Period 1 Blog #13

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

What Were the Best and Worst Things About 2017 for You?

Clockwise from top left: J. Cole; nothing,nowhere.; Taylor Swift; Moses Sumney; Lorde; and Jaimie Branch.CreditNicholas Hunt/Getty Images; Greta Rybus for The New York Times; John Salangsang/Invision, via Associated Press; Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times; Nicole Fara Silver for The New York Times; Mark Abramson for The New York Times

By Caroline Crosson Gilpin

Dec. 13, 2017

As December winds down and 2017 retrospectives begin to roll out, we thought we would ask you for your own lists.

What were the top five to 10 best things about this year? What were the top five to 10 worst things about 2017?

You can put anything you like on your lists — movies, music, TV shows or books you liked best; politics, other news stories, viral videos or sporting events that you thought were great or terrible; the aspects of your personal, family or academic life that were most notable for being bad or good; or a mix of all these things.

To help you remember the year, take a look at our Special News Quiz, "2017 in Review," and at a few of the Top 10 lists New York Times critics have posted, then create your own.

In “The Best Albums of 2017,” Times critics give their top picks for 2017. Here, for instance, is the music critic Jon Pareles’s No. 1 choice:

1. ST. VINCENT “Masseduction” (Loma Vista)

The hefty programmed beats, emphatic electronic hooks and gargantuan choruses of current pop are the framework that Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, chose for songs about pleasure, fame, lust and drugs — and their extreme, even deathly consequences. The songs ended up cryptic and emphatic, tragicomic and bold: taking things to the limit in taut three-minute packages. [Read the review | Read the Q. and A.]

And here are the top two picks of the Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris, who wrote The Best Performances of 2017:

STEPHANIE J. BLOCK, “FALSETTOS” There are certain musical numbers that, in addition to flooring you, generate a lot of suspense. Ms. Block doing “I’m Breaking Down,” in that revivified “Falsettos” revivalthat I saw on Broadway last winter, is one of those numbers. She stood, aproned, behind a kitchen block, wielding a bowl and a knife, on her way to becoming an anxious cuckoo clock. Her voice went up and down the scale, the bowl went on her head and the carrots went to their grave. Would she survive all the neurosis she put into the song? Yup. She broke down. We cracked up.

VENUS WILLIAMS, THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN In January, when, at 36, the legendary Ms. Williams made it to her first major final in 8 years, she was all body and mouth and ecstasy and style. Her arms went up and down. Her hands clasped her face. One went over her heart. She did a little turn then minced toward the net for a handshake. After that, she launched into the mightiest pirouette I’ve ever seen. She then bent at the knees, threw open her arms, put her forearm to her forehead and sashayed — sashayed — to her chair. Every spring, tennis goes to Paris. But it’s never been to “Paris Is Burning.” Ms. Williams took it there.

Need more inspiration? The New York Times has published its critics’ lists of the best movies, television shows, albums, songs, classical music performances, dance, theater, performances, art, crime novels and books.

Students: Scan the many sources of inspiration we’ve included above, then tell us:

— Make your own 2017 Top 10 List. What would be on it?

— What were the best things about 2017 for you? What type of Top 10 Lists or Best of 2017 Lists would you make? What world, local or national events did you enjoy? What breakthroughs in science or technology excited you?

— What were the worst things about 2017? What happened in the news that would make the list? What annoyed you about pop culture?

— What happened in your own life this year that was wonderful? In what personal ways will you be sad to see 2017 go? What aspects of your personal, family or school life will you be happy to leave behind?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Period 9/10 Blog #13

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

What Were the Best and Worst Things About 2017 for You?

Clockwise from top left: J. Cole; nothing,nowhere.; Taylor Swift; Moses Sumney; Lorde; and Jaimie Branch.CreditNicholas Hunt/Getty Images; Greta Rybus for The New York Times; John Salangsang/Invision, via Associated Press; Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times; Nicole Fara Silver for The New York Times; Mark Abramson for The New York Times

By Caroline Crosson Gilpin

Dec. 13, 2017

As December winds down and 2017 retrospectives begin to roll out, we thought we would ask you for your own lists.

What were the top five to 10 best things about this year? What were the top five to 10 worst things about 2017?

You can put anything you like on your lists — movies, music, TV shows or books you liked best; politics, other news stories, viral videos or sporting events that you thought were great or terrible; the aspects of your personal, family or academic life that were most notable for being bad or good; or a mix of all these things.

