Fun Java Code to Use on Any Website You Visit

This is fun. Copy the code pasted below and paste it into your web browser address bar. You’ll see right away what it does. Very fun javascript – You can do it while visiting my site here, but may be a bit slow because I usually have a lot of graphics posted.

It’s not a virus, just fun stuff. Try it! Copy and paste this code into your browser address bar:

javascript:function Shw(n) {if (self.moveBy) {for (i = 40; i > 0; i–) {for (j = n; j > 0; j–) {self.moveBy(1,i);self.moveBy(i,0);self.moveBy(0,-i);self.moveBy(-i,0); } } }} Shw(6)

Update October 2011 – Works in Firefox but not in Safari.

Who is Dr. Seuss?

postal_service_dr_seuss.jpgWho is Dr. Seuss?

Visit the Wikipedia Dr. Seuss page.

Visit the Dr. Seuss National Memorial.

Visit Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons.

Visit The Political Dr. Seuss.

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Dr. Seuss’s Biography

seuss.gifA person’s a person, no matter how small,” Theodor Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. “Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted.”

Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!” which became a popular expression.

Geisel developed the idea for his first children’s book in 1936 while on a vacation cruise. The rhythm of the ship’s engine drove the cadence to And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

During World War II, Geisel joined the Army and was sent to Hollywood where he wrote documentaries for the military. During this time, he also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which won him an Oscar.

The Cat in the Hat is born

catinthehat.gifIn May of 1954, Life published a report on illiteracy among schoolchildren, suggesting that children were having trouble reading because their books were boring. This problem inspired Geisel’s publisher, prompting him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important for children to learn. The publisher asked Geisel to cut the list to 250 words and use them to write an entertaining children’s book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him, published The Cat in the Hat, which brought instant success.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and three Academy Awards, Geisel authored and illustrated 44 children’s books. His enchanting stories are available as audiocassettes, animated television specials, and videos.

While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

THE ADVERTISING ARTWORK OF DR. SEUSS

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Before Theodore Seuss Geisel found fame as a children’s book author, the primary outlet for his creative efforts was magazines. His first steady job after he left Oxford was as a cartoonist for Judge, a New York City publication. In 1927 one of these cartoons opened the way to a more profitable career, as well as greater public exposure, as an advertising illustrator. This fortuitous cartoon depicts a medieval knight in his bed, facing a dragon who had invaded his room, and lamenting, “Darn it all, another dragon. And just after I’d sprayed the whole castle with Flit” (a well-known brand of bug spray).

According to an anecdote in Judith and Neil Morgan’s book Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel (Random House, 1995), the wife of the ad executive who handled the Standard Oil company’s account saw the cartoon. At her urging, her husband hired the artist, thereby inaugurating a 17-year campaign of ads whose recurring plea, “Quick, Henry, the Flit!,” became a common catchphrase. These ads, along with those for several other companies, supported the Geisels throughout the Great Depression and the nascent period of his writing career.

The Dr. Seuss Collection, housed at the Mandeville Special Collections Library at the University of California, San Diego, contains many examples of Dr. Seuss’s advertising artwork. The library has scanned a selection of these advertisements for greater access. Besides promoting the Standard Oil companies Flit and Esso, Dr. Seuss’s creations have hawked such diverse goods as ball bearings, radio promotional spots, beer, and sugar.

Dr. Seuss Political Cartoons from WWII Era

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Parody of Lindbergh around 1941
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Dr. Seuss’ widow now wears the hat for booming empire

grinchpre.jpgMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, The, Feb 27, 2004 by MICHELLE MORGANTE

San Diego — Near the end of his life, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel sat down with his wife, Audrey, to speak of the past and of things to come.

” ‘I’ve had a wonderful life,’ ” Audrey Stone Geisel recalls him saying. ” ‘I’ve done what I had to do. I lived where I wished to live. I had love. I had everything.’

” ‘But,’ he said, ‘now my work will be turned over to you. And you will have to deal with those consequences.’

“And oh-ho,” says the 82-year-old heiress of the Seuss world, “has that been true!”

Nearly 13 years after her husband’s death, Geisel leads the global enterprise that has sprouted from Seuss’ beloved books — watching over the Cat in the Hat, the Grinch and all the other critters and characters who live on in movies, toys, games and ventures that perhaps not even the imaginative doctor could have envisioned.

Ted Geisel came into the world on March 2, 1904, when children learned from dull primers. In 1937, Geisel had just suffered his 27th rejection for his first children’s book, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” when he bumped into a friend who worked for Vanguard Press.
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“Ted told him that he’d been refused all of these times and he was going home to burn it,” Audrey Geisel says.

The encounter, of course, led to publication. The book created a stir among teachers and parents who feared it would encourage children to lie.

“It was so off the wall,” she says. “They even thought, ‘Oh, it might teach a child to fib,’ instead of imagine, you see?”

The book became a hit, and over the years, Dr. Seuss became one of the most popular children’s authors ever. He published 44 children’s books in more than 20 languages, and one non-children’s book, “The Seven Lady Godivas,” which was not a hit. More than 500 million Dr. Seuss books have been sold worldwide.

Death to Dick and Jane

Dr. Seuss has often been credited with killing off “Dick and Jane,” the sterile heroes of childhood readers of yore.

