Every Sunday in March the folks behind FestiFools will be leading the public in building *awesome* illuminated lanterns to be used at the April 1 “FoolMoon” night-time parade (which is a run-up event to the April 3 daytime FestiFools Giant Scary Puppet parade). Come down, build some lanterns, and have an all-around good time with local crafting enthusiasts!
(I won’t be down at today’s workshop–it’s my mom’s birthday–but will be at the next several.) Free, Drop-in Sculptural Lantern Workshops!
DATE: March 6, 13, 20, and 27
TIME: 10am-5pm
LOCATION: The Workantile Exchange, 118 S. Main, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104
BONUS: Free treats from Sweetwaters Cafe for the first 25 folks to show up!
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Here’s a video demo of one sample lantern being built; these are *so supercool*!
This is a good intro to puppet-making, and a really solid lesson in pedagogy.
I love how chill Henson is; he doesn’t dumb down what he’s saying, and he also doesn’t amp it up (*HEY KIDS!*)–he presumes that his audience, regardless of age, is composed of interested human beings of average intelligence. It’s fun and it’s dignified (not in the sense of “stuffy,” but in that it respects the dignity of both the teacher and the student); in my experience, this is the best recipe for running a class where folks have fun and learn/make something they’ll value (again, regardless of age: 4-year-olds and 40-year-olds can all be spoken to basically the same way, you just have to squat on your haunches when addressing the former, and stand up straight when talking to the latter).
I also love that the puppeteers are clearly messing with Henson. That cracks me up.
As for the GeekSpeak appearance, you can check out the details here: Show for February 12, 2011 – GeekSpeak–or download the full hour of audio directly (I come in around the half-way mark; you’ll get to hear me blather, make weird yummy-noises-of-agreement, quote a +20-year-old Eddie Murphy routine, cough loudly into the mic, and wail on the $10 electric guitar through the Two-Transistor Fuzztone). REMINDER: In about a week (Feb 22) I’ll be doing a two-hour all-ages cardboard boomerang workshop at the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Branch! See you there OR ELSE!
COST: FREE!!! BONUS MICHIGAN EVENT: I’ll be running another cardboard boomerang workshop at the Main Branch of the Ann Arbor District Library on February 22 from 1pm to 3pm. Learn to build, tune, and throw cardboard boomerangs. Middle-school-age and younger kids are welcome with their folks. This one is also FREE!
Mike Kessler (carpenter and founder of the Workantile Exchange–which is where I sit and type most days) points out:
Making the frame looks like the easy part: setting up the shop and building all of the specialized jigs before the frame is built, that is the hard part. The quality of a craftsman is in the ingenuity of his jigs– that is what determines the quality and consistency of the final product; this guy is impressive.
iPad Cases by DODOcase
Basically, these bookbinders are making a hardback cover for the device (iPad or Kindle). I was lukewarm on this at first (especially since I own neither device), but now that I’ve seen more of the craftsmanship–especially the bamboo fitting that holds the tablet in place–I’m really, really impressed. If they made a flip-top cover for the iPhone/iPod Touch (which I do have), I’d definitely be in the market (hint, hint).
Incidentally, this is what I carry my iPod around in now: Poor Mojo’s Newswire: I’m Concerned I May Have Crossed a Geeky Rubicon
Video review of the DODOcase:
Spent the weekend near Higgins Lake, MI, visiting my parents-in-law, attending a carnival on and adjacent to a frozen lake, and cross-country skiing. When we went out this morning, it was -19 degrees with no windchill. Leaving the cottage I burned two of my knuckles on the sub-zero metal of the storm door.
That ice in my beard is my frozen breath, as is the ice crusting my scarf, and in my hair by my ear (I breath like nuts when I’m trying to regain sensation in my thumbs, toes, knees, etc.) We were only out for ~45 minutes.
Also spotted on this jaunt: Private land adjacent to the state park demarcated by 1) A large hand-painted “PRIVATE” sign and 2) a pair of deer rib cages rotted to the bone and hung ~10 feet up in the crooks of a pair of trees flanking the sign. Yes, Michigan!
LTK: What advice do you have for moms who want to tackle these crafts for boys? Is it really possible to make these items if you’ve never picked up a saw or a soldering iron?
DEN: Absolutely! First off, many of these projects were designed for kid who had likewise never touched a saw or soldering iron; everything here is within your reach. Beyond that, I’ve found that, especially with teens, a little humility goes a long way. Some of my best teaching experiences weren’t couched as “I know a lot about this, and now I’m gonna tell you,” but instead as “I have no idea what I’m doing, but neither do you; let’s figure it out together.” Working together is really powerful, especially when the ages of the people working together diverge greatly.
The author photo (which you see in the right-hand sidebar) was shot by my brother-in-law, photographer Justin Lundquist. When the cover was being laid out, this was one of three high-res photos of me that I had to offer to the graphic designer, and the only one where I wasn’t clearly holding a gun (Justin–who is also an incredible, natural shot–had gone skeet shooting with me, my dad, my other sister’s husband, and her son, and had brought along his good camera). So, let this be a lesson: If you’ve gotten most of the way through writing a book, get someone to take a decent hi-res photo of you; unbelievably, you will need it.
Justin and his business partner, Ben Syverson, have just gotten together money to start producing their Pinwide “lens.” This fits any Micro 4/3-body digital camera in place of the removable glass lens; a prototype was used to shoot this photo:
There’s a few of these sorts of pinhole lenses floating around, but what makes this one super wicked-awesome is that the aperture is etched, instead of laser drilled (giving a smoother, smaller hole) and the pinhole is actually recessed back into the camera body, bringing the aperture much closer to the CCD sensor. The result: super-wide angle pics with infinite depth-of-field focus and vignetting; high-res digital photos (and video!) taken today looks just like giant, flawless old-timey pinhole shots.
It really is the best damn digital pinhole out there–both in terms of price and end-results. It’s wicked, wicked awesome.
Here’s some video, some of which is shot *inside* a pinball machine:
) and on Saturday morning I was interviewed during the second half of 
Spent the weekend near Higgins Lake, MI, visiting my parents-in-law, attending a 