The Christmas Spy!

Today Jonathan and his school friends kicked off the holiday season with our annual lighting of the downtown square. With this big event, many local performers and schools get to showcase their talents. Jonathan and his schoolmates did just this. Below are a couple of videos that let you see the fun that was enjoyed by all. They all did a fantastic job!



In addition, here is another performance the same day with JPL.

Lots of Fun with Anagrams!

Have you ever played around with the letters in words to make new words. Well then you have found the anagrams included. One of the first ones I remember was "Race Car" and how it simply spells itself backwards. Along those same lines, anagrams can go much further. I recently watched a documentary called "Word Play" which tracked some fierce competetors on the Scrabble board game circuit. It seems that anagrams, and the ability to decode them, are a necessity to be successful.

Some funny anagrams I found:
Sarah Palin ~ A sharp nail
i love you ~ O! Evil you
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ~ Mr Jock, TV quiz PhD, bags few lynx
The Spotman and His World ~ Damndest whiplash or not

If you want to try and create some anagrams (it is very fun), there is a web-based generator that will take any word or phrase and give you back the anagrams it can make. Click here to visit the website of Sternest Meanings and their anagram generator.

Another great repository for everything anagram and to download free software, visit Anagram Genius by clicking here.

The WillYou Project, Will You?

The WillYou Project was created by Johnny Chung Lee in 2005 until someone decided to submit it to a web referral site and it received widespread notice. This project is actually a website where visitors submit (anonymously if they like) submit words to complete the following phrase: ________ will _________ you

The website goes through a slideshow of phrases that have been sumitted by visitors and also has a submit section at the bottom so you can be a part as well.

Click here to visit the WillYou Project to read and perhaps write!

For a little more detail on the background of this project and other related projects, please click here.

Paint This Town with a Slingshot!

This event is a few years old, but the idea takes us back to our childhood. Also, the video below is lots of fun. The inventor Johnny Chung Lee and friend Joshua Atlas were involved in a public art demonstration on May 6, 2005 in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Both men designed a giant slingshot as part of a public art expo to involve the Pittsburgh community in turning a high-rise into one of the largest art displays before it met it's demise being demolished. The two men with community members placed large paintballs in the slingshot and hurled them on the side of the high-rise building.


Click here for a gallery of pictures about the event.

Click here to visit Johnny Chung Lee's site dedicated to the event.

Take a few moments and watch the video below for a first-hand experience.

Amazing Steadycam by Johnny Chung Lee

I have found myself quite impressed by Johnny Chung Lee and the experimental and low-cost inventions he has designed. I shared in a previous post how he could take a Wii game system and turn it into a smart whiteboard.

Here is another great idea by Johnny Chung Lee, the low-cost steadycam. This can be put together for very little investment. Click here to get the full story. Send any pictures or videos you may create!

Amazing Wii Inventions!

A friend of mine passed along some information about Johnny Chung Lee, a modern inventor. I am so impressed with his mindset and out of the box thinking. His website (click here) gives you the software and other information to perform and create many of the inventions he mentions in the video below. Enjoy!

An Inside Look at My Hand Surgery

Yes, this is an edited look at my hand surgery for those of you with tempermental tummies. Despite how this may look, that is NOT blood you see, instead it is Betadine (sp?) used to clean my hand thoroughly before the surgery began. The hand on the top with the glove is my surgeon, the thumb below is mine. I have more spectacular shots, but thought this was the most appropriate for the blog. My surgery was to remove a small ganglian cyst that had grown to the size of a marble at the base of my index and second finger of my left hand. Not sure why it happened, but it happened quickly. Everything went well, and I am currently bandaged as I type. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! Sarah was able to be present for the procedure and could see the inner workings of my hand.

My Son is Crazy but ... Promising!

Yes, it is true! My Son is Crazy but ... Promising is the newest production by Vanguard High School Players (VHS Players) and opens next week, November 20, 21, and 22, in the VHS Campus Auditorum. This is a high paced comedy that will have you laughing all the way home. We are very proud, we think, that our oldest son David is playing the part of the Crazy son.

Please join us at this fantastic event, the more the merrier! Click on the image below for the promotion poster and more information about cost (it's a deal!). We'll see you there!

Go Flamingo Man, Go!

Look very close, this is a very rare species that has not been photographed very often - this is the Flamingo Man!

On a recent visit to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival I found myself chuckling when I saw this guy in a full sprint for the bathroom. I guess if you have to go, it really doesn't matter what you are wearing, I can only imagine the snickering that took place while standing at the urinal. Go Flamingo Man, Go!

