a few things

Here are some podcast kind of things:
Robyn Hitchcock and Scott McCaughey

Rogue Wave

Nightmare Before Christmas is coming back, in 3D

Beverly Cleary is still alive and giving interviews.
Some quotes:
*"I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature," she says. "Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them."
*Cleary says she understands the impact tie-ins such as dolls, stuffed animals and other toys can have on books sales, but is "not interested in making kids into consumers."
*"Cleary tells sentimental stories with an unsentimental eye -- the eye of the child protagonist, usually, who sees the chaos and worry of the world but does not succumb to it," says Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket, who is a longtime fan.

Here's a bit on "free schools".