To help you remember the year, take a look at our Special News Quiz, "2017 in Review," and at a few of the Top 10 lists New York Times critics have posted, then create your own.

In “The Best Albums of 2017,” Times critics give their top picks for 2017. Here, for instance, is the music critic Jon Pareles’s No. 1 choice:

1. ST. VINCENT “Masseduction” (Loma Vista)

The hefty programmed beats, emphatic electronic hooks and gargantuan choruses of current pop are the framework that Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, chose for songs about pleasure, fame, lust and drugs — and their extreme, even deathly consequences. The songs ended up cryptic and emphatic, tragicomic and bold: taking things to the limit in taut three-minute packages. [Read the review | Read the Q. and A.]

And here are the top two picks of the Times critic-at-large Wesley Morris, who wrote The Best Performances of 2017:

STEPHANIE J. BLOCK, “FALSETTOS” There are certain musical numbers that, in addition to flooring you, generate a lot of suspense. Ms. Block doing “I’m Breaking Down,” in that revivified “Falsettos” revivalthat I saw on Broadway last winter, is one of those numbers. She stood, aproned, behind a kitchen block, wielding a bowl and a knife, on her way to becoming an anxious cuckoo clock. Her voice went up and down the scale, the bowl went on her head and the carrots went to their grave. Would she survive all the neurosis she put into the song? Yup. She broke down. We cracked up.

VENUS WILLIAMS, THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN In January, when, at 36, the legendary Ms. Williams made it to her first major final in 8 years, she was all body and mouth and ecstasy and style. Her arms went up and down. Her hands clasped her face. One went over her heart. She did a little turn then minced toward the net for a handshake. After that, she launched into the mightiest pirouette I’ve ever seen. She then bent at the knees, threw open her arms, put her forearm to her forehead and sashayed — sashayed — to her chair. Every spring, tennis goes to Paris. But it’s never been to “Paris Is Burning.” Ms. Williams took it there.

Need more inspiration? The New York Times has published its critics’ lists of the best movies, television shows, albums, songs, classical music performances, dance, theater, performances, art, crime novels and books.

Students: Scan the many sources of inspiration we’ve included above, then tell us:

— Make your own 2017 Top 10 List. What would be on it?

— What were the best things about 2017 for you? What type of Top 10 Lists or Best of 2017 Lists would you make? What world, local or national events did you enjoy? What breakthroughs in science or technology excited you?

— What were the worst things about 2017? What happened in the news that would make the list? What annoyed you about pop culture?

— What happened in your own life this year that was wonderful? In what personal ways will you be sad to see 2017 go? What aspects of your personal, family or school life will you be happy to leave behind?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Period 1 Blog #11

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star?

Student Opinion

By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN NOV. 29, 2017

Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

Have you heard about Fiona, the baby hippo born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo?

Watch the short video below, of Fiona and her mom playing together. How and why do you think she has become a beloved media star?

Baby Hippo Fiona and Mom Bibi Playing - Cincinnati Zoo Video by The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

In “Hooray for Fiona the Hippo, Our Bundle of Social-Media Joy,” Rachel Syme writes:

Fionamania has swept the country. Videos of her twirling around in the water, Rubenesque and graceful, rack up millions of views online. She photo-bombed a local couple’s engagement photo, and it wound up on “The Tonight Show.” The popular Cincinnati ice cream purveyor Greater’s made a “Chunky Chunky Hippo” flavor over the summer — a toffee base with salted peanuts and caramel truffles — that sold out at the zoo every day it was available. A local T-shirt company, Cincy Shirts, screen-printed a small batch of tees with the words “Feeling Hip” along with a cartoon rendering of Fiona in February, and has since shipped 30,000 Fiona-branded products (including tees, stickers, magnets and now Christmas sweaters featuring Fiona in a Santa hat) all over the world.

Fiona starred in her own 7-episode reality show sponsored by Facebook. The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, sold a children’s book called “Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo” to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, scheduled for the spring of 2018, with proceeds benefiting the animal’s care. The Cincinnati Reds are planning to have an official “Fiona Day” at the ballpark next summer, complete with commemorative hippopotamus bobbleheads. Twitter fans have become obsessed with Fiona’s flatulence. She has become America’s Large Adult Daughter, its triumphant baby queen, its reigning diva with the skin texture of a wet avocado.

