Just typing/transcribing a post here on my IPAQ as my two sons splash around in their canopied "swimming pool" on a typically warm January day. As usual, the younger is antagonising the older so I'm regularly interrupting my thoughts with reminders about behaving sensibly in the water. There isn't much left of my summer holidays, just this week and then next week, it'll be getting stuff ready at school for the return of the students and the start of their new school year.

We took the boys to see Chicken Little at the cinemas which they both thoroughly enjoyed. (Well, the younger one got a bit antsy about two thirds of the way through, he is only two and a half but it was a good excuse for a family outing.) Now during this break they've consumed a few Disney and Dreamworks offerings and I am still amazed at the incredible computer generated animation that is used. I am certainly not one of those people who will reminsce about the good ol' days of children's entertainment because those days are happening now. The way fantastic worlds and characters can be presented via this advanced animation means creators are only limited by their imagination, not by the technology or the budget. So how is this post relevant? Well, companies like Disney have become masters of cultural remix where they reinvent age old stories in a new digital format. Last year, my class did some media comparisons of the Dr.Seuss classic "The Cat In The Hat" where they critiqued the original book, the 1970's cartoon version (co-produced by Theodor Giesel himself) and the 2003 movie edition. So, the final verdict from the students? The book will always be great, the cartoon was boring, dated and didn't stick to the original storyline, but the movie got the thumbs up for all round entertainment value and being contemporary. I'm sure the special effects that brought the fish in the bowl to life had something to with that.