Misconception Addressed - It's Kalman, Again

I'm sure you're tired of the links I provide each month to Maira Kalman's column. Alas, I can't help myself. I think she's brilliant and want everyone who hasn't read her stuff to be initiated. This month on her blog (And the Pursuit of Happiness) she tackles Benjamin Franklin. I was won over from the very beginning by this statement.

Let's straighten out the first thing.
He didn't invent electricity.

If I had a nickel for every time a kid told/asked me this, I'd be a very rich woman.

You'll find all kinds of interesting tidbits here, accompanied by Kalman's terrific art. So, what are you still doing here? Get going!

Poetry Friday - What I Learned From My Mother

I just returned from spending nearly two weeks with my recently widowed mother. Despite her grief she is managing well, and still teaching me much. This poem is for her.

What I Learned From My Mother
by Julia Kasdorf

I learned from my mother how to love
the living, to have plenty of vases on hand
in case you have to rush to the hospital
with peonies cut from the lawn, black ants
still stuck to the buds. I learned to save jars
large enough to hold fruit salad for a whole
grieving household, to cube home-canned pears
and peaches, to slice through maroon grape skins
and flick out the sexual seeds with a knife point.

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Sylvia Vardell at Poetry for Children. Do stop by and take in all the wonderful works being shared this week. Happy poetry Friday all!

Hitting the Road

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, William and I head out for the L-O-N-G (10 or 11 hours) drive to western NY to spend nearly two weeks with my mom. (Did I mention my husband is a golf pro? No summer vacation for him.) I may check in once in a while, but for the most part, I'll be enjoying some much needed time off. I'll see you back here at the beginning of August.

Poetry Friday (One Day Early) - Moonflowers

Forgive the early post, but I leave for some much needed time off tomorrow.

It's been exactly 10 weeks since my father's death and I am often surprised and unhinged by things I see that remind me of him. This poem speaks to these moments.

Moonflowers
by Karma Larsen

It was the moonflowers that surprised us.
Early summer we noticed the soft gray foliage.
She asked for seedpods every year but I never saw them in her garden.
Never knew what she did with them.
Exotic and tropical, not like her other flowers.

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Poems of Confession

The challenge this week was to write a poem of confession. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Chocolate Love

I want chocolate, dark as kohl,
Lining my eyes,
Slathered between my legs,
Decorating my nipples.
I could eat it for every meal,
Rub it into my arm pits,
Crush it between my molars,
Suck it through a straw.
I dream of chocolate each night,
Running down my chin,
Hot and cold,
In a cup, in a cone.
My tongue gives it a deep kiss
And I am lost in its sweet tartness.
Can you tell I am on a diet?

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Stephanie Parsley from Sparble shares a poem entitled While you were at your father's in July.

Here is my draft for this week.

How to Unburden Your Soul

Pull journal from its hiding place
Find a good pen
Retire to a comfortable chair
Put your feet up
Collect your thoughts
Start a new page
Admit to:
      drinking milk straight from the jug
      eating the last piece of corn
      stealing your husband's change (every day)
      crying for no good reason
      backing into the mailbox
      an incredible lack of patience
      swearing like a sailor in the car
      a desire to throttle close friends and family
      spoiling your son
      missing a birthday
      failing a friend
      being human
Close journal
Let go
Breathe a sigh of relief

It's not to late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Confessions

Confession is good for the soul, or so they say. I find it quite liberating, though the thought of confessing my sins as a child was often quite disconcerting. (Really, at ten or twelve, what did I have to confess beyond disobedience to my parents and the admission of a using a few well-chosen curse words?!)

I thought it might be fun to write poems of confession. These are NOT poems of apology, but real confessions. Perhaps you might want to confess to a crime you didn’t commit, or an obsession you have. This one is wide open for some creative ideas, so have some fun. When you're finished, leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Resources for Teachers - Elementary Math Ideas

My math class will be coming to an end this week. Over at Open Wide, Look Inside, my students are slowly posting the online component for their instructional resource sets. You will find topical posts that highlight children's books, web sites and other resources for teaching elementary math. Hop on over and take a look. I know you'll find these posts useful.

