Science

$hopping $pree

Lately, we’ve been spending money right and left.  All in the name of academics, of course.

        

$ – We bought a geological era poster because we were reading –

Why We Went Extinct, by Tadaaki Imaizumi and Takashi Maruyama.  How did these authors take a sobering topic and make it so readable?  59 extinct animals are showcased, each species presented on a 2 page spread.  But wait!  The final section celebrates 10 species who AGAINST ALL ODDS managed to adapt and have a presence today (we have new respect for the opossums that traipse across our back yard…these guys have dealt with rather a lot in the past 65 million years).   A mountain of research went into this book.  We learned a LOT, we smiled a LOT, and I said, “this is hilarious” a LOT.
So, on each 2 page spread:
– a lengthy, highly amusing explanatory quote from the very voice (ranging from streetwise to “not the sharpest knife in the drawer”) of each animal (my son and I are sort of fans of anthropomorphizing)
– a “regret” or “key to success”
– an illustration
– a factual paragraph
– a tiny era/period chart (which is why we had to buy a poster sized chart), showing when said species bid farewell

$ – We bought a periodic table poster because we were reading – 
Marie Curie (for Kids), Her Life and Scientific Discoveries, authored  by Amy M. O’Quinn.  What a role model:  focused scientist (2 Nobel Prizes), devoted to family, brilliant contributor to the French cause in WWI (master-minded how to get mobile x-ray units to wounded troops).  Grabbing our attention:
– Marie’s husband Pierre Curie was killed when he was mowed down by a horse-drawn cart!
– Marie hid all of her intensely toxic radium in a secured lead box during WWI.  How much?  ONE HALF TEASPOON FULL  (my son and I examined my measuring spoons.  1/2 tsp.  Whoa.).
– Marie Curie passed away at age 66, her daughter Irene, also a Nobel Prize winning scientist passed away at age 58, but daughter, Eve, journalist and pianist, made it to 102.  Message received:  write, play the piano, keep a safe distance from radioactive metals, live long.
– we needed to see where polonium and radium (for which she received Nobel Prizes) were positioned on the periodic table (which is why we bought the poster).

$ – We bought a half pound of Chinese fortune cookies because we were reading – 
Top Story, 5th in an important series by Kelly Yang (engaging story lines that weave in an awareness of the meanness and (HELLO) the short-sightedness of racism).  This book finds protagonist Mia Tang attending journalism camp in San Francisco….once there,  she makes friends with someone who helps out at a fortune cookie factory (my son was not familiar with fortune cookies, so that was reason enough for the purchase).  But there is so much more to the story.  The book has a triumphant conclusion and we are looking forward to the next in the series (Chef’s Secret). 

Because my son and I were impressed by the community support in Yang’s depiction of San Francisco’s Chinatown, we read San Francisco’s Chinatown – and the tight community spirit came through on every page with text by Kathy Chin Leong and vibrant photographs by Dick Evans.  For us, most eye-opening essay:  SRO (single room occupancy) Apartments.  Our favorite essay:  Red Envelopes.

Story Problem:  It is “Strawberry Spree” time at Farmer Brown’s roadside stand.  The stand is selling strawberries of course, but also their strawberry glacé pie and strawberry jam (both of which recently earned blue ribbons at the state fair!).
Sold separately:
– the pie sells for $15
– a jar of jam sells for $6
– a small box of strawberries sells for $4
– a “Strawberry Spree” basket with a pie, a jar of jam, and a small basket of strawberries sells for $20.
Last Saturday, the roadside stand sold:
– 10 pies
– 10 jars of jam
– 30 boxes of strawberries
– 15 strawberry spree baskets
Did the roadside stand make more money from the items sold separately or from the “strawberry spree” baskets?  (answer at bottom of post)

Orchestral Music Time – 

$ – We bought a harmonica because everyone should have a chance at making music with this pocket sized marvel –
1) I was hopeless on our harmonica and 2) when I tried to hand it over to my son he reacted as if I were offering him a poisonous snake.  We settled for listening to some harmonica pros – 

Sigmund Groven:  Strawberry Fair –  this old English folk song (first published in 1891) is just the very thing to accompany our “strawberry spree” story problem.  Sweet and well played – 

Jack Harrison:  Moon River – from Henry Mancini’s motion picture score for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, winning the 1962 Academy Award for Best Original Song.  This is a lush adaptation –

Stevie Wonder:  Isn’t She Lovely – his sensation from 1976.  I had no idea that Stevie Wonder was a harmonica virtuoso.  His harmonica playing starts about a minute into the recording.  My son was vigorously tapping his toes the whole way through.  Wonder performed the song for Queen Elizabeth II at her Diamond Jubilee Concert in June of 2012 – 

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(story problem answer:  the roadside stand made more money from the “strawberry spree” basket sales)

The Spring Academic Banquet

Oooooh!  The Spring Academic Banquet! – actually, we host an academic banquet every night up in my son’s room.  Here is our basic template, gussied up to welcome spring – 

The hors d’oeuvre platter:  this past week, academic thinking mode was activated with mini warm-up exercises, along the line of:
– a word scramble (FLIDAFOD = DAFFODIL)
– iPad keyboard practice (sprout, trout, about, shout, clout, pout, grout)
– practicing: “>”(larger than) and “<“ (smaller than)
– matching:  composer and composition
– tracking the travels of Breton (our favorite shark) on ocearch.org
– ooohing and ahhhing over photos we took to celebrate my son’s 200th volunteer day at the local nursery. 

The main course:  two hearty, satisfying topics: 

– The Physics Book, 250 milestones in physics, arranged chronologically by Clifford A. Pickover, published in 2011. Oh my gosh – I never thought we would be reading about physics and bless our hearts, we are pretty much not comprehending most of the entries – AND YET, we are LOVING THIS BOOK!   Each “milestone” gets a two page spread;  one page for an illustration/photograph and one page for historical references and technical, bewildering explanations.  We skip milestones that are too confusing for the likes of us (the majority of milestones) but – oh! – the feeling of elation when we find a topic we can grasp.

The sort of milestones we have skipped:
The Antikythera Mechanism
Coulomb’s Law of Electrostatics
Soliton

The sort of milestones that fill us with wonder:
the physics of the boomerang – dynamite – the hourglass – Ben Franklin’s kite
the acceleration of falling objects – X-rays – the stethoscope
the thermos – neon signs – Schrödinger’s cat (which we are familiar with thanx to BBT)

Here is something cool we learned: The first Nobel Prize (funded by the invention of dynamite, 1866) ever awarded went to Wilhelm Röntgen for his original work with X-rays (1895). 
This is the book we can’t wait to open every night!