Entertaining Rachel Ray!

It is like one of those amazing dreams you start in middle school and never seem to get out of your head. Well, here is proof that a dream can become reality! My longtime friend Jim recently entered Mario Batali's Ultimate Grilling Challenge with a short video. The challenge was simple, submit a video of an original dish created on the grill with some Italian connection. Jim, a longtime lover of food and cooking, took the challenge and with the help of Pam, his wife, submitted the video below. Well, to make a long (but exciting) story short, Jim won the whole challenge. Part of his spoils was to attend a NASCAR event at Texas Motor Speedway and to grill with Mario Batali and Rachel Ray. I think these couple of pictures truly show the highlight of Jim winning the Grilling Challenge. Thanks Mario Batali for selecting Jim Webster for this, he truly deserves it, and thanks Rachel Ray for hanging on Jim's every word, you rock!

Click here to visit Jim Webster's Gastroblog for a more detailed overview of the whole experience!

Jim's Original Video Entry:

The 39 Clues - Hints, Links, Codes and Help!

If you have read or are currently hooked on Scholastic Books' series The 39 Clues, here are links that will provide more insight, access to pictures, details of the cards, player hints and, in some cases, even additional codes that cannot be found elsewhere.

Rick Riordan is the project manager and main author Scholastic selected to oversee this unique project. Rick wrote the first book in the series, The Maze of Bones, and plans to author other books in the 10 book group. The second book is titled One False Note,written by Gordon Korman, and book three is written by Peter Lerangis titled The Sword Thief. Additional authors are listed in the links below.

The following links should be helpful and insightful. You may want to bookmark or add this page to your favorites so you can easily find it in the future.

Please email me or leave a comment below if you find any additional links or corrections needed for this page. Enjoy reading and playing!

39 Clues Official Sites:
The 39 Clues - Official Website
Arena 39 - Online Games and Puzzles
Double-Cross - Card Game

Official Scholastic Sites:
Scholastic's The 39 Clues Ink Splot Blog
Official The 39 Clues Site
Nessie Lives Site
Scholastic FAQ about the series
Scholastic's Site
Scholastic's Press Release

Fansites:
TheSpotman's 39 Clues Help
Wikipedia 39 Clues Site
Shelfari's 39 Clues Group
Bruce's 39 Clues Wiki Site
39 Clues World Site
39 Clues Spot - FanPop.com

Forums:
39 Clues Forum - Unfiction.com
39 Clues Forum - FanPop.com

Other 39 Clues Stuff:
Borders - Free 39 Clues Card
Borders - Meet the Cahills
Unpublished Ben Franklin Letters
Quizilla - Test Your 39 Clues Knowledge

Videos:
Scholastic Interview with Rick Riordan
Borders Backlot Interview with Rick Riordan
The 39 Clues - The Hunt Begins
BlipTV Interview with Rick Riordan
The 39 Clues - Teacher Video
The 39 Clues - Newsdesk
Clue 1
Clue 2
Clue 3
Fan Cheats 1
Fan Cheats 2
Reilly's Moscow Jail Cell Code

Other Related Sites:
Rick Riordan's Website
Rick Riordan's 39 Clues Page
Rick Riordan's Myth and Mystery Blog
Variety article - Dreamworks / Steven Spielberg 39 Clues movie
Variety article - Jeff Nathanson as 39 Clues screenwriter

Author's Wikipedia Sites:
Rick Riordan (Book 1 Author)
Gordon Korman (Book 2 Author)
Peter Lerangis (Book 3 Author)
Jude Watson (Book 4 Author)
Patrick Carmen (Book 5 Author)

Rachel Ray and Mario Batali at the races with Jim and Pam!

Jim and Pam Webster flew off to reap the spoils of winning the Ultimate Grilling Challenge on the Mario Batali website. This has been an experience of a lifetime as Jim got to meet not only Mario Batali, but also Rachel Ray. Here is a picture of Rachel Ray and Mario Batali at the event.



Jim and Pam have been treated as VIPs throughout the whole event, check out Jim's blog for details of every moment, don't miss any of the fun! Click here to visit http://jwscoop.blogspot.com/ Below is a picture of Jim and Pam with the Texas Motor Speedway behind them, can't you almost smell the rubber burning! Congrats Jim, we're very proud of you! For a more direct link to the events of race day, click here. Here are a couple of additional links with pictures that Jim sent to his paper:

Grilling with Mario and Rachel Ray and PSPWP on the grill!
A Day at the Races
Greetings from Texas