Now that we got some snow photos I decided to take us to some warmer climate 🙂 I hope everyone’s holidays are going well and you’re enjoying the winter wherever you are!
TOLAROIDS: anti-winter
Tag: holidays
Study Hal: Week 30 – Surprise Gifts
Happy holidays, everyone! It’s been a nice and restful break over here. Today, though, a special surprise shook things up: Hal got a late-coming package from his cousin Fil!
Fil started knitting during the first lockdown. Apparently, he’s only been getting better, because he managed to make a whole hat for Hal! It’s not quite the right size and style for Hal’s head? But, it’s the thought that counts. Hal had to call him to thank him for the gift right away.
Did you get any late-arriving surprises from relatives? More likely, did you catch up with loved ones over the phone? However you’re celebrating the end of the year, Hal and I wish you a safe and happy holiday season.
For those of you not in the know, Hal is a U-M student studying remotely this school year! Check out the Study Hal tag for more of his antics, or come back on Tuesdays in the new year for new installments!
Personalize Your Holiday Gift Giving
When people hear the word “art” they think of paintings, photographs, sculptures, music, or maybe movies.  But not paper.  People commonly think of paper as a mode to transport art, or a medium that art is displayed through, but they don’t think of the paper itself as art.  Cards a common form of a present to loved ones, whether they are store bought or handmade.  This holiday season make cards extra special by creating the whole thing by hand,  even the paper.
The kerrytown bookfest in Ann Arbor teaches people that paper itself is creative and can be a form of art. Â There were stands that were dedicated to making paper. Â The paper that these stands were selling looked vintage, like the paper you would see a medieval letter written on. Â Each piece was different and they all varied in colors, size, and even texture. Â The texture, thickness, and color of the paper depends on what it is made out of. Â Paper can be made out of different materials; the easiest material to make paper out of is other paper. Â But it can also be made out of leaves, grass, flowers, or even a wasps nest. Â Keep this in mind while making a card, and use the materials and colors that the recipient will love. Â This uniqueness will translate well into a nice holiday card for a loved one, because they will see all of the effort and love put into it and appreciate it even more.
The people who worked at the Kerrytown bookfest were so passionate about there craft of making paper, they wanted to show and teach every person that worked by how to do what they did so that they could share in their happiness with this overlooked artform.  These people were more enthusiastic about their craft than most other professionals are about there job, and that is because they make paper because they loved it, and it is something they are truly passionate about.  It is no longer a necessity to make paper from scratch, it is much easier and less time consuming to go to the store and buy whatever size and color paper you want than to make it yourself.  But the paper we all buy at the store lacks the uniqueness of the paper that the people at the kerrytown bookfest put into their paper.  This passion and compassion will come through a handmade Christmas card, the loved one it’s made for will love the gift made with love.
Link to learn how to make paper:Â Â https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper
FreeForm 25 Days of Christmas
Thanksgiving is now over, meaning that it is officially the holiday season. Â Stores are decorated, the radio is playing festive music, people are now buying gifts for the upcoming festivities, and TV channels are playing their holiday movies and TV episodes. Â A staple TV holiday movie schedule is ABC Family, now FreeForm, 25 Days of Christmas movie schedule. Â This is a month long event that people look forward to starting in October. Â FreeForm posts the movie schedule in November for their viewers to get excited and mark their calendars and DVRs for when their favorite movies are playing.
The 2017 schedule is out and it is starting in 3 days, so it’s time to look at it now and prepare for a month of nonstop holiday movies and entertainment.  Starting on December 1st everyday from 7:00am to 1:00am there will be nonstop holiday movies.  There are hundreds of holiday movies to choose from for FreeForm to put on the schedule, but they mainly stick to the same 50 or so movi
es each year.  The classics like Home Alone, Polar Express, and A Christmas Carol are always played several times throughout the month so that everyone can get a chance to watch the show.  The most popular holiday movie in recent years is Elf.  Elf is playing 20 out of the 25 days, so don’t worry about missing it because there are plenty of opportunities.
With FreeForm being owned by Disney, there are also a lot of Mickey Mouse appearances throughout the month. Â Disney takes classic stories like A Christmas Carol and replace the characters with the familiar faces of Mickey and his friends. Â Movies like these will be played several times throughout the month along with non-Disney versions as well so people can watch it both ways or just pick their favorite version and watch that.
