VIDEO GAME REVIEW: MineCraft

OK, I'm visiting my brother for Thanksgiving and all 3 of his kids are playing this game.  It's got this hypnotic chill music playing and blocks...lots and lots of blocks.  And they are playing it ALL THE TIME on the X-box. (you can play it online or on various game systems) At first I thought it was really boring looking, but then they explained all the cool stuff you can do it. Turns out it's pretty interesting and a whole lot of fun!  The game is called MINECRAFT.

First of all, you can build things with the blocks, like Mansions and castles or rocket ships to the moon.  That's right, you can build a rocket...that really flies...and there is a MOON!  I heard you can find moon-rocks there. The Minecraft universe has all sorts of places you can explore where there's stuff you need to collect to build with.  Actually you have to MINE the stuff...I guess that's where the name of the game comes from.  One place I saw was The Nether a spooky otherworld place with lava and monsters... oh yeah, there are monsters!(but only if you want them). It's also a battle game if you want where you can fight gigantic spiders and zombies if that's what you like to do.   You can also hunt and kill animales and when they die they leave meat.  if you eat raw meat your character will slow down, so you have to build an oven, cook the meat, and yo'll get health...or hearts...or something. I'll admit it, I never played the game. I did spend hours interviewing these three expert player and if you can enjoy watching a game for hours think how much fun it must be.

So, to sum up you can play by yourself, play with your friends, play with strangers.  You can have a creative fun time building awesome stuff, exploring worlds, or go battle crazy and kill zombies. Prepare to lose hours...days...months...in this building block world of awesomeness.

PARENTAL WARNINGS: The x-box allows you to play with others and communicate with them. Make sure you know who your child is playing with.  Seems like it's a game for children of all ages.  Also there are lots of cool Minecraft youtube videos that show you how to do cool things, but some of them have adult language, so screen appropriately.

KIDS REVIEW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1tBXe0JGyc&feature=related

GAME: Rhyme Time

Rhyme Time is easy to play.  Just start off with saying a word.  Start simple with a one syllable word like cat.  The next person needs to say word that rhymes with it. A rhyme has the same ending sound.

A:  CAT!
B: HAT!
A: Uh....BLOW?
B:  Nope!  I win!

Once you get bored with the one syllable words kick it up a notch with multiple syllable words.  No repeating word or doing other peoples words, though.

A: Mistake
B: Awake
C: Cupcake!
A: Heartbreak
B: Awake!
C: Repeat, you're out.  Ummm.  Heartbreak?
A:  Copy!  I win!

Then when you've really got it try doing sentences.  They don't have to be the same syllable length at first.  Once you're a Rhyme Master you can trade sentences that have the same length.

Music Review: Jacob Collier "Isn't she lovely"

Check out Jacob Collier's arrangement of this Stevie Wonder classic "Isn't she lovely". It is performed by six Jacob Colliers, joined this time by Jacob Collier on melodica.  he blends with himself really well.  So far he only has 6 videos up but they are all pretty great.  Thanks to my cousin Collins for recommending this me!


 

Cool stuff made from Balloons!

I like to make balloon animals. The most complicated thing I can make is a teddy bear using the pop twist. It's called a pop twist because you have to pop part of the animal while you are making it. I pull it off about half the time. I looked it up on youtube and couldn't find any teddy bear tutorials with that use the pop twist.  This video is pretty good however.  Check out the pictures below to see what else people have made out of balloons.

 Check out these beautiful dresses made from balloons

Mr. Chang Chao Fu’s entry into the Balloon Art World Challenge, in Taiwan. 

Music Review: Share It Maybe

Music Review: Share It Maybe
from Claudia the smart alick

This is a super fun spoof song. I love it when people take songs and give them new lyrics. This one works becuase it's good musically. It works on it's own as well as mimicking all the rhythms and rhymes on the Carly Rae's "Call Me Maybe."

 

Published July 2012 SesameStreet. Cookie Monster spoofs Carly Rae Jepsen's song "Call Me Maybe."
For more fun games and videos for your preschooler in a safe, child-friendly environment, visit http://www.sesamestreet.org

Sesame Street is a production of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization which also produces Pinky Dinky Doo, The Electric Company, and other programs for children around the world.

Music Review: Bob Ross Remixed

 The video above is from the regular PBS site and videos they remixed and made into  music. Robert Norman "Bob" Ross was a painter, teacher, and TV host. He created The Joy of Painting, a great show that ran for years. He'd often say catch phrases with particular panting techniques. What did you pick out when you listened?

Bob Ross, was remixed by Symphony of Science's John D. Boswell for PBS Digital Studios. It's a great example of an interesting body of work. I enjoyed the music. John D. Boswell (melodysheep) has more remixes here: http://www.youtube.com/melodysheep. This is the second in a series of PBS icons remixed.

This video was produced by the Public Broadcasting Station or PBS. They have a station that is just for kids pbskids.org which has some pretty good shows on it. If you watch any of those feel free tor recommend one for me to review.

