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A Gorgeous Film Created From Still Photos That Capture the Intersection of Water Meeting Light #ArtTuesday

Via Laughingsquid

Dutch filmmaker Armand Dijks has created “Elemental“, a gorgeous film that captures the brilliant intersection where light and water meet. The film was created using photos taken by Australian ocean wave photographer Ray Collins and put on an infinite loop for extended play.

Each shot in this film was created from a single one of Ray’s original photos. The stills are transformed into cinemagraphs – a hybrid between photo and video – an infinite loop that makes a single moment last forever.

See more!

Screenshot 4 2 14 11 48 AMEvery Tuesday is Art Tuesday here at Adafruit! Today we celebrate artists and makers from around the world who are designing innovative and creative works using technology, science, electronics and more. You can start your own career as an artist today with Adafruit’s conductive paints, art-related electronics kits, LEDs, wearables, 3D printers and more! Make your most imaginative designs come to life with our helpful tutorials from the Adafruit Learning System. And don’t forget to check in every Art Tuesday for more artistic inspiration here on the Adafruit Blog!

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Join 9,700+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community!

What do you want from CircuitPython in 2019?

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• “ChocoLead” contest

    Dear friends,

    AdCombo Team is happy to announce the forthcoming contest “ChocoLead”. The starting date is the 1st of August.

    Do you want to win your own Mac Book Pro? AdCombo Team is ready to give you the opportunity!

    You send your traffic to our Choco offers and bring leads; we give you fabulous prizes in turn. Interested? Follow our updates in order not to miss the further information about “ChocoLead”.

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Eyewitness Reliability And Troy Davis Part II

Yesterday, I wrote that, by taking up the Perry v. New Hampshire case, the Supreme Court had acknowledged the ongoing problem of unreliable eyewitnesses testifying in our courts.  Thousands of studies have reiterated that eyewitness testimony is a particularly untrustworthy form of evidence. But after reading accounts like this one of yesterday’s oral arguments in that case, it appears that, even if the Justices recognize this problem, they don’t think it matters much.

In fact, the prevailing attitude seemed to be that letting any unreliable evidence into trials doesn’t matter too much, because juries will sort it all out.  The Justices have in their hands an expert affidavit from the American Psychological Association that explicitly states: “juries tend to ‘over believe’ eyewitness testimony”. But the Court still seemed to oppose what Justice Kennedy called “invading the province of the jury.”

Reliability of Eyewitness Testimony: What We Learned From Troy Davis

Brenda Forrest, one of the jurors who convicted Troy Davis and sentenced him to death, told CNN that in 1991 she believed: “He was definitely guilty.  All of the witnesses, they were able to I.D. him as the person who actually did it.”

justice scalesHowever, years after the trial, Forrest backtracked as the case against Davis began to unravel, and went on to say that, knowing what she knows now about the witness recantations,  she would have voted to acquit Davis of the crime for which he was put to death September 21.

Eyewitnesses do seem credible to jurors.  After all, they were there.  And back in 1991 when Troy Davis’ fate was being decided, eyewitnesses seemed credible to courts too.  Not so much any more.  Decades of studies have exposed how shaky human memory is, and how little eyewitness evidence should be trusted. Ironically, for Davis, this meant that a form of evidence deemed reliable enough to convict him in 1991 was considered too untrustworthy in 2010 to be considered “clear and convincing” proof of his innocence.

Troy Davis And Faulty Witness IDs

In this picture, the tiny figure in the parking lot across the street is approximately where Troy Davis was, and the camera is approximately where Dorothy Farrell was, when, according to her trial testimony, she saw his face at 1:30 am. (She, like most of the witnesses, has since recanted).

© Jen Marlowe

“[J]uries tend to ‘over believe’ eyewitness testimony”. So says the American Psychological Association in its amicus brief  for an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case.  And Adam Liptak in the New York Times writes:

“ … it is perilous to base a conviction on a witness’s identification of a stranger. Memory is not a videotape. It is fragile at best, worse under stress and subject to distortion and contamination.”

Kevin Keith and the Witness Who Wasn't There

A man faces execution despite a strong claim of innocence.  With a conviction based on deeply flawed witness testimony, and emerging evidence pointing to an alternative suspect, doubts about his guilt continue to grow.   Yet Kevin Keith is scheduled to be put to death by the state of Ohio on September 15.  He has a clemency hearing on August 11, and he is still hoping for a court to grant him a new trial, but time is slipping away.   It is important to ACT NOW!

Amnesty International opposes all executions, but even death penalty supporters should be concerned when serious claims of innocence have not been heard, and serious doubts about guilt have not been resolved.

Kevin Keith has been on death row since 1994, when he was convicted of the murders of Marichell Chatman, Marchae Chatman, and Linda Chatman. The night of the shooting, Marichell’s two young cousins, who were also shot, survived. One of them, Quanita Reeves, told the police that the gunman was one of her father’s friends and not Kevin Keith.

The prosecution’s case relied on the nurse of a third survivor, Richard Warren.  Police testified that the nurse, Amy Gimmets, said that Warren had given her the name ‘Kevin’. Slight problem:  in 2007, through a comprehensive search of hospital and Ohio records, it was discovered that Amy Gimmets never existed. Amy Whisman, Warren’s actual nurse, was not told who the gunman was, and Richard Warren initially told four people he did not know who the killer was.  Kevin Keith’s attorneys have looked into Warren’s identification of Kevin Keith, and concluded that it was tainted by many factors, including a highly suggestive photo line-up where Mr. Keith’s face appeared larger than the others.

No court has ever had the entirety of new evidence before it. Some of the new evidence has been time-barred and therefore has never, and may never, be heard on its merits by any court. If Kevin Keith does not get the new trial he deserves, it is imperative that he be granted executive clemency.  No one should ever be executed, but, surely no one should be executed under these circumstances.


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Archives / Year: 2019

Balsamiq Sponsorships & Raffle Update for January 2019

This month we have more raffles for you to enter and we can't wait to show you the upcoming events we are sponsoring!
January 14th, 2019

UX/UI Links of December 2018

Our favorite UX and UI links from December 2018, featuring articles about web form design, consistency, personas, and more!
January 3rd, 2019


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Windows 8.1: Better without the start menu?

Details on the much awaited Windows 8.1 were released to the public at this past week’s Build conference. Microsoft seems to have relented a bit on the taskbar design in Windows 8.1, having added back the Start button that was previously missing since the initial release. Many critics see this a half measure on the part of the Windows 8 team, since the new Start button opens the Windows 8 Start Menu and not the legacy Start Menu from Windows 7.

Those critics seem to want new software developed for them, but resist changes or innovation. This makes some of the criticism toward Windows 8 is unwarranted. Much has changed in how we use PCs since the introduction of the Start Menu, and I’m not just talking about the rise of the tablet market. Here’s why Windows 8 is better of in this new direction.

The Start Menu is Outdated

The Start Menu was first implemented as a part of Windows 95. It’s been 17 years. Seventeen years. I’ll just let that sink in for a moment. Sure, the design has changed a bit since then and many features have been added in the meantime. It’s not a bad solution, but it’s closer to a “1995” solution than a “2013” solution. Today’s machines are much faster. These days, users expect quick access to application and information and the old start menu just doesn’t serve that purpose well. First, you click the start button to open the menu, click again to open All Programs and then you scan the tiny menu for the folder that the application is in. If it happens to be named according to the developer of the software and I’m looking for the application name, chances are that I may not find it quickly. There’s a much better way of doing things, and it’s been offered in Windows for quite a while now.

Windows key + Search query

Let’s leave 1995 behind.  Windows search is fast and it works great. Many power users have taken advantage of the great search features in newer versions of Windows, not just in Windows 8. It’s nothing new, but despite the public opinion against Windows 8’s Metro UI as a whole, the use of Metro for search presentation is new, and it’s fantastic. I’m not sure why it’s worth the bother of launching Microsoft Word through the old Start Menu when I can just hit the Windows key, type “Word”, hit enter and it’s almost as if it is done for me.

A New Purpose

I admit, the Windows 8 Start Menu really isn’t a “Start Menu” as you’re used to using it. Think of it as a middle ground between the taskbar and the “All Programs” menu from the old Start Menu. Perhaps you can see it as an updated version of Quick Launch, if you prefer it that way. For applications you use all the time, you pin them to the taskbar, or you could even use desktop shortcuts. Applications that you use often, perhaps daily or weekly, can be organized for easy access on the Windows 8 Start Menu. For all else, there’s search.

Unsung Features

In the arguments for Windows 8, I still rarely see mentioned the many little features that make switching to Windows 8 worth it on its own. Take for example, the power user context menu found by right-clicking in the bottom left hand corner in Windows 8:

Windows 8 Power User Menu

The power user menu in Windows 8, found by right clicking in the bottom left corner.

This menu combines all of the most commonly used system administration features into one quick and easy shortcut. The overhaul to the Task Manager and File Management dialog are also some of the best features added to Windows in recent versions.  The pity is that these features are great for server administrators, but many can’t take advantage of them because they refuse to use Windows Server 2012 with the Metro UI included.

Metro-ed Out

It’s OK to not like the Metro look. I agree with many of the complaints about the Windows 8 UI, including multitasking with Metro apps and the lack of a windowed mode. What with Windows 8.1 adding the ability to boot directly to the desktop, between the use of the taskbar and Windows search you hardly need to see it. There are many features in Windows 8 that work great without ever launching a Metro app.