Poetry Friday - Ode to Marbles

I spent a good part of the day yesterday experimenting with soap bubbles in an attempt to determine what kind of middle school math activities might come from them. I'm still thinking about them and other childhood entertainments. When I was young I absolutely coveted my brother's marble collection. Here's a poem just for him (and me!)

Ode to Marbles
by Max Mendelsohn

I love the sound of marbles
scattered on the worn wooden floor,
like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek.
I love the sight
of white marbles,
blue marbles,
green marbles, black,
new marbles,
old marbles,

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Jama at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Do stop by and take in all the great poems being shared this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry Stretch Results - Recipe Poems

The challenge this week was to write a recipe poem. It's only Tuesday, but folks got out of the gate fast on this one. Here are the results (so far).

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader shared this poem in the comments. It is a (slight) revision of an earlier poem.

How to Make a Morning

Melt a galaxy of stars
in a large blue bowl.
Knead the golden sun
and let it rise in the east.
Spread the horizon
with a layer of lemony light.
Blend together
until brimming with brightness.
Fold in dewdrops.
Sprinkle with songbirds.
Garnish with a chorus
of cock-a-doodle-doos.
Set out on a platter at dawn
and enjoy.

Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled Starfish Chili.

Laura Purdie Salas shares two recipe poems this week.

Diane M. Davis shares a poem entitled How to Make a Quiet Space.

Julie Larios from The Drift Record left this poem in the comments.

How to Make a 2-Year-Old

Start with Heart for the first year,
plenty of it. Add Head tad by tad
(plus a couple of toddles,
don’t go for name brands
like Mozart or Einstein –
a few lumpy smooches
and multiple grins and waddles
are fine.) To leaven, add tickles
(often) until you’re fairly addled
and softened, and the baby
is thoroughly moistened.
Allow to double in size.
Do not punch down
or allow to curdle. Keep warm
and dry in pj’s with penguins.
Serve with a sibling or two (or more.)
Share the results w/ all of your neighbors.

Kelly Fineman from Writing and Ruminating left this poem in the comments.

Recipe For a Mountain Stream
by Kelly R. Fineman

Carve a pathway down the mountain.
Line the streambed full of rocks.
Julienne tree roots and branches
if they keep you from your course.

Melt the snowcaps on the hilltops.
Whisk along where rapids roil.
Moisten every single pebble,
speck of gravel, mote of soil.

Here's the poem I wrote early this morning.

Island Surprise

Heat rock into molten magma
Pipe through cracks in the ocean floor
Let rise until well above sea level
Pound with surf
Simmer for thousands of years
Drizzle with sun and rain
Marinate in season after season
Dust with wind-blown seeds
Splash with the colors of the rainbow
Sprinkle with flora and fauna
Protect and enjoy for generations to come

It's not too late if you want to play along. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the results.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Recipe Poem

Lately I've been spending my evenings outside with a few trusty companions--my son, our dog, a notebook, my new fountain pen, and the book A Crow Doesn't Need a Shadow: A Guide to Writing Poetry From Nature. In the section Creating a Landscape, Lorraine Ferra shares a recipe poem and guides readers through the process of writing their own. Here's an excerpt.

Look through a cookbook. As you read the directions for several different recipes, write down the verbs which tell you what to do with the ingredients. Make a list of about ten or twelve different verbs. Keep in mind that you probably won't use all the verbs you find. Be selective for your poem.

Some possible subjects might be a recipe for a cave, foggy morning, a bird refuge, a season or particular month, a moonlit field, a river, or a sunset. Once you decide on your subject, start listing some ingredients.

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader is a master at recipe poems. Here are the directions she shares for writing them.