Being at the center of a 24/7 hype machine for a 500-pound (and growing) starlet can be exhausting, and Ms. Curley got her tattoo as a way to commemorate the intensity of the past year. “I didn’t think any experience would ever top this experience,” she said. “I’m never going to regret getting it.”

“We think this is just Michelle’s way of one-upping her groupie status,” said Chad Yelton, the zoo’s vice president of marketing. “She has all the merch, the tumblers, the calendar. If there’s something with Fiona’s face on it, she has to have it first.”

When Fiona was born, no one expected her to survive. Bibi, her lumbering, obstinate mother (“Fiona gets all of her diva tendencies from her mom,” said Christina Gorsuch, the curator for African mammals) gave birth six weeks early, and the baby weighed only 29 pounds. Most viable hippos weigh between 55 and 120 pounds at birth; premature infants rarely pull through. “In the first six weeks, there was at least once a week when we were sure she was going to die,” said Ms. Gorsuch, who was wearing a pair of hippo-shaped stud earrings in her office next to the antelope pen. “I kept telling the keepers to call me in the middle of the night when the inevitable happens.”

She was kept in the bestial equivalent of a newborn I.C.U., with round-the-clock care that included visits from local nurses from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who located her tiny veins for an IV during a nasty bout of dehydration. Scientists at the zoo milked a hippo for the first time — “we had no idea what was in hippo milk before now,” Ms. Gorsuch said — so that they could recreate the formula for Fiona’s bottles. Every day, between January and May 15, when Fiona finally was able to promenade around the hippo tank for the public, seemed to bring a new health crisis. All of this was documented on social media for the world to see.

Overnight, Fiona became a symbol of resilience and positivity. Buzzfeed ran listicles of her bravest moments, calling her a “sassy, unbothered, unproblematic queen.” NPR ran a national report on her swelling celebrity status. One website called her “The Only Good Thing Left in This World.”

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Who is your favorite social media star, and why?

— Have you seen any Fionamania memorabilia or news? If so, what did you see, and where?

— Now that you know more about Fiona, can you understand why she is a celebrity media darling? Why or why not?

— What other examples can you think of where someone — or something — drew fame and followers? Why did they become famous?

Period 3 Blog #11

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star?

Student Opinion

By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN NOV. 29, 2017

Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

Have you heard about Fiona, the baby hippo born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo?

Watch the short video below, of Fiona and her mom playing together. How and why do you think she has become a beloved media star?

Baby Hippo Fiona and Mom Bibi Playing - Cincinnati Zoo Video by The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

In “Hooray for Fiona the Hippo, Our Bundle of Social-Media Joy,” Rachel Syme writes:

Fionamania has swept the country. Videos of her twirling around in the water, Rubenesque and graceful, rack up millions of views online. She photo-bombed a local couple’s engagement photo, and it wound up on “The Tonight Show.” The popular Cincinnati ice cream purveyor Greater’s made a “Chunky Chunky Hippo” flavor over the summer — a toffee base with salted peanuts and caramel truffles — that sold out at the zoo every day it was available. A local T-shirt company, Cincy Shirts, screen-printed a small batch of tees with the words “Feeling Hip” along with a cartoon rendering of Fiona in February, and has since shipped 30,000 Fiona-branded products (including tees, stickers, magnets and now Christmas sweaters featuring Fiona in a Santa hat) all over the world.

Fiona starred in her own 7-episode reality show sponsored by Facebook. The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, sold a children’s book called “Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo” to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, scheduled for the spring of 2018, with proceeds benefiting the animal’s care. The Cincinnati Reds are planning to have an official “Fiona Day” at the ballpark next summer, complete with commemorative hippopotamus bobbleheads. Twitter fans have become obsessed with Fiona’s flatulence. She has become America’s Large Adult Daughter, its triumphant baby queen, its reigning diva with the skin texture of a wet avocado.

Being at the center of a 24/7 hype machine for a 500-pound (and growing) starlet can be exhausting, and Ms. Curley got her tattoo as a way to commemorate the intensity of the past year. “I didn’t think any experience would ever top this experience,” she said. “I’m never going to regret getting it.”

“We think this is just Michelle’s way of one-upping her groupie status,” said Chad Yelton, the zoo’s vice president of marketing. “She has all the merch, the tumblers, the calendar. If there’s something with Fiona’s face on it, she has to have it first.”