Still, credit must be given to the Windows 8 team for the improvements to the UI in 8.1. The addition of a single wallpaper for the desktop and start menu really go a long way to unify the Windows 8 UI with the rest of the OS.  The new variable tile sizes make the Windows 8.1 Start Menu that much better for quick access to information and organizing commonly used apps.

Windows 8.1 Start Menu

The updated wallpaper and tile size options on the Windows 8.1 Start Menu.

It’s not perfect, but the updates in Windows 8.1 are a step in the right direction. I’ve given up the old Start Menu for good.

Thanks for reading. What do you think about the new features in Windows 8.1?


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Keep the Junk Out of Your Car

Somehow…someway… junk piles up in your car. Receipts from ATM machines, leftover change from the takeout you had last night, an empty water bottle, shoes for the gym, etc. flood the floor of your car and prevent your friends or family members from comfortably sitting down. You don’t know how it all got there and you don’t know why – but you do know that you want it gone. So how do you go about preventing junk from piling up?

First, in order to stop trash from piling up, add a trash bag to your car. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just grab a plastic bag from your home and place it in the passenger side door storage holder or hang it from the back of the passenger seat. Then, every time you acquire a piece of trash, all you need to do is place your trash in the trash bag. This will prevent receipts, gum wrappers, and other miscellaneous items from piling up on the floor of your car.

Next, if you have a hobby that requires a change of clothes or materials to be left in your car make sure you keep in it a bag in the trunk of your car. This will keep it out of sight and out of the way of potential passengers. Also, if you have children, try keeping toys and electronics in a crate or box in the back seat. This way, the toys are not set out everywhere with the potential of flying out a widow or being stepped on.

Last, but certainly not least or finally, if you are one of those people who throw change all around your vehicle, then try keeping your change in one particular area. If you do not have a slot in your dashboard for change, place a cup in one of your cup holders and use it for your change. You will be amazed at how much change you really do have!

Remember to clean the inside of your car at least once a month! Routinely vacuuming your floor mats, floors, and seats, and cleaning the button/dials in your car will not only keep your car looking and smelling nice, but will prevent dirt from building up in your buttons – preventing them from working properly!

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Showers may dampen New Year’s celebrations

San Antonio's skyline is hidden by fog as rain moves through the area Monday morning. (Mike Howell /

Thunderstorms may dampen San Antonio’s New Year’s Eve celebrations as showers move through South Texas, according to the National Weather Services’ website.

Today’s high is expected to be in the mid 60s with a 40 percent chance of rain.

Tonight’s low is expected to be between 49 and 56 degrees with a 50 percent chance of rain, according to NOAA.

The chance of rain drops on New Year’s Day to 20 percent with highs in the lower 60s.

Click here for this week’s forecasts.

Mike Howell


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Innovation & Quality

The 53rd edition of the International Paris Air Show in Le Bourget is coming up!

The 53rd Show will take place at the Le Bourget Parc des Expositions from 17 to 23 June 2019, and once again will bring together all the players in this global industry around the latest technological innovations.

FINE/Marine Workshop in Madrid (Spanish spoken)

Come join our seminar and get HANDS-ON experience with FINE™/Marine for resistance curve calculation, propulsion, sea keeping etc.

Turbomachinery Design and Optimization seminar in Madrid (Spanish spoken)

See and learn how you can significantly improve turbomachinery performances, cut costs and save time in turbo design thanks to our unique, state-of-the-art FINE™/Turbo and FINE™/Design software.

NUMECA at the ASME Turbo Expo 2019 in Phoenix, AZ, USA

ASME Turbo Expo, the must-attend event for turbomachinery professionals, is taking place in Phoenix, AZ, USA this year from June 17th to 21st. NUMECA will be sponsoring, presenting papers and exhibiting.

NUMECA will be exhibiting at NAVEXPO 2019

Meet the maritime team at the NUMECA booth to discuss: resistance, planning regime, seakeeping, manoeuvring, propulsion, external aerodynamics, hull and propeller optimization...


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Pinterest Google+

On 21st May, an American airstrike killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. This operation, which involved multiple drones, comes as a relief to many, as Mansour had been actively planning and carrying out attacks across Afghanistan. According to the US Secretary of State John Kerry, Mansour ‘posed a continuing imminent threat to US personnel in Afghanistan, Afghan civilians, Afghan security forces, and members of the US and the NATO coalition.

The killing of the Taliban leader, however, is likely to lead to unwelcome consequences, and will hamper peace talks between the insurgents and the government. The issue of peace talks has always been unpopular among the Taliban’s most senior leadership. In the wake of Mansour’s death, these leaders are more likely to begin planning their revenge rather than negotiating a peace settlement.

Four days after the strike, the Taliban announced that a lesser-known deputy of the terrorist organisation, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, will take over as its leader. Akhundzada’s swift appointment comes as a surprise given a legacy of power struggles over the Taliban’s succession. The immediate and streamlined appointment of Akhundzada is a desperate attempt by the Taliban to prevent a power struggle similar to that which prevailed before Mansour was appointed.

Mansour emerged as the leader of the Taliban in 2015 by crushing those who favoured peace talks with Kabul and cementing ties with the Haqqani network, a highly sophisticated insurgent group that has been fighting against NATO and the Afghan government since the early 1990s. Mansour promoted the Haqqani leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to deputy leader of the Taliban. That Haqqani, whose network has been responsible for some of the highest-profile attacks of the Afghan war, was not chosen as successor is an important indication of the direction the Taliban intends to take.

Although Akhundzada lacks Haqqani’s military expertise, some Taliban leaders consider the latter to be a controversial figure, unfamiliar with the insurgency landscape of southern Afghanistan. The Taliban also feared that their hardships would increase under Haqqani as he is the United States’ most wanted Taliban figure. The son of Taliban’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, Mohammad Yaqoob was also overlooked for the leadership of the Taliban due to his lack of experience in battle and his young age.

Akhundzada, who is said to be in his mid-fifties, fought against the Russians in the 1980s and joined the Taliban at its founding in 1994 under Mohammad Omar’s leadership. Omar appointed Akhundzada as the head of the military court in Kandahar during the Taliban’s rule over Afghanistan. Akhundzada was promoted under Mansour to a deputy position in the organisation in 2013.

Some Taliban members believe that Akhundzada ‘will bring back the era of Mullah Omar’ with ‘a simple life, loyalty, and terror on enemies.’ In addition, the immediate appointment of Akhundzada could also signal the group’s fear of an expanding threat posed by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) in Afghan territory. Quick appointment would ensure stability and unity within the organisation, thereby keeping ISIS influence away from Afghanistan.

Due to his lack of military expertise, Akhundzada may increase violence to consolidate his position, and as means of demonstrating his military capabilities. Conversely, given his legal background, he may also be more open to peace discussions than the previous hard-line military leaders of the Taliban.

In June, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri swore allegiance to Akhundzada in a video released by al-Qaeda’s propaganda division. The leader’s oath to the head of the Taliban has become especially important for jihadists since the rise of ISIS. The rift between the two organisations continues as members of al-Qaeda say that the so-called ISIS caliphate is ‘illegitimate,’ and the Taliban’s chieftain is the true ‘Emir of the Believers. This alliance between the Taliban and al-Qaeda could be instrumental in thwarting ISIS influence in the area.

The Taliban’s opposition to ISIS has been imperative in preventing the latter organisation from establishing themselves within Afghanistan. According to a former special representative of the UN Secretary General, ISIS militants have been involved in a direct rivalry with the Taliban in several provinces across Afghanistan. The Khurasan province, which ISIS imagines as an integral part of its caliphate, includes Afghanistan and surrounding areas. These ambitions make the Taliban an obstacle for ISIS, and bring the two into direct conflict.

ISIS has openly declared its hate for the Taliban and consistently attacks the group and al-Qaeda in their Dabiq magazine. ISIS’s hostility stems from the fact that the Taliban draws its legitimacy not from a universal Islamic creed, but from a narrow ethnic and nationalistic base. Though the Taliban and al-Qaeda also aim to establish an Islamic state, the Taliban’s ambitions are constrained to Afghanistan, not the entire world.

The threat that ISIS poses to the Taliban’s dominance of Afghanistan has led the former to create the Taliban’s “Special Forces.” Their sole aim is to overthrow ISIS, especially after the two groups declared war on each other in January 2015. The Taliban has gained the upper hand in these clashes and has already opened dialogue with several regional countries, assuring them that they will not allow ISIS to gain a foothold in Afghanistan.

If the Taliban is transitioning to combating the ISIS threat and reasserting its dominance, the swift appointment of Akhundzada is a step towards ensuring the Taliban retain their supremacy in Afghanistan.

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Doing Moscow in a hurry? Visit these 3 must-see attractions

Touching down in Moscow with limited time to see the sights? If you're whipping up your own whirlwind tour of Russia's capital city, make sure you add these top attractions to your itinerary.

Moscow’s Kremlin

Head into the city for your first stop: the Kremlin. Just a 35-minute drive from our Radisson Blu Hotel, Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, Russia’s most famous building sits perched on top of Kremlin Hill, overlooking the Moscow River and Red Square. Historically, it was the center of the Russian Orthodox Church, hosting the coronation of each new Tsar, but since 1991, it has been the residence of the Russian president. Aside from the private area allocated for that purpose, it includes a museum and concert hall that are open to the public.

