Long time, no post. Sorry about that.

It’s official, the split in the Tri-Partite Alliance is inevitably going to occur. We all knew it would; but recent developments have cemented the end of the ANC’s hold on power. The recent media brawl between ANCYL President Julius Malema and SACP Deputy Secretary-General Jeremy Cronin over Malema’s non-policy-based calls for nationalisation of South Africa’s mines, has resulted in an all-out battle between the two Alliance partners.

Jeremy Cronin and the SACP call for the ‘socialisation’ of the mines, compared to the ANCYL’s calls for the nationalisation of our mines. In other words, the ‘socialisation’ of mines would put their control directly in the hands of the people – and not government. Which century do these people live in? Lenin and Stalin are long dead, as are their ideals; and even the Chinese are embracing forms of capitalism. Communism is dead. Deal with it.

Communism aside, nationalisation is a stupid idea. And this leftist stupidity may be the very cause of the split in ruling party. Let’s hope.

Gwede Mantashe, ANC Secretary-General, has called the Alliance partners more irritating than the opposition. Furthermore, as usual our National Source of Amusement Malema ended up making semi-racial remarks about Cronin (because he is white); this led to the Young Communist League calling Malema a racist… And here we are: at the crossroads of change. If the left can muster up enough courage to break free from the grips of a not-so-leftist-anymore ANC, we would have an opposition-run government in a heartbeat.

For more information, visit my website. www.stewartfoxfamilyhistory.com

John Bessonett, Sr.

Born: November 9, 1779, Bristol, Pennsylvania
Died: June 9, 1863, Bristol, Pennsylvania
Married: Mary Cronin, November 26, 1805, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Burlington, New Jersey; b. January 10, 1788, d. July 11, 1830, Bristol, Pennsylvania

Father: Charles Bessonett b. October 5, 1734, d. 1807 Bristol, Pennsylvania
Mother: Mary Millington

Children of John Bessonett, Sr. and Mary Cronin:

1. Charles Henry Bessonett
b. July 4, 1806, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. October 6, 1880, Verona, Mississippi; m. Elizabeth Swift, October 6, 1831, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2. John Bessonett, Jr.
b. July 28, 1809, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; m. Hannah Elkington, February 28, 1833, Bristol, Pennsylvania

3. Mary Clolilda Bessonett
b. October 6, 1811, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. July 7, 1838 Selma, Alabama; m. Gaston Green, March 8, 1861, Itawamba County, Mississippi

4. Catherine Ann Bessonett
b. October 26, 1813, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. April 26, 1867, Natchez, Mississippi; m. James C. Fox, January 19, 1834, St. James Episcopal Church, Bristol, Pennsylvania

5. James Cronin Bessonett
b. October 29, 1815, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. December 3, 1816

6. Edwin Bessonett
b. October 29, 1815, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. unknown; m. Sophia Neal December 25, 1838, Natchez, Mississippi

7. William Theodore Bessonett
b. December 13, 1818, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. August 4, 1840, Sabine, Texas

8. George Monroe Murray Bessonett (Sr.)
b. 1823 Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. August 3, 1897, Brookhaven, Mississippi; m. #1 Mary Jane West November 20, 1844, Natchez, Mississippi; m. #2 Margaret E. Spangler, March 1, 1849, Natchez, Mississippi

For more information, visit my website. www.stewartfoxfamilyhistory.com

George Monroe Murray Bessonett, Sr.

Born: c. 1823 Bristol, Pennsylvania
Died: August 3, 1897, Brookhaven, Mississippi
Married: #1 Mary Jane West, November 20, 1844, Natchez, Mississippi; #2 Margaret E. Spangler, March 1, 1849, Natchez, Mississippi


Father: John Bessonett, Sr., b. November 9, 1779, Bristol, Pennsylvania; d. June 9, 1863, Bristol, Pennsylvania
Mother: Mary Cronin, b. January 10, 1788; d. July 11, 1830 Bristol, Pennsylvania

Books

• Bertie Was a Watchdog by Rick Walton and Arthur Robbins
• Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
• Russell the Sheep by Rob Scotton
• I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry

Art Activity – Squid Hats

• construction paper
• glue
• crayons
• scissors if pieces are not already cut

1. Make a crown by joining construction paper into a circle
2. Leaving a gap for the face, glue strips of construction paper for tentacles on the inside of the crown so that the strips are point down
3. Glue or draw eyes directly on the crown
4. (optional) Curl or accordion fold tentacle strips

I did my first story time as a full fledged librarian today!  No, it wasn’t at my real library but soon!  It was a bit unexpected.  I was just supposed to observe which I did for the first story time of the day but I actually ran a story time on my own in the evening.  I say this is my first one as a librarian because I’ve been running story times and programs for a year prior to my appointment but not actually as a librarian.

