1 . Tom Sawyer Play Is an Adventure

A 35-minute hand-clapping, foot-stomping musical version of a Mark Twain favorite returns with this Tall Stacks festival.

“Tom Sawyer: A River Adventure” has all the good stuff, including the fence painting, the graveyard, the island and the cave. It is adapted by Joe McDonough, with music by David Kisor. That’s the local stage writing team that creates many of the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s original musicals, along with the holiday family musicals at Ensemble Theatre.

This year Nathan Turner of Burlington is Tom Sawyer, and Robbie McMath of Fort Mitchell is Huck Finn.

Tumer, a 10th-grader at School for Creative and Performing Arts, is a familiar presence on Cincinnati’s stages. He is a star act or of Children’s Theatre, having played leading roles in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and is fresh from Jersey Production “Ragtime”.

McMath is a junior at Beechwood High School. He was in the cast of “Tom Sawyer” when it was first performed and is a Children’s Theatre regular, with five shows to his credit. This summer he attended Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts in Musical Theatre.

Note to teachers: Children’s Theatre has a study guide demonstrating how math and science can be taught through “Tom Sawyer.” For downloadable lessons, visit the official website of Children’s Theatre.

5 . Where to Eat in Bangkok

Bangkok is a highly desirable destination for food lovers. It has a seemingly bottomless well of dining options. Here are some suggestions on where to start your Bangkok eating adventure.

Offering Thai fine dining. Nahm provides the best of Bangkok culinary (烹饪的) experiences. It’s the only Thai restaurant that ranks among the top 10 of the world’s 50 best restaurants list. Head Chef David Thompson, who received a Michelin star for his London-based Thai restaurant of the same name, opened this branch in the Metropolitan Hotel in 2010.

Issaya Siamese Club is internationally known Thai chef Ian Kittichai’s first flagship Bangkok restaurant. The menu in this beautiful colonial house includes traditional Thai cuisine combined with modern cooking methods.

Bo.lan has been making waves in Bangkok’s culinary scene since it opened in 2009. Serving hard-to-find Thai dishes in an elegant atmosphere, the restaurant is true to Thai cuisine’s roots, yet still manages to add a special twist. This place is good for a candle-lit dinner or a work meeting with colleagues who appreciate fine food. For those extremely hungry, there’s a large set menu.

Earning first place on the latest “Asia’s 50 best restaurants” list, progressive Indian restaurant Gaggan is one of the most exciting venues (场所) to arrive in Bangkok in recent years. The best table in this two-story colonial Thai home offers a window right into the kitchen, where you can see chef Gaggan and his staff in action. Culinary theater at its best.

6 . Yellowstone National Park offers a variety of ranger programs throughout the park, and throughout the year. The following are descriptions of the ranger programs this summer.

Experiencing Wildlife in Yellowstone (May 26 to September 2)

Whether you’re hiking a backcountry trail (小径), camping, or just enjoying the park’s amazing wildlife from the road, this quick workshop is for you and your family. Learn where to look for animals and how to safely enjoy your wildlife watching experience. Meet at the Canyon Village Store.

Junior Ranger Wildlife Olympics (June 5 to August 21)

Kids can test their skills and compare their abilities to the animals of Yellowstone. Stay for as little or as long as your plans allow. Meet in front of the Visitor Education Center.

Canyon Talks at Artist Point (June 9 to September 2)

From a classic viewpoint, enjoy Lower Falls, the Yellowstone River, and the breathtaking colors of the canyon (峡谷) while learning about the area’s natural and human history. Discover why artists and photographers continue to be drawn to this special place. Meet on the lower platform at Artist Point on the South Rim Drive for this short talk.

Photography Workshops (June 19 & July 10)

Enhance your photography skills — join Yellowstone’s park photographer for a hands-on program to inspire new and creative ways of enjoying the beauty and wonder of Yellowstone.

6/19 — Waterfalls &Wide Angles: meet at Artist Point.

7/10 — Wildflowers &White Balance: meet at Washburn Trailhead in Chittenden parking area.