The oldest part of the Kremlin is Cathedral Square, which was established in the early 14th century. Today, Cathedral Square includes several cathedrals, the Church of Laying Our Lady's Holy Robe, the Patriarch's Palace, the Faceted Chamber, Tsarina's Golden Chamber, and the Ivan the Great Bell-Tower complex.

The world’s most famous square

The famous Red Square began life as a slum beneath the walls of the Kremlin, which was eventually cleared by Ivan III at the end of the 13th century. It was previously dubbed Trinity Square, named after the cathedral that preceded St. Basil’s. The new name became official in the mid-17th century. The English name is derived from the Russian word ‘krasnyi’, which once meant 'beautiful' and now means 'red' in modern Russian.

Few edifices are as synonymous with Russia as St. Basil’s Cathedral, located on the edge of the Red Square. The cathedral was built in the 16th century at the behest of Ivan the Terrible as a monument celebrating the Russian victory over the Tartar Mongols. According to legend, after the cathedral was completed the Tsar ordered that the architects be blinded, so that they could not replicate the beautiful structure. The nine colorful spirals of the cathedral top the nine separate chapels that make up the building itself. Considered a 'masterpiece of Orthodox art,' it lends a sense of whimsy to the city with its swirling colors, intricate patterns and domed spires.

The magnificent Metro

Komsomolskaya metro station Moscow - Source Popova-ValeriyaShutterstockcom

In Moscow, the Metro isn't merely a means of transporting people from point A to point B – the stations themselves are noteworthy attractions. It's no exaggeration to say that the grandeur of some stations rivals the world's great ballrooms and art museums.

Stroll through the Komsomolskaya station, where you'll find vaulted ceilings and gilded bas-relief scenes depicting wartime victories. By contrast, the much more recently constructed Dostoevskaya station takes a fairly understated approach, but Dostoevsky fans will be delighted by the quirky murals depicting scenes from the mastermind's writings. If you're headed to the city's historical center, you might find yourself exiting at Okhotny Ryad. Look out for Italian-marble pylons and a ceramic-tile wall from which a mosaic of Karl Marx still gazes at fast-paced commuters.

If you find yourself captivated by Moscow's metros, it's possible to arrange English-speaking tours of the network, taking in all the most enchanting 'people's palaces.' Just don't forget to pop your head above ground at least a few times on your trip. There's plenty to see up there, too.

Tell us what you think


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Art Journalism On The Rocks

As the Victorian era died under his feet and the future seemed unknowable, Matthew Arnold felt as if he were “wandering between worlds, one dead, the other powerless to be born.” Had he been able to cheer up, we wouldn’t have the haunting metaphor, but more than a century after his death it’s easy to see that he would have had more fun as an early modernist than what he continued to be, a late Victorian.

The distance between loss and fun cannot be measured on a map. And yet even the most optimistic arts journalist would allow that today, as change hits the field like an electric current, what we’re losing is more of a topic than the wonder of the new age.

Wholesale sacking is the order of the day at newspapers large and small. As newspapers that are panicked about their bottom line give up on cultural coverage, they abandon writers who through their intelligence, energy and commitment to their fields could continue to make specific contributions to their communities. A prime example of an ill-considered cut is Catherine Fox, art critic at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (examples here and here).

On the other hand, a lot of what passes for criticism in daily newspapers is dead weight. Look across the country, and you’ll see critics in all fields way past their pull dates. They write as if it’s 1970, using the same words they used then to describe what there is no longer a reason to describe. It’s time to experiment, and most of the best experiments are already taking place online, with images alongside commentary, embedded interviews, live scans of galleries and critical dialogue replacing the old monologue.

In the past, newspapers carried critics without spending too much time analyzing what they were doing and why. The need for reviews was a given, and the assumption made that such writing had a loyal audience. Now, online, that audience (or lack of it) can be measured. If reviews are still important — and I think they are — they are only part of what a newspaper critic needs to deliver, and they can’t be written on automatic pilot.

Critics who are frozen in time and determined to repeat themselves should vacate the building. It’s also past time to say goodbye to artists who’ve held onto their teaching jobs even if they’re no longer producing in their studios and can’t muster anything but disdain for art today.

Regina Hackett


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Tag Archives | 2015
Photo courtesy of Pexels.com

6 Favorite business reads

Blogger Jody Glynn Patrick shares some of her favorite blogs, articles and source material she used in 2015.
Read full story
Picture courtesy of Public Domain Pictures.net and user Petr Kratochvil

Incremental improvements using six senses

New Year! New you! Check our blogger Mike Sansone's unique approach to self improvement in 2015.
Read full story
Photo courtesy of Boston.com

Avoid distractions in the New Year

Distractions are everywhere! Blogger Jeff Sauer has five tips he thinks will help you stay on track in 2015.
Read full story


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Dr Who?

Dr Who?

Happy news for historical art lovers: Te Papa is soon to have a newly appointed Curator Historical International Art.

Zinnias, 1911, United Kingdom. Nicholson, William. Gift of the National Art Collections Fund, London, 1954. Te Papa
Zinnias, 1911, United Kingdom. William Nicholson. Gift of the National Art Collections Fund, London, 1954. Te Papa

Dr Mark Stocker is currently a lecturer at University of Otago’s Department of History and Art History, where he has been Associate Professor since 2003. He is an expert on historical European art, particularly in the nineteenth century, and his PhD thesis was on Victorian sculpture. Mark will join us up here in Wellington in March next year.

Earlier this year I met Mark when he visited us to view works in our international art collection, as preparation for writing his essay ‘After cubism, before pop‘.

In the essay he takes us on fabulous tour of the works in the Art of the 20th Century exhibition, finding connections and synergies between artists with seemingly disparate styles. ‘Artists like to keep their options open,’ he says. ‘They play games with us.’

While he was visiting Te Papa, we also squeezed in recording a video about his favourite art work at Te Papa, Zinnias by British artist William Nicholson. Nicholson ‘makes something extraordinary out of the ordinary,’ says Mark. ‘Look at the way it is white, on white, on white … The harmony, or symphony, of whites plays off each other so well.’

I look forward to reading (and watching) more from Mark in his new role!

Arts media on Arts Te Papa – online home of art at Te Papa

1 Comment

  1. Welcome Mark (nephew of the more famous Kate!)

Leave a comment


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White-tailed spiders: Your questions answered

White-tailed spiders: Your questions answered

A recent blog about white-tailed spiders by spider expert Phil Sirvid prompted a flood of questions from our readers. Phil answers some of these and attempts to alleviate your fears.

White-tailed spider, 2004. CSIRO. Photo by David McClenaghan via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA Gen 3.0

Dirty mouths

Question: I was under the impression that although their bite wasn’t particularly venomous, they are what is called a ‘dirty mouthed’ spider….much like the Australian Blue Tongued Lizzard, not having a venom that effects us, but that they can have nasty bacterium in their mouths (even necrotising)…is this NOT the case? Joanne.

Answer: While we can never say never, Joanne, there doesn’t seem to be anything to suggest that it’s normal for these spiders to do that. It’s also worth remembering we all have plenty of bacteria on the skin and some of these can cause problems if they enter wounds.

Necrotising venom

Question: Is there any truth to the notion that their venom is necrotising? (Not sure I’ve used the right term there) ie there is something in the venom that acts to break down cells and prevents wounds from healing? Holly.

Answer: The answer is no. Most people bitten by one of these spiders will find it annoying and painful but that’s about it. In theory it’s possible that some people might be more sensitive to white-tail venom. However, there is nothing to suggest necrosis is one of the more extreme responses. Even if some individuals might have unexpectedly strong reactions, the Australian study of 130 verified bites suggests these spiders are not going to cause serious problems for the population at large.

Bites and children

Question: Are there any special considerations for children, especially small ones? I tell people that white-tails aren’t dangerous and they say that it’s worse for kids because of small body size. From what you have just said (pain of bite issue aside) it sounds like body size has nothing to do with it, but it would be good to know if the study you mention included young children. Kate.

Answer: To answer the second part first, the study recorded 25 individuals as under 15 years old. In this case, there doesn’t seem to be any particular reason to worry more about children, although perhaps a young child might be a bit more sensitive to pain. However, bites from particularly venomous species such as black widows and redbacks can be worse for small children or the elderly.

Complications and confusions

Question: I thought the issue with white tail bites was the risk of serious complications? Steve.

Answer: There’s no reason to believe white-tail bites are particularly prone to complications, but later infection of bites or any other wounds can potentially be an issue.

Question: So, if it’s not white-tails causing those nasty wounds that are the subject of (frequent) media articles… what is it? I’m satisfied that white-tail “venom” isn’t the problem but clearly some people have a nasty reaction to something. Any ideas? Andy.

Answer: The picture is a bit cloudy. A large part of the problem is correct diagnosis. We know of cases where white-tail bites have been assumed by doctors and it’s turned out that there was another medical explanation for what happened. Over the years I’ve seen many media accounts where white-tails are blamed even though no spider was seen. As you can imagine, this only confuses things. Many of these accounts also mention treatment for infection. However, it’s usually not clear what happened to allow infection to enter the body and each case may be very different.

One thing’s for sure though, and that’s if you see a story where a white-tail is blamed even though the bite wasn’t felt, it was almost certainly something else.

Daddy long-legs and autumn numbers

Question: Should I keep all the Daddy long-legs in your house to help keep the white-tails at bay? Also, for the last few years we’ve noticed that every year in March is when we seem to get our yearly dose of white-tails inside the house. Is there anything about March or is that just a coincidence? We also get them come in, in pairs? Jaimee.

