Last minute April Fools pranks.

If you're anything like me, you've been making plans for April for a while. There's so many things that happen this month if you're not planning ahead, you're going to miss out on something. I've also been making some plans for April-specific articles, but it wasn't until this morning that I realized I was missing a very important part of April in my plans-April Fool's Day. If you're in the same boat, there's no need to worry. I have just what you need, a list of last minute pranks you can pull with little to no preperation or materials.

1. The Globetrotter's Confetti-Filled-Cup TrickMaterials: a lightweight non-clear cup (paper, plastic, or styrafoam), confetti
How it works: Take your confetti and place it in the bottom of the cup. Make it look like you are drinking from the cup even though it's actually empty. Find your mark and make it look like you're going to spill it on them. Then dump on the confetti.

2. The 3 O'Clock High PrankMaterials: You don't 'need' anything, but a leather jacket, tattoo, and scar are optional and will make it an easier sell.
How it works: Find your mark and bump into him in the hall. Act really upset and tell him you'll see him right after school. Continue to threaten him (or her) during the day. When you finally meet up for the big fight tell them it was all a joke for April Fools.

3. The Make-Shift Whoopie CushionMaterials: A sandwich bag.
How it works: Grab your lunch (or just take someone else's if you have to) and find a baggie. You're going to either want one of the kind that seal itself or also find some tape. Get rid of whatever's in the baggie. How you get rid of it is up to you. Now fill the baggie with air and set it on the seat of your unsuspecting victim. Watch the fun when they take a seat.
Bonus: If you wanted some extra fun, you can leave the food in the bag, especially if it's really messy.

4. The "I was just in a car accident" Gag.Materials: Whatever you can get ahold of, specific ideas-scissors, fake blood or ketchup, black make up, black sharpie, etc
How it works: Rip some holes in your clothes, mess up your hair, and give yourself some fake bruises and cuts. Walk around with your hand on your head and stumble around. When someone asks what's up, tell them you were just in a car accident. Play it up a bit and tell the fake details of your epic encounter with death before shouting "April Fools."

5. The Fake Shoe BombMaterials: A shoe, some wires and a clock face.
How it works: Take the shoe and shove the wires in it. Then 'connect' them to the clock and let the wires dangle around. Place it in a prominant location and enjoy the laughs when people think it's a bomb and start to panic. (Disclaimer: This is just a list and not a recommendation for a prank. You could get in a lot of trouble for preparing a fake bomb, so think before you act on this one.)

6. The Old "I'm Gay"/"I'm not Gay" GagMaterials: none
How it works: The how is a little different depending on your sexual orientation, but basically if you're straight, you suddenly declare that you are gay. If you're gay, suddenly declare yourself straight. Play it up a little. Flirt with the opposite people of your particular orientation. Give your audience a reasont to believe your tale. Then when you've got people convinced, shout 'April Fools!' If you want you can keep switching sides all day and really mess with people's heads. If you need some inspiration for your role check out this "I kissed a girl" spoof by Karen Gillan.
Well, those are a few quick prank ideas that you can still pull off if you're quick about it. I'm sure you can come up with plenty of other ideas. Why not share them below?

Music and learning

I don't think there's any surprise when I suggest that there might be a link between education and music. There are certainly plenty of studies and visible evidence to show us how music can help us understand and learn about the world around us. There's even an educational theory presented by Howard Gardner called Multiple Intelligence Theory that says that there are different ways that people learn best and some people learn best when using music in their education.

So what are some examples of where music could come in handy for parents of preschoolers who are trying to help their child get ready for school?

Well, let's start with some of the songs you used as a child to help you learn. You can't think of anything? What about the Alphabet song? You probably forgot about it because you don't remember learning it. It's been such an important tool that you take it for granted. Think about what letter comes after T. Are you singing the song in your head to come up with it? More than likely the answer is yes.