When Fiona was born, no one expected her to survive. Bibi, her lumbering, obstinate mother (“Fiona gets all of her diva tendencies from her mom,” said Christina Gorsuch, the curator for African mammals) gave birth six weeks early, and the baby weighed only 29 pounds. Most viable hippos weigh between 55 and 120 pounds at birth; premature infants rarely pull through. “In the first six weeks, there was at least once a week when we were sure she was going to die,” said Ms. Gorsuch, who was wearing a pair of hippo-shaped stud earrings in her office next to the antelope pen. “I kept telling the keepers to call me in the middle of the night when the inevitable happens.”

She was kept in the bestial equivalent of a newborn I.C.U., with round-the-clock care that included visits from local nurses from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who located her tiny veins for an IV during a nasty bout of dehydration. Scientists at the zoo milked a hippo for the first time — “we had no idea what was in hippo milk before now,” Ms. Gorsuch said — so that they could recreate the formula for Fiona’s bottles. Every day, between January and May 15, when Fiona finally was able to promenade around the hippo tank for the public, seemed to bring a new health crisis. All of this was documented on social media for the world to see.

Overnight, Fiona became a symbol of resilience and positivity. Buzzfeed ran listicles of her bravest moments, calling her a “sassy, unbothered, unproblematic queen.” NPR ran a national report on her swelling celebrity status. One website called her “The Only Good Thing Left in This World.”

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Who is your favorite social media star, and why?

— Have you seen any Fionamania memorabilia or news? If so, what did you see, and where?

— Now that you know more about Fiona, can you understand why she is a celebrity media darling? Why or why not?

— What other examples can you think of where someone — or something — drew fame and followers? Why did they become famous?

Period 4/5 Blog #11

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star?

Student Opinion

By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN NOV. 29, 2017

Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

Have you heard about Fiona, the baby hippo born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo?

Watch the short video below, of Fiona and her mom playing together. How and why do you think she has become a beloved media star?

Baby Hippo Fiona and Mom Bibi Playing - Cincinnati Zoo Video by The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

In “Hooray for Fiona the Hippo, Our Bundle of Social-Media Joy,” Rachel Syme writes:

Fionamania has swept the country. Videos of her twirling around in the water, Rubenesque and graceful, rack up millions of views online. She photo-bombed a local couple’s engagement photo, and it wound up on “The Tonight Show.” The popular Cincinnati ice cream purveyor Greater’s made a “Chunky Chunky Hippo” flavor over the summer — a toffee base with salted peanuts and caramel truffles — that sold out at the zoo every day it was available. A local T-shirt company, Cincy Shirts, screen-printed a small batch of tees with the words “Feeling Hip” along with a cartoon rendering of Fiona in February, and has since shipped 30,000 Fiona-branded products (including tees, stickers, magnets and now Christmas sweaters featuring Fiona in a Santa hat) all over the world.

Fiona starred in her own 7-episode reality show sponsored by Facebook. The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, sold a children’s book called “Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo” to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, scheduled for the spring of 2018, with proceeds benefiting the animal’s care. The Cincinnati Reds are planning to have an official “Fiona Day” at the ballpark next summer, complete with commemorative hippopotamus bobbleheads. Twitter fans have become obsessed with Fiona’s flatulence. She has become America’s Large Adult Daughter, its triumphant baby queen, its reigning diva with the skin texture of a wet avocado.

Being at the center of a 24/7 hype machine for a 500-pound (and growing) starlet can be exhausting, and Ms. Curley got her tattoo as a way to commemorate the intensity of the past year. “I didn’t think any experience would ever top this experience,” she said. “I’m never going to regret getting it.”

“We think this is just Michelle’s way of one-upping her groupie status,” said Chad Yelton, the zoo’s vice president of marketing. “She has all the merch, the tumblers, the calendar. If there’s something with Fiona’s face on it, she has to have it first.”

When Fiona was born, no one expected her to survive. Bibi, her lumbering, obstinate mother (“Fiona gets all of her diva tendencies from her mom,” said Christina Gorsuch, the curator for African mammals) gave birth six weeks early, and the baby weighed only 29 pounds. Most viable hippos weigh between 55 and 120 pounds at birth; premature infants rarely pull through. “In the first six weeks, there was at least once a week when we were sure she was going to die,” said Ms. Gorsuch, who was wearing a pair of hippo-shaped stud earrings in her office next to the antelope pen. “I kept telling the keepers to call me in the middle of the night when the inevitable happens.”