Directions for Writing Recipe and How to Make… Poems

• Write each direction in a separate sentence.
• Begin each sentence with a carefully selected verb.
• Try to use a different verb in each sentence.

You can read more at her post Recipe & How to Make ... Poems, Part II. This, of course, means there is also a post entitled Recipe & How to Make ... Poems, Part I.

So, there's your challenge for the week. Write a poem in the form of a recipe. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poetry Friday - I Hear America Singing

With Independence Day just around the corner, I'm thinking about America. Here's one of my favorite poems about her.

I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman

I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,
Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,
The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work,
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand
     singing on the steamboat deck,
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,
The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning, or
     at noon intermission or at sundown,
The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of
     the girl sewing or washing,
Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,
The day what belongs to the day—at night the party of young fellows,
     robust, friendly,
Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.

The round up is being hosted by Tabatha A. Yeatts. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you go be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results.

Poetry Stretch Results - Acrostic Poems

The challenge this week was to write in the acrostic form. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Undertaker

Victim look up.
Under a low and
Lowering sky, the undertaker comes
To carry your particulars
Up to a bleak, black heaven.
Read the set of wings, cruel beak, hooded eyes. This is no
Easing into eternity but a short, sharp shock

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Julie Larios from The Drift Record left this poem in the comments.

Green

Squash and tomatoes
Up, white clematis vining, cherries done,
Me down on my knees
Minding the weeds.
Each year, I hear their green
Rebellion

All around. And by the time I stand
Up again, another season’s come
To nudge me along. There, in the back yard,
Under the bare maple I see
Myself on my knees again, and next to me
Narcissus bulbs – named Polar Ice -

Waiting for their dark dirt.
I turn, I turn, the year turns with me.
Now it’s time for the person I am
To go inside, out of the snow, tuck
Everyone I love into bed,
Read them stories. What could be

Simpler or warmer? Later, I see someone
Putting small seeds in their trays.
Rain does its job, too, and the sun comes.
I hear the year’s green complications.
Now, the season whispers, go ahead.
Go ahead. Grow.

Tess from Written for Children left this poem in the comments.

Senses have their own symptoms.
You may experience or
Not experience
A sense perception that switches.
Even
Senses that are
Tactile such as your
hand, you may just hear it.
Estuaries can
Slide sideways suddenly
Into intuitive structures,into
Almost anything -- your salted lip!

Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled Azan.

Laura Purdie Salas shares two acrostic poems!

Dianne White shares a yummy poem entitled Pizza Patch.

Jone from Check It Out shares a poem inspired by her trip to Disneyland.

Elaine from Wild Rose Reader shares an acrostic for Tortoise, as well as some reviews of Fables in Verse.

Diane left this poem in the comments.

After a Month of Rain

Wearily I
read
each day's forecast
today a
chance of showers, tomorrow
heavy thunderstorms
expected with 60% chance of
despondency.

I've spent every day this week immersed in conversations about the teaching of math and science for middle school kids. With my brain swimming in numbers and theories, poetry has not come easily. Here is one of the poems I scribbled and scratched in the margins of my notes.

Phrases imperfect, imprecise
Ordered and reordered
Endlessly
Turned and twisted end over end
Revised
Yet again

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

Monday Poetry Stretch - Acrostics

Last week when writing abecedarian poems Laura Purdie Salas mentioned she liked them because they reminded her of one big acrostic to solve. This sentiment resonated with me, so I thought it might be fun to write acrostic poems this week.

During the April Poetry Makers series a few folks weighed in on the acrostic form. Steven Schnur said "Though some have called my acrostic books poetry, I think of them as word play, as solutions to problems of verbal geometry." Avis Harley shared a number of acrostic poems. One example was from her new book African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways.

ABOVE ALL

Celebrate these
Long-standing giraffes,
Opening
Up clouds and eaves-
Dropping on the wind!

Far
Removed
In airy
Elegance,
Nibbling on high, they
Decorate the
Sky.