This same process is being used in classes all around the United States. When I did my student teaching for Kindergarten, we worked on a color each week and there was a song for each color as well. (We used the songs from the CD collection which you can find using the link to the left.) One song, BLUE, used the tune for the "Farmer in the Dell" and another, YELLOW, used the tune for "If You're Happy and You Know It." These were great tools to learn how to spell the color, and recognize it in the larger world. There were several kids who were still singing the RED song four weeks down the road while they were working on their PURPLE books.

Music can also be used effectively for older students. One of my favorite examples is a song called "Why Does the Sun Shine" by They Might be Giants. This catchy song talks about this inner working of a star in a way that makes sense, but also is easy to remember.

There are many opportunities to use music since there are many educators and musical artists that have taken on the task of providing educational music. Sure some of it may be more than your child is ready for, but one of the beautiful things about music is that it has the ability to stick with you and come back when you need it. I'll just give one more recommendation here of a CD to check out. Dr. Jean has a mission to help your child learn about every topic under the sun. I haven't seen all of her CDs, but I've seen quite a few of them, and there doesn't seem to be a topic she won't try to make a song about. Do you want to do a lesson on the seasons? She's got a song for that. Do you want to teach about the life cycle of a butterfly? There's a song for that too.

There are plenty of musical artists that are working to provided music to help with your child's education. Do some looking around, and I'm sure you'll find exactly what you're looking for.

How to make a Top 5 list (or whatever size list you want)

Well, I've certainly done a lot of lists since I started this blog, and I'm sure to do many more in the future. I thought some of you out there might be interested in how it's done. (Also, I'm applying for eHow and thought this would be a good topic to share with them.) So here are some basic steps to help you make your own listing of your favorite things.

1. Pick a topic. You should start with something you know pretty well. Don't bother with lists about the top ten weird atomic particles unless you actually know anything about atomic particles. Also work with something that speaks to the audience you are trying to reach. Here are a few examples of topics I've used: Doctor Who, MASH, and Weird Al. (Links included so you can check them out.)
2. Decide how big your list is going to be. There's no law that says it has to be top 10 just because that's how David Letterman does it. I got into the habit of doing twelve when I did my Doctor Who list. This allowed me to talk about all the actors in the role. However, when I started a list for the best X-men characters, I stayed with twelve instead of jumping to 50. Regardless, pick a number you can work with without being overwhelmed, but that you think is fair to your topic.
3. Decide how many parts you want to make your list. You may want to drop them all in one list or you may want to dedicate a post to each number. It's really up to you. I try to keep each post from being too long or too short. That's part of why I like to work with a top twelve list. Twelve can be done all at once or broken down into 6s, 4s, 3s, 2s, or single posts. There's lots of options.
4. Do some research. Even if you know your topic you should still find out what you don't know. There is something interesting about your list that your readers will love to know, you just have to find it. 
5. Put your list in order.  I always find this to be the hardest part. You have to decide the criteria and justifications for your ranking. You'll still get some arguments about placing Superman above Batman, but at least you can explain why you did it.
6. Start writing. Sorry, but you can't avoid this part of the process. It won't magically happen on its own. Be sure to check your spelling and grammar. If you don't, you will get lots of messages complaining about it. 
7. Publish it. What's the point of making a list of your top 5 favorite put down lines from NCIS if you don't share it? Put it on a blog or on your Facebook. Just put it out there for people to enjoy even if it's just a poster you hang up somewhere. 

There you go, you've written a top 5 list and you're ready to do some more. Have fun with it and keep writing.

So you want to start watching the 6th Doctor?

The Twin Dilemma is the first full story line with Colin Baker as the Doctor. We get to see him in the regeneration scene, but this is where we get our first opportunity to see that there's something not quite right with our favorite character. Sure the Doctor is usually disoriented and confused right after a regeneration. He has to figure out who he is not, but this is different. He doesn't just seem confused, he seems rather rude. This is when you discover the show was trying to go in a different direction.

