Mimi Power and Magnifico: an author's blog

April 12, 2014 "..during a time of Depression, and drought and dust storms" Jeanine Stoddard takes her chances. On a horse named Smoky Joe that runs like a rocket, on an abandoned family farm in Texas and on a widowed man who may be her saving grace if she can only bring herself to say yes. Paulette Jiles' Stormy Weather tests her heroine's grit, determination and loyalties to the limits. A wise woman makes her own luck in hard times and Jeanine's instincts for what will be and what is worth having above all proves wise indeed.

May 1, 2014 Sooner or later almost every mere mortal meets their Waterloo in math. For Salman Khan, not the Bollywood-star, but a self-proclaimed math nerd and graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School, it was when he hit a wall tutoring his cousin in sixth grade math. Traditional coaching wasn't getting through, and Khan was troubled as to why his cousin (who was bright, engaged in school and had always done well in math) was even struggling with this particular unit in the first place. Not living in the same city, let alone the same state, was an obstacle quickly resolved when Khan realized that there could be more to Youtube than fluffy cat videos. An advocate of mastery learning over good-enough grades, Khan developed a digital age method of tutoring his cousin that quickly spread to include other family members and students who needed similar support. The roster of videos grew, as the blackboard of the Internet site is never erased, allowing students to mast...