Chillin in the Sistine Chapel

Humanitarians,

Today we finished up both the High Renaissance and the Italian Renaissance by visiting the crown jewel of the Ren, the Sistine Chapel and then taking a short stop in Venice to talk about how the do things a bit differently.

First, y'all, the Sistine Chapel is so great, make sure you go there some time! Then we took a trip to Venice, where they use oil paints instead of frescos because of the climate - this is a good transition to the Northern Renaissance, which you read about for today and which we will pick back up on Friday.

Homework? 

The biggest thing is to KEEP being creative! Journal check (10 entries) is next Thursday, 4/27. Need some help? Check it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/mLxfPgQ3R3CslGSYshmGGl/ideas-to-fuel-your-creativity 

This day in history: 

• 1775: The "shot heard round the world" was fired. Colonial Minute Men took on British Army regulars at Lexington and Concord, Mass., starting the American Revolution. 

• 1824: Lord Byron (poet!) died of a fever while helping the Greeks fight the Turks in their fight for independence. 
• 
• 1882: Naturalist Charles Darwin, developer of the theory of evolution, died. 

• 1897: The first Boston Marathon was run. 
• Interesting article on the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a registered participant (she ran it again Monday on the 50th year anniversary of her first run): Katherine Switzer
• 1943: The Warsaw ghetto uprisings began, one of the first mass rebellions against the Nazis. 

• 1993: The siege at Waco, Texas, ended when FBI moved into the Branch Davidian compound with tear gas and cult members set fire to the compound killing over 80 people. 
• 
• 1995: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK was destroyed by a car bomb set by Timothy McVeigh. 168 people, including 19 children were killed in the worst terrorist attack in US history up to that time. 
• 
• 
• 2005: Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. He was the one who retired, paving the way for the current Pope, Francis I. 

brunch joke

- cbg

Guess who's back, back again

Humanitarians,

Let's see if we can't get this blog back on track. I have faith in us, the humanities teachers. We apologize for letting you down the last few weeks, but you guys know how things go.

OMG, we've been so creative lately! From your BEAUTIFUL chalk recreations (not gonna lie, I'm so vain, so all my favorites were the ones that incorporated us) to today's hopefully helpful creativity journal work day.

Still stuck on how to be creative??? Here are some of my favorite starters from the day...

• Write down 5 of your core beliefs. Pick one and illustrate it.
• Pick a lyric from your favorite song to illustrate.
• If Google changed its banner to celebrate you (or your BFF, or your mom, or your favorite teacher), what would it look like? 
• Write haiku poems about famous people
• Illustrate your favorite moment form the past week 
• What if all your neighbors (teachers, friends) had secret lives? Write about it
• Draw a letter of the alphabet 100 different ways

YOU GOT THIS! You are creative human beings - we can't wait to be enthralled. 

Tomorrow, we are back in the Renaissance with a discussion of the best of the High Renaissance - The David and the Sistine Chapel

Yessssssss.

lol, y'all if you were up for Pope 

Couple of homework reminders:
1. HUM reading due tomorrow over the Northern Renaissance.
2. Ren & Reformations Quiz is NEXT Thursday 4/27
3. ALSO on 4/27 is a creativity journal check - we need to see 10 entries! Keep it up!
4. Words for Nerds due 5/3 - this is only a couple of weeks away!

This day in HISSSSSSSSSSSSTORY:

• 1775: Paul Revere rode from Charleston to Lexington to warn Massachusetts colonists of the arrival of the British troops during the American Revolution. 



paul revere and jack black are totally twins

• 1906: The Great San Francisco Earthquake destroyed over 4 sq. miles and killed over 500 people. 
• 
• 1956: Actresses Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.
• 
• 1968: London Bridge was sold to an American and rebuilt in Arizona. Fun fact - I've been here! My friend got married in front of it in May of 2011.
• 

• 1978: The US Senate voted to hand over the Panama Canal to Panamanian control on Dec. 31, 1999. 
• 
• 2012: American Bandstand and New Year's Rockin' Eve host Dick Clark died of heart failure. 
• 

Hope you have a fabulous 4-day week!

Need some tunes?? I loved Big Little Lies on HBO and am now OBSESSED with the tunes they had in it!

Check the spotify list - play it while you get creative! 

https://open.spotify.com/user/g0u1d1e1/playlist/59nmPZQAE0dX44OF6DXDcE?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open&play=true

- cbg out

Like Pi... this blog has been lost at sea!

This is a much less compelling story than the novel. 

Hee hee... get it? 

Now we need both Siddiqui and Garafola to do this with their respective cats. 

Did you miss us? 

Sorry we up and disappeared on you. We got all confused what with STAAR testing and such and then... well... you know how these things go. But, we're back!

We sincerely hope that you enjoyed reading Life of Pi. It is an excellent story with so much to think about. Again, if you have not seen the movie, or, it's been awhile since you've seen it, take some time to watch it soon. It is fantastic as well. 

Coming up this week

Today we did our final writing over Life of Pi. If you were absent today, make sure you talk to your teacher ASAP, so that you can get that make up rescheduled. 

Tomorrow, we start off to the Early Modern Age! (cue dramatic music)

You've got a reading assignment (pg. 286-299 in your Humanities book) due Thursday. This is going to kick off our studying of the European Renaissance. This is usually a time period that students enjoy studying and often know quite a bit about. Speaking of knowing things... we know that A LOT of you are going to be absent on Friday. Don't worry, we got you!

Soundtrack of the Week

It's anniversary week! 

There are quite a few landmark or just plain excellent albums that are celebrating anniversaries this year. So, I thought we'd play some songs off these albums as they reach their big milestones. 

First up, a little something to get you movin' and groovin'. I hope that most of you have heard of Daft Punk. They won the Grammy for Best Album in 2014. This landmark French duo are seminal for bringing electronic music into the mainstream. 

Daft Punk's debut album, Homework, came out in January of 1997. It caused quite the sensation. One of the first singles off that album is this classic "Around the World". Enjoy! (the video is pretty mind-bending too)