Colin Baker's Doctor was supposed to be a darker character. He was going to provide a different perspective on the life that the Doctor has chosen. The Doctor has to make lots of hard choices and sometimes he's had to pay a price. (See Earthshock) Unfortunately, some idiot at the BBC made a decision that never happened before and hasn't happened since, Colin Baker was not allowed to have any input into his costume. He wanted a black suit, or something similar to what Eccleston wore as the ninth Doctor, instead he was put in an outfit that even a clown would think twice about.


The Two Doctors is a very unique story in the history of Doctor Who. There were certainly 'reunion' episodes in the past, but this is the first time we see just one Doctor meeting himself. They have always been all the Doctors. This is actually the episode that started the discussion about the Second Doctor after his trial. There's a camp of fans that think that after his trial the Second Doctor worked as a special agent for the Time Lords. Either way, this is a very good combination of Doctors. You also get to see Jamie McCrimmon again.

This is a bit confusing because there's a space station and a Sontaran, and the Second Doctor being turned into a strange omnivorous alien that just loves to cook up anything. It's still a very fun episode.


The Trial of a Time Lord is another unique time in the history of Doctor Who but this time it isn't a good thing. The BBC was thinking about ending the show and they were going to put the show on hiatus after this season. So the writers threw out all of the stuff they'd been working on and put together a story idea to try to keep the show from being taken off the air. This is where the Trial of a Time Lord comes from.

The concept is effective and a great change from what you would expect. These days, a show like this would be the chance for an extensive flash-back episode. Instead, the production staff decides to make the trial be about stories the audience hasn't seen. We also get to meet a character that most long-time fans hope has disappeared from the Doctor Who universe. The Valeyard is the prosecutor and it turns out that he is actually the Doctor's 12th and final regeneration. He also happens to be evil and trying to steal the earlier parts of the Doctor's life. In the end, the Doctor wins in the court and with the BBC. Colin Baker, however, didn't make out so well. He was fired from the role, but that didn't stop the BBC from asking him to come back for the regeneration scene. (He declined and this led to the most ridiculous regeneration with possibly the one from the Doctor Who movie with the Eighth Doctor.

So you want to start watching the Fifth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Castrovalva is obviously the best place to start watching the Fifth Doctor, it's where he got his start. Well actually, he technically made his first appearance in Logopolis, but I won't count that. All he really got there was a fade in shot of him dressed up in Tom Baker's get up and them him sitting up. Not really much to go on.

Just like most post regeneration episodes, the Doctor is very confused and disoriented. He doesn't know who he is yet, or what he even looks like. There is also some difficulty surrounding his regeneration because it isn't going completely smoothly. Throw the Master into the mix and things are going to get really complicated.

Castrovalva is a bit confusing because the writers are going in a direction that is new for the series and is mostly forgotten afterwards, but this is a great place to start in with Peter Davison.


Earthshock is one of the most momentous stories in Doctor Who history. For the most part it is just your typical Cyberman story, but there's more to it than that. Well, let me step back for a moment on this. At the end of Tom Baker's time as the Doctor, he had 3 Companions Adric, Nyssa, and Tegan, way too many for the show to work smoothly. The BBC decided that it was probably time for a change and decided to get rid of one of the companions.

That's not all there is to it either. This isn't one of those happy endings. No, this is the kind of moment that makes the end of "The Doctor Dances" make more sense. In this case, the companion isn't left behind, doesn't choose to go, instead this person makes a heroic decision to drive a space ship into a meteorite to save the Earth and his or her friends. I won't say more about it because I don't want to give away the ending, but this episode is big not just for the era, but for the show as a whole.


Black Orchid is one of the most bizarre adventures of the Davison era. It has a costume party with dancing, lots of confusion and the Doctor taking a break from saving the world to play a game of Cricket. That's right, the Doctor stopped in the middle of a world-ending threat to pitch the ball and take a swing. This is different from the Matt Smith story where the Doctor is trying to look normal and plays some football. This is a case of mistaken identity with a character who can't say no to a bit of cricket. His costume is even like a cricket uniform. It's a fun little romp and well worth checking out.