8 . Top Exhibitions to See in London in 2023

Architectural: Vanishing Points

While we like to think of architecture existing purely in the real world, emerging designers and architects are using platforms like Instagram to create structures in the virtual world. This collection of works, which range from the practical to the fantastical, are all by architects who have gathered significant social media followings.

In the Digital Universe at ROCA London. 8 February—31 July, free.

Flowery: Orchids

This annual festival is back in bloom (开花), this time inspired by the beauty and biodiversity of Cameroon. Just like previous years, the orchids are spread throughout the various zones of the Princess of Wales conservatory and accompanied by sculptures that are just as colourful as the flowers on display.

At Kew Gardens. 4 February —5 March, &16.50—entrance to the gardens included.

Female Abstraction: Action, Gesture, Paint

Art history has often shone a light on the men of Abstract Expressionism, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Well, now’s the time to let the most important women of the movement take the limelight in an exhibition that includes works by American artists such as Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler, but spreads the net wider to include the female abstract artists from Europe, Asia and the wider world, with whom most of us will be unfamiliar.

At Whitechapel Gallery. 9 February—7 May, £ 16.50—concessions available.

Powerful Portraits (肖像): Alice Neel

The largest UK exhibition to date of American painter Alice Neel’s work will bring together her figurative pieces from across her 60-year career. Neel went against the popular grain by painting figures when abstract works were most popular, and she painted subjects that other artists ignored — pregnant women, labour leaders, black children, civil rights activists and strange performers. It’s high time we had a major show of her work in London, and the Barbican has duly provided.

At Barbican Art Gallery. 16 February—21 May, & 18.

9 . The New Yorker picks four of the year’s best books in 2022 and shares them with you.

The Nobel Prize winner’s most recent novel is a sweeping origin story of modern Tanzania, and a love story between Afiya and Hamza. Their search for a place in the world unfolds against the monumental absurdness of empire, focusing on the East African campaign of 1914-1918. The book questions the costs and rewards of the war’s occasional solidarities.

The Nobel awardee’s latest novel opens like a starry romantic chronicle (编年史): a steamer is making its way at night to an island, the Mingheria in 1901. On board are three medical scientists, and the group comes to Mingheria because of an outbreak of bubonic plague (黑死病). What is most vital in this book is Pamuk’s lovingly obsessive creation of the island itself. He places his humans in this “three-dimensional fairy tale” and observes what happens to the state when an epidemic tests its tolerances.

In an account that’s both lyrical and extensive, Mukherjee takes us through an evolution of human understanding: from the seventeenth century discovery that humans are made up of cells to our leading technologies for manipulating (操纵) and deploying (部署) cells for medical purposes.

As a son of a Boston businessman, Samuel Adams was born in 1722. In detailing how Adams went on to shape every significant event in New England’s run-up to war, this book weaves a pleasing tapestry (织锦) of incident and inference. Schiff describes him as a master of the eighteenth-century version of fake news. The result is a wildly entertaining exploration of the roots of American political theatre.

10 . Technology use in class

You will be allowed to use your favorite type of technology (e.g. , laptop, iPad) in class if you choose to do so, since some people prefer taking notes that way. If you decide to use it, please avoid distractions, like e-mail checking or accessing social media during class.

Academic integrity

You will be expected to be the author of the assignments you turn in for this course. Your papers will require you to draw upon existing research to inform and lend credibility (可信度) to your arguments. To credit the ideas of others properly, you must follow two main rules:

●Always cite the source of a finding, idea, or argument that is not your own, no matter how much rewording you have done.

●Always put the findings, ideas, and arguments you cite into your own words. If a direct quote is absolutely necessary, put the text in quotation marks (引号) and include a page number in your citation.

Absences and late assignments

You are expected to attend every class, since your participation in class will count towards your final grade. Students with excused absences will have a chance to complete missed class assignments (and participation) without punishment. Otherwise, class participation can only be completed during class. Assignments submitted after the deadline will be considered late assignments. Late assignments will be graded with ½ of the grade if submitted by no more than one week following the original deadline. If not submitted within one week following the original deadline, late assignments will not be graded.