Valedictorian

My cousin Stephanie Bires is this year's valedictorian at Pasco High School. She and the salutatorian were featured in this article. Both of them dislike the FCAT and consider their moms as the folks who inspired them the most.

African banjos

A BBC News special report on Grammy award-winning banjo player Bela Fleck and his trip to Africa to explore the roots of the banjo. (Thanks to First Things blog for the tip.)

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. The song released as a single in 1971, and the video was posted on YouTube in 2007.

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler is a television movie airing tonight on CBS. The First Things blog has a note from Cynthia L. Haven, a regular contributor to the Washington Post Book World, about Sendler, a Polish Catholic, and the network of women who helped her.

The 2009 Peeps

The winner of The Washington Post's 2009 contest can be viewed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/peeps. My favorite is the Escher at photo #5.

Free speech at the University of Maryland

Here's a summary of some things going on at the University of Maryland.

Update: President Mote announced that commencement ceremonies will have an invocation as usual. According to the Washington Post, University spokesman Lee Tune said that the University received many calls and e-mails supporting the tradition.

Top 10 John Williams themes

Dad sent a link to an article (in the St. Pete Times paper website) about one critic's favorite John Williams movie themes. IMHO, the Star Wars and the Indiana Jones themes deserve to be at the top. A related link at that page goes to the critic's explanations of his choices.

Musical chemistry lecture

The Faculty Voice is an independent faculty newspaper edited at the University of Maryland. The March, 2009, issue mentions a musical prank in a chemistry lecture.