Answer: I wonder if the spiders you’re seeing in March are males. As we head towards autumn, males of many spider species reach maturity and wander about in search of females to start the next generation with. While I know first-hand that daddy longlegs spiders can catch and eat white-tails, I can’t guarantee what effect they’ll have on your local white-tail population!

Food thieves – an unusual observation

Question: The mason bees are doing there collecting as usual each summer. But we’ve noticed that by our back door we have a large colony of rather large white-tails that seem to be feeding off the spiders placed by the mason bees. They are getting through a window into our daughter’s room by the tens, and they’re never small. They look like a black and white wasp with legs! We don’t want to get bitten so will be bombing the back door soon unless you have other suggestions! Gus.

Answer: I’ve never heard of this before, but given those stolen spiders from the bees are very much alive but paralysed, I’m sure white-tails will find them to be quite tasty. Even better for the white-tail, unlike their normal prey, these spiders can’t even fight back. I’m quite astounded to hear you are seeing so many white-tails though. If they’re coming in via a window, have you considered some sort of mesh if you want to keep it open?

  1. As a pest control technician, I get called to a lot of White tailed spider bites. Some are really nasty. The funny thing is that I’ve worked around them for over decade and never had a problem with them myself. They are fast and do seem aggressive too but touch wood I have had no problems yet.

  2. Great Q and A – thanks for that. I think my reaction to white tails is so violent (kill on sight) because of the way they are so overtly aggressive in their manner. Most spiders will run away if they see any human coming towards them, especially when they’re holding something to squash them with. I find that white tails, even tiny ones, tend to come towards you with their fighting form on. I know this must be inbuilt but it’s somewhat off putting!

  3. Thank you for all the interesting information about white tails.

  4. Thanks Phil, this has been revelatory and I am starting to feel quite guilty of my fear of white tails. However, one thing I need to clarify (that I’ve been told by my husband who happily kills white tails because he believes himself to be protecting native spiders), do white tails kill native spiders?

    1. Author

      They most often eat the black or grey house spiders (Badmuna spp.) and like the white-tail, these are also Australian. These two house spider species (especially the grey house spider) are likely to be the commonest species seen on most house exteriors. However, I’ve seen them hunting native species too, so your husband is correct.

  5. While Australia has been called a land running in venom, we in NZ have no poisonous spiders, no snakes, no scorpions. You could walk barefoot anywhere but for the broken glass. But because we arent familiar with nasty biting creatures we are frightened of them. There is a kind of national arachnophobia that lends credence to the misinformation about the white tailed spider.

    1. Author

      We actually have one native venomous spider, Ginger, and that’s the katipo. Most people will never see one though. Some parts of the country also have it’s Aussie cousin, the redback. It’s interesting that in the case of white tails, a lot of the unnecessary panic came from Australia. However, a lot of the research showing they’re more nuisance than dangerous has come from there too.

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Writer in Residence Joins TNCS: Meet Ilia Madrazo!

IMG_1209This past November, The New Century School embarked on a new approach to English Language Arts instruction. Welcoming Ilia Madrazo to the faculty, TNCS now features dedicated ELA teaching for 3rd-grade through middle-school students, which allows intensive focus in the all-important skills of enhanced reading comprehension and effective writing.

Although the elementary and middle school  teaching staff had already been established for the 2017–2018 academic year, when Ms. Madrazo became available, new opportunities that were too good to pass up likewise opened for TNCS’s academic offerings. Ms. Madrazo is a passionate educator with over 20 years’ experience teaching ELA, English as a Second Language, and Reading to school-aged students of all levels as well as at the university level. She earned her master’s degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Houston and pursued doctoral level studies in English Linguistics at the University of Puerto Rico. She is a published researcher and has presented at various conferences. In addition to scoring such a credentialed instructor, bringing Ms. Madrazo on as “Writer in Residence” also allowed the other elementary and middle school teachers at TNCS to specialize in their preferred subjects, such as Jon Wallace now being science guru full time.

About Ilia Madrazo

Ms. Madrazo came to Baltimore last March via Houston, Texas but is originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where much of her family including her son still resides. (Her son is currently studying Physics at the University of Puerto Rico with the goal of becoming a radiologist.) She decided to move from Houston (just in time to avoid Hurricane Harvey, she added) because, after 10 years there, she needed a change. Having a brother, sister-in-law, and a nephew here made Baltimore the logical choice. One day in the future, she hopes to move to Spain.

Once here, though, she jumped in with both feet, establishing clear rules and expectations from the outset. She jokes: “So far it’s going very well. I think the kids and I are in the honeymoon period because they are working really well for me.” She immediately implemented “literature circles,” which got students engaged in reading in new and deeper ways—a primary goal of Ms. Madrazo’s. She describes the literature circle as akin to a book club, with a facilitator (her) and a group of students discussing the book theme and associated topics. She also incorporates writing instruction in an innovative way here: “We approach the book not only as the reader, but also as the writer. Good books teach you how to write well. I’m big on non-fiction because it allows students to see the form of the writing, and that can be helpful. Writing is very hard to teach and learn, so starting from another perspective can reduce students’ anxiety about it.”

Despite being Spanish/English bilingual and having experience teaching ESOL, Ms. Madrazo’s preferred medium is definitely ELA. She discovered this while teaching adults during her doctoral studies in Puerto Rico. “Honing in and concentrating on English learners came naturally to me, and I just fell in love with it,” she explained. This came as somewhat of a surprise to her because she did not set out to pursue literature and writing in college. “My bachelor’s is in Psychology,” she explained. “I entered college as a premed, but I wanted to have a life outside of studying, so I thought I would be a child psychologist. I always knew I wanted to work with children, older children.” On graduating, she began pursuing a master’s in Education on her mother’s advice, as something to always be able to fall back on, but marriage and starting a family temporarily interrupted those plans. As mentioned above, however, she did get that master’s and has been a teacher ever since. Her whole family, in fact, even though they study very different disciplines, are all teachers.

Developing her writing skills is another story: “I was never trained to write. So when I got to college, I had to learn how to write a perfect story. I found that I had to do an outline to organize my thoughts and then add the meat to it.” She still uses this formula today to ensure that each piece of writing is coherent, measured, and makes a clear argument.

Writing Program at TNCS

With abundant expertise and experience, Ms. Madrazo has lots of ideas for expanding the writing program at TNCS. Writing is communication, and good communication is an absolutely essential 21st-century skill.  She says: “I want to move writing forward, not only writing a good story but writing a solid essay or opinion piece in which students must give me evidence to support what they’re saying. So, if they’re reading a book, I want them to be able to tell me not only that a character went through a change but also to be able to cite in what paragraph and on what page that change occurred. This practice will be very good preparation for high school and college.”

So far, she is using some of the same materials already in play in ELA, such as Wordly Wise for vocabulary expansion and the Lucy Calkins curriculum for elementary writers, and is also incorporating new ones, like the Just Write series and Words Their Way for 3rd and 4th grades. Middle school students will have an entirely separate curriculum using, for example, Empowering Writers. She will be refining the curricula throughout Quarters 3 and 4.

She is also finding ways to manage the different levels within each group by utilizing the Daily 5 classroom management rotation. This includes “Word Work” in the Wordly Wise website, or SuccessMaker, or Raz kids; a small group that works with her; writing or reading alone, and doing “Word Sorts”—a method of classifying words based on their spelling pattern and phonetics; among other writing and reading-related activities.

“I’m excited to be able to dedicate myself to ELA and really focus here,” said Ms. Madrazo.. “I fell in love when I came to TNCS the first time. Having a greenhouse, chickens, I loved it. The cafeteria is focused on healthy food. I like that the classes are small. I love Fells Point. I also want to thank the parents and administration for embracing me. It’s been lovely so far and I hope to have a great partnership with them.”

If you have not done so already, make time to meet Ms. Madrazo, such as during second-semester Parent–Teacher conferences. Besides being an excellent teacher and writer, in her free time, she enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts, playing board games, and hanging out with her Puggle, Jupiter.

TNCS Students Save the World!

During the week of November 13th through 17th, upper elementary and middle school students at The New Century School participated in a very special nationwide event: the World Peace Game (WPG). Said Head of School Alicia Danyali, “We chose the World Peace Game to be a part of the the curriculum since it is in line with TNCS’s focus on global citizenship, which includes problem solving. Both of these areas also make up part of the TNCS student learner profile.”

Teaching Children the Work of Peace

Started in 1978 by Virginia native John Hunter, this special game, according to the website, “is a hands-on political simulation that gives players the opportunity to explore the connectedness of the global community through the lens of the economic, social, and environmental crises and the imminent threat of war. The goal of the game is to extricate each country from dangerous circumstances and achieve global prosperity with the least amount of military intervention. As ‘nation teams,’ students will gain greater understanding of the critical impact of information and how it is used.”

At TNCS, the game was facilitated by science teacher Jon Wallace, who attended training for this role over the summer in Charlottesville, VA. “The World Peace Game was not all fun and games,” he said—and, indeed, “teaching children the work of peace” is ultimately about “learning to live and work comfortably in the unknown.”