– Polar Explorers – for Kids, Maxine Snowden.  We have just completed part one (Arctic explorers), and are geared up to start part 2 (Antarctic explorers).  Our globe and compass are out every night so we can trace routes attempted by the explorers.  We are now REALLY familiar with:
– the concept of the Northwest Passage 
– the contentious race to the North Pole 
– the difference between the geographic North Pole and the magnetic north pole
– our favorite explorer:  Fridtjof Nansen (brilliant, thoughtful, honest, focused) 
– our least favorite explorer:  Robert Peary (apparently a self centered #$%&+*&%$#)

The salad course:  a Farmer Brown story problem involving veggies necessary for perking up a bowl of tossed greens:

– Farmer Brown is teaching a gardening class the first Saturday of every spring month  (March, April, and May).  Students will be given gardening gloves, clay pots, potting soil and will learn how to plant radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes from seeds.  Farmer Brown figures to spend $15 on supplies per student and has priced the course at $25.
– If 15 eager beginner gardeners sign up for each class, how much profit will Farmer Brown realize? 
A)  $10     B)  $150     C)  $375     D)  $450
– How many students will Farmer Brown prepare for if 20% of the radish/cuke/tomato students decide to enroll in his “Let’s Grow Bell Peppers” summer class?
A)  9  students     B)  15 students     C)  20 students     D)  45 students
(answers at bottom of post)

The dessert:  the icing on our spring banquet cake:

We just finished “Grandpa’s Great Escape”, by David Walliams.   A lot of full throttle wackiness (story AND illustrations) in this book: can friendships, bravery, and a special relationship between a grandfather and his grandson triumph over the mean, the greedy, and the cheaters? (Of course they can, but hold onto your hat, cuz we found this book to be a roller coaster ride from start to finish.)  To top it off (icing on the cake), we learned a bit about the pride of Britain’s Royal Air Force of WWII:  the Spitfire!

Classical Music for a Spring Banquet – 

“Spring”, from the “Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite”, composed by Paul Reade.  We learned that “The Victorian Kitchen Garden” was a British TV series, produced in 1987 (winning an award for best TV music in 1991).  The short recording we listened to features Emma Johnson (on clarinet), of the original theme soundtrack.  Perfect for spring, with bird song scattered throughout the piece –

“Appalachian Spring”, music composed by Aaron Copland for Martha Graham in 1944.  We like the weirdly named “Doppio Movimento” section (yes, we looked this up, we understand what doppio movimento means, but we still think it is a weird name), a respectful interpretation of the Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts”, accented with with regal fanfare and waves of majestic strength.  We listen for the spring raindrops (or is it the clip clop of horses’ hooves?).  We love this piece –

“Spring Song”, composed in 1841 and found in Book 5 of Felix Mendelssohn’s “Songs without Words”.  We wonder whether Herr M would be amused that this piece would feature prominently in loads of cartoons (most notably, “Spring Song” was the central music theme of the 1939 “Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur” animated cartoon short).  Oh, the royalties he missed out on!

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  D)  $450 and A)  9 students)

Indian Summer

Summertime studies for the likes of us – 

India, Incredible India, an A+ book by Jasbinder Bilan, content well matched with Nina Chakrabarti’s A+ graphics.  Clever premise:  a young lady, “Thara”, and Nanijee (nanijee – totally great word – translates to maternal grandmother), sort through grandmother’s treasure box, which is filled with souvenirs from every state and territory in India.  Page by page, we learned facts about each area and souvenir, then located the state/territory on the included map.  Every night, my son and I were drawn in by the exuberant illustrations positioned among splashes of vibrant colors.  We would read anything by this team.

While Mrs. Coverlet was Away, by Mary Nash.  I subject my son to this book every August because it is funny, imaginative, and champions the concept of self reliance.  Spoiler alert:  chapter 15 includes such a poetic passage, transporting us on a lazy summer’s day to the town swamp for turtle hunting.  The story gets us ready for our Mary Nash December read (Mrs. Coverlet’s Magicians). 

Nicolaus Copernicus, by Mariana Swift.  Oh, we do like this man (1473-1543) who had the nerve to propose the heliocentric theory.  Big shocker, Copernicus was not in the good graces of the church, but did he shy away from enthusiastically explaining his observations?  NO!  Role model!  Copernicus published his groundbreaking book, “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”, at age 70.  Role model!

The Travel Book (a Lonely Planet Kids book).  We started this quirky fact book January 1st (with Canada) and finished August 1st (with Kiribati). One page every night, one country every night. (and BTW, I just took an online geography quiz and correctly identified 26 countries out of 30…before this unit I probably could have pinpointed about 9 countries).  Study unit highlights:

Welcome to our “Travel Book” Quirky Awards Ceremony:

Quirky Fashion Accessory Award, Grand Prize Winner:  Lithuania develops a signature perfume “Scent of Lithuania” (2011)
Quirky Global Citizen Award, Grand Prize Winner:  Global Seed Vault – entirely funded by Norway (officially started in 2008)
Quirky Destination Award, Grand Prize Winner:  An underwater post office! (Vanuatu)
Quirky Flag Design Award, tied for Grand Prize Winner :  A completely awesome hat (the symbol of Lesotho’s main ethnic group) is emblazoned on the Lesotho flag


Quirky Flag Design Award, tied for Grand Prize Winner:  Nauru is located just south of the equator and their flag is a model of brilliant simplicity.  See what I mean? 


Quirky Sob Story Category, Grand Prize Winner:  Awww, Nauru.  In the 1980’s, this country experienced a huge economic boom when they were able to sell  phosphate (used in fertilizers) (from scrapings of BIRD POOP).  Alas, they did such a good job of scraping the rocks of the guano, that there was no more phosphate to sell. Economy collapse. Heart breaker.  At least they still have that well designed flag.

A summer school cooking class story problem from the local diner – Chef Hank’s theme this year:  “It is all about the POTATO”.   The agenda:

Monday – twice baked potatoes
Tuesday – the secret of hash browned taters
Wednesday – Vichyssoise, co-hosted by the high school French teacher, Miss Suzette
Thursday – home-made potato chips and dips
Friday – cottage fries and the diner’s famous bar-b-que sauce

Well, who doesn’t want to improve their potato skills?  The diner kitchen has room for 15 students (and there is already a waiting list with 10 names on it).  This is a most popular class.