The movies throughout FreeForms 25 Days of Christmas range from animated to live action, child to adult movies, and old to new. Â Claymation movies are sprinkled in throughout the new animation remakes. Â The classic Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer claymation is generally played at least once during the month. Â This year The Little Drummer Boy will be played 5 times throughout the month for all those who enjoy classic claymation movies. Â These claymation movies are generally more for adults who grew up watching them, children now enjoy the animation in the Polar Express and A Christmas Carol more than the claymation animation style.
FreeForms 25 Days of Christmas is a nonstop holiday party for the entire month of December.  Whenever people are feeling festive they can put it on and know that it will deliver.  It shows movies for every age to enjoy and for families to watch together.  Check the schedule now to make sure that you don’t miss your must watch holiday movie.
Merr(e.e.) Little Tr(e.e.)
my holiday gift to you: a celebration of [little tree]Â by e.e. cummings
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see       i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your sweet bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don’t be afraid
look       the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i’ll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you’re quite dressed
you’ll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they’ll stare!
oh but you’ll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we’ll dance and sing
“Noel Noel”
As you find comfort within the sprigs of this picture poem, among the hugs and warmth of human kindness, let me raise a cup of cheer to you all.
Love thy trees. Love thy neighbors. Love thyselves and thy spirits. Love thy love.
There is nothing on this earth that couldn’t benefit from feeling your touch, your awareness, your acknowledgment of their place here in relation to yours. I wish you all happiness on this winter break, and may you all dance and sing in your own little ways.
Caroling, Caroling…
When I told my co-workers that my Friday night plans included dressing up like a robot and singing Christmas carols to Midnight Madness shoppers, I got a lot of blank stares. Nevertheless, there I went a-roboting.
Botchoir – a night I look forward to every year – is what we call the holiday occasion when volunteers of 826michigan and the Liberty Street Robot Supply and Repair Shop come together, don festive handmade droidal costumes, and sing robotic versions of holiday carols outside the store to drum up traffic during downtown Ann Arbor’s Midnight Madness. Robots in attendance included: Muffin Tin Robot, Jingle Bot, Bat Bot, Scoutbot, Eye-Robot, and Boom Bot. Favorite tunes of the night? Binary Carol of the Bells, Silent Byte, We Wish You a Merry Botmas, I Have a Little Robot (*Dreidel Dreidel*), Rudolph the Red-Nosed Robot, and Frosty the Robot.
Here’s how it works: On the hour, every hour from 7-10, we bundled up in coats and tin foil boxes and stepped outside with our song books. The BotChoir Master called out a song, and we searched our file memory for the song, calling out “loading,” “buffering,” to signal DON’T START YET, “network connectivity problems” or “error” if we really were struggling to find the page, and “upload complete” when we were all ready. This was true performance art! A crowd had gathered in front of the shop. 101, the Master calls out. And we began. The crowd enlarged as curious people were entranced by the silver shimmer of singing robot heads, and crossed the street to get a better look.
Other than a brief stint of choir in sixth grade, most of my singing comes in the form of private solos, in the car, in the shower, in my room, or in my head. But there’s something so joyful about getting together with a group of people and giving the gift of song to others. I sincerely think that singing with other people enhances your own voice. Maybe “goodness” of voice comes from a certain amount of confidence within. Maybe it was the cold that disguised the true sounds of our voice. But, in that moment, it wasn’t about how “good” the singing was. The songs were purely a vessel for happiness. We danced about, our cheeks sore from smiling, our throats scratchy from singing so loudly. Packs of young teenagers roaming the downtown scene danced by, high-fiving the volunteer wearing the Darth Vader helmet. Couples sang along to familiar tunes. In this little sidewalk spot, we made a pocket of peace and togetherness. A place where humans and robots from all walks of earth could stand together, and experience joy and comfort.
By far, the best part of the night was workshopping Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” so it read as an ode to Star Wars instead, “All I Want For Christmas is r2d2.” Those robots will cease at nothing to take over all of Christmas. 🙂
Here’s a brief sample of our editing work:
I don’t want a Hutt for Christmas/There is just one thing I need, and I/Don’t care about the presents/on the planet Tattooine/I don’t need to lose my power/Way out there in hyperspace/Obi Wan won’t make me happy/With the Force on Christmas Day/I just want you for my own/More than you could ever know/Make my wish come true/All I want for Christmas is R2.Â
Want to learn Binary of the Bells? (Sing to the tune of Carol of the Bells)
101 101 101 101
101 101 101 101
100 100 100 101
000 11 000 11
101 101 101 101
I hope you all get a chance to sing your heart out with friends/families/fellow robots and help spread some cheer. You never know whose day you’ll make just a little bit better.
