Blast my home computer

Good morning bloggers. I tried to post from home but we're having some internet "issues", or at the very least, blogger.com is one busy site on the weekends. Excuse the formatting from below. I cut and pasted my post into an email and am not going to take the time to re-space it just now.

Thus far we have done the following: introduced ourselves and personalities to the community; researched other
(in)famous blogs and chronicled both the topics blogs cover and the
diverse voices that compose them; centered our writing on a particular
topic of interest following research and tinkered with our vocabulary,
grammar, poetic license and critique. Now, I think we need a creative
break from our focused energy on writing analysis, research and
reflection. So, this week I would like you to compose a story-- a
progressive one. Each day you need to contribute to your story. Your
story could be action/adventure, romance, memoir or mystery. It could
be fiction or true. I want it to be vivid, entertaining, descriptive
and well-written.

For me, I'm going to try and recollect pieces from my life as a high
schooler. Each day I am going to start the new section with the phrase
Tales of a High School... and fill in the blank with a new word and
series of related anecdotes. It should be a good time:)

Below, is the beginning... or at least a draft of one:)

Tales of a High School...

Band geek. I spent most mornings of high school in the bandroom.
After I'd dropped off my coat and such at my locker, I would head to
the bandroom to drop off my flute. I was pressed to remain in band
through high school, a decision of my mother's that I fought tooth and
nail against. But despite my skilled teenage oratory, my mother
over-ruled me when it came to what classes I could register for.
Needless to say, her wisdom had more foresight than my impassioned
arguments against playing the flute. My closest friends were in band
and we all ran in the same academically over-achieving circles. Our
marching band performed at the World Series in '91 and then at the
Super Bowl televised event at the Target Center. I went to Disney
World through band and maintained crushes on boys throughout the band.
And yet, I never achieved in band. I was a lousy flute player, truly
bad. I was nearly always last or next to last chair. I froze during
auditions every year and almost never practiced for lessons. To this
day, I will have dreams where I realize I've missed a whole term of
flute lessons and I'm now going to fail class. In middle school, we
had to have our parents sign off on our practice sessions. I would
write in my "actual" time in pencil and after my mother signed off on
it, I would adjust it so my grade wouldn't suffer. Of course, my grade
was also comprised of my progress and I made very little on the flute.
Still, the band teachers were nice enough to NOT call me a failure.
There are many things adults don't tell you as a teen and one of them
is that sometimes the kids who are under-achieving, are great company:)
Some of my favorite high school pals were also flute rejects. We
would hold our flutes to our mouths in a mimicry of playing and
especially when tough sections in the music arose, we would smile and
laugh with each other-- they didn't actually think we were going to
"play", did they? Being a really poor flutist also lead to other
opportunities. I was recruited to play the cymbals in the marching
band, for example. To be honest, I would never have memorized the
music on the flute, but I could and did manage to remember when to
crash two pieces of metal together. Impressive, I know. Last, but not
least, I managed to have a crush on someone from nearly every section
of the band, excluding flutes and clarinets which were dominated by
women. Trumpet players, saxophonists, trombonists, drummers... the
names roll off my mind but for privacy sake, I'll abstain from sharing.
Most of all, I felt wholly accepted in the band room and with its
occupants. In the life of an average teenager, that's a pretty hard
thing to find, but it was there, waiting for me every morning when I
entered the band room.

I have printed a story for you to read as an example of one way you could format your story so that you use our class format to your advantage- potentially. Ask me for it:)

If you'd like to respond to the story for extra credit, please do so. If you'd like to respond to my first draft of high school memoirs- for my benefit- please do.

By the numbers

Let me give you some numbers to ponder this morning. 103.8, 102.9 and 3:30. I realize the last one is a time, but it speaks to the same message. Quinn came home from daycare yesterday with a fever and napped on and off throughout the afternoon and evening. He was awake until about 11ish, however, due to the odd napping. His fever was as high as 103.8 and closer to 102.9 around 3:30 in the morning when the whole family was awake. Then, Quinn wanted a waffle and to watch Nemo. Needless to say, I am not well rested and this blog is harried, at best. Here's another startling number I heard on NPR on the way in to work: 553,000. That's the number of jobs lost last month. Can you even conceive of the number of families impacted by this kind of economic shift? It's staggering and mind-boggling. That many people now need new employment, added the thousands who have been out of work for some time now. I'd love to hear what you think about this. For extra credit, post about the economic downturn, how it's impacting your world and those you know.

For today, please create a writer's profile of your own work. Be fair and honest, critical and celebratory. Use the criteria from yesterday. Please read over your entire blog before you post this profile. I would also like for you to include samples from your writing that illustrate your points.

Remember: Tonight by midnight is the last time to post any late blogs from the month of December. Thanks much!

Computers BLegh

By and large, I love computers and I don't typically have moments where
I swear or tantrum about, say, my modum speed. I accept, for example,
that my computer is older and slower than most. I feel privileged to
have a computer in my home so I don't fuss too much, especially since I
only use email and the internet. Luke, on the other hand, as a graphic
designer, is completely unable to use our home computer because the
programs he needs to design are too massive for our old mac. Anyway, I
digress. This morning, I've been trying to get to this site for about
15 minutes. Firefox keeps locking up or being wierd and in Safari, the
blogger.com start page is wacky too, indicating odd rules for cookies
and such. Needless to say, this short vent was necesary for me to
clear my mind-- that's how long it took me to get here.