VIDEO! Math coolness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av_Us6xHkUc&feature=channel&list=UL

This girl is super smart and pretty funny.  Click on the link above to listen to a fun song, see funny loopy imagery and also learn about mathematical symmetry groups  This video below is based on a true story and shows you how to make really cool 

Hexaflexagons!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIVIegSt81k&feature=share&list=ULVIVIegSt81k

Viharts video is fun but might be a little fast. Here's one slowed down so you can make one yourself.



 This video was made by a kid! Her version is a little different and totally works too. I also love that she made this tutorial. It's really good.
If you can figure out how to make you're own HEXAFLEXAGONS post a picture in the comments section.

This is Funny! Lost Wormhole

This is funny!

Michael Kleinman is a designer from Australia.  He creates digital images that live on the internet.  Some are advertisements, some are art, and others are just funny.  Really, most are a mix of all three of those elements. When they become popular they are called memes.   In this piece called Lost Wormhole, the digital image of the poster seems to go on forever with the caption, “Do not attempt capture because you’ll totally screw with the space/time continuum bro”.   Can you figure out how he made the picture look like that?

A Game: Baba Ganoush (Also a recipe!)

Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush
a game by Cynthia Saunders and Claudia Alick (1998)

You can play with any number of players. It's a game about making up silly answers quickly.  Much like the game Balderdash. First player begins by asking "what is baba ganoush anyway?" The next answers with authority that it is something that is totally unrelated to what the actual definition of baba ganoush is. The next player counters "I don't think that's what baba ganoush is" they then go on to give an alternate definition that is as unrelated to the two as possible. This continues until someone gives a definition that is so fantastic no one can top it or the players become bored. The final exchange is often "isn't it a dip made from eggplant?" "No. I don't think so." Baba Ganoush can be played using any word as long as all the players have a knowledge of what the word's original meaning is. Baba Ganoush is also a delicious snack.

Example

A: What is baba ganoush?
B: It is a small planet off of alpha centauri
C: I don't think that's what baba ganoush is. Baba Ganoush is the nickname my younger sister gave me after she lost her front teeth and had a lisp.

D: That is a clever answer but I believe you are mistaken.  Baba Ganoush is the smell the flowers give off when you put them in water.

A: Isn't baba ganoush a dip made from eggplant?

B: No, I don't think so.

Make some Baba Ganoush with your own family!

----------------------------

Recipe for Baba Ganoush

Categories: Appetizers, Dips, Vegetarian, Vegan

Yield: 1 batch

1 1/2 lb Eggplant

3 tb Lemon juice

1 ts Salt

2 ts Minced fresh garlic

3 tb Sesame tahini

-- (optional: substitute

-- yogurt or sour cream)

1/4 c Chopped parsley

1/2 c Toasted pine nuts

2 tb Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prick eggplant all over with a fork. Bake whole until tender (about 30 minutes). Remove from oven, halve and scoop out the flesh. Blend in a food processor with the lemon juice until smooth. Mash the salt and garlic together and combine with the eggplant, along with the tahini. Cool and stir in the parsley and pine nuts. Before serving, drizzle with the olive oil. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or triangles of flat (pita) bread.  It's also tasty with chopped vegetables.

(Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook)

From: The Cook's Garden catalog, Spring/Summer 1993 (page 20)

TV Review: Redwall

REDWALL: A spoiler free review!

("spoiler free" means that we aren't going to spoil the ending by revealing details about plot or characters)

My nephews Eddie and Harry introduced me to this series and I am now a big fan. I haven't read the books myself yet, but Eddie has really good things to say about them.

Redwall, by Brian Jacques, is a series of books and a TV series. There are 22 books and they are about anthropomorphic animals that have adventures in the land of Redwall. (anthropomorphic means animals that act like humans.  most cartoons feature anthropomorphic animals.) Each story is set in a different time period so you get to find out about the history of the land. The TV show has a mouse protagonist in each of it's seasons. (Redwall, Mattimeo, and Martin the Warrior), which first aired in 1999.

The animals are sometimes fighting battles or having adventures and sometimes characters actually die and there are some scary villains.  So watch out!  I don't do age recommendations but this might not be everyones taste and that's ok. The stories are compelling and I found myself not only rooting for the good guys but really believing in how good they were. That means it was probably teaching some life lessons mixed in with the magic and animals.  Also the dialog is clever and there were some pretty funny moments. I totally enjoyed this series and watched all 3 seasons.  It's old school animation style stands up and the voices and characters are compelling.

This is the website that is all about the series if you'd like more information. http://www.redwallabbey.com

Totally awesome show that I recommend.  Thumbs up all the way.

Always check with your parents before you take my advice! If they say it's cool, after you watch Redwall, leave us your own review in the comments section. 

Your friend 

Claudia the smart Alick

What is Smart Alick?

Hi!  My name is Claudia Alick and I write stuff like plays and poetry and short stories and articles
most of it is super boring to children
because it is esoteric  or about business or politics or other adult stuff.  So I built this page for my cool friends and family in the 18 and under set.

I plan on posting artwork, videos, games, and reviews for books, and movies, and tv shows, comics. Hopefully this will be entertaining or educational or perhaps even edutaining!

I've got a big vocabulary so I'll try and remember to link the bigger ones to dictionaries. I've never done anything like this before so I will start slow.   Please comment and tell us how we're doing! And yes, I am using the Royal we.

Your friend 

Claudia