1)  If the class runs from 10 am until noon, how many hours will the students be in the diner’s school during the week?
2)  If the chef needs an hour of preparation before each class, for how many hours will the chef be paid at the conclusion of the week?  
3)  If the chef earns $20 an hour, how much will the chef earn for his potato week efforts?
4)  If students pay $40 tuition for the week long cooking class, will that be enough to pay the chef?
5)  If the supplies for the week run $100, will that be covered with the tuition income?
6)  If Miss Suzette is to be paid $20 an hour for 3 hours of work on the Wednesday, will that be covered by tuition? (answers at bottom of post)

Music to conclude the evening:  Impression from India

Ravi Shankar’s “Concerto for Sitar and Orchestra”, movement 3 (composed in 1971), performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andre Previn.  The first minute and a half of this piece is calmly exotic, then we are abruptly treated to the energetic, frenetic sound of the sitar.  What a thrill ride!  What a way to introduce my son to the sound of this complicated looking instrument!

The Beatles, “Norwegian Wood” (1965), the first piece of western pop music to use the sitar. George Harrison studied with Ravi Shankar and the unique sound of the instrument was woven into this piece in a decidedly tame (but decidedly lovely) manner.

Léo Delibes, “The Flower Duet” from his opera of 1883, Lakmé, which takes place in 19th century India.  No sitar in this at all, but oh, the harmonies in this simply dazzling duet.  I can find no evidence that Delibes ever traveled to India, so this might be a case of “write what you don’t really know”.  It is still stunning.

Welcome to the best part of my day!
 – Jane BH
(story problem answers:  1)  10 hours     2)  15 hours     3)  $300     4), 5), and 6) yes)

But I digress…

When my sister and I were kidlets, Saturday nights would find us accompanying our parents to a neighboring home, where the adults would play bridge for hours.  Well, this family’s house was a salute to the bland tones of beige (yawn) and sort of a tannish color (double, NAY! TRIPLE YAWN).  And other than a rather large set of ornately carved wooden salad servers – hung on the wall as an art piece – there was NOTHING interesting going on in this house.  Anyway, courtesy of these long nights in Neutralville, here is what beige means for me:  NO CREATIVITY HERE.  NO INDEPENDENT THINKING HERE.  LET’S PLEASE MOVE ON.

But I digress.  Our current book basket is filled with the work of wildly independent, creative thinkers.  Not a beige tone in the lot.

No Beige Here:  “The Adventures of Miss Petitfour” (book 1), written by ridiculously gifted Anne Michaels, charming illustrations by Emma Block.  This is a collection of short stories concerning Miss Petitfour and her 16 cats, but for us, this book is about the glorification of words.  Words we know but forget to use. (Example:  Miss Petitfour and team enter a FESTOONING competition, not a mere “decorating” competition.)  And the cats names!  Our favorite is Purrsia.  PURRSIA.  This might be the first book we have ever read spurred on solely by the author’s mastery of fanciful vocabulary.  I was thinking feline adventures might hold little appeal for my son, but when I asked him if he thought we should order book number 2, he immediately scribbled “YES”.

No Beige Here:  “The Boy Whose Head was Filled with Stars (A Life of Edwin Hubble)”, written by Isabelle Marinov, illustrated by Deborah Marcero.  Lately, my son and I have been comparing photos sent from the Hubble Space Telescope (launched 1990) and the JWST (launched 2021).  So, a BIG YES to a book about Edwin Hubble (1889 – 1953).  INSIDER SCOOP:  Hubble’s father did not want him to study astronomy.  WHOA.  REALLY?  INTERESTING.  Was he concerned that astronomy would not provide a steady income?  Was it for religious reasons?  Hmmm.  Anyway, Hubble acquiesced and taught high school, coaching a basketball team until his father died, then Hubble scrambled back to astronomy. 

And we learned that he “only” managed this: TWO NOTEWORTHY DISCOVERIES:
1) the universe is so much bigger than we thought (even during his studies, the brightest scholars thought the universe was “limited” to the Milky Way).
2) The universe is getting bigger all the time. 

The book concludes with a focused reflection from the author:  
“It is this cosmic perspective that I’ve tried to convey through Edwin’s story, a perspective that is lost on so many of our world’s leaders.  Planet Earth is nothing more than an infinitesimal fraction of a mote of dust in the vast cosmic tapestry.  Maybe one day, this realization will help us overcome our narrowness of perspective, which lies at the root of so many of our earthly problems?”

No Beige Here:  “Old School”, by Gordon Korman.  Oh, we do love Korman’s books (I think we have read “Schooled” 5 times).  In this book, middle schoolers experience becoming united for a cause, find surprising connections with senior citizens, and among other things, they learn about WWII code breakers/shuffleboard/the pleasures of a restorative cup of tea.  This was a thought provoking story that we looked forward to reading every night.   And my son learned the double meaning of the term, “old school”.

No Beige Here:  Reporting in on our around the world tour – 

We are still LOVING this unit, brought to us by the Lonely Planet Kids, “The Travel Book”  .  Since last post, we have journeyed around the Arabian peninsula,  (took a Wikipedia detour to learn where vast supplies of oil actually come from – not dinosaurs as we were thinking, but ancient fossilized mini marine life)(as loads of people know, just not us), have studied the STANS:  Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (we learned that “stan” means “land of”).  We are now heading toward Australia and Oceania.

Favorite new things we’ve learned:

Pakistan:  Jingle Trucks  (definitely NO BEIGE here!)

Jordan:   Royal Desert Forces (police) ride camels

Nepal:  We love this country’s flag (the 2 triangles symbolize the Himalayan mountains, and the 2 major religions – Hinduism and Buddhism)

Qatar:   Best in the good will category:  Qatar created the largest flag in 2013, then had it recycled into 200,000 book bags for school children distributed around 60 countries

Easy story problem from the Local Diner!  There’s a new Saturday night special at the Local Diner!  Date night calls for a bit of sophistication, so the diner is now serving table-side tossed salads!  Oh, the glamour!  What prompted this was that the diner’s chef’s cousin’s brother-in-law,  Mr. Hank, has gotten into whittling and has carved up a dozen pairs of wooden salad servers, which he is selling for $20 per set.  They are just gorgeous.  The diner bought them all,  6 to use for the table-side service and 6 to sell on a trial basis.  If they sell well, the diner will order more.