So, from 10:00 am through 2:30 pm for 5 days, TNCS 4th- through 7th-graders stepped up to the challenge of finding themselves in unfamiliar, chaotic, and sometimes dangerous real-world situations, assuming various political roles among four fictional countries, such as prime ministers, secretaries of state, ministers of defense, CFOs, and secretaries of trade and commerce, among others. WPG places enormous problems before students that must be solved within a strict time constraint and requiring collaboration and creativity. The first 2 days demanded a lot of patience and attention from students because they had to learn how to play—the facilitator presented descriptions about how the leadership of each nation was structured, geographic and economic details about each country, and the specifics of each of the 50 crises the teams would face. They also had to familiarize themselves with one very complicated game board. The following 3 days involved negotiations between the nations teams in order to solve each crisis.

(As randomly assembled as the board may appear, each component and game piece is stipulated by the rules of the game. To gather them all, they must be purchased from a parts list. For the assembly itself, we have TNCS Facilities Manager Christine Rice to thank. Ms. Rice, a former contractor, is evidently quite the handywoman!)

Learning how to work with each other is a stated goal of WPG. Mr Wallace explains: “Part of the game is, simply put, being thrown into chaos, into positions you’ve never performed, and having to negotiate in order to win. If countries don’t communicate, the game is over. Interestingly, you don’t really state the purpose of the game to the students; you kind of let them have their way about it. They don’t really know how you win. So, after the game was over, a couple of students wondered who won. It was interesting to see how different students were looking at it.”

It turns out, in order to win the game, all participating nation teams need to be at least $1 above their initial budget, and all crises must be resolved. Mr Wallace reports that the hardest part for his students to get a handle on was accounting and keeping good track of budget records. “When you’re dealing with 4th graders, you can’t expect perfectly accurate accounting. They’re trying to account for losses and gains, but it’s extremely difficult. But, as facilitator, I can decide if they have managed well enough. For me it was a matter of, “is the CFO trying?’,” he said.

As for the participants themselves, WPG players are supposed to be volunteers, but in TNCS’s game, they were more or less “conscripted.” This meant that some were more enthusiastic than others. “I know some kids felt, ‘I don’t like this mentality,’ and other kids were really into it, which to me is reflective of what goes on in the classroom in terms of willingness to get something done. Some have that ‘middle school malaise,’ whereas others are more like, “I want to learn just for fun; count me in’,” he explained.

The mandatory participation also meant that students who don’t necessarily get along well had to nevertheless play together:

We had a number of students who hadn’t volunteered, so that adds a little extra difficulty because they really had no desire to be there, which made it difficult for some of the leaders to motivate them. Even though I picked the Prime Ministers, and the PMs picked their cabinets and did the best they could, assuming that it would be a smooth situation, it doesn’t always work out that way. On one team, everything was really flowing and working, but if every team were like that, the game wouldn’t really do much because they’re already communicating so well. The purpose of the game is to put kids in an uncomfortable position so chaos does happen, and somehow they have to figure out how to cut through that and communicate well enough to get something done. The threat of loss has to be part of the game.

Playing the Game

Mr. Wallace provided the following synopsis of the TNCS players and what happened during their game.

The Weather Goddess’s job is of great importance in the game: She determines the severity of storms and what impact that might have on each nation. She must make quick, on-the-spot decisions that have serious consequences for the four nations involved. Student KH did a tremendous job and had to make necessary decisions that inevitably caused hardship for some players. One of her many roles is to enforce participant conduct laws that, if not followed, may result in a country incurring heavy financial penalties. For example, speaking out during a nation’s declaration period may result in a $10 million fine. Our weather goddess reached a point when she was almost unable to enforce the laws due to negative feedback by those fined. Yet, KH recovered, understanding that her role was simply that, a role. She saw that it was a role necessary for the game to be played, just as laws in our society must exist to preserve order and provide a stable platform for peace.

Each country had a different initial budget. Peacia, an ice-locked poor nation, had many early challenges to face in order to keep their budget in check. They were able to solve a crisis involving a volcanic eruption that threatened a nearby nuclear power plant. Prime Minister AI found that the struggle to maintain lines of communication doesn’t just exist between countries, but also within countries. The greatest obstacles to peace may lie within a country rather than between countries.

Richy Hill, an oil rich nation, had serious issues right off the bat as they were short a CFO. This greatly impacted their ability to manage money. It didn’t take long for their entire fleet of aircraft to be permanently grounded due to lack of refueling. Prime Minister DI had a lot on his plate. Fortunately,  Chief Legal Counsel IM stepped into the CFO position, literally saving the nation from looming financial crisis. Prime Minister DI was able to stop a massive money hemorrhage caused by the nuclear proliferation by his own country. He saw the need for nukes was secondary to the need for cash.

Richland, the wealthiest of nations, had many crises including a mountainous region that not only contained gold, but also the remains of NIN, a tribe of peoples that had existed in the area for thousands of years prior to the formation of the nations. What was more important, the gold or the ancestral remains of the NIN? It isn’t easy to give up gold, but Prime Minister FC didn’t blink and allowed the NIN to keep their ancestral burial ground intact. Nice work! Her cabinet worked outstandingly well together. We witnessed a nation that was functioning well in Richland.

Folium, an eco-oriented nation, accomplished much. It seemed that they were all too willing to accept refugees but had to solve the problems that refugees bring. Folium was willing and able to work with other leaders to spread the refugees all over world in order to reduce the financial woes that come with being a bit too nice. Relations between Richland and Folium were in jeopardy due to a secret island owned by Richland that also had been used by the NIN for worshiping purposes for thousands of years. Tensions boil over with the threat of violence between the tanks and soldiers of Richland and Folium.  Both countries came together and negotiated swiftly, bringing peace to the area by simply dividing the island. These two countries made it look easy.

IMG_2562An unusual occurrence happened in this game when members of Folium broke off to form a separate independent nation called Coralfield. Coralfield’s apparent mission was to facilitate the negotiation process between nations by providing a greater area for peace to occur. Fascinating idea! Co-Prime Ministers PH and NB took on development and leadership of this new nation.

The role of the World Bank in the game is to receive checks and keep an accounting of the payments of all nations. President DL did an excellent job keeping track of payments.  At times it seemed as though President DL’s pen was smoking hot due to all the receipts he was writing. Nice work!

IMG_2564The Role of the UN in this game is to maintain peace worldwide. Secretary General ED did a wonderful job living up this role as world peacekeeper. He was in constant motion and took on the responsibility of tracking crises completed and yet to be completed. The UN also helped nations with providing extra funds.

The Arms Dealers are tasked with providing small arms to nations but may also design and invent new creations that are not necessarily providing fuel for war. President WM designed an oil gusher cap that cost a bunch of the UN’s money.

IMG_2563Last but not least, the Legal Counsel was tasked with ratifying treaties from the UN. Chief Legal Counsel IM did an outstanding job not only with checking treaties but also with helping out whereever help was needed. She worked as CFO for Richy Hill and generally really stepped up. Nice work!

World Peace Is in Their Hands

You can exhale—we are safe for the moment. Mr. Wallace said, “There were plenty of tense moments and times when students just wanted to quit. The majority who stood strong and would not accept failure are responsible for the win. They are the leaders of our future, the ones who have a chance at making the world a better place. It is not going to be easy. The obstacles will seem insurmountable at times, but we have seen that peace can be achieved.”

You’ll also be very relieved to learn that John Hunter has never lost in the nearly 40 years he has been playing. (Talk about hope for the future!)

In response to what he ultimately though of this experience, Mr. Wallace said, “I think it tends to magnify the social scene in a good way. A lot of things that weren’t obvious became obvious, in terms of interactions. That can make things difficult, and, for some, it made things very difficult. There are a lot of emotions that come out when you’re Prime Minister and you’re trying to get your cabinet together but they don’t want to be together. It’s a hard role for some students who have never been put in those roles before, having to lead others and so forth.”

Although having willing volunteers would makes things easier for both participants and for the facilitator, the EPG became a real lesson in how to make something work when the situation is not straightforward or ideal. “That’s the real world, you know?” said Mr. Wallace. “That’s the cool thing. As far as a learning experience, it made it better for the leaders because that is the way the world works. It was real in that sense,” he said.

As far as how he thinks the game went overall, he feels it went just as it should. “There were times when students were really discouraged, which is normal, but they had to work together to get through it, and they eventually did.”

Now that he is trained, a process that involved watching John Hunter himself play the game, taking notes, then discussing what happened with other trainees,” Mr. Wallace thinks WPG could potentially happen annually at TNCS. “The philosophy of the game is that it can be run every year, but it runs better if students have no idea, going in cold.,” he explained. “Otherwise it may be too easy, especially for folks who volunteered to be involved. It’s not that difficult if you already know how to get it to happen. But the way I look at it, the game can go many different ways, and the facilitator can throw a lot of sticks in the wheel if he or she chooses to.”

For this initial game, our friendly facilitator did not intervene to complicate the already complex events students were embroiled in. However, Saboteur LR did a good job of gumming up the works from time to time: “His job is to just make things hard. And he is an anonymous person in the room, so the players don’t know who it is. They can have a trial to see if they have an accusations or suspicions about his identity,” said Mr. Wallace. “There are so many variables—like 350 pages of different possibilities.”

In some ways WPG shaped students or brought out nascent qualities that Mr. Wallace was very pleased to see. “I thought it was fascinating to see some really step up and try to help out in ways we don’t always see in the classroom.” Others who are usually motivated to try anything were not so surprising, if no less vital. “If we didn’t have these leaders,” said Mr. Wallace, “the game would have sunk, and there’s nothing I could do about it.”