That's all for now. More to come soon with suggestions for the other Baker to play the Doctor.

So you want to start watching the Fourth Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Tom Baker thanks you for wanting to see his Doctor in action.

So you want start watching Doctor Who adventures featuring the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker? You are making a very good choice. You probably already know that Tom is my personal favorite Doctor. You have a lot of work to see all of his episodes. He was the Doctor for seven years.Why not try out a few of the more interesting stories? After all, some of the stories are better than others. (Remember that during the old series, they didn't have the budget or effects that are available today.) I could go on talking about how great Tom Baker is for a long time, but let's get on to the recommendations instead.


What better place to begin than at the very beginning. In "The Robot," we get our first real glimpse of Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is lying on the floor in his laboratory at UNIT headquarters and hasn't recovered from his regeneration.

The Doctor seems very odd after his regeneration, but it turns out that this is who he is now. There are several great parts to this story. First, you get the Doctor's first words, " " You also get the fashion show where the Doctor figures out what he's going to wear. You also get a scene straight out of the Power Rangers when the robot of the title grows from around 7 feet to building-crushing height.

If you're watching the new series, you've already met his companion, Sarah Jane Smith, and you'll love getting to know her during her younger adventures.




"The Talons of Weng-Chiang" is a very strange story. The Doctor is dressed up like Sherlock Holmes and his companion is a futuristic cave woman. Yeah, Leela is from a future human planet that has regressed to barbarism after a space ship crash lands on a planet. Leela is like an Eliza Doolittle character- she has great potential and the Doctor is trying to help her reach it. 


In this story, the Doctor has brought Leela to Earth's past to help her understand who her ancestors were. The plot revolves around a disappearing woman, Chinese tongs, an Oriental stage magician, and a killer ventriloquist's dummy. Oh and did I mention giant-killer sewer rats?






Lalla Ward is the second actress to play the Time Lord Romana (actually Romanadvoratrelundar, but who wants to say that more than once?) The character of Romana is great in either incarnation because she is a Time Lord, and in some ways is smarter than the Doctor. The first Romana is forced on the Doctor during the Key of Time stories, but she decides to stay with the Doctor after that adventure is over.

This is often considered one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time. The Doctor and Romana take a well deserved vacation in Paris and soon discover involving six original copies of the Mona Lisas. There's lots of adventure in this story and the Doctor makes a trip back in time to have a chat with Leonardo Da Vinci.



Of course there are plenty of stories featuring Tom Baker (42 stories with 172 episodes) so once you check these stories out, you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy this incarnation of the Doctor. Let me know if you have any feedback or thoughts on these episodes below.

Join in on the This or That! Top Song Bracket!

You may have seen me talking about This or That! a fairly new website that allows users to generate voting platforms for a variety of topics, but today you need to hear about something pretty exciting that is happening on the site. Starting today and going until the end of the month, This or That! is holding a 64-song bracket to determine the top song of 2010. It is set up just like March Madness with 64 songs battling through 6 rounds of competition. You get to vote on each song match up all the way to the top.

I haven't had a chance to vote yet because I'm writing this at school and I can't connect to Facebook. (Did I mention you can join This or That! with your Facebook account?) I am however, pretty excited about some of the match ups. I'm also surprised about some of the songs I'm going to vote for. (Yes, I will pick Tik Tok by Ke$ha over Imma Bee by the Black Eyed Peas, just don't tell anyone, ok.)

Did I mention there are tons of chances to win prizes? I guess I just did. If you vote in all the voting blocks, you will be eligible to win one of 25 This or That! t-shirts, and one lucky voter will win a pair of Beats by Dre Studio Over-Ear headphones.

So check out this great site, and this great competition.