  • How much did the diner pay for 12 sets of salad servers?
    A)  $120     B)  $144     C)  $200     D)  $240
  • If the diner sells the sets of the remaining salad servers for $30 each, how many more sets of salad servers can they order from the profit?
    A)  3 sets     B)  9 sets     C)  12 sets     D)  1,000 sets
    (answers at bottom of post)

No Beige Here:  Orchestral Offerings – Three rambunctious, bold, imaginative pieces:

Bamboula, composed by New Orleans native, Louis Moreau Gottschalk in 1848.  First of all, the name:  a bamboula is a type of rum barrel drum as well as being a word one would want to say over and over.  This is a longish piano piece, but as we are getting used to it, we love it.  This is the exact recording we listen to – 

Cantina Band, composed by John Williams in 1977 for Star Wars IV.  Inventive, toe tapping, the ultimate quirky background music for the ultimate quirky bar scene –

The Wild Bears, composed in 1907  by Sir Edward Elgar as part of his “The Wand of Youth” suite.  This enchanting short piece transports us into the middle of a children’s raucous hide-and-seek activity.  The chaotic conclusion is perfection.  No beige here –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  D)  $240 and A)  3 sets)

32 and counting!

How many books do we read in a year?  We have no idea.  So, this past January my son and I decided this would be the year to track the number of books.  Reporting midway through 2024:  32 books on the tally sheet.  Currently in the stories and studies book basket:

Studies – 

Arctic Tern Migration, Susan H. Gray.  In the autumn, these global traveling birds take 3 months to fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic.  In springtime, they head back to the Arctic – this trip taking less than two months due to wind currents.  We have layers and layers of “how do they do this and why do they do this?” questions.

Birdology, Sy Montgomery.  Favorite chapters:  “Chickens” (because each and every one is wacky) and “Pigeons”  (author Montgomery takes the reader to a pigeon racing club and we learn the specifics – we love it when a book opens a whole new world for us).

Mother Teresa, Navin Chawla.  This particular book – based upon extensive interviews with those who influenced (or were influenced by) Mother Teresa –  is the only authorized biography of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (as per her canonization by the Catholic Church in 2016).  It is THE book.  We were riveted by the work of this brilliant visionary leader.  How could one person, with no income, starting with 1 room and 2 postulants, turn this into a multi-national effort (hundreds of homes for the destitute, dying, leprosy affected, poorest of the poor) with a support system of 4,000 enthusiastic, committed nuns? 

Can I Recycle This?, Jennie Romer.  This is not our first recycling book, but this one leaves the other one (which was patronizing and jammed with platitudes) in the dust.  This author is interesting and specific.  We learned what goes on at a recycling center.  We learned what cannot (at this point) be recycled:  plastic forks and knives, straws, restaurant “to-go” cartons that have been sprayed with a plastic coating, eyeglasses, coat hangers, plastic baggies, potato chip bags.  We are sort of feeling bad about all the potato chip bags we go through.

Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums, Bob Eckstein.  Each entry includes a short list of facts about the museum, charming illustrations, and a few personal reflections from museum goers/employees (this is the best part!).  I was happy to see one of my favorite, NAY, perhaps my favorite museum, included in the book:  The Museum of Bad Art (Boston).  Also, we learned that there are museums/museum grounds that host 200,000 bees (Clark Art Institute), and 1,000 dolls (Wenham Museum House).  We were touched to the soul by the “National Museum of African American History and Culture” and Baltimore’s “American Visionary Art Museum”.  We learned that a WOMAN (Betty Willis) designed the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign (from The Neon Museum).  I learned of this book from James Breakwell’s hilarious Instagram site.  Many thanks!  This is the perfect type of book for us!

Stories – 

The Teacher’s Funeral – Author Richard Peck takes us to the one room country school house of the early 1900’s.  The surprisingly effective teacher is a high school student, sister of two of her 8 pupils (who do not want to be in school at all).  And then, just as we are settling into her spelling bees and geography lessons – WHAT THE H-E-DOUBLE-TOOTHPICKS??? –  the author takes us along to a neighborly gathering to observe the butchering of a pig.  Oh dear oh dear oh dear.  Do I skip over this part or do I come to terms with this part of long ago rural life?  I mean seriously, to be invited to a pig slaughter? Honored with the responsibility of handling the shotgun that would kill said pig?  Then the book goes right back to being its pleasant self (romance, school yard antics, teacher certification worries, the town poet mystery).  We do love Richard Peck’s books and have read loads of them.  This pig business was a jarring surprise.

The Trials of Hercules Beal, Gary D. Schmidt.  An excellent use of our reading time.  Yes, it is highly entertaining.  Yes, its writing style nudges close to poetic.  Yes,  we are learning about the mythical trials of the Roman god Hercules and how they parallel the life of current student, Hercules Beal.  But we are also given front row seats to the best of  thoughtful and focused teaching skills.  On so many levels, a superb book.

Schooled, Gordon Korman.  This is probably our 4th time through this book.  There is a clash and then a melding of 1960’s hippie style culture with a present day 8th grade social environment.  So well written, fun to read.   

Story Problem from Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand – The 4 full time employees at Farmer Brown’s roadside stand will now be identified by the wearing of heavy duty green canvas aprons.  Each employee looks so professional now.  The aprons cost $15 and this includes “Farmer Brown’s Roadside Stand” embroidery work.  Farmer Brown decided to order 10 aprons.  Good thing he did.  The week after the aprons were ordered, the price shot up to $25 per apron.  How much money did Farmer Brown save by ordering before the price skyrocketed?

a)  $10     b)  $100     c)  $250     d)  $1,000 (answer at bottom of post)

Counting on Classical Music – 

The Cuckoo, from Ottorino Respighi’s suite, “The Birds” (1928).  Here is a tough assignment:  tally up the number of two-note cuckoo motifs in this 4 minute composition.  Sometimes the motif is produced by a  single instrument, sometimes full orchestra, sometimes the notes are high, sometimes low, sometimes the motif stands alone, sometimes it is mixed into a collage of sounds.  Like I said, tough.  Our tally sheet totals are different every time we try this. 

