R puters making us dummerer?

Hugh writes about The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein. Here's an excerpt from his review:

While my father often told me he remembered seeing his first automobile, I remember seeing my first jet plane, television set, desktop computer, cell phone, and countless other modern devices. Science has handed us more gadgets and devices in the last 100 years than in all previous human history, and the exponential pace of development is not abating.

If Mark Bauerlein is correct, the young people he identifies as “The Millenials,” those born between 1980 and 2000, have carried the process so far that they do not see the need to learn anything from the past.

Bauerlein’s primary thesis is that the media and digital revolution touted as a great boom to education has not fulfilled the promise, and, in fact, has stifled important learning from books, magazines, newspapers and other hard copy sources.

Read Hugh's full review.

Dan has new duties at NJ's largest newspaper

In his other life at The Star-Ledger, Birch Street Webmaster Dan is moving from the news pages to the editorial/opinion pages.

As Deputy Editorial Page Editor, Dan will be editing articles for the newspaper's OpEd page and helping shape the Star-Ledger's editorial position on important issues. He'll be working with the new editorial page editor, who previously was the paper's senior political correspondent.

Click on the newspaper logo to see the announcement that appeared in the Sunday paper.

Shanna on TV special - UPDATE: See the video

Shanna appeared along with other fans of Britney Spears in a half-hour program on MTV called "The Britney Collection." The show featured some of the pop star's hit music videos interspersed with quick clips of her fans commenting about them.

The program had its debut on Sunday night following "Total Finale Live," a special marking the end of the 10-year-run of the popular "Total Request Live" show.

Here's a montage of brief excerpts from the show. I've altered the appearance except for Shanna's clips, which appear as they did on the broadcast.

(Please do not copy or link to this video.)(If the player doesn't work, click here to see it on Google Video.)

According to MTV's schedule -- which they don't always follow -- "The Britney Collection" will be repeated Sunday (11/23) at 8 p.m.

By the way - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANNA (Nov. 24)

Marie, Brian and Xander plan to move back to NJ

THIS JUST IN:

After more than a decade in California, Marie and Brian are planning to move back to New Jersey with their son Xander, now 2 years old.

Marie surprised her dad with the news today, but said their plans have been in the works for several weeks. As much as they like California, Marie said, she and Brian see better opportunities for the future in New Jersey.

They plan a cross-country drive at the end of the year, arriving in Trenton shortly after New Year's. They will stay for a time with Brian's parents in Trenton while getting settled.

More details as they become available.

Xander was king for Halloween

Check out Xander's Halloween costume -- It's Tiny Elvis!



Here he is looking more like himself while pumpkin-shopping:

Our new way to 'Keep in Touch'

Welcome to the Birch Street Web's new "blog" (web-log), the latest innovation in our effort to help our extended family keep in touch.

This new format (launched Nov. 11, 2008) should make it easier to keep the hundreds of items in our family web site organized and easy to find.

The latest postings will always appear at the top of the home page, and as you scroll down you'll go back in time. At the bottom of each page you'll find a link for "Older Posts."

Down the right-hand column you'll find a couple of indexes to help sort posts -- by date, and by category labels such as "Birthdays" and "Travel."

There's also a Search window at the top left corner of each page where you can search the blog by a word, name or phrase.

Another new feature: Comments. This has the potential to make the Birch Street Web much more interactive, to get some conversations going among family members.

If you click to post a comment on any article, you'll find a box to type your message and a choice of ways to identify yourself. The simplest is to choose "Name/URL" and then enter your first name or nickname so other family members will know who you are. (You don't have to fill in a URL, but you can if you have a web site you'd like to link to.)

NOTE: Although the settings on this blog should keep it out of web searches, there's still a chance of a stranger wandering in, so we'll stick to our policy of leaving out last names and other specific identifying information.

At least for now, the old index pages of the Birch Street Web can still be accessed:
The Front Page
Birch Street Gallery
Birch Street TV
But they will no longer be kept up-to-date with new material. And because Google is restructuring its web-hosting system, the older pages may have to be moved to different locations. We'll do our best to keep you posted and to make sure everything can be found from this new blog site.

Let's all keep in touch!

WRITE TO US TODAY!

* RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE *

Walking in the woods, fall 2008

Photos taken by Dan in the Watchung Reservation in central New Jersey, on Oct. 26 and Nov. 9.


(Click to go to the photo album to see larger images)

INTRODUCING: Our newest way to keep in touch

The Birch Street Web continues to expand and to evolve. Since its founding in March 2007 it's format and design have changed a few times, and now it's time to rearrange the furniture once again.

The plans by Google to phase out its "googlepages" system -- where the Birch Street Web began and has grown into a network of more than 125 linked pages -- prompted me to look for alternatives. I tried out the new "Google Sites" system but didn't like it as much. Then I tried Google's "Blogger" system and realized it has a lot of advantages as an organizing tool for our family web site.

One benefit is that readers -- meaning you -- can add comments to the posts, so we can can have discussions among as many family members as care to join in. As you scroll through this blog please try out the comment feature and add your remarks to any posts you'd like.

This blog system also allows me to "label" each post, grouping them into whatever categories I choose. Now if you click on a label, such as "Birthday" or "Travel," you'll get a display of all the articles that carry that label. In addition there's a Search window at the top of each screen where you can type in any keyword - such as someone's name - and call up all entries that include that word. Yet another index allows you to select articles by year and month.

