Jumble Sale

Kia ora Class 5, today's blog is going to be a bit of a jumble with bits and pieces and no particular theme.

Firstly, look who brightened up my inbox with egg-sellent news

Baxter's chickens knew it was spring and laid their first eggs!

Secondly, here are the answers to yesterday's quizz:

1.  that

2.  that

3. which 

4. which 

5. which 

6.which 

7. which 

8. that

9. which 

10. that

Thirdly, I have had questions on if it is alright to write a comic and I answered that in the comments, but you might not have seen that. So I thought today I give a bit of an insight into comic book writing with the help of a famous friend (well, I wish). 

Full disclosure: I am absolutely no expert on writing comics. Partly because I prefer story writing and partly because the few times I have tried to do a comic, I found it far too much work. And editing is so much harder IMHO. But I do get that comics and graphic novels are loads of fun and I enjoy reading them. Some of them are such works of art and I re-read them loads of time.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

An all time favourite of mine is Zits

Sometimes, a picture says more than a thousand words. But the picture has to be really good (and no, stick figures do not make a good comic)

As the popular author and comic book writer Neil Gaiman says: “When you get to comics you have a whole different area of territory...We get to use the pictures and the words to try and do things inside the head of the reader that you might never be able to do in prose or in film.”

If you want to do a comic book- here's a start

There's also a lot of good information here: 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-create-a-comic-book-step-by-step-guide-for-making-your-own-comics#quiz-0

So if comic books are your thing- go for it! I am looking forward to the results.

Finally: here's a reminder that Father's Day is coming up. Last lockdown it was Mother's Day, so only fair that the Fathers get a lockdown day too. You might want to get your art supplies out and start making a great card now- parents love nothing more than something handmade with love and the obvious effort you have put in. Getting my art supplies out once a day is one of my lock- down- sanity savers, I just do something for 15 minutes a day and it always gives me a Mood Lift, so catch two birds with one blow!

Have a great weekend Class 5, I see you next week and hopefully halfway through the week we will be in class reading all your books!

Bonus Feature

The Diary of Merlin The Dog in the Tough Times of the Leash.

Sometimes, my bubble humans are too busy with whatever they think is important and they forget to give me much attention. But don't worry, I have a trick for that.

I steal their socks.

Every human in this house leaves their socks lying around somewhere. Under beds is usually a good starting point if you are looking for socks. My humans have started to put socks higher up, on chairs or on top of their chest of drawers, but don't worry, I can spot a sock anywhere.

Laundry baskets are also good sock spots. I prefer dirty socks, but if fresh baskets of laundry get carried inside, it is quite funny to see people's reactions when I dig out the socks for them. These reactions involve a lot of waving arms and loud noises and they can't stop saying my name, that's how much they enjoy this game.

This is how you do it. The most important part of this game is picking your moment and place. If the humans are not around, there is absolutely no point in stealing socks. You have to wait until they are busy in their bedroom (which is where most socks live) and they shouldn't really be looking at you but they shouldn't be too involved in what they are doing so they don't see you at all.

You just stand there and keep your eyes on the sock, but you don't do anything yet. Just wag your tail a little bit and tilt your head in a sort of irresistible inviting way. Now- your next move is crucial to get right. Just when the human spots you in the corner of their eyes and says "Oh hello, Merlin", you DASH to the sock. They will start yelling 'No! Not my socks!!!" by which time you have to be well out of the way, WITH the sock obviously and you run into a place they can't come, for example underneath the table or in between chairs. We dogs are so much more agile and quick than humans, this part is not particularly difficult. The humans will keep shouting "Drop!" or "That's my favourite, give it back" and Tama usually says "That's my last clean pair!". It is important at this stage in the game to not give in, look very cheeky and cute and wag your tail enthusiastically. When they get on their hands and knees to get the sock, jump away and run in circles around them. It is tremendous fun, I'll tell you. Don't be fooled by the angry shouts of the humans, if you keep doing it long enough, eventually they will fall over with laughter. 

And that's how you get attention.