I totally forgot to post the link. http://thisorthat.com/ Also, I guess I was supposed to write which song should win to be eligible for the blogging portion of the contest, so now that I've seen the brackets, I'm totally picking Fireflies by Owl City. Go check it out and play along.

So you want to start watching the Third Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

So you've decided to check out the third Doctor, have you? That is an excellent choice. Jon Pertwee is great in the role of the Doctor and his portrayal is very unique from the other actors. This Doctor does not run away as is the typical first move of the modern Doctors. (and I don't disapprove of the running) Instead this Doctor will either try to talk his way out of a situation or else grapple with his enemies hand-to-hand. He uses Venusian Kung Fu and drives a roadster that is souped up with Time Lord technology.  Here's some great places to start if you want to experience this Doctor.

The Spearhead from Space

As they sing in "The Sound of Music," let's start at the very beginning. The Spearhead from Space is the first time we see Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. He has just landed on Earth with his new face that has been forced on him by the Time Lords and he's a little confused about everything. (This is the first time that a new Doctor experiences difficulty after a regeneration.)

While the Doctor is incapacitated, UNIT is investigating a strange group of meteorites that have landed on the same point. We meet Liz, the new companion who happens to be an expert on such matter. This is not only the first episode with Jon Pertwee, it is also the first appearance of the Autons. Who are the Autons? Well, think back to the shop dummies in the first episode of the new series that come alive and kill people. Those are the Autons that are brought to life by the Nestene Consciousness.


The Time Warrior
If you've watched the new series, then you already know Sarah Jane Smith. This is her first episode on the show. You get to see Pertwee's Doctor show off his playful side as the two meet. You may not remember Tennant's Doctor going by the name John Smith, but it is a common occurrence for the Doctor. He is using the name John Smith and Sarah Jane is pretending to be her aunt, who is a scientist, so she can get the scoop on UNIT. The two end up traveling to the past to stop a Sontaran from interfering with the Medieval society of England's history.







The Time Monster
Since you can't see the first appearance of the Master at this time, your second-best option is to see this great story with him in it. The Master has cannibalized his own TARDIS to create the TOMTIT device under the guise of a government scientist. His goal is to use the device to go back in time and gain control of a crystal that will let him control a creature that exists in the realm between times and spaces.
*note* The Master first appears during the time of the third Doctor and is one of the main protagonists during Pertwee's time as the Doctor. In fact, the main reason that Pertwee left the show was the death of Roger DelGado. (the original actor to play the Master.)

So you want to start watching the Second Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

Now we turn our attention to the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton. What shows will give you the best idea of his time as the Doctor? Well, unfortunately much of his work was lost, but there are still some really great options to get to know this Doctor better.

  The Lost in Time collection presents the remnants of the many lost episodes of the first and second Doctors. Where possible the available video is used, in other cases the surviving audio along with still images from the production. Unfortunately you won't be able to see everything of all the episodes, but you will appreciate what was done in the productions.










It's a pretty typical storyline in science fiction these days. What would happen if you found yourself in a word where fiction became reality, where the stories are all real? That's what happens in this story, but at the time it came out, it was a unique idea. The Doctor and company land in a strange land and meet Gulliver, Rapunzel, and even a fictitious version of William Shakespeare. This world is run by a man known as the Master (who is not to be confused with the Time Lord of the same name.)








This is the penultimate story of the second Doctor. It is his final story. In it, we learn lots of interesting new details about the Doctor's people, and how they operate.

The Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe arrive in the middle of a WWI battlefield. They manage to get to safety only to get accused of spying and desertion. They manage to escape and suddenly find themselves on a different battlefield being attacked by Roman soldiers, when they run from there they suddenly end up in the Civil War. Confused yet?

It turns out there is an alien race plotting to use humans to conquer the human race. They have the help of the War Chief, another Time Lord. At the end, the Doctor is put on trial by his own people. (This is the first time that the Time Lords are named and seen.)

