the daughter of an architect, I consider myself more than average interested in buildings. I also love books, so it is probably not a surprise that I go to visit libraries whenever I go abroad. Large cities often put a lot of pride in having beautiful library buildings, just look at the new library in Alexandria, Egypt, designed by the Norwegian Snøhetta, who also designed the opera in Oslo.

Then some cities tend to take things a bit further. Like the one above, which is a library in Kansas City, Missouri. It is funny, and somewhat interesting, but in my opinion not very beautiful. The idea was to let the fasade of the building be covered with books that have been important to Kansas City. If we were to make a similar building in Oslo, which books do you think would cover the fasade?

Talking of Kansas, here is a famous song from a very famous film about a girl from Kansas, the state that is, not the city.

The invisible mother

In the old days they didn't have digital cameras. In fact, when I was little we didn't either, and I am not really that old. (No, really, I'm not..). When we took a picture at a party, you got one shot. If your uncle blinked, or your hair was a mess - tough luck. That was how you would be remembered from that night. And you did not get to see the pics until weeks later, when they had been developed in the photo shop. (Ok, this does make me sound really old.)

So, in the 19th century (remember that's the 1800s), we see the phenomenon of the hidden mother. The mothers were hidden under a blanket to keep the babies calm and steady for the photo. In many photos the mothers are cropped out, but in some they are not, as in the one showed here. It looks kind of creepy, do you agree? Pics like these are worth a lot these days, as the uncropped ones are rare.

See more here!