Pig Skull Visits Garth School

I visited today with one hundred 4th and 5th grade boys at Garth School, Georgetown. I was really impressed with the "boy energy" bursting from the school library room. The boys exploded answering questions about cobras, Florida, and the oldest American city. I extended an invitation to them to join the Pig Skulls at our Fall Kickoff, Sunday, Oct. 21.

Thank you Mrs. Wells for helping to organize my visit to your library.

Pig Skull Fall Kickoff Sunday, Oct. 21, 7 PM

Do you like hot dogs? Do you like campfires? Do you like talking about great books? Well, then, come to the Pig Skull Fall Kickoff campfire book discussion Sunday, Oct. 21, 7 PM in front of the library. I will provide the hot dogs and drinks, you provide the chairs and discussion. We will be discussing Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Please RSVP if you plan to attend because I need to know how many hot dogs to grill. Phone me, Mr. Mike, at the library 863-3566 or email mike@scottpublib.org. This kickoff replaces the previously scheduled 2 PM meeting for Oct. 21. Our next Pig Skull meeting is Sunday Nov. 18, 2 PM. We will discuss Wild Man Island by Will Hobbs.

See you at the campfire.

Mr. Mike Loses To Platform 9 3/4

I took the Tube, London's subway, to Harry-Potter-famous King's Cross train station where I went head-on with the bricks of platform 9 3/4. I lost. My forehead now sports a nifty brick pattern. Bemused, but chintzy, onlooking Brits and other nationals refused my request for a £5 entertainment fee.

Radio Nostalgia Network Podcasts

Check out these free downloadable old-time radio broadcasts at Radio Nostalgia Network. Back in the time before TV, families gathered around the radio to listen to shows such as Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, The Shadow (my father's favorite), and Fibber McGee and Molly. The Network has these broadcasts and a lot more including some classic sci-fi stuff from the late 1940s and early 1950s. Broadcasts are from American and British radio. Be sure to listen to Moments In Time, D-Day Invasion, June 8, 1944 for CBS reporter, Charles Collin's, live report of the Allied invasion that overwhelmed Hitler's war machine. Collin mentions being surprised to see hundreds of Allied gliders being towed and released behind German lines. He reports that the Germans were so stunned that they stopped firing their guns.

Discussing Deathly Hallows At Sept. 16 Meeting

Hope you guys had a grand summer. Is everyone done reading Deathly Hallows? This is the book we will discuss at the Sunday, Sept. 16, 2-3 pm meeting. I'm sure all of you have something to say about what you found surprising in the book. There was at least one thing that really surprised me.


We will discuss Gary Paulsen's Hatchet at our Oct. 21 meeting. I will have copies available for you at the Sept. 16 meeting. You guys will choose the books for the remainder of the year. Do me a favor and choose from the list below the top five books you'd like to read AND choose the five least favorite books you'd like to read. Email me with your choices or just let me know at the Sept. 16 meeting.

Hey, don't be shy about asking someone to join Pig Skulls. Love to have 'em. I recently picked up a new Pig Skuller during my early morning neighborhood walk.

What do you guys know about Hadrian's Wall?

Booklist (choose five favorite and five least favorite books)

The Heroic Adventures of Hercules Amsterdam, Melissa Haber
Mysteries in Our National Parks series, Gloria Skurzyski
The Time Warp series, Jon Scieszka
Time Cat, Alexander Lloyd
The Book of Three, Alexander Lloyd
The Secrets of Droon, Hidden Stairs, Tony Abbot
Pure Dead series, Debi Gliori
Just So Stories, Rudyard Kipling
Winning Season series, Rich Wallace
Mystery of the Roman Ransom, Henry Winterfield
Last Shot, John Feinstein
The Underland Chronicles series, Suzanne Collins
Frindle, Andrew Clements
Ranger's Apprentice series, John Flanagan
The City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau

Wild Man Island, Will Hobbs

The Cross of Lead, Avi

The Eddie Dicken Trilogy, Philip Ardagh

Chet Gecko series, Bruce Hale

Dork in Disguise, Carol Gorman

Old Yeller, Fred Gipson

Silverwing Saga, Kenneth Oppel

Airborn Saga, Kenneth Oppel

Darkwing, Kenneith Oppel

Redwall, Brian Jacques

Call of the Wild, Jack London

You can look over the listed books at Scott County Library.

Deathly Hallows Release In London

Here is an example of the crowd in front of London's mega bookstore, Waterstone's, 30 minutes before the midnight release of Deathly Hallows. It was a mob.

Harry Potter clones were everywhere. Here is a Spanish couple. They were a minor media event. A British TV crew showed up to interview them.

Hello From London! Tour de France London Start

For the first time ever, the Tour de France started in London. This part of the race was mostly for show BUT what a show it was! I took this picture within 100 yards of my King's College dorm. The racers started at The Mall near Trafalgar Square on the north side of the Thames River, crossed Westminster Bridge to the south side of the Thames, then raced by me on Upper Ground (Street). Their sudden appearance caught me with my camera turned off so I wasn't able to get the leaders. But these guys were pretty close to the front.