These discs are all worth checking out as a way of getting to know the second Doctor. Be on the lookout for suggestions for the third Doctor.

My plan for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary (please share this if you think it's a good idea)

Since 1963 these eleven men have played the Doctor. What will BBC do for the 50th anniversary in 2013?

If you follow my blog at all, you already know that I'm a big fan of this Science Fiction classic. I've been following the adventures of the Doctor and his companions for a long time, and I have plenty of opinions about the series. Today, I want to share an idea I have for the Doctor to celebrate his 50th anniversary.

In the past, major anniversaries of the show were a chance to bring the actors who played the Doctor together in a common adventure. For the 10th anniversary, "The Three Doctors" brought together the original three actors to face the Time Lord Omega in a black hole. (This was the last performance by William Hartnell who passed away a few years after the show aired.) For the 20th anniversary, "The Five Doctors" brought the first five Doctors together. (William Hartnell was replaced by Richard Hurdnell, and Tom Baker participated through clips of an unaired story named "Shada.") In this story, the Doctors (as well as some past companions) faced off against Rassilon and the "Death Zone" on Gallifrey. The show was having issues or off the air for the other major anniversaries.

So what about the 50th anniversary? There's no chance of getting all eleven (or possibly twelve depending on what Matt Smith decides to do in the future) Doctors together since Hartnell, Troughton, and Pertwee have all passed away. I also don't like the idea of trying to find replacements for all of those Doctors. What about a different approach?

The new series has worked hard to have individual stories with a storyline that ties the whole season together. So what if the writers of Doctor Who take a page from the past to help them out. In 1978-1979, the fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) went on a quest with his new companion Romana to find the Key of Time. This story took over the entire season over 6 story arcs. What if the Doctor has to go on a quest that requires him to reconnect with previous companions? Let's consider some story ideas.

In 1964, the first Doctor left his granddaughter, Susan, behind  in 22nd century London after the events in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth." The Doctor promised to check up on her some day. That still hasn't happened. Why not fix that problem?


Whatever happened to Scottish Highlander Jamie McCrimmon? The Time Lords returned him to 1746 after sentencing the second Doctor for interfering with the universe, but what happened after that?

The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Not only would this make for an interesting storyline, but it would also be great for the BBC. They have been working hard to promote DVD sales of the older shows, and what better way to do that than to make a real connection with modern viewers and the older characters?

That's my idea. If you liked it, share it around. I'm hoping someone at BBC that is involved with Doctor Who sees it and at least considers the possibility. It's my opinion, feel free to comment below, and to check out more of my opinions on this site.

So you want to start watching the First Doctor episodes of Doctor Who

As part of an ongoing attempt to get more people checking out Doctor Who, and to answer a question asked on one of my previous posts (a five-part series ranking the top 12 actors to play the Doctor) I will be doing a series of posts with suggestions on stories to check out for each of the Doctors. This will be geared towards starting with the particular Doctor rather than a listing of best episodes. We will start this process with the first Doctor, William Hartnell.  I will also include links to DVDs you can buy on Amazon.

This one is a bit of a cheat. The DVD is a set that includes several stories. The set is called Doctor Who: The Beginning. It has "The Unearthly Child" which is the original episode of Doctor Who. You get to meet the Doctor, his granddaughter Susan, and her teachers, Ian and Barbara. The teachers start snooping around to find out about this strange new student, Susan, and end up getting kidnapped by her grandfather. The quartet meet cavemen in this story. Next up is "The Daleks." This is the second story, and the first to feature the Daleks. Also you can watch "The Edge of Destruction" where the TARDIS has stalled someplace between time and space. This is a great episode to understand the interactions between the four main characters.


The DVD also has a recreation of "Marco Polo" that includes audio clips and still images from the production. (This story was lost in the BBC video purge.)


There are plenty of other episodes to check out, but this is just an introduction to the first Doctor. Later, I'll be doing lists on best episodes, but that is for another time.