tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642608067622889078.post3439523511085658974..comments2024-03-27T05:14:30.190-04:00Comments on Madigan Reads: A Tribute to Mr. RogersMadigan Mirzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298558705488237857noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642608067622889078.post-84568376465837473192010-09-21T22:19:43.380-04:002010-09-21T22:19:43.380-04:00Oh it was... I could go on and on with all of the ...Oh it was... I could go on and on with all of the interesting tidbits that David Newell had to share. One of the most moving clips that he shared was a scene where Mr. Rogers met and talked with a boy in a wheelchair for the program.<br />I don't know if anything like that had presented on television before but it was so sensitively done. The two of them just had a nice, honest conversation. Rogers was quick to point out that even though the electronic wheelchair seemed to move around like magic, it was the boy who was controlling it. Newell said that Rogers had given a lot of thought to that comment, wanting children to understand that people were behind the technology that you see. Many years later, they were reunited when Jeffrey Erlanger (the boy, now grown up) presented Rogers with an award for the Television Academy Hall of Fame -- the look on Fred Rogers face when he realized that the producers had found his old friend was just priceless.<br /><br />Another thing that stuck with me was how Newell said that back in the early days of television, audiences would have watched anything, even a test pattern! He's not the first person I've heard say that. But, he spoke with some excitement about the web and new media and compared the way people were trying things out on social media today to the same spirit of adventure that people had when television was new. He said he was sure that if Fred Rogers was alive today, he'd be so interested in everything that's going on, on-line. And he pointed out that one of PBS's top downloaded apps for the iPhone is the "make-a-journal" app featuring the sweet, shy tiger Daniel from Mr. Roger's Land of Make-Believe. I thought that was really neat.Madigan Mirzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03298558705488237857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5642608067622889078.post-49935873343513551552010-09-21T18:17:19.463-04:002010-09-21T18:17:19.463-04:00This must have been fascinating ~ thank you for ta...This must have been fascinating ~ thank you for taking the time to share it with us.Library Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12948617904448139551noreply@blogger.com