Poem ©Avis Harley

This is a fine example, far removed from the school-assigned poems to write an acrostic using your first name, or some vocabulary word being studied. What kind of acrostic will you write this week? Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Book Review - What Cats Are Made Of

For quite a while now I've been crazy for posts that feature dogs, such as those from Susan Taylor Brown, Barbara O'Connor (Greetings From Nowhere), and Kirby Larson (Kirby's Lane). But what's an avowed dog lover to do when someone like Anna Alter (Painting Bunnies) begins a series of posts called Furball Friday? I am not a cat lover by any means, but for all my cat-loving friends and readers I offer this review of a book I never would have expected to so thoroughly enjoy.

What Cats are Made Of, written and illustrated by Hanoch Piven, is a cleverly crafted book that highlights a few of the known cat breeds while offering a bevy of feline facts. This is as much an "art" book as it is a nonfiction work on cats.

First, a disclaimer. If you are looking for a straight cat information book, this isn't the book for you. It is, however, the perfect introduction for those who don't know much about cats (like me). This is also not a book that provides photos or life-like drawings of the cats described. The illustrations are fabulously creative and are not meant in any way to be explanatory. They are, however, particularly entertaining and will offer readers a great deal to examine. Consider this, the cat depicted on the "cats are made of brains" page is constructed of a piece of circuit board, pencil sharpeners, wire, computer cords, glasses (yes, all us smart folk wear them), and a computer mouse (2 actually). The "cats are made of toughness" cat contains a sheriff's badge, nails and two miniature swords, while the "cats are made of softness" cat has a pillow for a head. The collages alone are worth spending time with, and I'll bet will make an excellent model for art teachers looking for some new ideas. Before you read on, take a minute to view a few of the illustrations at the Simon and Schuster site.

The text begins with the quote "There are no ordinary cats," and this introduction.

There are thirty-nine registered breeds of cats. Some are short, some are long, some are skinny, and some are fat. Some are playful and some are quiet, and some love people and some even act like dogs! Cats are made of all kinds of things. But there's one thing they have in common: The are special, and they know it. Because as Leonardo daVinci said, "The smallest feline is a masterpiece."

Following this introduction are 12 double-page spreads that each begin with the phrase "cats are made of ..." and end with words like energy, glamour, history, mutations, and more. A particular breed is used to illustrate the trait in detail. Breeds used include both common and lesser known varieties. Here's an example of what you'll find on the "cats are made of origami" page.

Scottish Fold cats have ears that are folded forward and down onto their heads, just like their origami versions! The folded ears are produced by an incomplete gene and are the result of a mutation. Not all Scottish Fold cats have folded ears, but all of them carry the gene for this characteristic. In fact, Scottish Fold kittens are born with normal ears. At about three to four weeks of age, their ears fold . . . or not!

After reading this I immediately thought of science teachers everywhere teaching about genetics using punnett squares and the same tired examples (fruit flies and pea plants). Wouldn't this be a fun trait to try?

Each double-page spread also includes a Feline Fact. These provide the kinds of tidbits that kids love to read about. More experienced folks may know these already, but here are some things this feline newbie learned.

• Cats can independently rotate their ears 180 degrees. (I'm going to do some serious cat observation to see this one for myself!)
• A cat's brain is biologically more similar to a human brain than it is to a dog's.
• Domestic cats can sprint thirty-one miles an hour.
• A cat's jaw moves only up and down, not side to side. (Another fact I wish to observe.)

The book ends with a double-page spread devoted to superstitions about cats.

I found this to be an entertaining and educational read. It will make a terrific introduction to the world of domestic cats, as well as a good example/idea text for art classes.

Now if only Mr. Piven will turn his sights and talents to dog breeds . . .

Book: What Cats are Made Of
Author/Illustrator: Hanoch Piven
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books
Publication Date: March, 2009
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: 1-5
ISBN: 978-1416915317
Source of Book: Personal copy purchased at a local independent bookstore.

