Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Two New Fan-Made Videos!

I got a really cool birthday present the other day. Well, it was a coincidence it came on my birthday, actually, but still, it was cool. I received an email from Katherine and Andrew, siblings, and long-time fans of my music. They had decided to make an animated video using Legos, and they chose my song, "The Princess and the Farmer's Son," for their soundtrack. Check it out below! I love the dragon's fiery breath and the flying carpet sequence.

Plus, just a few days earlier, Rhonda Turley from the Piedmont Public Library sent me a video that her summer reading kids made using my "Catch the Reading Bug" song! I love seeing the bug run through all the books mentioned in the song. Check it out below as well!



The Princess and the Farmer's Son




Catch the Reading Bug


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Born to Do Science Café


This is Dr. Jeffrey Byrnes, volcanologist. He will be the first guest speaker in a series of events I'm hosting called the "Born to Do Science" cafe. There will be four cafes during the Fall semester. All are free and open to the public. These are for adults and kids grades 2 and up.

My goal is to give kids a chance to talk to real working scientists about their research. I want kids to come away feeling that 1. they talked to a scientist who's doing important work, 2. they can understand that work on some level, and 3. they can picture themselves doing similar work in their own lives.

If my first four events go well, I will extend the series into the Spring semester.

"What does this have to do with my music career?" you may well ask. If I can find the time, I may write some new songs to perform at these events. But in any case, this is part of a larger plan that will include science-type songs at some point. For now, I'm having a blast talking to scientists!

Below is the Fall schedule.

You can find out more at www.BornToDoScience.com

Volcanoes of Venus!
How Volcanism Shapes the Planets
Talk with Dr. Jeffrey Byrnes, Volcanologist, about his research into the formation of volcanic land forms on Venus, Mars, and Earth.
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 6:30 PM, hastings coffee shop, Stillwater, OK

The Molecular Eye!
How Bacteria See and React to Light
Talk with Dr. Wouter Hoff, Microbiologist, about his research into how life interacts with light through shape-changing proteins.
Tuesday, Oct. 7, 6:30 PM, hastings coffee shop, Stillwater, OK

The Microbe Hunter!
How to Identify New Life Forms on Earth
Talk with Dr. Mostafa Elshahed, Microbiologist, about his research into finding and identifying previously unknown types of microbes.
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 PM, hastings coffee shop, Stillwater, OK

Stop Stressing Me Out!
How Your Friendships May Cause Stress
Talk with Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven, Developmental Psychologist, about her research on the social stress hormone cortisol and why it stresses us out.
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 6:30 PM, hastings coffee shop, Stillwater, OK