He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
If you are looking for something to do with your kids this weekend, here are a few ideas of some ideas that might be useful.
I went to see the production of "The Very Last Green Thing" this morning at the Detroit Opera House which is a youth production geared towards exposing opera to youth as well as talking about environmental issues. The opera starts off with an introduction by the Detroit Science Center where they talk about some recycling games they can particpate in if they go to the Science Center for their "Going Green" showcase. They had some kids on stage playing a game where they try to figure out how long it takes for certain items to biodegrade in landfills as well as making baskets with recyclables. After there talk, the show starts with a modern classroom preparing a time capsule for the future. As we move into the future, the world is overrun by polution and a classroom is taught by a robot (which reminded me a lot of the movie "Sleeper"). On a field trip, this future class runs across the capsule and the kids wonder at what the objects, ranging from umbrellas to a radio, are for. However, it is the finding of a plant which interests one girl much to the dismay of the teacher who preaches more about things than idea or trees. Told to leave it behind, the girl refuses and brings the plant back not knowing what it is but feels it is very important. While simple, it is a nice intro for kids to experience opera with a cast that is all local children. My grade is a B+. There are many opportunities for children and adults to also become involved with productions and classes and these can be found at www.motopera.org. For orchildren ages 10-16, there is a special audition for the Michigan Opera Theatre Children's Chorus on May 26th from 3-7PM and June 5th from 12-6PM at the Opera House. You can visit www.motcc.com to get your children involved and schedule an audition or call 248-914-1966 for any questions. Tomorrow morning at 9:15AM, I'll have lead actress Madeline Thibault on my radio show (WXOU 88.3FM or www.wxou.org) talking about her role as Amy.
Also on Saturday, April 24th between the hours of 11AM-3PM you can get down and see the Detroit Children's Museum Open House. This is free admission (the next will be Saturday, May 22nd) and you can see what changes they have made in their commitment to providing better educational resources to the children of the Detroit area. I plan on heading down tomorrow so I hope to see a lot of families out there.
If you are looking for a nice movie to take the kids to, I highly recommend the animated movie "The Secret Of Kells" which is an Irish-French-Belgian animated feature film which was nominated for an Academy Award this year for Best Animated Feature. The story is set in the ninth century where Abbot Cellach is obsessed with building a mighty wall to keep marauding Viking raiders from destroying the Monastery of Kells. He works the monks hard to build the walls and expects his nephew Brendan to follow in his footsteps. When the master illustrator Aidan shows up running from the viking hordes with the uncompleted Book of Kells he is working on Brandon becomes fixated on helped him finish it. Aiden envisions Brandon taking over and finishing the book which goes against the Abbot. Brandon helps him and one day goes to help find the materials for ink in the forest and befriends the faerie/wolf spirit Aisling. Brendan finds himself needing to stand up to his uncle and face a hidden fear in the forest to take over and complete the book which will help bring hope to the people. I feel the movie ends kind of abruptly but the early journey up to the Viking raid on the monestary is masterful and truly a wonder of animation. This means that like movies like "Ponyo" and "Spirited Away", almost no one will see it despite it being on par with anything Pixar is putting out. So please, take your kids or go by yourself to see one of the most beautiful animated films you will see. Th emovie is based on the actual Book of Kells and it's history as one of the most beautifully adorned religious books ever produced. My grade is a A.
Have a good weekend and enjoy.