She was kept in the bestial equivalent of a newborn I.C.U., with round-the-clock care that included visits from local nurses from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who located her tiny veins for an IV during a nasty bout of dehydration. Scientists at the zoo milked a hippo for the first time — “we had no idea what was in hippo milk before now,” Ms. Gorsuch said — so that they could recreate the formula for Fiona’s bottles. Every day, between January and May 15, when Fiona finally was able to promenade around the hippo tank for the public, seemed to bring a new health crisis. All of this was documented on social media for the world to see.

Overnight, Fiona became a symbol of resilience and positivity. Buzzfeed ran listicles of her bravest moments, calling her a “sassy, unbothered, unproblematic queen.” NPR ran a national report on her swelling celebrity status. One website called her “The Only Good Thing Left in This World.”

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Who is your favorite social media star, and why?

— Have you seen any Fionamania memorabilia or news? If so, what did you see, and where?

— Now that you know more about Fiona, can you understand why she is a celebrity media darling? Why or why not?

— What other examples can you think of where someone — or something — drew fame and followers? Why did they become famous?

Period 9/10 Blog 11

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star?

Student Opinion

By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN NOV. 29, 2017

Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

Have you heard about Fiona, the baby hippo born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo?

Watch the short video below, of Fiona and her mom playing together. How and why do you think she has become a beloved media star?

Baby Hippo Fiona and Mom Bibi Playing - Cincinnati Zoo Video by The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

In “Hooray for Fiona the Hippo, Our Bundle of Social-Media Joy,” Rachel Syme writes:

Fionamania has swept the country. Videos of her twirling around in the water, Rubenesque and graceful, rack up millions of views online. She photo-bombed a local couple’s engagement photo, and it wound up on “The Tonight Show.” The popular Cincinnati ice cream purveyor Greater’s made a “Chunky Chunky Hippo” flavor over the summer — a toffee base with salted peanuts and caramel truffles — that sold out at the zoo every day it was available. A local T-shirt company, Cincy Shirts, screen-printed a small batch of tees with the words “Feeling Hip” along with a cartoon rendering of Fiona in February, and has since shipped 30,000 Fiona-branded products (including tees, stickers, magnets and now Christmas sweaters featuring Fiona in a Santa hat) all over the world.

Fiona starred in her own 7-episode reality show sponsored by Facebook. The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, sold a children’s book called “Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo” to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, scheduled for the spring of 2018, with proceeds benefiting the animal’s care. The Cincinnati Reds are planning to have an official “Fiona Day” at the ballpark next summer, complete with commemorative hippopotamus bobbleheads. Twitter fans have become obsessed with Fiona’s flatulence. She has become America’s Large Adult Daughter, its triumphant baby queen, its reigning diva with the skin texture of a wet avocado.

Being at the center of a 24/7 hype machine for a 500-pound (and growing) starlet can be exhausting, and Ms. Curley got her tattoo as a way to commemorate the intensity of the past year. “I didn’t think any experience would ever top this experience,” she said. “I’m never going to regret getting it.”

“We think this is just Michelle’s way of one-upping her groupie status,” said Chad Yelton, the zoo’s vice president of marketing. “She has all the merch, the tumblers, the calendar. If there’s something with Fiona’s face on it, she has to have it first.”

When Fiona was born, no one expected her to survive. Bibi, her lumbering, obstinate mother (“Fiona gets all of her diva tendencies from her mom,” said Christina Gorsuch, the curator for African mammals) gave birth six weeks early, and the baby weighed only 29 pounds. Most viable hippos weigh between 55 and 120 pounds at birth; premature infants rarely pull through. “In the first six weeks, there was at least once a week when we were sure she was going to die,” said Ms. Gorsuch, who was wearing a pair of hippo-shaped stud earrings in her office next to the antelope pen. “I kept telling the keepers to call me in the middle of the night when the inevitable happens.”

She was kept in the bestial equivalent of a newborn I.C.U., with round-the-clock care that included visits from local nurses from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who located her tiny veins for an IV during a nasty bout of dehydration. Scientists at the zoo milked a hippo for the first time — “we had no idea what was in hippo milk before now,” Ms. Gorsuch said — so that they could recreate the formula for Fiona’s bottles. Every day, between January and May 15, when Fiona finally was able to promenade around the hippo tank for the public, seemed to bring a new health crisis. All of this was documented on social media for the world to see.

Overnight, Fiona became a symbol of resilience and positivity. Buzzfeed ran listicles of her bravest moments, calling her a “sassy, unbothered, unproblematic queen.” NPR ran a national report on her swelling celebrity status. One website called her “The Only Good Thing Left in This World.”

