Is your teacher a superhero?

Is your teachera superhero?
YOUNGSTOWN -- OfficeMax, TeachersCount and Marvel Entertainment want middle school pupils to nominate their favorite teacher in the OfficeMax Super Hero Teacher of the Year contest.
The winning teacher and the pupil who nominated him or her will make an illustrated cameo appearance in a Marvel comic book, and also appear in a special-edition comic book honoring teachers. The winner will receive $6,000 for school supplies, personal classroom supplies and for continuing education. The nominating pupil will get a $500 gift card.
Pupils may nominate their teacher by writing an essay in 200 words or less describing "Why My Teacher Is A Super Hero." Entry forms are available at the OfficeMax of Boardman and the one in Niles, or at www.teacherscount.org.
Entries must be received at a participating store by March 17 or mailed with a postmark no later than March 17 to OfficeMax Super Hero Teacher of the Year Contest, TeachersCount, 10 E. 40th St., Suite 1900, New York, NY 10016. The winner will be announced on National Teacher Day, May 9.
Hip-hop memorabiliaat the Smithsonian
NEW YORK -- MC Lyte's diary has been donated to the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a turntable, vinyl records and other memorabilia from her fellow hip-hop pioneers, for a collection that will trace the history of the Bronx-born music genre.
The contributions, which also include artifacts from Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash, were displayed at a Manhattan news conference Tuesday.
Ice-T and six other hip-hop stars looked on as the artifacts -- some of which collected dust for decades in boxes and attics -- were turned over to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, for a project called "Hip-Hop Won't Stop: The Beat, The Rhymes, The Life."
The collected objects trace the evolution of hip-hop from its origins in the Bronx in the 1970s to its current global reach. The project is expected to cost as much as $2 million and take up to five years to complete.
Quote/Unquote
"I went to performing arts school, and the 'I have a stomachache' excuse helped get me out of my daily ballet classes. I love dancing, but there are some days when you don't want to go to school with tights, a bodysuit and your hair in a bun." -- Carmen Electra, on the biggest lie she ever told, in Teen People magazine.
"The boy should plan the date, and I think the boy should pay. I'm old-fashioned." -- Haylie Duff, in Teen People magazine.
"I sleep in the hospital beds on set between takes whenever I can." -- Ellen Pompeo ("Grey's Anatomy"), on how she fights exhaustion, in Self magazine.
Pearl Jam releasingnew studio album
SEATTLE -- Seattle rock band Pearl Jam announced this week that it will release its eighth studio album -- and first since 2002 -- in early May.
The self-titled CD is also its first release on its new label, J Records.
The album's first single, "World Wide Suicide," will be made available to radio stations Wednesday, and the same day the song will be available as a free download from the band's Web site, www.pearljam.com.
Tour dates in support of "Pearl Jam" will be announced later this month, the band said in a news release.
College tour via DVD
Higher-education hopefuls have another way to tour colleges -- whenever and wherever they have access to a DVD player.
They can turn to "The U," a series of five DVDs, each covering a region of American colleges and universities in 11-minute video tours.
The tours hit the basics: location, size, tuition, admission and the all-important list of notable alumni. Students can watch free shorter previews (and the full version of the UCLA segment) on the company's Web site, www.theu.com.
But the merit of the series is in the student interviews included in each segment. They give a better feel for the colleges as students talk about whatever makes their school unique: for example, Yale's Hogwartsian residential college system or Princeton's notorious eating clubs.
And that's just the Ivy League. The U also covers the West, South, Midwest and Northeast.
The DVDs are $14.95 each and $39.99 for the set, plus shipping.
Combined dispatches