her own society

5
Apr

Baseball’s back!

Of course this was only Game 1 and we all know the evil turn last season took after an awesome start, but warm, beautiful nights like this are made for gloating.

Yankees suckkkkkkk!!!!!
4
Apr

omgfactsofficial:

Boys who have unusual first names are more likely to have mental problems than boys with conventional names. Girls don’t seem to have this problem.
As a teacher, I have noticed this as well.
4
Apr

Nothing made me happier today than finding out about Curt Schilling’s new job at ESPN. I cannot wait for him to let loose with some religion and politics during the game because he cannot keep his big fucking mouth shut. This is going to be epic.
- go sox
4
Apr

Say my name, say my name

I’d never really listened to the lyrics, just assumed the song took place while the singer was in the throes of passion. The other day it came up on shuffle and now I understand what’s going on, finally, after all these years. I now have to change the made-up video that plays in my brain.
- Beyonce
4
Apr

Punch and pie

I love my family but there is a point during every holiday gathering that I absolutely have to take a break.

This is that break.

Yay for silence.
22
Feb

Ten Rules for Writing Fiction

52books:

Today The Guardian has listed several major authors and their personal rules for writing. They all vary in how one should use adverbs, take vacations, edit, etc. My favorite list comes from Margaret Atwood:

1 Take a pencil to write with on aeroplanes. Pens leak. But if the pencil breaks, you can’t sharpen it on the plane, because you can’t take knives with you. Therefore: take two pencils.

2 If both pencils break, you can do a rough sharpening job with a nail file of the metal or glass type.

3 Take something to write on. Paper is good. In a pinch, pieces of wood or your arm will do.

4 If you’re using a computer, always safeguard new text with a memory stick.

5 Do back exercises. Pain is distracting.

6 Hold the reader’s attention. (This is likely to work better if you can hold your own.) But you don’t know who the reader is, so it’s like shooting fish with a slingshot in the dark. What fascinates A will bore the pants off B.

7 You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there’s no free lunch. Writing is work. It’s also gambling. You don’t get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you’re on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don’t whine.

8 You can never read your own book with the innocent anticipation that comes with that first delicious page of a new book, because you wrote the thing. You’ve been backstage. You’ve seen how the rabbits were smuggled into the hat. Therefore ask a reading friend or two to look at it before you give it to anyone in the publishing business. This friend should not be someone with whom you have a romantic relationship, unless you want to break up.

9 Don’t sit down in the middle of the woods. If you’re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.

10 Prayer might work. Or reading something else. Or a constant visualisation of the holy grail that is the finished, published version of your resplendent book.

BRB - Doing back exercises.
22
Feb

The biggest tragedy is not

notforpublicconsumption:

the amount of lonely people sinking in quicksand,

but

the amount of lonely people sinking in quicksand who

refuse

to grab hold of the stick when it is offered.
5
21
Feb

stfuparents:

Am I the only one who read “Scarlette” like “towelette”? No? OK, good. I’m guessing Heather wasn’t an English major at whatever fancy school she attended, considering her concerns about public schooling are mirrored by her poor spelling skills.

I think I’ve said this before, but I hate the bad reputation public schooling gets. Believe it or not, it’s really not so bad. I went to public school and did just fine! In fact, I’d venture to say one of the most important factors in scholastic development is having parents who know what they’re talking about. Not so sure that’s the case here. But hey, maybe in public school Scarlette can learn how not to be stuck up.

(submitted by Anonymous)
21
Feb

5 thoughts for the morning

1. Those so-called “student ratings” on the Rate My Teacher site? I actually think most of them are posted by teachers. In fact, some teachers openly admit to rating themselves or their colleagues.

2. Amy Bishop, the professor who killed her colleagues in Alabama? Were there just not enough red flags about this woman?

3. I’m reading the new Jim Burke book about guiding students toward inquiry, and while it’s excellent so far, I still think needs to be more of an emphasis on actual analysis of literature. Some of our colleagues in other departments who (jokingly, ahem) accuse us of being too touchy-feely may have a point. Sometimes we are made to ask our students in English Literature classes how they “feel” about Lenny and George, or Odysseus, or Victor Frankenstein. We ask them to make connections that are ridiculously superficial (“I can connect to Holden because I went to New York last Christmas”) and call it proficient. What I want my students to be able to do is to explain in writing why Holden behaves as he does, and how Salinger uses voice and diction and structure to create this very real person. History teachers don’t ask their students to say how they feel about the Industrial Revolution, they ask them to analyze it and use textual evidence. English teachers should do the same.

4. My whole house smells like Lush!

5. Almost finished with Anne Tyler’s latest, Noah’s Compass. Unless it suddenly gets really awful in the last few pages, I don’t understand the negative reviews on Amazon. I’m enjoying the book, as I do pretty much all of Tyler’s work. One of the reviewers on Amazon complained because there wasn’t even a character named Noah in the book.
14
21
Feb

shaneblog:

Bill Amend.
21
Feb

that’s ann.

morninggloria:

“She’s really funny.”

“Well, let’s hope so.”

Yam.
20
Feb

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

The Killers’ version of Dire Straits’ “Romeo and Juliet”
20
Feb

"A Bomb in Her Bosom: Emily Dickinson's Secret Life"

from The Guardian: another theory about Emily
20
Feb

spacecadetglow:

badassbadger:

downbytheseaside:

juliadream:

living-reflection:

fortruthisalwaysstrange:

the best.

omg

LOL
4
20
Feb

stfuparents:

Trends

Soooo what’s up with Facebook trends? We’ve all seen the ones that declare, “If you have the most adorable kid in the universe, make this your status!” or the ones that state, “My body is not perfect but I nurtured a baby and I’m proud of it!” I think it’s safe to say that viral trends - of any kind - that involve repetitious Facebook updates are über annoying. But the one pictured above might just be my most loathed.

It’s not that I don’t want to know about your kid’s accomplishments. He rolled onto his back? Great! He loves the flavor of banana? Aww, then we have something in common! It’s just, if you have to type up a little description, print it on a placard and then photograph your kid with it … it feels forced upon me. It feels forced upon your kid, even! Not that the little one in this photo isn’t adorable. Trust me, he toootally is. I just don’t know if combining these updates into a manifesto is necessary.

(submitted by Anonymous)

Oh my God, moms, please find something else to do with your lives. Also, I am not up on the latest trends in baby accessories, but is that a Kabbalah bracelet on that kid?