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Who is your favorite social media star, and why?

— Have you seen any Fionamania memorabilia or news? If so, what did you see, and where?

— Now that you know more about Fiona, can you understand why she is a celebrity media darling? Why or why not?

— What other examples can you think of where someone — or something — drew fame and followers? Why did they become famous?

Period 11 Blog #11

Your comment post should be at least 330 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

Who Is Your Favorite Social Media Star?

Student Opinion

By CAROLINE CROSSON GILPIN NOV. 29, 2017

Fiona the hippo at the Cincinnati Zoo. CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times

Have you heard about Fiona, the baby hippo born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo?

Watch the short video below, of Fiona and her mom playing together. How and why do you think she has become a beloved media star?

Baby Hippo Fiona and Mom Bibi Playing - Cincinnati Zoo Video by The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

In “Hooray for Fiona the Hippo, Our Bundle of Social-Media Joy,” Rachel Syme writes:

Fionamania has swept the country. Videos of her twirling around in the water, Rubenesque and graceful, rack up millions of views online. She photo-bombed a local couple’s engagement photo, and it wound up on “The Tonight Show.” The popular Cincinnati ice cream purveyor Greater’s made a “Chunky Chunky Hippo” flavor over the summer — a toffee base with salted peanuts and caramel truffles — that sold out at the zoo every day it was available. A local T-shirt company, Cincy Shirts, screen-printed a small batch of tees with the words “Feeling Hip” along with a cartoon rendering of Fiona in February, and has since shipped 30,000 Fiona-branded products (including tees, stickers, magnets and now Christmas sweaters featuring Fiona in a Santa hat) all over the world.

Fiona starred in her own 7-episode reality show sponsored by Facebook. The zoo’s director, Thane Maynard, sold a children’s book called “Saving Fiona: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Baby Hippo” to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, scheduled for the spring of 2018, with proceeds benefiting the animal’s care. The Cincinnati Reds are planning to have an official “Fiona Day” at the ballpark next summer, complete with commemorative hippopotamus bobbleheads. Twitter fans have become obsessed with Fiona’s flatulence. She has become America’s Large Adult Daughter, its triumphant baby queen, its reigning diva with the skin texture of a wet avocado.

Being at the center of a 24/7 hype machine for a 500-pound (and growing) starlet can be exhausting, and Ms. Curley got her tattoo as a way to commemorate the intensity of the past year. “I didn’t think any experience would ever top this experience,” she said. “I’m never going to regret getting it.”

“We think this is just Michelle’s way of one-upping her groupie status,” said Chad Yelton, the zoo’s vice president of marketing. “She has all the merch, the tumblers, the calendar. If there’s something with Fiona’s face on it, she has to have it first.”

When Fiona was born, no one expected her to survive. Bibi, her lumbering, obstinate mother (“Fiona gets all of her diva tendencies from her mom,” said Christina Gorsuch, the curator for African mammals) gave birth six weeks early, and the baby weighed only 29 pounds. Most viable hippos weigh between 55 and 120 pounds at birth; premature infants rarely pull through. “In the first six weeks, there was at least once a week when we were sure she was going to die,” said Ms. Gorsuch, who was wearing a pair of hippo-shaped stud earrings in her office next to the antelope pen. “I kept telling the keepers to call me in the middle of the night when the inevitable happens.”

She was kept in the bestial equivalent of a newborn I.C.U., with round-the-clock care that included visits from local nurses from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital who located her tiny veins for an IV during a nasty bout of dehydration. Scientists at the zoo milked a hippo for the first time — “we had no idea what was in hippo milk before now,” Ms. Gorsuch said — so that they could recreate the formula for Fiona’s bottles. Every day, between January and May 15, when Fiona finally was able to promenade around the hippo tank for the public, seemed to bring a new health crisis. All of this was documented on social media for the world to see.

Overnight, Fiona became a symbol of resilience and positivity. Buzzfeed ran listicles of her bravest moments, calling her a “sassy, unbothered, unproblematic queen.” NPR ran a national report on her swelling celebrity status. One website called her “The Only Good Thing Left in This World.”

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Who is your favorite social media star, and why?

— Have you seen any Fionamania memorabilia or news? If so, what did you see, and where?

— Now that you know more about Fiona, can you understand why she is a celebrity media darling? Why or why not?

— What other examples can you think of where someone — or something — drew fame and followers? Why did they become famous?