 Bolero, Maurice Ravel (also 1928!) – ya gotta feel sorry for the percussionist who ends up playing snare drum for this 15-plus minute piece.  It is calculated that the snare drum is struck 5,144 times.  The worst part is that the musician has to play the same short rhythm over and over and over and over.  We would go bonkers.  That being said, we cannot resist anything that is conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. 

3,000 and counting! – According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most prolific classical composer (with over 3,000 compositions) was Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767).  We are not sure we found the final composition (our goal), but his Overture-Suite in G minor was written during his final year.  We listened to the short second movement (the “Gavotte en Rondeau”), a marvelously fussy piece – clearly baroque – that moves right along.

 Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  b)  $100)

The Two-for-One Special

TWO QUIZZES!  That’s right, not just ONE, but TWO quizzes to test my son’s comprehension of current study endeavors (significant landmarks/animal investigations/the Netherlands).  Yay!  He scored 100%.  (answers at bottom of post)

The General Knowledge Quiz: 

1.  Who designed and oversaw construction of Mount Rushmore?
a)  Gustav Eiffel     b)  Frank Lloyd Wright     c)  Alexander Calder,  d)  Gutzon Borglum

2.  The arms (wicks) of windmills turn –
a)  clockwise     b)  counterclockwise  c)  either way depending upon wind direction

3.  Regarding the windmill communication system:  the resting placement of the windmill arms (wicks) can signal – 
a)  good news/bad news/windmill is broken/windmill is resting     b)  there is no such thing as a windmill communication system

4.  The number of bicycles recovered from the Amsterdam canals annually –
a)  100     b)  1,000     c)  10,000

5.  The reason San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is painted orange –
a)   to stand out in the fog     b)  at the time of installation (1937), orange was the California governor’s wife’s favorite color     c)  it was the most affordable paint color that was closest to “gold”

6.  The Great Wall of China was built over the span of –
a)  2,000 years     b)  1,000 years     c)  50 years

7.  Today, the largest ships using the Panama Canal, pay tolls of up to – 
a)   $1 million      b)  $75,000     c)  $1,000
(Here is something fun: In 1928, writer and adventurer Richard Halliburton paid a toll of 36 cents to swim through the canal.)

8.  The largest mammal in South America –
a)  the giant anteater     b)  the capybara     c)  the tapir     d)  the brown throated sloth

9.  Birds have – 
a)  hollow bones     b)  gelatinous semi-soft bones     c)  titanium bones

10.  The only bird that can fly backwards –
a)  the hummingbird     b)  the owl     c)  the bluebird of happiness

The Great Lengths Quiz:  

1.  The length of the Golden Gate Bridge – 
a)  8 miles     b)  4.2 miles      c)   3.5 miles     d)  1.7 miles     

2.  The length of the Panama Canal
a)   50 miles     b)  45 miles     c)  25 miles     d)  10 miles

3.  From furthest point west to furthest point east, which is longer:  mainland United States or the Mediterranean Sea?  (hint:  one is 2,600 miles, the other is 2,400 miles)
a)   Mainland USA     b)  the Mediterranean Sea

4.  All things considered (because this is not one continuous structure), how long is the Great Wall of China?
a)  13,000 miles     b)  9,500 miles     c)  2,100 miles     d)  400 miles

5.  What is the approximate distance between Earth and the moon?
a)  500,000 miles     b)  240,000 miles     c)  10,000 miles     d)  250 miles

After all that test taking:   FUN FICTION READING – 

For a look at history:  Here Lies the Librarian, Richard Peck – a continually amusing peek into rural American life in the 1920’s:  home-made automobiles, romance, dirt roads, bad neighbors, and terrible-to-superb local library management.  

For provoking discussion:  Millicent Min – Girl Genius, Lisa Yee – Brilliant Millicent is 11, and taking a college level poetry class.  Written as a summer journal, short diary entries inform us that Millicent’s mom is forcing her join a volleyball team, Millicent finally has her first friend, Millicent is tutoring somebody who’s lack of academic commitment is driving her crazy.  We are sympathizing with this protagonist who has such a rocky time socializing.  Awwwww.

For relaxing/laughing/smiling:  Tom Gates: Five Star Stories,  Liz Pichon.  This is book number 21 in the series and we’ve read them all – the quality of the hilarious writing, the hilarious predicaments, the hilarious illustrations has not wavered.   At this point, the cast of characters feel like part of our family. Ms. Pichon:  KEEP WRITING!

     

Story Problem:  “2-for-the-price-of-1” at the local diner – Tuesday nights at the local diner are a bit slow, so an enticing “Tuesday Night Only” promotion is offered:  two manager’s specials (chicken pot pie and apple crisp) for the price of one.  If it’s not Tuesday, the price of this dinner is $15 per single order.  Last Tuesday 60 patrons ordered the manager’s special.  How much money did the special bring in?  If the manager’s special costs the diner $5 per order, how much profit did the diner realize? (answers at bottom of post)

Classical Music – How about a THREE-for-ONE special?  We listened to three completely different composition styles of Luigi Boccherini, cello virtuoso and composer (1743 – 1805).  Boccherini’s early years were spent as a  court musician in Vienna.  At age 27, Boccherini relocated, becoming a court musician for the Spanish royal family in Madrid (and remained in Spain for the rest of his life).  We wanted to hear 1) a Viennese-style piece, 2) a work influenced by the music of Madrid and 3) one of his cello-focused compositions.

The Minuet (movement 3) from Boccherini’s String Quintet in E major, composed in 1771 – this fussy, hummable, very “classical music” melody is instantly recognizable as it has been used in loads of films, TV shows, and video games –

The Fandango, from Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major, composed in 1798, shows the influence of the guitar music he was introduced to in Spain.  I do not think my son and I have listened to this less than 350 times; it was interesting the first time we heard it, it remains interesting.  We love this performance by the L.A. Guitar Quartet –

Cello Showcased – we know we should be extolling Boccherini’s well respected “Cello Concerto in B flat major”, and we did take a listen.  The concerto certainly flaunts a cellist’s skills.  However, what we love is Boccherini’s String Quintet No. 6 (also known as “Night Music of the Streets of Madrid”).  Movement 5, the Passa Calle, in which the cello carries the piece, is warm, full of local flavor, and we really cannot listen without swaying to the tempo –

Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH

General Knowledge Quiz Answers:

  1. d)  Gutzon Borglum
  2. b)  counterclockwise
  3. a)  good news, etc.
  4. c)  10,000 bikes
  5. a)  to stand out in the fog
  6. a)  2,000 years
  7. a)  $1 million
  8. c)  the tapir
  9. a)  hollow bones
  10. a)  the hummingbird

Great Lengths Quiz Answers:

  1. d)  1.7 miles
  2. a)  50 miles
  3. a)  mainland USA
  4. a)  13,000 miles
  5. b)  240,000 miles

(Story Problem Answers:  $450, $150)

Fun with Feb

Prepare yourself for a bit of anthropomorphizing.