So my plan now is to use this blog as the entryway to the Birch Street Web, replacing The Front Page as the starting point for accessing all our content. At least temporarily, I'll keep The Front Page up-to-date as well, but eventually it will point you here.

Although I just launched this blog a few days ago, I've already copied many Birch Street Web entries here, and put in entries with links to just about every old article on the original site. If you notice anything missing, please let me know.

I welcome your ideas on how to use this new section of our family web. You can add comments to this post, or e-mail me at birchstreetweb@gmail.com

--Webmaster Dan

Walking for a good cause

Shanna, Kevin and their parents took part in the Memory Walk to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association on Oct. 26 in Manhattan's Riverside Park. Read Shanna's report.

See more photos in Shanna's album or slideshow

25th Anniversary for Kevin and Kathy

Shanna writes:

October 8th was my parent's 25th anniversary. Kevin and I took them out to eat at Sunset Cove in Tarrytown, NY.

The restaurant was really nice and had great views of the Hudson and the Tappan Zee.

Here are a couple of photos:

Mom & Dad


Kevin and Shanna

Christine's second season in marching band

The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Raiders Marching Band moved up to a higher level of competition for the 2008 season, Christine's second year as a member of the flute line.

The band competes in U.S. Scholastic Band Association shows. After winning the 2007 state championship in Group 6-A, this year they went up against the biggest and best bands in the state and region in Group 6-Open.

With their show, titled "Destiny," the "Spiffy" band received higher scores while placing lower in its new, tougher bracket. It took third place in the N.J. championship competition and came in 7th out of 11 bands in the Northern States Regional event held in Allentown, Pa. on Nov. 1.

Here is a slideshow of photos from the Fall 2008 season.



This brief video clip shows the final segment of their 2008 show, "Destiny," as performed at the Allentown competition.



The show went off flawlessly, and there was a lot of emotion among the band members - seniors, especially - who felt they outdid themselves in their final competitive performance.

The marching band, as well as other SPFHS music groups, will be traveling to Florida this spring to perform at Walt Disney World.

Click here for more on the SPFHS Marching Band.
(If that doesn't work, click here)

Stephanie celebrates 8th birthday

Happy birthday to Stephanie! She turned 8 on September 27th, 2008, and celebrated with a small party at Chuck E Cheese.

Chris & Steph on a visit to Philadelphia

Cathy writes: We had some time before a concert so we visited a little bit of Philly's historical spots.

Remembering summer 2008: Brien's photos

Brien has sent along photos he took this summer in Noyac. Here is a selection. Enjoy!

Andy takes flight en route to merit badge

During the summer Andy and other members of his Boy Scout troop took an aviation merit badge course from a trained pilot who runs an aviation Explorer Post at Linden Airport. They learned about the parts of an aircraft and the basics of flight and navigation.

The lessons led up to a chance for each Scout to take to the air and help pilot the plane. On Aug. 11, 2008, it was Andy's turn along with fellow Scout Brandon to fly along with their instructor, Manny.

Rain showers cleared away and a rainbow arched across the sky just before their late-afternoon takeoff.

Once airborne, Andy took the controls as they flew across central New Jersey -- and right over his house -- to another airfield, where they touched down to refuel and switch co-pilots. On the second leg, Brandon took the controls for a time as they flew over the Hudson River and looked out at Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.



The Aviation badge was one of six that Andy earned over the summer. He received them in a Court of Awards ceremony held by his Troop 33 on Oct. 6.

The other badges: Geology, Metalwork, Mammal Study, Astronomy and Fingerprinting. He earned them during a week at Somers Boy Scout Camp in July.

See more SCOUTING NEWS

Becky in parade honoring Olympian

When Baltimore threw a welcome-home party for Michael Phelps, winner of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing games, Becky and her Towson High School Marching Generals band mates were in the parade. Becky was shown in an AP news video of the parade. Unfortunately it's no longer available for viewing on the web.

Celebrating 30 years

Kathy and Ted marked their 30th Wedding Anniversary on Sept. 30. A few days later daughters Genevieve and Vivien surprised them by both coming home for the weekend -- Genevieve from Boston and Vivien from Cornell. Along with brother Patrick they took their parents out for a fine dinner to celebrate. (Click photo for a larger view.)


Genevieve writes: "The restaurant we went to, 42, is on the 42nd floor of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in White Plains, which is where my sister worked all summer. We had a wonderful dinner, and we got to meet some of my sister's former colleagues, who couldn't say enough nice things about her!"

Congratulations to Kathy and Ted!

Genevieve at MFA

Genevieve has added a research job at the Museum of Fine Art, Boston to her already busy schedule.

While pursuing a Master's degree in History of Art and Museum Studies at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences, Genevieve also serves as a teaching assistant there. Over the summer she interned in the Registrar's office at the MFA, and was asked to stay on in that position through the fall semester.

"Basically the Registrar is in charge of tracking all of the objects which enter and leave the museum, including gifts, special exhibitions, and out-going loans," Genevieve writes. "The Registrar's office has all of the paperwork from the founding of the museum in 1870 to the present day, and one of my jobs this summer was to do research on objects previous ownership before entering the museum. This is particularly important in light of recent repatriation lawsuits that have been brought against museums.

"As a result of the work I did this summer, I was offered the position of Lamb Mellon Researcher -- which means I'll be working an additional day a week for the museum doing similar research projects for objects in the permanent collection. The title is really silly, but I am excited about the job and this new opportunity at the MFA."

Related articles:
Genevieve's studies focus on museums (June 2007)
Genevieve graduates Cornell (May 2007)