“With Dick and Jane, there was never much of a story there,” said Barbara Parker of the National Education Association, whose annual “Read Across America” event culminates on Tuesday, the 100th anniversary of Ted Geisel’s birth.

Dr. Seuss’ books, however, appealed to children — and adults — with their clever rhymes and plot twists.

“In ‘The Cat in the Hat,’ for example — kids really, really like that because they’re expecting the boy and the girl to get in trouble when the mother gets home, but suddenly it’s the cat to the rescue,” Parker said.

Philip Nel, a Kansas State English professor and author of the new book “Dr. Seuss: American Icon,” says Seuss’ heroes are rebels and underdogs.

“They go against the grain. They don’t do what they’re expected to do,” he said. As in “The Cat in the Hat,” Nel said, “Why not fly a kite in the house?”

Part of Seuss’ charm is his ability to make the ordinary into the extraordinary.

“Ham and eggs is just ordinary, but if you turn it around so that it’s eggs and ham, that’s interesting. And then if you make it green, there’s real genius,” Nel said.

One year celebration

Audrey Geisel is presiding over a year’s worth of ceremonies celebrating “Seussentennial: A Century of Imagination.”

The events include the debut of a Postal Service stamp; a tour of theatrical performances and children’s workshops across 40 cities; a series of Dr. Seuss celebrity book reviews; exhibits of items from the Dr. Seuss archives and of Ted Geisel’s art; the unveiling of a Dr. Seuss sculpture at the Geisel Library at the University of California at San Diego; and the presentation of a star honoring the author on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.

As she gazes toward the Pacific from her hilltop home, Audrey Geisel says she understood the weight of the job immediately upon inheriting it, but was surprised by how it steadily grew heavier.

“And then suddenly, I had so much to do each day,” she says, describing business responsibilities as well as her philanthropic work as head of the Dr. Seuss Foundation. “But I’ve complicated my own life to a degree, and I don’t deserve much sympathy.”

Geisel is a disciplined and opinionated leader, whose mission is largely to protect the integrity of her husband’s creations.

Geisel, a former nurse, holds court early each morning at a nearby hotel restaurant, arriving in her faithful 1984 Cadillac with the personalized license plate: GRINCH.

“I come down the street and no one has seen anything like it,” she says with a laugh.

Guardian of integrity

grinch8.jpgAs president and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Geisel is tough on those encroaching on Seuss trademarks and copyrights. And when she wanted to have the local Old Globe Theater produce “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” years ago, she went to New York to free the miserly character from a production that later evolved into the musical “Seussical.”

Seussical the Musical – Set and Costume Photos

seussicalprogram.jpgHere are pictures from community theatre and professional productions of Seussical the Musical. You can use them as reference to get your creativity in flow for creating your own production. These are NOT photos of the show I am conducting for META Perfoming Arts. As of this posting we haven’t opened yet, I’ll have pictures of our production posted later. Of course, I consider our production to be the ULTIMATE STM presentation. 🙂

Visit my general Seussical the Musical category here on my blog for lots of notes on set design, orchestration and musicians, costumes, etc.

Also on this post are pictures of Seussical the Musical flyers, different costume approaches to the Cat in the Hat, Who costumes, JoJo outfits, Who’s hair and costume design, various scene set designs, Horton and Sour Kangaroo costumes and whole set photos.

See detailed Seussical Set Construction from the Spring High School Website

Samples of flyers for Seussical the Musical.

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Different looks and costumes for the Cat In The Hat. Some people like using makeup, some don’t.

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Various character and stage set photos of Seussical the Musical

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Peter Pan Set, Sword Prop and Scrim Designs

*Update August 2013 – Check out a new Peter Pan musical ! *

Here are some samples of set design for the Cathy Rigby production of Peter Pan and closeup of swords for Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tiger Lily. These set designs and props are available from ZFXFLYING.com, as well as updated new set designs from ZFXFLYING.

ZFX Flying has a very fun website and I encourage you to visit it. They do fx for Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz and many other shows including “Matrix” type flying fx.

Tiger Lily Sword

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Sword for Peter Pan

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Captain Hook Sword and Hook

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Johnny Corkscrew Sword
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All Swords – available from ZFX Flying

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Underground Set Design

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Pirate Ship Set Designs

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Photo of Peter Pan Nursery
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Peter Pan Neverland Set Ideas

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Jolly Roger Scrim for Peter Pan Productions

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Peter Pan Flying Resources

tmatrix.jpgIf you’re doing a production of Peter Pan you might be interested in going the extra mile and do some flying fx. See my previous post about FLY BY FOY – or visit them directly at the FlyByFoy website.

There’s another great resource at the www.zfxflying.com website. They have very good video samples posted that show Cathy Rigby in performance and rehearsal flying. Also accompanying sound effects that are good references if you’re designing sound foley for flying sequences.

From the ZFXFLYING.com website:

Founded in 1994, ZFX has delivered a fresh perspective to the ancient craft of flying using a new dynamic style. ZFX quickly became an industry leader and one of the top flying companies in the world with offices on two continents. Proudly, we have over 30 employees around the globe with experts in their field including flying directors, choreographers and even performers.

muse.jpgGrowing from a handful of dedicated craftsmen and artists, ZFX continues to maintain our small-company attitude treating each client as if they were our only. This allows us to focus on even the tiniest of details for each production whether it be a community theater or a Broadway show.
ZFX flies over 200 different productions annually and we continue to set the industry standard for customer service!