Poor February, so insecure in the company of those self-assured 31-day months.  Sure, February boasts Valentine’s Day, Washington’s Birthday, and Black History Month, but we think February’s confidence might be additionally bolstered by the knowledge that somewhere in the world there exists a month with far, far fewer than 28 days.  Read on:

“Britannica Kid’s Encyclopedia” (2020 edition) – My son and I are working our way through this jazzy reference volume and our favorite entry so far:  how 18 ancient cultures (2,600 BCE – 1582 CE) began marking the passing of time with calendars.  

First place trophy for most creative calendar goes to ETHIOPIA! (We located it on the globe, of course we did.) Beginning in 350 CE,  Ethiopian calendar masterminds placed the 5 extra days, that didn’t fit into their 12 30-day months template, into a 13th month (“Pagume”, wedged between August and September).  Pagume is a 5-day mini month!  Stand tall, February, stand tall!

Switching topics –
“Engineering the Space Needle”, by Kate Conley. Here is what we learned from this small but mighty book:

– the Space Needle, the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Fair in Seattle, is a triumph of engineering, design, and management
– constructed in very little time (just over a year), in very little space, wind safe/earthquake safe, built and maintained with private funds (due to local government naysayers of the time)  
– the design drew inspiration from a small sculpture entitled, “The Feminine One” (slender, narrow waist, reaching for the sky).  Now my son and I don’t just see a tall landmark, we see a surprisingly beautiful landmark  

We have family members who live within walking distance of the Space Needle, so I asked for a photo to share with my son.  Oh boy, this is some fine photography: 

One of our latest fiction reads – 
“Clementine”, by Sara Pennypacker – this is the story of high energy, super alert young lady who is bursting with original ideas.  “Pay attention!” her teachers say, and in her heart of hearts she knows she IS paying attention (to every-single-little-thing that comes into view).   We loved this book, thought Marla Frazee’s illustrations made the story even better, and I am thinking that anyone who deals with what appears to be attention-gone-haywire might find this book comforting and illuminating.

Reporting in:  current Clem and Clyde reading comprehension worksheets have dealt with New Year’s resolutions, the purchase of a snowman, and sampling sugar snap peas.  We both love our time with Clem and Clyde.

Story Problem:  Cupid’s Delight Pie at the Local Diner – On February 14, the local diner celebrated Valentine’s Day by offering a slice of their Cupid’s Delight Pie with each lunch and dinner order.  Cupid’s Delight Pie is a sumptuous raspberry pie topped with a dollop of PALE PINK WHIPPED CREAM. The diner can serve 8 slices from each pie.  The diner ended up serving 200 lunches and 150 dinners on the 14th.  The pastry chef baked 40 pies.  Was that enough to serve all the diners?  (answer at bottom of post)

Classical Music,  February Style – 

We have been listening to the works of black composers for Black History Month and we knew we wanted to hear the music of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.  But when we did a computer search we kept getting entries for both Coleridge-Taylor and the the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.  So we wanted to figure out the connection –

  • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), beloved British poet (“Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, “Kubla Khan”).  We got sidetracked and read through the dazzling “Kubla Khan”.

  • Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912), British composer, named in honor of the poet. OH! OK!  That makes sense.   Named without the hyphen….hyphen came later due to a printer’s error.  Obsessed by Longfellow’s gol-dern-lengthy poem of 1855, “The Song of Hiawatha” (Coleridge-Taylor even named his son Hiawatha!), and most well known for his cantata, “Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast” (1898).  We listened to “He Was Dressed in a Shirt of Doe-Skin ” from said cantata.  While it cannot possibly transport us to the shores of Gitche Gumee (Lake Superior) of the 1500’s, the frothy harmonies (very Gilbert and Sullivan) are a dreamy delight. 

AND FINALLY, taking inspiration from the Ethiopian calendar:  What if we had our own 5 day month?  How would my son and I celebrate via classical music?

Day 1:  Welcome teeny tiny month!  –  We would begin with Scott Joplin’s bouncy “Rosebud March” (1905) – just the thing to set the tone for a joy filled five-day month.  This music puts a spring in our step and says, “Let’s be thankful, let’s be friendly, let’s smile!  Welcome, welcome mini month!”-

Day 3:  How time flies!  The month is half over! –  Time to stop and smell the flowers.  May we suggest Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s fanciful “Romance of the Prairie Lilies” (1899) for mid-month listening –

Day 5:  Going out with a bang – Florence Price’s “Symphony No. 1 in E minor”, movement IV (1932).  This piece is full speed ahead, concluding with a full half minute of cymbal crashing (and that is a lot of cymbal crashing).  (BTW, this symphony was the first by an African-American woman to be performed by a major orchestra.  Kudos to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for recognizing and showcasing talent.) 

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answer:  No, the pastry chef should have baked 44 pies.)

January Jabber

Here is something we didn’t know: the number of books we read a year.  So, the plan for 2024: TRACKING OUR READING –  How many books will my son and I read this year?  How many will we start?  How many will we finish?  How many are good enough to make it into the re-read basket? 

Speaking of reading (from our Farmer Brown story problem collection) – Farmer Brown has a library in his farmhands’ bunkhouse.  The library has 200 books, some on ranch animal care, some on tending crops, some are rip-roaring tales of the old west.  Farmer Brown noticed that 20 of the books have never been read (mostly books on personal hygiene and healthy snacks).  

– What percentage of books have been read by the farmhands?
a)    10%     b)     20%     c)     75%     d)     90%

– There are 60 wild west fiction books that have been read over and over by the farmhands.  These books comprise what percentage of the bunkhouse library? (answers at bottom of post)
a)  15%     b)  30%     c)  45%     d)  60%

Our Current Sy Montgomery Books – Sy Montgomery is an author whose writing appeals to us.  Her journal-style books take us around the world as we join her in following the work of dedicated animal researchers (and we especially love her “researcher bios”) –

 – The Hyena Scientist”:   For this study, Sy Montgomery journeys to Kenya to join a team of scientists focused on and fascinated by hyenas.  For us, the most intriguing takeaway:  hyenas gather in tightly knit clans (and there are CLAN WARS) with an extremely structured hierarchy, and the females RULE.  Do not mess with the matriarch.

