Theo Balcomb, guest blogger

Theo Balcomb, age 4. (family photo)

The Wizard of Oz is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. My parents tell me it was the first movie I ever saw, though I don't remember actually seeing it for the first time. Somehow, it seems to have always been part of my consciousness. It's not surprising. It completely overloaded my senses. The first scenes of the swirling tornado, the wooden doors banging and the hay bales rolling. The shock of Oz with scads of smiling, shiny people, brilliant yellows and greens, a falling shingled house and striped stockings. When it felt like it was all too much to handle, there was the soothing voice of Glinda. She was the epitome of calm, cool and collected. But all that was interrupted by the overwhelming terror of the Wicked Witch of the West. She petrified me to the point that I could not go into a dark room without hearing her signature cackle or seeing her in my mind, zooming through my brain on her broom.

Continue reading "A Trip Down the Yellow Brick Road" >

Mel Goh, Weekend Edition Web Producer

Welcome to the party! As Scott Simon approaches his millionth Twitter follower, we're celebrating by inviting all of you to join our 140 Characters Of Fame feature.

Share your best 140 character, and we'll pick our favorite 10 and read them on the air next Saturday, Sept. 19.

Tell us a joke, jot down a thought, post a witticism or send a salutation. But do it fast -- only submissions entered between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST will be accepted. Leave us your Twitter handle so we can contact you if we choose your message.

**UPDATE: That was a great two hours -- your messages made us laugh, snort and raise our eyebrows. We've now closed the board for entries, but take a look at what people entered on our 140 Characters of Fame page.

And be sure to check back next week, when we'll broadcast our favorites!

Ned Wharton, Weekend Edition

In a moment of gratuitous vanity, scanning through the list of Twitterers following @nprweekend, I came across @KidReporter -- on his page, 9-year-old Brennan Labrie is looking earnestly at the camera, holding something like a Mister Microphone. Intrigued, I followed the link to his blog and watched the delightful video report from his neighborhood, posted below. I was especially impressed by his innate curiosity, and his belief that "everybody has an interesting story in them." That reminded me of the late 60 Minutes producer Don Hewitt and how he said the most important thing in journalism is this:

TELL ME A STORY.

I sent off a Tweet to Brennan, encouraging him to stick with his journalistic pursuits. I soon heard back that he had been chosen by Time for Kids as one of 12 finalists for school reporter this season. Hope you can listen to @nprscottsimon's interview!