No worries that I found out today.  I generally walk into the library on story time day without a clue what to do.  I go through books and sit down with the craft materials.  Planning a regular story time never works for me because I’m going to dump whatever precious plans in favor of what I’m caught up in.

Since I don’t know what kind of materials I really had on hand at this library, I went for squid hats.  They’re fun and all you really need is construction paper and glue.  I look pretty stupid with it on and I would have taken a picture of my awesome squid hat but someone wanted to take it.  Ah well.  It’s pretty much a band of paper that forms a crown with eight strips coming down.  You stick eyes on it and you’re done.  If you want to be fancy, you curl the ends.  Accordion folding the tentacles look pretty neat too, but I’m more inclined to curl.  If you flip the hat upside down and use black construction paper, it could be a spider.  I always use blue because the two times I’ve used this art activity, it’s been paired with one of my favorite books.  The squid hats clearly go with I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry.

It went over pretty well but I’m sorely out of story time practice.  I think I’ll be less fearful of story time once I get settled in and know my community more.  I’m playing with the idea of incorporating flannel boards and even some songs later on.

Cronin, Doreen. 2008. Thump, quack, moo: A whacky adventure. Ill. by Betsey Lewin. New York: Atheneum.

I am a big fan of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type, Duck for President, and Dooby Dooby Moo, but this latest collaboration by Cronin and Lewin is missing the same cleverness as the other titles. Duck is, of course, cooking up a scheme and at odds with Farmer Brown, but his work in altering the farmer’s corn maze is done clandestinely. The humorous back-and-forth between Duck, Farmer Brown, and the other animals is missing. They are working at cross-purposes towards a humorous and clever ending, but the witty interactions are absent.

Of course, fans will love Thump, Quack, Moo anyway, but this is not Cronin’s best… And be careful with the fold-out ending! It’s not easily managed by big or little hands – my copy tore on the first attempt to open it!

Jag ser hos Asapasa att Malins bokutmaning kommit till bokstaven C – och att Asaspasa redan tjingat Conrad och Candide. Jag måste tänka till:

Författare på C:

Cronins charmiga “De gröna åren” har jag redan skrivit om, Cisneros underbara “The House on Mango Street”skrev jag om här (där jag även skrivit om den litterära karaktären nedan). Efter lite letande väljer jag i stället Elias Canettis självbiografiska böcker “Den räddande tungan” och “Facklan i örat”. Jag har läst dem två gånger, men det är så länge sedan så jag minns inte tillräckligt för att säga något annat än att de är mycket, mycket bra. Canetti, som fick Nobelpriset 1981, är en av alla självbiografier i min bokhylla som är skrivna av intressanta och högst intilligenta och intellektuella personer. Det är fascinerande hur kloka människor kan vara, hur spännande liv de lever och hur bra de skriver. Det spelar ingen roll att deras intellektuella kapacitet är skyhögt över min egen, det är njutbart ändå – eller just därför.

Bok på C: Jag kommer inte på någon! Men “Ceasars lagerkrans” är ett av alla seriealbum med Asterix och Oelix av Goscinny och Uderzo. Om just den tillhör de bästa minns jag inte, men jag vet att många av alla A&O är himla bra! De är roliga både i bild och ord – där finns en massa ordvitsar som inte bara är kul utan kanske till och med skulle kunna vara “seriöst lektionsstoff” i svenskan!

Litterär karaktär på C:

Huvudpersonen i “The Curious Incident with the Dog in the Night-time” av Mark Haddon heter Christoffer, och om boken och honom har jag skrivit här. Han är en karaktär som verkligen etsat sig kvar i mitt minne.

Malins första och andra litteraturbokstavs-utmaning?

Första bokstaven: W

Andra bokstaven: P

When i get my day off, i try as much as possible to see my brother. We are all really into music. We settle down, order some Chinese and hit the mpc. I am strictly reason, but sometimes its fun to experiment. Anyway, we are just a few cats that love music, and we would love to share that with the world. So these are some pics of the “the Circle”.

Below are all the videos I have posted to YouTube.