The Willsea Way

It's with great pleasure that we introduce Chiff.com's first guest blogger - on a topic perennially the source of controversy and opinion among teachers, parents and politicans - education.

Twice a week, Bronx, New York teacher Lorraine Willsea, whose qualifications include an MS in education, will be reporting from the front lines.

Lorraine is currently involved in an inclusion class pilot program, where children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and general education students follow the same curriculum. She reports, "Guests can't identify which students have ASD. All they see are high achieving happy kids!"

With ten years experience in special and general education classrooms, Lorraine has a distinct vantage point and shows she can be fearlessly articulate in voicing her own views on how to best teach and protect our kids.

Says Lorraine, "The Willsea Way will appear every Monday and Thursday, and I will try to answer as many of your questions as possible! Write to willsea@chiff.com. I'll also be covering various topics and sharing my opinions, so let's hear from you!"

Meanwhile, click here to check out what she has to say this week...

NCAA Regional - Elite 8

NCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Regional Finals

The Elite 8

Saturday March 26, 2005
Chicago: Arizona vs. Illinois 7:05 pm
Albuquerque: Louisville vs. West Virginia 4:40 pm

Sunday March 27, 2005
Syracuse: Wisconsin vs. North Carolina 2:40 pm
Austin: Michigan State vs Kentucky 5:05 pm

Good Friday, Holi & Sweet 16 Victories

March 25th is a busy day - in India the streets are covered with colorful paints from the Holi celebrations. It's Good Friday and while most of the Christian world is focused on the passion and suffering of Christ and preparations for the Easter holiday... college basketball fans are concentrating on a different kind of passion and suffering.

The regional finals started last night and the first results of the Sweet 16 basketball battles sent # 1 seed Washington home while the Louisville Cardinal's earned a berth in the Elite 8. They'll be playing against West Virginia to see who takes the ALBUQUERQUE regional title to advance to the next round - the Final 4.

In the CHICAGO regionals Stoudamire's three point jumper with 2.8 seconds left won an Elite 8 playoff spot for Arizona. They'll face the #1 seed Illinois in the next round.

Tonight's games will decide which of the remaining teams make the Elite 8. The SYRACUSE regionals will start at 7:25 tonight in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY and it will be North Carolina v. Villanova and Wisconsin v. North Carolina State.

The AUSTIN contingent pits Utah v. Kentucky and Duke v. Michigan State with the games scheduled to start at 6:10 PM at Frank Erwin Events Center in Austin, TX.

By tomorrow morning the Elite 8 will be settling down to prep for the games and the other 8 teams from the Sweet 16 will be packing up their equipment and planning for next year.

Buzz is still favoring Duke, but Illinois was impressive in last night's game and none of these teams can be counted out...

Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here, officially, March 20, 2005, 7:34 a.m. EST (12:33 Universal Time), when the Sun crosses directly over the Earth's equator. Equinox means "equal night" when day and night are about equal in length all over the world.

Countless traditions revolve around the phenomenon of the spring equinox. The date is significant in Christianity because Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. So does the Hindu festival, Holi, better known as the "festival of color." Many other related relgious & historical references date back for millennia. The Persian New Year, or Nowruz, still begins precisely at the strike of the vernal equinox.

Today, a pagan tradition called Spring Break is about to be celebrated by U.S. high school and college students across America, who are currently gearing up to go wild at beaches around the world.

Also, watch for the old chestnut about earthlings being able to balance an egg upright on its base today due to the earth's unique gravitational pull. (However, scientests will spoil the whole endeavor -- by claiming that you can stand an egg on its end any old time of year.) Seems ever since the superstition sprang up, more people attempt it on this day than any other.

Meanwhile, Daylight Savings Time is on its way, promising longer days well into summer...

Spring ahead! Another winter is over, at last.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

March 19th is St. Joseph's Day...the birthday of St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. It is also the Name Day of all of the Josephs, Giuseppes, Jozefas, Josés, Pepes, Joes, Josephines, and Joannas around the world...