Poetry Friday - Sunflower

Now that summer is really and truly here, I've been wandering through some local gardens and enjoying my favorite summer blooms. One is the sunflower.

Sunflower
by Frank Steele

You’re expected to see

only the top, where sky

scrambles bloom, and not

the spindly leg, hairy, fending off

tall, green darkness beneath.

Read the entire poem.

The round up is being hosted by Kelly Herold at Crossover. Do stop by and take in all the great poetry being shared this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all.

Poetry Stretch Results - Abecedarian Poems

The challenge this week was to write in the abecedarian form. Here are the results.

Jane Yolen left this poem in the comments.

Changes

A
Bunched
Caterpillar
Dozes
Exhausted,
Forming
Green
Hairpins
In
Jellied
Kingdoms.
Lying
Motionless,
Not
Overplaying
Pupa-ness,
Quite
Ready
(Sort of)
To
Unfold
Varicose
Wings with an
eXacting
Yellow
Zipper.

© 2009 Jane Yolen

Julie Larios from The Drift Record shares two double abecedarians.

Tiel Aisha Ansari from Knocking From Inside shares a poem entitled A Few Short Lines.

Dianne White shares Abecedarian: Insect Style.

sister AE at Having Writ shares a poem entitled Still Cloudy.

Laura Purdie Salas gets acrobatic with her poem Shooting Star.

Andi from a wrung sponge shares a poem entitled Blessed Are the Broken-Hearted.

Mary Lee from A Year of Reading gives us An Abecedarian Love Song to My Hometown.

Here is one of the poems I've been working on this week.

August comes with
blazing sun, no
cooling breezes for the
dog days where
evenings are still fiery with
flitting fireflies and star-
gazing.
Incandescent days and
jeweled nights
keep children
laughing,
moving
nonstop through
open fields
pools and puddles,
quick stepping,
rain dancing,
singing and shouting
to the world.
Until … the
very last day
when the calendar
eXclaims that the golden,
yellow days are done, and summer
zooms away.

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.

A Poetry Stretch Comment

If you're working on your abecedarian poem, there is no need to restrict it to single words. That was the example used, but there are many fine poems that do not do this. Take for example these two double abecedarians by Julie Larios over at The Drift Record.

I'm thinking summer, so my poem is shaping up this way.

August comes with
blazing sun, no
cooling breezes in these
dog days of summer.
Evening gives way to
flitting fireflies and star-
gazing on clear nights.
Hopeful skywatchers

I have no clue where it's going. I'll just have to follow where it leads. I hope you'll consider joining us for this week's stretch.

Thinking Summer

I'm hard at work on my abecedarian poem and it's turning on the theme of summer. Fortunately for me, there's some great inspiration over at the KR blog. Cody Walker has written a fine piece called Sun Break. Head on over and soak up some literary summer.

Nonfiction Monday - A Mathematical Trio

Since I'm in the midst of teaching a course on the teaching and learning of math, I have math books on the brain. Here are three I like that cover numbers, time and money.

Used Any Numbers Lately?, written by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman and illustrated by Vicky Enright, is an alphabet book that examines where numbers are found in our daily lives. The text is minimal, but that doesn't detract from it's usefulness in acquainting young children numbers and their uses. Many of the numbers described in the book are nominal, meaning they are used for identification. Examples include apartment number, bus number, house number, jersey number, etc. A few ordinal numbers also make an appearance, as in floor number (sixth) and grade number (first). As to those letters that often make an alphabet book difficult to write, they were handled pretty well, with Q as question number (what kid won't related to question numbers on a quiz?) and X as x equals ? number (x as in a variable). I actually thought this was a relatively interesting way to introduce the notion of a variable. The illustrations are full of energy and do a fine job of demonstrating the use of each number. There were a few uses I was disappointed with, but that's par for the course in any alphabet book. The page for N says "We're number ONE!" I was so hoping for a weather report, a snowy day, a chilly thermometer, and negative numbers. Also, the page for U reads "Your number's up!" and shows a number being served at a deli counter. Despite these minor concerns, this is a nice book for developing number sense.