It sounds like we’ll be in good hands once these youngsters grow up to take the helm! In the meantime, watch John Hunter’s TED Talk to learn more about this truly wondrous enterprise.

TNCS Elementary and Middle School Information Night 2017

What we learn with pleasure we never forget. – Alfred Mercier, 19th century writer and physician

tncs-elementary-middle-school-information-night-2017On November 30th, The New Century School hosted it’s annual “info night”—an event that provides prospective families with an opportunity to get a glimpse of TNCS’s elementary and middle school curricula. TNCS Head of School Alicia Danyali presented a brief overview of TNCS, from history to language learning, school philosophy, and a peek inside classroom operations.

In 2006, the school was established with five students in a one-room schoolhouse in Patterson Park. The owners of this school are two like-minded Moms that wanted language immersion as a priority for their own children, so they got some other parents together and thought it would be a great idea to start this school. Here we are, 11 years later with 215 students! We start at 2 years old and go through 7th grade. Our main objective is to attract people who are interested in language immersion in Spanish and Mandarin. We also practice Montessori principles, and I want to talk a little bit about how that overflows into our elementary/middle school program and what things we take from the Montessori preschool into to that program, especially for those families who are currently enrolled in our preschool.

First, some practical points: We have more than 50 staff members, and we offer before care all the way through to after care program. We open at 7:30 am and close at 6:00 pm, wth the school day running from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Back to the benefits of multilinguism, what sticks out in my mind as most important and why I like to work in language-immersion environments is that it offers you many ways to problem solve. When you’ve had that language background, your brain will work in a more elastic way—it helps cultivate executive function skills as well as aspects of what I call the ‘invisible curriculum,’ like tolerance. We learn about the world around us through language learning.

If you’re currently in our preschool program, you’ll see that some things stay the same, including our overall approach to whole-child development through differentiated instruction as well as student-driven learning. A typical elementary/middle class size in this school is no larger than 16 or 17 students. We keep it small so that we can meet everybody’s needs in the classroom, regardless of level. Our classroom management system, the Daily 5 (or 3 or 4) Rotation, ensures that every student is getting one-on-one contact with the teacher, collaboration with others in small groups, and time to work independently. Students are given specific parameters to work within that allow them to understand what their responsibilities are. Technology and computer time is also a component of the daily classroom rotation cycle.

Teachers work in pairs or groups of four, depending on grade. Each child has a homeroom class where they are designated to start and end the day as well as to engage in various subjects. Then students have a block of time with, for example, the teacher who handles ELA and Math or Global Studies. Throughout the day, they transition to other core subjects as well as receive daily targeted language instruction for 30 to 45 minutes. In addition, they get a focused subject area in Mandarin and Spanish, such as Global Studies. In this format, language really starts to emerge.

We also have a very strong arts program. K through 8th-grade have two music classes with Music Director Martellies Warren each week. They also have two art classes and two physical education classes every week. Currently we partner with Coppermine.

Our greenhouse and chicken coops, when operational, give children the chance to cultivate plants and livestock, and we also offer a vegetarian, locally sourced lunch. Finally, we offer the Ozone Snack Bar, a student lounge where older kids can relax, socialize, and enjoy a healthy snack at select times.

IMG_2605After Mrs. Danyali spoke, each teacher briefly described his or her classroom approach and particular subject area. Following these teacher presentations, audience members asked specific questions of the presenters.

Info Night is a great way to get an initial introduction to TNCS. Additional highlights of this event can be found in Elementary and Middle School Info Night 2017, a helpful powerpoint presentation. However, to really get to know the school and discover the wonder that takes place in classrooms here every day, attend an Admissions Friday or Open House event and witness the magic first hand. Subsequently, your child will spend a shadow day with other TNCS students and experience what it’s like to actually enjoy learning.

TNCS’s Inaugural Student Awards Ceremony!

Head of School Alicia Danyali leads The New Century School in many ways, not just practically and administratively. She mentors in unseen realms as well, gently promulgating what she calls her “invisible curriculum” that fosters kindness among students. During the 2016–2017 school year, Mrs. Danyali debuted the four pillars of TNCS, Compassion, Courage, Service, and Respect, as a cornerstone of her invisible curriculum and held biweekly student assemblies to discuss what these concepts mean in practice—how students can apply them to their daily lives.

Later in last school year, she began implementing restorative circles in the classroom, which can be used to heal rifts as well as be simple communication forums. These also allow her to maintain relationships with all of her students, something as important to her as running TNCS.

That’s partly why, on Friday, November 3, 2017, she held the first-ever awards ceremony to celebrate 3rd- through 7th-grade student achievement. These achievements did not take place in academics; rather, they are indications of gains in emotional intelligence. “I wanted to focus on the TNCS student learning profile, which includes character development” she explained, “as well as to acknowledge those students that stand out demonstrating the behaviors.”

She began the ceremony with an introductory speech to explain to students what was happening:

We have all worked very hard on identifying what makes a TNCS learner, and there are four words that can describe each and every one of you. They are compassion, courage, respect, and service, and they’re shown in different ways throughout the school day—what you do in the classroom that exemplifies one or more of these qualities. I met with your teachers and other staff, and we talked about all of the ways you exhibit the TNCS learning profile. So we are going to honor those of you at the end of each quarter who are representative of our TNCS learner. I want to emphasize that all of you have demonstrated all of these qualities, everyone has. But today we are acknowledging students who have really stood out during the first quarter.

IMG_2517She explained that two or three students were chosen in each category and reminded the audience to be happy for and congratulate friends who receive awards. (Last names have been omitted for student privacy and safety.)

In the compassion category, Bridghid, William, and Desmond stood out by having empathy for a friend; for helping out a fellow student in the classroom; or for helping students work through an  academic or social problem.

Schonbeck and Ryan exemplified courage in the first quarter by adapting to new environments and making new friends.

In the category of respect, two students—Flora and Mia—markedly demonstrated the proper behavior expected of the TNCS student.

Chloe and Livia went above and beyond in service without being asked to help.

Mrs. Danyali closed by saying, “I think everybody here is a winner and part of this group and shows compassion, courage, respect, and service. We will acknowledge students at the end of every quarter, and we’ll also begin awarding those of you who have demonstrated perfect attendance.”

The ceremony was a highlight of the school year so far, and all students were happy to learn how their efforts to be kind to one another are recognized and appreciated. Said Mrs. Danyali, “This is a nice reminder that social-emotional learning is as important in development as academics.”

Meet the Teacher: Jon Wallace Joins TNCS!

The New Century School opened a 7th grade for the 2017–2018 school year, cause for both celebration as well as a tinge of wistfulness, as we watch TNCS”s oldest students enter adolescence.

Brushing aside its poignancy for a moment, this fact meant that TNCS’s science program also recently underwent some important growth and development. Jon Wallace took over as school-wide science director and lead science teacher for Grades 3 through 7 this year. Let’s meet him!

tncs-meet-the-teacherOriginally from Wheaton, MD, Mr. Wallace now lives in Linthicum but has lived all over the country at different points. “I’ve had a lot of different jobs. I’ve worked everything from bicycle mechanic to fast food. It’s fun to travel to different places and just live in different areas. I’ve lived in Arizona, Montana, Texas, and a few others,” he said.

He graduated from Towson University with a degree in Psychology but teaching runs in his family. His father was a professor of English and Accounting for 19 years at Montgomery College and his older brother is a professor in Texas. He explains that what really got him into teaching, though, was witnessing am 8th-grade physical science teacher do his stuff. He was working at Shepard Pratt Hospital at the time and got to see the teacher there in action. “I really thought it was interesting. My family had always seemed to shy away from sciences,” he said, “but it fascinated me, so I went back to school to get certified and started working at Shepard Pratt as a high school teacher.” He also has experience teaching at an independent school for 3 years in Potomac, MD as well as at Cherry Hill Elementary and Middle School here in Baltimore City.

His goal for TNCS is mainly to fortify the already-robust science program. He is excited about this, knowing how eager the “knowledge-hungry” students are to explore science concepts. Quarter 1 was dedicated to electricity (static and current) and magnetism. Older student objectives included being able to explain how stereo speakers and DC electric motors work to gain solid understanding of the relationship between electricity and magnetism as well as to become familiar with Ohm’s law (the current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points). All students studied parallel and series circuits and were expected to understand and be able to define voltage, amperage, and electrical resistance.

With Quarter 2 fast approaching, chemistry is next up. Mr. Wallace explains: “Younger students will become familiar with trends found within the periodic table, bonding types, and what a chemical reaction is. Older students will be learning bonding, naming compounds, and stoichiometry skills that will allow them to perform labs and make their transition into the physical sciences and high school chemistry seamless.”

Noting how advanced both the reading and math programs are at TNCS, Mr. Wallace feels that his students will readily manage commensurate science instruction. “You know when 3rd-graders are doing long division, they’re already beyond where they should be. Likewise, readers are testing off the charts,” he observed.

In keeping with TNCS’s fundamentally inquiry-based approach, weekly science homework involves Internet research, coupled with writing. In the classroom, although until now he had never taught students younger than those in 7th grade, he is learning new ways and new materials to teach. He is also adapting well to the mixed ages in each class and to differentiating their instruction.

Also helping Mr. Wallace adjust to his younger students is that he has two sons ages 8 and 9 years old. He spends his weekends mountain biking with them. “We’re a big biker family,” he says.