In America the Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, Hispanic Americans and descendants of other Catholic Europeans mark this feast with special celebrations to honor St. Joseph, all of his namesakes and all fathers. The swallows return to the Mission of San Juan Capistrano in California on St. Joseph's Day and the area joins in the celebration with parades and festivals. In many households St. Joseph Tables are set up with altars, candles and traditional foods. Zeppole di San Guiseppe, St. Joseph's Pants, St. Joseph's Bread, pasta and fava beans are just some of the meatless dishes and treats that you'll find.

In Valencia's falles celebrations you're more likely to find paella. In Munich the St. Joseph's Day celebrations are part of Starkbeirzeit, a toned down Oktoberfest that features strong dark beers brewed especially for these festivities.

Send an e-Card to a friend or relative or find out more about St. Joseph's Day traditions...

A Hair of the Dog & Other Hangover Cures

If the celebrations on St. Patrick's Day went on a little longer than you planned and the green beer you enjoyed yesterday has you feeling a bit green yourself today... we've gathered a collection of hangover cures that just may get you through the day. Some remedies, such as dropping cigar ashes in the beer bottle or matching every beer with a glass of water, need to be done while you're partying and it's too late to try them out now. There are dozens of hangover "cures" and one of them might just work for you, but remember that every body handles alcohol in its own way and what may be a miracle cure for your mate may make you ill just thinking about it.

The best thing to do is drink lots of water to replace the liquid you lost - alcohol dehydrates you. Get up and exercise to get the rest of the alcohol out of your system and try to remember all the fun you had that you are paying for today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It's been said that on St. Patrick's Day everyone is a bit Irish and as the bands march, the bagpipes play and the children devise leprechaun traps... it's easy to see why. If you'll be out marching or standing on the sidelines watching, Taithnín an mórshiúl - Enjoy the parade!

You'll see St. Patrick's Day parades in all corners of the world where the Diaspora spread the children of Ireland during the hard times. Irish blessings, soft pieces of poetry wishing health and happiness, became known throughout the world...as did Irish curses:

May those who love us love us...
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we'll know them by their limping.

Enjoy your soda bread, your corned beef or your cabbage and potatoes...and may you meet no one with turned ankles this St. Patrick's Day!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

NCAA Brackets Illinois - Washington - North Carolina and Duke Take Top Seeds

The official announcement for the 2005 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship bracket was announced today. The top seeds are:
Illinois in the Chicago bracket;
Washington in the Albuquerque bracket;
North Carolina in the Syracuse Region and
Duke in the Austin region.

Tuesday, March 15th are the opening-round game tip offs on Tuesday, March 15...

Beware the Ides of March will have new meaning to some fans!

The first round is scheduled for a Thursday start. March Madness 2005 promises continued excitement as the teams face each other fighting for one of the sweet 16 positions.

To Die For?

From Music Choice's poll of top 10 favorite funeral songs released today the far-and-away winner is...Robbie Williams' Angels.

The 1997 hit by Williams, the ex-boy band member (from Take That) is now THE song most Britons would like played (clip) at their funeral.

It was followed by Frank Sinatra's My Way and Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

The perennial hit, which the pop sensation admits to having taken 20 minutes to write, also recently won Best Song of the Past 25 Years at the 2005 Brit Awards in London.

So what if Robbie Williams continues to fail to crack the American market?

Today Angels remains (on the other side of the pond at least) a song for the ages.

Come Spring

Although it won't happen officially until March 20th Spring arrived early in New York with a rise in temperatures in the mid-60's.

Snow is again forecast today. But the recent clearing lasted just long enough to realize that (any day now) college kids will be off partying on a wild and memorable Spring Break. Meanwhile, suburbanites tucked far away from the steel canyons of Manhattan are (we imagine, anyway) planning their summer gardens out back.

It won't be all gray in the big city, however. As today the winter coats come back out we almost hear the faint sounds of bagpipes at this year's St. Patrick's Day Parade, and take heart in the wacky headgear about to be displayed on Fifth Avenue's Easter Parade.