A Second is a Hiccup: A Child's Book of Time, written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, looks at different quantities of time and provides some reasonable estimates. The book begins with the question "How long is a second?" The answer?

A second is a hiccup--
The time it takes to kiss your mom
Or jump a rope
Or turn around.

The text goes on to look at the length of a minute, hour, day, week, month, and year. The watercolor illustrations show a diverse cast of children and families engaged in the the activities described. I like everything about this book, particularly the lyrical text. My favorite section is about the length of a week.

How long is a week?

Seven days all in a line.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Thursday Friday and the end day
Saturday--a favorite one!
Some are quiet, some are fun.

Work days, home days, play days, school days

Seven wake-ups, seven sleeps

This is a wonderful book that provides a terrific introduction to time in all its varied measures.

Making Cents, written by Elizabeth Keeler Robinson and illustrated by Bob McMahon, provides a kid-friendly look at money and equivalencies. On the first page readers meet a group of kids with a dream to build a clubhouse. It begins with one penny.

Penny!
There's a pretty perfect penny in my pocket--
a copper-colored penny, very
smooth around the edge.
With this one-cent penny
we can buy . . .
a perfect
penny nail.

What's nice about the text is that in a very thoughtful, concise description kids learn exactly what a penny looks like (copper color, smooth edge). The illustrations extend this knowledge by depicting the front and back of the penny and the object that can be purchased with it. The book continues "Look! We have five pennies./ We can trade them for a .../ Nickel!" Each successive page describes the coin, shows it, AND shows what can be purchased. In the case of the nickel, the purchase can be five penny nails or one wood screw. The illustrations depict the kids working to earn more money (lemonade stand, leaf raking, dog walking, window washing, etc.) and the accumulation of wealth continues. As the money amounts increase, there is quite a bit of multiplication going on with the items for purchase. For example, on the five-dollar bill page kids see 500x penny nails, 100x wood screws, 50x marking pencils, 20x squares of sandpaper, 5x hinges, and 1x tape measure. The book ends when the kids reach $100. The author's note at the end describes some of the denominations not used in the book (half-dollar and two-dollar bill) and provides information about how our money is always changing. Links to useful web sites are also included. A terrific introductory book.

Here's a bit more information on each book.

Book: Used Any Numbers Lately?, written by Susan Allen and Jane Lindaman and illustrated by Vicky Enright
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publication Date: September, 2008
Pages: 31 pages
Grades: K-2
ISBN: 978-0822586586

Book: A Second is a Hiccup: A Child's Book of Time, written by Hazel Hutchins and illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: March, 2007
Pages: 40 pages
Grades: K-2
ISBN: 978-0439831062

Book: Making Cents, written by Elizabeth Keeler Robinson and illustrated by Bob McMahon
Publisher: Tricycle Press
Publication Date: June, 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grades: K-3
ISBN: 978-1582462141

This post was written for Nonfiction Monday. This week our host is Tina at Tales from the Rushmore Kid. Do stop by and see what others are sharing in the world of nonfiction today.

Houdini and the Land of the Pharoahs

I know I've mentioned this before, but I am hooked on The Classic Tales Podcast. This week's installment is Imprisoned with the Pharaohs by H.P. Lovecraft. Here is the description.

Legends abound in the land of Egypt. Legends of mysterious ancient powers that sleep beneath the man made monuments of death, known as the pyramids. When the great escape artist Harry Houdini visits the land of the Pharaohs, he is forced to perform an escape from terrors unknown to those who breathe the earthly air.

As someone who loves Amelia Peabody and Theodosia Throckmorton, I can't deny my affection for this tale. If you have some time, do give a listen. (This is Part 1 of 2 in a series.)