– “Amazon Adventure – How Tiny Fish are Saving the World’s Largest Rain Forest”:  Cardinal Tetras, bitty sized fish from the Rio Negro (a tributary of the Amazon River, near Barcelos, Brazil) are sought after by home aquarium owners all over the world, and Montgomery spells out why this fish gathering/transporting industry is ecologically important.  OK, OK, but here is the best part of this book:  learning about Barcelos’ FESTIVAL OF ORNAMENTAL FISH!  Oh my gosh, THE FESTIVAL!  Citizens of this teeny town spend months preparing parade floats, stitching flamboyant costumes, and rehearsing for grand “cast-of-a-thousand” performances in the town stadium.  The festival is also a competition:  town citizens are either on the Cardinal team or the Discus (another small aquarium fish) team.  Teams are judged on costumes and performance AND how politely team members watch their rival’s performance! Yes!  Etiquette always!  The Festival of Ornamental Fish is so on the bucket list.

January Jeopardy – We are quiz show ready!  A sampling  of quirky info from our latest batch of books –

1.  The hippo is the most dangerous animal in Africa.  (from “The Hyena Scientist”,  Sy Montgomery)
2. The didgeridoo is the oldest musical instrument in the world.  (from “A Time to Celebrate”, a Lonely Planet Kids book)
3.  Some of the Olympic swimming medalists from the 1948, 1952 and 1956 games started their aquatic training in Maui’s sugar plantation irrigation ditches.  (from “Sakamoto’s Swim Club”, Julie Abery)
4.  Omaha, Nebraska was the home town of dancing sensations Fred Astaire and sister Adele. (from “Footwork – The Story of Freed and Adele Astaire”, Roxane Orvill)
5.  Crescent-shaped, sword-shaped, and star-shaped are three different types of sand dunes found in Algeria’s Sahara Desert.  (from “Algeria, Enchantment of the World”, Martin Hintz)
6.  According to botanists, there are 8 different types of vegetables (leaf, bulb, flower bud, root, tuber, stem, fruit, and seed veggies – it grieves me that my son does not acknowledge 7 types of vegetables). (from “The Vegetables We Eat”, by Gail Gibbons) (answers at bottom of post)

Music + Academics = A+

  • Philip Glass’s “Negro River”, from his 9 movement “Aquas da Amazonia” (composed for a ballet in the late 1990’s), transports us to the site of our “Amazon Adventure” reading experience.   We hear rhythms and echoes of the river – birds, bugs, frogs, water bubbles, an intruder (a snake?) –   

  • Who wouldn’t want to hear the music of the didgeridoo, the oldest instrument in the world!  The didgeridoo (traditionally made of eucalyptus) in this video clip is certainly elegant.  For us, the drone sound it produces takes us by surprise every single time – 

  • And how about some background music for Farmer Brown’s farmhands as they read through the novels of the American west?  We are really liking Virgil Thomson’s “Cattle” movement from his suite that accompanied the 1936 documentary, “The Plow that Broke the Plains”. This short piece is a comforting patchwork of old west melodies –  

Welcome to the best part of my day,
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  d)  90% have been read, b)  wild west fiction comprises 30% of the library)
Left over from last post:  our San Francisco family member finally sent us a photo from aboard a cable car: 

What took us so long?

What took us so long to discover books by science journalist/author/Sibert medalist Sy Montgomery?  

– We loved “Condor Comeback” because who doesn’t love a success story?  

1982:  Only 22 California condors (huge, majestic members of the vulture family) remain on planet Earth.  That is it.  22.
2019:  450 California condors and the numbers are growing!

This book introduced us to Dr. Estelle Sandhaus, director of conservation science at the zoo in Santa Barbara, California.  From Dr. Sandhaus we learned why condors were on the endangered list since 1967:
– the ingesting of microtrash
– poisoning from lead bullets found in carrion that condors feast upon 
Sandhaus and Montgomery reveal the work required to phase out lead bullets, educate about microtrash, supervise condor breeding, conduct health checks for every condor, and oversee the  “captivity-to-flying-free” protocol.  

– We loved “Chasing Cheetahs”, another success story!  The book focuses upon Laurie Marker and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia.  Challenge:  cheetah numbers in Namibia were dwindling fast because farmers were killing the cheetahs who were killing their livestock.  The CCF Solution:  education, Kangal dogs and goats (and the cheetah population has risen dramatically).  (Seriously, my summary is simplistic.  I do a disservice to Laurie Marker and Sy Montgomery.  Apologies.  The point is that Laurie Marker and her team have brilliant, common sense ideas and admirable follow through and Sy Montgomery conveyed this to us in a way my son could understand).  

– We really loved “The Great White Shark Scientist”, introducing us to Greg Skomal, shark biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.  A basic theme of the book is that sharks are not as dangerous as portrayed by the media.  Example:
In 1996 – the number of Americans injured by sharks:  13 
In 1996 – the number of Americans injured by toilets:  43,000  
Also, we learned that sharks like to eat seals.  So, question:  is it smart to swim around seals?
Saving the best for last:  Sy Montgomery suggests following sharks who have been fitted with a tracking device at ocearch.org (look for “Shark Tracker”).  My son and I are having more fun checking in on the sharks nightly, watching them cruise up and down the east coast of the US.  The tagged sharks have been named and our favorites are Penny, Frosty, and Maple. 

– But we REALLY  loved “The Book of Turtles”.  Worth the price of the book: 1)  Matt Patterson’s superb life-like illustrations.  WHOA.  and 2)  the section on CELEBRITY TURTLES!   Our favorite entry:  the story of two Galapagos tortoises at the Klagenfurt Zoo (Austria), Poldi and Bibi, who had lived happily together for 115 YEARS until one day Bibi  decided that she had “had it up to here” with Poldi. She hissed at him, she bit off part of his shell.  Dear, me!  Zookeepers tried to bring them back together with romantic dinners, but to no success.  The two are now permanently separated.  It is the stuff of Greek tragedies.