Meanwhile, summer vacation travel plans spring to mind...

Happy Mothering Sunday

For everyone celebrating Mothering Sunday today... Happy Mothering Sunday!

For the rest of the world who noticed the strange date on their calendar but have no clue what Mothering Sunday is...

In the days when children were sent off to be apprentices and learn a trade the training started early. Children as young as six and seven could be apprenticed out to masters for on the job training. These young workers would live with the craftsman or merchants and they worked long hours seven days a week unless they were allowed a Sabbath rest.

There was usually no contact between the children and their families while they were learning their trades. Transportation was not available and even visiting the next village could be a long journey. Reading and writing were not common skills in the working class - there were no telegrams, telephones or even regular mail delivery. Email and text messaging were centuries down the road!

During the Lenten season in Europe, one Sunday was set aside for the young apprentices and servants in training to go back home for a visit. Normally, the child was given a gift from the master to bring home with them.

As the army of children made their way home, they stopped to pick wildflower bouquets from the side of the road to give to their moms. Arriving home with their gifts and flowers for Mum they spent the evening and the next day feasting and enjoying the mothering that they missed during the rest of the year.

The tradition of Mothering Sunday is still observed in many parts of the world and Mother's Day has caught on as a holiday in other areas...

Was My Face Red...

Adam L. Penenberg has penned a well researched article on why web sites should not use pop-up ads. Quotes from the article, Media Sites: Say No to Pop-Ups...

~ A study conducted last year by Dynamic Logic found that almost 80 percent of those surveyed had a "very negative" opinion of pop-up ads.

~ One survey conducted in 2004 by Bunnyfoot Universality, a U.K.-based web consultancy, determined that as many as nine out of 10 users who clicked on a popular pop-up ad were really just trying to get rid of them and clicked through by accident "because the close button was so difficult to find."

~ The bottom line: Test subjects indicated "a strong and intense dislike for pop-up ads, resulting in a negative attitude toward the website itself and the brand owner."

The article goes on to ask why well known and respected media sites like CNN, ABC News, the New York Times and the Washington Post use pop-ups when they result "...in a negative attitude toward the website itself and the brand owner."

The article is on Wired News (www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66764,00.html) - the link is not live because Chiff.com doesn't link to sites that carry pop-ups and... well, yes, Wired News does use popups.

Adam Penenberg, who was assured by his editor that the site was pop-up free, found that readers of his article, urging media sites to reconsider their use of a very unPOPular ad format, were greeted by... a pop-up ad!

The article has been amended to include Wired News in the list of media sites that should say no to pop-ups. Let's hope they listen!

In the mean time, there are plenty of good sites that have already abandoned pop-ups and our reviewers will keep adding the best ones to the Chiff.com Directory.

If you'd like to see some pop-up free news about Martha Stewart leaving prison and her very bright ex-con future, or the latest on the Michael Jackson trial - click over to some media sites that give you the news...pop-up free!

Coming to a Theater Near You...

Although searches for Oscars and Hillary Swank two days later continue to be top visitor drawers at Chiff.com, it might be a good time to look at what lies ahead in the months ahead now that the 2005 Oscars are officially over.

COMING UP: A total of four major blockbusters - including the release of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith due out in May, followed by the June 17 opening of Batman Begins starring Christian Bale as the darkest version yet of the modern Caped Crusader.

Later in the month, Steven Spielberg again teams up with Tom Cruise for the sci-fi 50's remake of War of the Worlds. Then, legions of Harry Potter fans wait for November to get their latest fix in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, slated to open just in time for the holidays.

Meanwhile, also watch in 2005 for Orlando Bloom to star alongside Liam Neeson as a real caped crusader in the medieval epic, Kingdom of Heaven; and Jane Fonda's return to the silver screen in the title role of Monster-in-Law, alongside an innocent bride-to-be, Jennifer Lopez.

For more on what's coming up at a theater near you, check out Art & Culture: Movies 2005.