William Horberg

Star Student

 

Natalie came home with this "star student of the month" certificate from school right before the Thanksgiving break.

We're proud of our star student and are sure this is the first of many!

Congratulations, Miss Natalie!

Dad

Happy Thanksgiving

(Natalie protects her little brother from some over-excited Turkeys)

Enjoy!

william

 

RARE - Newly Discovered Footage of Duke Ellington and Martha Graham

                     

False advertising, you say?

Well, the music is an Ellington composition - Pie Eye's Blues from his classic Blues in Orbit album.

And Natalie's amazing, original, dance moves could fit right in to a modern dance by Graham.

And this RARE video footage will stand the test of time as part of the archives in our family history. 

It was a golden moment, and I'm glad to have the friendly confines of the Blog to be able to share it with you all here.

Enjoy!

william

The Trick-or-Treaters

Natalie was styling with her homemade Coraline costume. In addition to the yellow boots and rain slicker, you can't really tell in this photo but she has Blue Latex Paint in her hair (will it ever come out???) and a beautiful dragonfly hairpin to match her stop motion animated heroine.

 

Diego was going for a Kung Fu Panda look with a homemade costume styled after the legendary warrior himself, "Po" ! ! Unfortunately, Mom and Dad got the panda's color scheme backwards. Instead of a white tummy circle on a black body, Diego ended up with a black circle on a white body. Most Halloween revelers mistook him for a cow or a puppy, but we decided that his INVERSE PANDA LOOK was totally awesome!

A little face paint, my black trenchcoat and beret, and a quick pilfering of props from Elsa's studios, made for an improvised last minute faux Dali for yours truly. The rudimentary French that I could remember from Miss Epstien's class back at The Latin School of Chicago ("nous mangions dans le restaurant ce soir") didn't add much to the overall effect!

 

Elsa went solidly for the Adorable Look of which she is a living master. Some high quality photos of her outfit can be found at her fashion-leaning blog The Hidden Seed.

 

Although Coraline was a Focus Feature directed by Henry Selick in stop motion animation with a very handmade style, while Kung Fu Panda was a Dreamworks blockbuster, I still think they go together nicely and make a handsome couple.

Don't you?

Happy Halloween!

william

"Heppy" Birthday, Clifford

One of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time, Clifford Brown would have turned 89 years old today. Instead, in one of jazz music's many tragic stories in the category of "they died too young", Brown and fellow musician Richie Powell died in a car crash in the rain on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on the way to Chicago for a gig. He was only 25 years old and had been recording for only 4 years, but the music he left behind will live forever!

I found this old birthday card and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to share it with you here. What could be more "hep", that a swinging, soulful solo by "Brownie"?

If you're not familiar with Brown's music, you can't do better than his recording of the swinging "Sandu", which can be found on the classic album "Study in Brown" here.

Enjoy!

william

The Pumpkin Patch Kids

Diego and Natalie were SUPER excited by our visit to the Pumpkin Patch to pick out our pumpkins for carving into Jack-O-Lanterns this year! We found a new patch called Mr. Bones, which is a clever kid-friendly combination of amusement park, pumpkins and Halloween accessories sure to empty your wallet as it entertains your family.

 

In the fading light of early evening, the trusty old Polaroid does not do justice to the giant paper mache statues of Hekyll and Jekyll hovering over the patch.

 

The handy oversize wagons are good for carting off your massive pumpkin purchases, or whatever other wee Halloween Spooks happen to suddenly materialize for a ride.

 

Diego managed to climb up the Skeleton Slide no problem, but once up top inside the mouth decided that was as far as this little hombre wanted to go. 

Guess who had to climb on up there and slide down with him? Guess who then discovered "hey this IS fun" and then wanted to climb up and slide down ten more times? (Hint: the answer to the first question and the second question is NOT the same person).

Natalie got the biggest pumpkin this year, Elsa's is kind of skinny and tall, Diego's is perfectly round and cute, mine looks perfect from the front but has one of those lopsided flat heads from lazying around on the ground for too long. We got an extra tall pumpkin for extra tall Miro in the hope that he'll make a rare Halloween appearance this year!

william

As The Crow Flies

"The Moon belongs to everyone, the best things in life are free."

When it comes to fun things to do with the kids, let's just say that I'm a big believer in the Lew Brown, B.G. DeSylva and Ray Henderson  (lyricists of the song above) school of parenting.

Diego really loves airplanes, watching them, going on them, and flying his own. 

Paper airplanes, balsa wood and styrofoam gliders, and their rubber-band powered cousins are old-school - inexpensive, fun to assemble, get outside and fly. 

So while not exactly free, it was a treat to stumble upon this grandfather of all such airborne contraptions in a small shop when we were at my cousin's wedding in Amherst a few weeks ago. Known as The Crow, it was designed in Japan by Chuhachi Ninomiya all the way back in the pre-Wright Brothers year of 1899, and is still being manufactured today for the enjoyment of Japanese children of all ages. 

Ninomiya died in 1915, but here is a picture of some of his earliest rubber-band model airplanes that he designed himself.

 

 

Our model, above, (lovingly photographed by Elsita), looks like it came assembled out of the box, but it was actually the result of a few hours of glueing, sanding and assembling and Dad following fairly poorly translated Japanese directions, until finally painting the whole thing black, as the pieces supplied are white styrofoam and tan balsa wood. Amazingly, Diego sat at the table for the duration, really enjoying the process of building something from scratch.

Here is the young aviator himself, having fun with his "Crow".

You can get your own "Crow" model kit to assemble here at Brooklyn 5+10!

Enjoy!

william

Whipped Cream (and other delights)!

The old Farmer's Market is one of the best places in Los Angeles, and one of the best places in the old market is Bennett's Ice Cream, where Natalie and Diego recently went to try out their homemade Strawberry flavor!

The nice man at the counter recognized two patrons and connoisseurs and with the extra touch that makes Bennett's special, added a blast of Whipped Cream to the top of the small cups.

It looks like serious business for these two. Diego ate the whipped cream off the top, but Natalie, like a true artist, mixed hers in, making an even more pink concoction.

I think we all know that sometimes spoons are just inadequate for the task at hand! Especially where there is Whipped Cream involved!

Thanks, Bennett's!

william

Back to School

Today is the first day back for the students of the Melrose Elementary School, Natalie's local neighborhood public school. This year they have become a Math, Science and Technology Magnet school. We're lucky since we live in the district and Natalie was already a student there, she has been grandfathered in to what is now a very competitive admission process to attend.

Hundreds of young kids gathered in the concrete playground. All of the classes stood in line in front of their teachers holding up handmade signs with the numbers of their classroom, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. The principal had them recite the new name of the magnet school and told them that all of the students will henceforth be known as The Stars! 

It took me back to my own childhood in public school in Chicago, at the Louis P. Nettlehorst Elementary school. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Natalie is really excited to be going back. She is such a great student - very curious and eager to participate in whatever new subject is being taught. I'm sure she will have a great time as a First Grader, and just like Linus above, she will have her hand up more often than not!

william

You Know What Day It Is

Well, if you don't, young Miss Natalie sure does!!

Goodbye Kindergarten.

Hello, Summer!

william