FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD

Mark your calendars and get ready to read along. (Why not? You're 12 years old, and you know it.)

"Governor Bush announced that our middle school students will also move forward to break a reading record through Guinness World Records™ entitled Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously at Multiple Locations. The record breaking event is scheduled for 11:00 am EDT on Thursday, September 28, 2006. Students will read an excerpt from Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson."

Comments

[Edgar Greenberg]

How cute.

[Steve]

I have to say, this is pretty cool. Sure hope the schools around here are participating.

[Bumble]

I never did anything that fun in school. I had to read good books quietly and take tests over them. Anyone else remember participating in the Accelerated Reader program? Or Book It?

[morgana]

We had something similar in 5th or 6th grade , and that's how I became an avid reader Bumble.

We had gold stars as we made it into a contest.
How 'bout you?

Sadly, I am still motivated by gold stars. :)

Dave - This is way cool, to have your book be the one everyone is reading aloud!

[BoredCrow]

If they were really smart, the school would have organized this on "Talk like a pirate day."

It's a great idea, and as others have said - why didn't my school do cool things like this?

Has anyone else watched that video of Dave and Ridley on the justreadflorida.com site? Good stuff.

[diverdowndoc]

Congrats, Dave! Let's all hope that George "W" Bush comes up with some stupementous neologisms for the occasion!

[Blondentropy]

Book it! Yes- I earned lots of free pizza that way!

Wow, Dave and Ridley- Government officals are now dictating that your book be read by thousands of youth in one great big simul!

Congratulations on your upcoming pre-teen literary orgy!

[Dux]

Bumble- Yeah! Book It was great! Even as a home-schooler I got lots of pizzas! I love Pizza Hut.

[Siouxie]

YAY!! Dave & Ridley!! I'll take my own book to work and pretend I'm 12 so I can read along...

[Chaz]

Some better read it to George...its for ages 12 to adult....

[Norbert Cheekflapper]

I can't believe the hubris of this administration using something sacred like the "Book of World Records" to coerce our best and brightest into reading Karl Rove's propaganda. Jesse Helms is turning over an omelette. Jaques Cousteau is puking up sunblock. That the evil Czar Peter would become an anti-hero to our youth is exactly what 'Big Brother' wants. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Mark my words, if we do not act now, our children will be STANDing shoulder to shoulder with the People for the Excrutiating Torture of Animals, stripped of their garments and their humanity, the blood of innocent chickens and pigs in their sausages and McNuggets. I say it's time to fight back, to draw a line in the sand, to say to the artistic community: Enough! No more boys in tights hanging around with 'fairies', no more pirates, nore more mutilations by enormous reptiles. Nore more "star stuff" (as if we didn't know what that means). You can't have my shadow, Mr. Marx. My shadow is already spoken for. Behold the feet of them that carried out your husband are at the door. No fairies fly where I stand, just moths. And leeches.

In closing let me state for the record that "Sausages and McNuggets" would be good name for a rock band.

[Leetie]

The PSA is wonderful. :)

[Siouxie]

*hands Norbert a mini-gumball*

It's gonna be OK...really...

[judi]

as always, there are updates on the NEWS page at davebarry.com (www.davebarry.com/news.html) and more info about upcoming events on the (wait for it) events page (www.davebarry.com/events.html)

[Bumble]

morgana~ Nah, we didn't compete. I'm not sure what the point of it was. It didn't have anything to do with our grades, and there wasn't any reward for doing it. I was already an avid reader by the time we started that (I started reading when my parents stopped getting cable) so it didn't really have a marked effect on my reading habits.

Blondentropy & Dux~ Yeah, I remember heading to Pizza Hut for my free personal pan with mom many a time. It was fun. Do they still do that?

[Sparky]

Dave,
If you have any influence on the Governor you should advise him to work on his official signature. It sure looks like "Jel Bun" to me.

[Chaz]

give him a blue one...they have a calming effect

[Clean Hands]

I'm not sure a mini-gumball's going to be strong enough, Siouxie. No, not even the "special" concentrated ones.

[L-Bo]

Snob #1: This is exactly what kids in school should see.
Snob #2: Especially in the Midwest, where they don't read.

[The Dread Pirate Chris]

Yes Bumble, they still do that. My son has two unused pizza reading coupons on our fridge right now.

[mudstuffin]

Man, when I was little Pizza Hut didn't even exist. I read so that I would be aloud to sleep in the house with the people.

Actually I loved to read from about first grade on. I am both gratified and a little frightened to note that my youngest (the one that someone once compared to Wednesday Addams)is just like me in that respect. So, MTV and such have not ruined it for all our kids.

[Bangi_Sizzles_Dangerously]

yayyyyyyyyyyy 4 Dave
[insert witty comment here]

[PirateBoy]

Bumble;
My school district used the big "SRA" reading kit for 'advanced' reading. Large plastic cards, self-study. Naturally, it was easy to cheat, since the answers were on the key-cards at the back of the box. Progress was tracked via the requisite gold star graph on the classroom wall. Needless to say, I always won. Was I the best reader, or the best cheater? And now that the statute of limitations has expired, you can't prove anything. And no, I'm not giving my prize back, either! I'm keeping that eraser. It's nifty!

[slyeyes]

Bangi!! Staying dry?

[Jemmy]

I remember Book It. My sister and I got so sick of Pizza Hut pizza that we refused to participate in Book It any more. Our teachers were very annoyed.

[Bumble]

*snicker* @ PirateBoy & Jemmy

[DaveTheRed]

*Snork at Norbert C.

[Meanie the Blue]

Mine is marked!

[Siouxie]

Meanie, I USED to like you....

*runs away screaming*

EYE BLEACH!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Clean Hands]

Nice try, Meanie. True to your name...

[Clean Hands]

His link showed that I'd already visited it, so I was suspicious... and for good reason.

[Eleanor]

Bangi! Are you OK?

Wow, Dave's so famous that the President has heard of his book! Ridley too!

Who knew? I thought this was just a private little blog for the cognoscenti. :)

[Meanie the Blue]

Gesundheit, El.

[Stevie W]

Congrats!

[Brad]

The PSA is great! But disappointing at the same time. It came up in a widescreen aspect ratio, but then it was standard 4:3 with black edges. Next time you do a PSA, could you make sure they film it in widescreen for those of us prefer it?

Aside from my minor gripe, this is a really great project you're involved with. It would never fly in California. Our governator can't read.

[Stevie W]

Mitch Ablom was on CNN this morning. He said "rock bottom." Heh.