What else we are learning –
1)  how to use a Chinese abacus     2)  state birds (we are puzzled that 7 states need to claim the Northern Cardinal as “their” bird.  Was there not choice enough among the remaining 1,100 bird species in the United States?)     3)  history of the circus

Story Problem:  “Sack Lunch Sides” at The Local Diner!  To celebrate the start of the school year, the diner is offering a “sack lunch sides” workshop. For $15, junior chefs will learn how to make home-made chips, home-made pickles, and home-made brownies. 

– If 20 students signed up for the class and 18 actually attended, what percentage of students forgot to show up?  
a)  2%     b)  10%     c)  20%     d)  22%
– If 9 of the attendees did not like the “home-made pickles” (yikes!  recipe fail!) what percentage of the junior chefs liked the pickles?  
a)  2%     b)  9%     c)  33%     d)  50%
– And finally, if it cost the diner $8 to provide for each of the 18 students, what was the total profit the diner realized?
a)  $36    b)  $126     c)  $180     d)  $270  (answers at bottom of post)

Classical music to enhance the opera-worthy Poldi and Bibi story – 

– Bibi can no longer abide Poldi, and she has a long, long list of things he does that drive her to madness.  We teamed this scenario with Beethoven’s melodramatic “Rage over a Lost Penny” (composed around 1795).  My son and I are glad not to be at the receiving end of this tirade – 

– The Zookeepers set up a dinner of romance to encourage Poldi and Bibi to patch things up.  Music to set the scene?  What better than Carlos Gardel’s très dramatique tango “Por una Cabeza” (composed 1935).  If this doesn’t get things moving in the right direction, nothing will.  Alas, it fails –

– A broken-hearted Poldi slowly trudges away from the love of his life – Nothing less than “Gymnopedie No. 1”, Erik Satie’s slow tempo soul crusher (composed 1888) can capture Poldi’s despair.  Did 115 years of companionship mean nothing?  –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH
(story problem answers:  b)  10%,  d)  50%,  b)  $126)

Hot Summer, Cool School

Neither snow nor rain nor blistering Texas heat and screaming cicadas nor gloom of night nor Christmas nor somebody’s birthday prevents us Cool School scholars from stories and studies every single night.  This learning hour is so uplifting and when I sign off “Welcome to the best part of my day”, I mean it.  High points from the past few weeks – 

Reading Comprehension: Clem and Clyde style – Our current reading comprehension endeavor (a one page sheet, once a week) focuses upon two free-spirited lads, Clem and Clyde, who sneak aboard trains and crisscross the USA.  My son independently reads the few short paragraphs and answers follow-up questions about Clem and Clyde’s gripping escapades (involving the likes of a popcorn factory, a cement potato, clown shoes).  So far, A+:  this is the type of thing my son likes to read and this is the type of thing I like to write.

Keyboard Practicing –  Three times a week I give my son a list of 6 rhyming words (for the repetition of letters)(the list is different every session).  I support his wrist as he types out the words on the iPad.  Words like:  rain – main – drain – plain – train – brain

Then I release my son’s wrist and it is time for him to press alphabet letters without support.  This is so far out of his comfort zone, but he has nailed “a”, “b”,  and now, “c”.  This is huge progress!

Space Station Quiz – My son and I (BOTH) learned something crazy-interesting from every single page of the Smithsonian “Behind the Scenes at the Space Stations” book, published in 2022 (so quite up to date).  We concluded with a 10 question quiz for which my son scored 100% and my UCLA roomie (so ya know she’s smart) from way back, scored 20%.  Here are 5 of the questions: (answers at bottom of post)

1).  How many times does the International Space Station orbit Earth in a 24 hour period?

          a)  2 times     b)  5 times     c)  10 times     d)  16 times

2)  “Tiangong” (the Chinese Space Station) is translated:

          a)  celestial palace     b)  high in the sky     c)  beautiful view     d)  our future

3)  How much preparation goes into a space walk?

          a)  no preparation is needed     b)  24 hours     c)  4 days     d)  2 weeks

4)  How long does it take from lift-off for a rocket to reach space?

          a)   5 minutes     b)  9 minutes     c)  23 minutes     d)  2 hours

5)  Space agencies involved with the ISS are supporting the endeavor through:

          a)  2024     b)  2028     c)  2030     d)  2050

Kindness Lesson – My son just finished his 80th volunteer day at a local garden center and was gifted a sweet house plant, with all 9 employees signing the clay pot.  I am not sure this meant much to my son, but the gesture melted my heart.  This nursery is a haven of tolerance, accommodation, and kindness.

Recently completed books and topics – trees, Spain, countries that use the Euro as their currency (Spain being one), and “Prince Caspian” (a sequel to “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”). 

Story Problem from the Local Diner – The local diner is celebrating the sweltering days of summer with a root beer float promotion.  For the month of August, the floats (showcasing the diner’s house-made vanilla ice cream) will sell for $2 each, instead of the regular price of $3 each. The cost of making a root beer float is $1.

If the diner sells 150 root beer floats in August and sold 90 floats in July, which month showed the larger profit?  Was this promotion a genius idea, from a financial point of view?  (answers at bottom of post)

Classical Music for Soothing Summer Sounds – 

Fireflies – a movement from Amy Beach’s suite for piano, “Four Sketches”, composed in 1892.  FYI, Ms. Beach is recognized as being the first successful American female composer.  My son and I reserve this sparkling piece for summer listening only.  Summer Soother Rating:  5 stars out of 5 stars – 

Suite Populaire Brésilienne, movement 1 (the Mazurka-Chôro), composed by Heitor Villa-Lobos in 1928.  This is a relatively new piece for us:  a tender melody that alternates between pensiveness and hopefulness, played by classical guitar virtuoso, Pepe Romero.  Summer Soother Rating:  5 stars out of 5 stars – 

Sailing By, Ronald Binge, 1963.  This relaxing piece is broadcast via BBC Radio 4 before the late shipping report.  I think we have listened to this at least 300 times over the past 10 years.  We want to be on this boat.  Summer Soother Rating:  5 stars out of 5 stars –

Welcome to the best part of my day!
– Jane BH

(Space Station Quiz answers:  1)  d.  16 times, 2)  a.  celestial palace,  3) d.  2 weeks,  4)  b.  9 minutes,  5)  a.  2024)
(Local Diner story problem answers:  July showed the larger profit.  This was not a super smart promotion from a financial point of view)