When he’s not off-roading it with the boys, he created and now maintains teachphysicalscience.com, a subscription-based website designed to assist high school science teachers break down key science concepts for better student absorption. He has used much of the material on his site in the classroom over his 14-year teaching career and has had favorable student feedback about his “no-fuss” approach. “I really enjoy writing tutorials with more visually based tutorial concepts,” he said. “I really like making visual concepts come alive.”

In closing, he said: “TNCS is the most diverse school that I’ve ever worked at. Seeing students speak in different languages is really impressive, and I think it’s giving these kids an advantage over most students their age.” He also wants parents to know that communication between home and school is important to him, as it will facilitate learning. “If you have any comments or questions that you think would help me with your student, please let me know,” he said.

Spanish Heritage Night 2017 at TNCS!

On Wednesday, October 18th, for the second year in a row, The New Century School hosted a rousing celebration of hispanic culture. The culmination of Hispanic Heritage month, which runs roughly from September 15th through October 15th, this vibrant event featured choral and dance performances from TNCS students in kindergarten through 7th grade, a special guest performance by Mexican folk dancers Bailes de Mi Tierra, and a smorgasbord of traditional hispanic food provided by TNCS families.

IMG_2457As with last year’s Spanish Heritage Night, TNCS’s Spanish department (with help from the TNCS community) developed a truly spectacular show. Sra. Barbara Sanchez, Sra. Fabiola Sanzana, and Professor Manuel Caceres put their hearts into making the evening something special. In a gesture of support, they dedicated the evening to the people of Mexico and Puerto Rico.

Professor Manuel, a natural at em-ceeing, as it turns out, started by thanking everyone for coming, acknowledging the level of commitment that TNCS families, staff, and administrators bring to the school:

Muchas gracias, bienvenidos—thank you for coming, good evening, parents! It’s a pleasure for the Spanish department of TNCS and an honor for us to greet you here today. Enjoy this presentation by your beautiful children that they rehearsed and perfected in just 5 weeks for Hispanic Heritage month. Thanks to the administrators and teachers that we have here, we were able to prepare this celebration.

He also thanked TNCS mom Eileen Wold for the beautiful paintings she made and contributed. They will be making an annual appearance along with all of the colorful decorations created by TNCS students.

Finally, he spoke about what the chance to celebrate Hispanic Heritage means to him: “This month is an opportunity to show our solidarity, respect, cooperation, and engagement. No matter what part of the world we are from, we are human beings that deserve love, respect, and education.” And the kids took it from there!

Get a sampling of the evening with this wonderful highlight reel made by TNCS mom Sharon Marsh. (Just below it, you can view each presentation individually, if desired.)

The student performances were followed by two dances by Bailes de Mi Tierra, a Baltimore area dance troupe established in 2008 that boasts Professor Manuel among its members. On this occasion, Director Jose Reyes and dance partner Amanda Pattison kicked up their heels to “the second national anthem of Mexico” as well as danced and taught the “Mexican Hat Dance.”

Although no one wanted this fun night to end, it was a school night, so everyone wished each other a buenas noches and departed smiling. And humming. And stomping. And reciting, “café con pan.”

Hasta el año que viene! Until next year!

Adriana Duprau Becomes Curriculum Coordinator at TNCS!

With the commencement of the 2017–2018 academic school year, The New Century School scaled some exciting new heights. To name just two, the inaugural 7th-grade class made its debut, and the student body en masse has grown to more than 200 children. These milestones are impressive, certainly, but are also not without accompanying challenges. How does one small school accommodate an age range from 2 to 12 years? How do teachers keep all students engaged in mixed-age classrooms? With such a well-rounded curriculum, how is continuity of instructional approach maintained across so many diverse subject areas?

Enter Adriana Duprau, TNCS’s new Curriculum Coordinator (also known as Curriculum Specialist). Mrs. Duprau is already known to many among the TNCS community—in fact, there’s a very strong chance that she has taught your child in her classroom at some point, considering that she has been at TNCS since it first opened back in 2010. Being so familiar with TNCS operations, she was the natural choice to take on this new role, which, in brief, entails supporting teachers and giving them constructive feedback on how they are implementing the curriculum. Interestingly, however, she came into the role less because someone was actively being sought and more so because she was already the go-to when an instructor needed strategies for example, for differentiating lessons. In Mrs. Duprau’s case, as you’ll see, this support extends to students as well.

Job Description

She spends about 80% of her time in the classroom so she can see firsthand what teachers are doing. She makes sure, for example, that lessons are being appropriately differentiated to accommodate the varying skill student levels in each classroom. At the same time, she wants to see that students are being challenged. On a macro level, another thing she looks for is that students are transitioning smoothly among divisions (e.g., pre-primary to primary, primary to kindergarten, elementary to middle school).

These are tasks that Head of School Alicia Danyali has handled in the past, but as the school grows, it became clear that a dedicated role was needed so that Mrs. Danyali can devote her time to running the school.

Sometimes school teachers can feel overwhelmed. Mrs. Duprau is there to “close the loop,” as she puts it. “What are their challenges; what are things that I can help with?” she asks herself, to provide an extra resource to the teachers. In some ways, it’s also a means of quality assurance. “If teachers are having a hard time, how can I offer support? Or, they may be having a hard time with a particular student—what can we do to come up with solutions?” she explains. “Having an objective observer who can stand back and take notes can be very revealing in these situations,” she continued, “and together we can problem solve and brainstorm the best approaches to addressing the challenges.”

Mrs. Duprau also plays a big part in helping Mrs. Danyali with professional development outside of the classroom, such as by demonstrating lessons during PD days and doing trainings.

Curriculum Coordinator Adriana Duprau

Although she has embraced this support role, taking on a new position also can come with challenges. For Mrs. Duprau, the one thing she most worried about was not having her own classroom. “But, as it turns out, I spend most of my time in classrooms, so I’m really excited that I still get to have that time with students and with other teachers,” she said. And, although she has found herself so far spending most of her time in elementary and middle school classrooms, she nevertheless has had to get to know all 200+ students on a first-name basis . . . now that’s a challenge!

However, the biggest challenge she has found so far is having her suggestions go unheeded, whether inadvertently or from an unwillingness to take feedback, although Mrs. Duprau anticipates that this will probably dissipate as teachers acclimate to the idea of having a curriculum specialist and get used to accepting support.

Job Goals

She says her main goals, at least initially, are to make sure that teachers feel supported and know what should be taking place inside their classrooms. For example, programs like Reading A–Z might be new to a instructor, so Mrs. Duprau guides him or her through implementation. Again, her experience—not to mention her particular area of expertise—come in very handy here. She also sets up technology in classrooms so that appropriate ages all have access to SuccessMaker, a stalwart in the TNCS math program. All this, says Mrs. Duprau, because “we want to make sure we see growth in the students. This will give us a ‘closer look’ at the kids.”

She then uses the data she gathers to close any would-be gaps, such as finding ways to help former Montessori students matriculate into the non–classic Montessori Kindergarten classroom, or, conversely, introducing students who did not come up through the TNCS primary ranks to the “Montessori feel” of the K classroom. The Kindergarten group, by the way, is the largest it has ever been, so this is an area of keen interest. Moreover, Kindergarten can comprise a wide variety of skill levels, from students who are not yet reading and writing to students already completely comfortable with chapter books. Helping teachers set up their Daily 5 stations, for example, can go a long way to successful classroom management in this heterogenous setting. This has given her ideas for how to manage next year’s K transition: “A goal for us is to figure out what objectives the primary kids should end this school year before ‘going up’ so that they are prepared and can thrive in the more structured environment,” she explained.

Incidentally, in her tenure at TNCS, Mrs. Duprau has always had children of this age in her classroom, but now she says, “having my own kindergartener at home and seeing where he is developmentally has taught me even more about this age than having been a kindergarten teacher for so long.” So now, she can bring a dual perspective to the support she offers current TNCS K teachers—that of the seasoned teacher as well as the parent.

“I also get to spend a lot of time in other subject areas,” she explains. Chinese, music, and art, for example, are not classes she would have been a part of as a teacher. Now she observes how those are going to make sure all aspects of the curriculum hang together in a cohesive way and that instructors are meshing well. “One thing I saw was that having all of one division participating in a specials class together made the class too big. Being able to be there and see what’s unfolding and offer potential solutions has been very useful. We are now splitting the groups and adapting schedules to make sure that students and instructors are getting what they need.”

Another goal is to firmly establish units of study (e.g., in Global Studies and Science) that rotate on a 3-year basis so that students are all getting the full breadth of each discipline. The information is taught at differentiated levels, and she envisions gathering all of these lessons together in a master curriculum.

“Although I really miss having my own classroom,” says Mrs. Duprau, I am really enjoying this new position, and I think it’s very beneficial to the school. “There are aspects of the role that I am continuing to grow in, because I have never held a job quite like this one before—I now work as much with adults as I do with kids!” She finds the position perfect for her current situation, with two young children at home to care for, and she is also learning a tremendous amount about teaching from this new vantage point.

“My primary objective is to be helpful and to facilitate smooth operations,” she said. “My interest was sparked when I would help other teachers who were unfamiliar with the mixed-age and mixed-language approach, and I found that I loved that interaction. I broached the idea of having a curriculum specialist in some capacity at TNCS, and the administration agreed immediately.” She learned her superb classroom management skills both as a Baltimore City public school teacher and by her first mixed-age experience at TNCS.

If she ever does return to the classroom, she says she is considering trying an older cohort to see what that would be like. In the meantime, Curriculum Coordinator suits her just fine!


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3 Unique Spread Ideas to Make Your Student Life Pages Stand Out

Too long; didn't read. It's a phenomenon associated with our reduced attention spans.

When it comes time to make sure everyone is in the yearbook, we know how tempting it can be to turn your student life pages into collages and call it a day. It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s effective.

But if you’re looking to do a little more than just make sure everyone’s photo is in the yearbook more than once, those student life pages can be a great place to try something different. Last year, we put together 50 unique spread ideas so you could do just that. Each of them are intended to be mini stories that give the reader a look at one particular aspect of your school.

50 is a lot, though, so we thought we’d bring back a few (#throwbackthursday, if you will) that were our favorites. Here goes…

Three Unique Spread Ideas

But first let me take a selfie.

Let’s face it: selfies are totally shameless and totally awesome. Send students on a selfie-taking mission in school and have your team pull them together in a well-designed spread, and you’ve got a totally unique (and fully crowdsourced) page for your yearbook.

What’s in your backpack?

Ever see those “#whatsinmybag” Instagram shots? Do your own. Run a photo shoot where students bring their backpacks and tell you why they have what they have. Your spread won’t just be photos, it’ll be stories about what students use to get them through the day.

TreeRing- Annonymous Confessions

Real life, true confessions.

Art Linkletter got kids to say the darndest things, and you can do the same. All you have to do is grant anonymity. Ask them for confessions and run them on a spread. Be sure to sort them for upbeat and free-spirited stuff. Not mean or vulgar things.

These are just ideas, of course. Create your own version on any of these, and have fun coming up with unique spread ideas of your own. Finding out a way to show off what is so unique about your school and your students are what yearbooks are all about. Spread your imagination, and everyone will reap the benefits.


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Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Thanksgiving and the Season Begin with Wonderful Holiday Clipart

Clipart image of a Thanksgiving background with pumpkins and falling leaves
Little remains of the kaleidoscopic canopy that autumn created. The foliage began its slow fall weeks ago, littering the ground with colour and crunch. The days have shortened, the air is crisp and in this corner of the world we are anticipating snow's  appearance.

Now we can turn our minds to the special celebrations that will dominate life for the remainder of 2017.  There was an early start for my extended family this past weekend as we gathered for our annual 'Christmas' dinner. Too early? Maybe. But we have our reasons.

As time aged us, as it moved us along different paths, as work schedules became more complicated, as more people were added to the clan, my siblings and I, along with our now-grown children, found ourselves distanced by hundreds of miles in various directions as well as conflicting work schedules. The busyness of the traditional festive season makes it challenging enough to co-ordinate a special holiday time, let alone when you have to drive a couple of hours to get there or have people working shifts. We knew long ago,  if we wanted some time together we had to figure out a plan that would work for the majority.

Clipart image of a family saying grace at the Thanksgiving tableSo, we removed the 'hectic season' from the equation and found our solution in partying before the rush.  Some might argue it's too soon. We've maintained, however, that if this is the best we can manage then it's better than nothing. The main event might still be weeks away, but we've never had any difficulty getting into the spirit of the celebration. Especially since the unofficial kickoff is only a short time away.

Even on this side of the border it seems that once the American Thanksgiving is on the horizon, everything just starts feeling a bit more festive. It really isn't long now before folks in the United States will be taking time from their regular workday routines for this significant holiday. They will gather with friends and family to give thanks for their many blessings. And to watch football.

The occasion is held in recognition of the feast that followed the Pilgrims first harvest in the New World in 1621. Attendee Edward Winslow recorded that in addition to the 53 settlers,  90 Native Americans were also on hand. The day became a federal holiday in 1863 when President Lincoln called for a national day of thanksgiving and praise.

Clipart image of a Thanksgiving turkey carrying a footballWhile the holiday was founded as a religious observance, events today aren't restricted to the spiritual. New York City hosts its annual Thanksgiving Day parade for example. And while families gather to enjoy a feast of roast turkey and all the trimmings, pulling them away from the weekend's NFL and college games to partake of that meal can be
tough. American football is as much of part of the holiday as sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.

With the holiday always marked on the fourth Thursday of November, people take advantage of an opportunity for an extra long holiday weekend with Black Friday. The inspiration to get that holiday shopping started, the day offers bargains and discounts guaranteed to entice massive hordes of people to retail outlets with the promise of helping them stretch their holiday gift-buying budget.

Clipart image of a Black Friday background
Between now and then, promos and advertisements will be letting everyone know about deals and discounts, events and celebrations all geared towards the holidays. So really, how can you not start feeling a little festive these days?

If you're preparing for Thanksgiving by creating invitations, flyers or retail promotions, you'll be looking for som great clipart to enhance them. Here are two excellent resources:

iCLIPART.com American Thanksgiving Clipart

Clipart.com Thanksgiving Clipart
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Online Reading Challenge – October Wrap-Up

Hello All!

Well, that’s another month finished in our 2018 Online Reading Challenge! How was your month? What did you read (or watch)?

I read – and enjoyed – Philippa Gregory’s The White Queen which is about Elizabeth Woodville who was married to King Edward IV. It might help you to place who she was when you realize she was the mother of the Princes in the Tower, the two young boys who disappeared from the Tower of London and were never found. Her story takes place toward the bitter end of the War of the Roses – the York family vs the Lancasters. Often called the Cousins War, it raged for more than 30 years pitting families against each other.

Elizabeth is a young widow from a Lancaster family whose lands have been confiscated by the Yorks, currently in power. She goes to the new king, Edward IV to beg for her inheritance and she and the King fall in love. She refuses to become his mistress and so he marries her in secret. Because she has no political influence, the marriage is opposed and even challenged by Edward’s advisors but Edward stands by his vows. Gregory depicts the marriage as a love match at a time when most if not all royal marriages were for political gain or to strengthen diplomatic ties. Edward and Elizabeth had ten children and their reign was prosperous and encouraged the advancement of science and the arts. Edward was a popular with the people, but he constantly had to go to battle to put down uprisings from other claimants to the crown including his best friend and former adviser and even his own brother. When Edward died suddenly after a short illness, the battle for the crown became even more intense despite his having left two male heirs.

Throughout all this bloodshed, the women wait. They keep the households running and the children educated and they grieve. But they also plot and influence and sometimes turn the tide of battle. Gregory characterizes Elizabeth and her mother as witches (both were accused and her mother arrested for being witches) who are able to whistle up a storm or commune with Melusine, a water spirit. The magic is incidental and well within the framework of historical record, but shows Elizabeth as powerful in her own right. A brilliant strategist with a spine of steel, she commands respect. The book ends before Elizabeth’s story is finished; I may read the next in the series, The White Princess, to see what happens when her daughter becomes Queen.

I like history and very much enjoyed seeing this distant time through the eyes of a woman. Of course, we can’t know exactly what was said in conversation, or understand what influenced and swayed decisions, but Gregory creates plausible scenarios and speculates on several mysteries especially what might have happened to the Princes in the Tower. All of the fighting and disloyalty does become tiresome though – people changed allegiances constantly, turncoats (sometimes in the midst of battle) and backstabbers. And the English really need to branch out with the names – so many Richards and Edwards and Henrys – it’s difficult to keep them straight!

Now it’s your turn – what did you read in October?

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Author: juliane-rosin

Women20 recommendations for a gender-equal digital transformation

Network and data exchange over planet earth in space

Under the German presidency of the G20, the Women20 (W20) engagement group is focussing, among other issues, on the digital transformation and its effects on women’s lives. Recommendations will be passed on to G20 President Angela Merkel at the W20 Summit on the 26th of April in Berlin.


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Greedy Associates - The FindLaw Legal Lifestyle and Career Blog

'Making a Murderer' Detective Files Defamation Lawsuit

"Making a Murderer," the Netflix documentary, has been a twisted tale from the beginning.

It follows the convictions of Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in the murder of a Wisconsin woman in 2005. Dassey, a 16-year-old with "intellectual deficits" at the time, said his uncle pulled him into the gruesome crime.

Now the true-crime story has taken another turn. A detective in the case is suing Netflix for defamation.

Planted Evidence

Retired Lt. Andrew Colborn alleges the series makes it look like he and other officers planted evidence to incriminate Avery, who is serving a life sentence. Dassey, who confessed to helping his uncle rape, kill and dismember Teresa Halbach, is also serving a life sentence.

"Despite overwhelming evidence proving Avery and Dassey's guilt and the utter absence of evidence supporting defendant's accusations of police misconduct, defendants falsely led viewers to the inescapable conclusion that plaintiff and others planted evidence to frame Avery for Halbach's murder," the lawsuit says.

Colborn seeks damages for defamation, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He also wants a retraction and "honest clarification of the erroneous and false statements and depictions."

It is the latest development in a tangled case that went up and down the court system and a documentary that took on a life of its own.

Second Season

The show is back for second season, this time with a new defense attorney. She is pulling out all the stops to overturn Avery's conviction, and even purchased a duplicate of the victim's car for expert examination.

But the strangest twist -- besides the twisted murder itself -- involves Dassey's former lawyer. Len Kachinsky was recently acquitted of felony stalking charges.

After the trial, he became a municipal judge and allegedly harassed his clerk. Among other things, he was accused of meowing like a cat at her.

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