Note: I've got some progress reports in, well, progress right now. I
want you to know prior to conferences where you stand so you have ample
time to remedy any writing omissions on your part. Conferences are
Tuesday, December 16th-- the Tuesday evening before holiday break.

Reminder: Tomorrow is the very last day to post anything from
November. Please use your writing time wisely so that you meet this
late credit deadline.

Today's task: I would like you to select one class member's blog to
read. Read the whole darn thing, from start to finish. studioussteen
and sillymermaid9 don't have "feeds" so don't forget them when you
consider who you'd like to peruse. After you've read their body of
work in entirety, I would like you to post a blog about their writing.
Please don't give out their name. What to include:
The personality that emerges from their writing topic choices
Their use of language- proficient, punchy or otherwise
Their practice of grammar, spelling and punctuation
Their knack for descriptive and figurative language
Who their perceived audience is
How their work reads as a whole, stylistically and with or without voice
Level of writing engagement or commitment from them
Based on what you've read, what kind of a writer is this individual?

Please be thoughtful, detailed and descriptive in your writing profile.

When finished, please go to this site:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/books/review/10Best-t.html?_r=1&hp

If it doesn't link, head to nytimes.com and read the article about the
10 best books of 2008. Extra credit to anyone who seeks out one of
these books, reads it and reviews it.

In the Moment

Walking in to school today I was feeling sublimely good. I had a hot mocha in my hands, a coffee cake stowed away in my bag for a snack later and I wasn't late to school. In addition to all of that good fortune, I was not wearing a winter coat and was feeling fine. I love that MN conditioning encourages us to layer, but also to be brave about the cold. I see more and more people in fleece zip-ups like the one I wear religiously as opposed to thick parkas. We're down-sizing how we encounter winter. I have to admit too that part of my zeal at being coatless is that I thrive on being a Minnesotan who can tackle the cold. I muse to myself that someone in the south or, say, in CA would be freezing in weather like this, but for me it's no big deal. The great thing about today-- yet another thing- is because I'm not running late (Quinn went to bed at 11 and got up at 7-- go figure!) I can post something for you fresh off my arrival. And that made me think that we all have these moments that we construct in our heads as we experience life vibrantly that are ready-to-write kinds of moments but we're rarely near a pencil or paper when the thought occurs. So, my assignment to you for the next week is to carry a pencil and notebook with you EVERYWHERE and write down whatever comes to mind. Don't worry if they are disconnected or random, but DO keep them. Next week I am going to ask you to share the contents of your daily notebook and develop some of those ideas. Cool. Now, please read my next post because that has my daily assignment for you.

Manipulation

For the past two days, I've had you tweak or at least exercise your more traditional English skills, including vocabulary and grammar. Yesterday (12/2) I asked you to consider how you have acquired language and how the text of that speech influences both your understanding and use of language. Today, I want you to PLAY with language. Please head to magneticpoetry.com and click on "play". Select a kit to begin your composition and then, craft a poem. Once you've completed your poem, please make sure to copy and paste it into a blog for today. Please experiment with at least two different kits and stretch yourself to compose something beyond "Roses are red, violets are blue..."

Have fun and channel your inner poet:)

Tuesday Musings

Today, young scholars, I am sending you back to freerice.com, but this time I would like you to go into categories and test your knowledge of good grammar. My rice goal for you is the same as yesterday, but you'll soon see that determining what "sounds" right is different than the concreteness to knowing the definition of a word versus not knowing. For me, grammar feels instinctive, but surely it came from a legitimate place where I learned rules and guidelines. As far as blogging today, I'd like you to write about the language that surrounds your life. Who are the people who you communicate with most? How do they speak? What is noticeable or patterned about the way they talk to you? Based on the people who've "taught" you to speak and write, what have you learned? What about HOW language has been presented to you shapes how you see the world and that speaker? Read that last sentence again. I'm going deep with this idea. Where does our language emerge from and how does that shape who we become or are? SO, blog on that one for some time and then head back to freerice for some grammar practice. Oh, and please include in your blog the new words you noted from yesterday and how you plan to incorporate them into your daily speech or writing.

Welcome Back, Happy December

A couple years back a speaker for a teacher's workshop opened up our session with a question for a man. Would you swim across a pool of sea water for $10? No. $100. Sure. $10,000. Of course. Now, said the speaker, let's say there's a shark in the water. The man said, "No, not for $10,000". What about a million? The man paused and then said no again. Ten million, the speaker proposed? Maybe, the man considered. What if your child was in the water, the speaker posed? Without pause, the man said, "Yes, I'd get in the water".

I found the question and answer fascinating. How much is our life worth? How much do we value money or what is empowers? How much do we love those closest to us?

A second anecdote from college comes to mind. Back in the days of Freshman Psychology we learned of a case where a woman was brutally raped and murdered outside of her apartment building. Dozens of people watched from their apartment windows while this horrific crime occurred and yet no one, not one single person, called for help.

I believe it's rather extraordinary the way human beings can be remarkably passionate and engaged and also conciliatory and silent. Why do we function at such extremes? And why did a mob of people storm a Walmart and trample a male worker? Were the deals so great that a person couldn't go without? What about mob mentality- a shared thinking and or action- encourages reckless, selfish behavior whether through action or inaction? Puzzling. Feel free to respond.

This week we're going to do a Writing Bootcamp of sorts. Each day I'm going to have you write about writing, practice various exercises, etc. Today, I'd like you to open up with a blog about your weekend and any musings you might have. Please include in this blog your favorite words or expressions and why you have affection for them. Then, I'd like you to go to freerice.com and do the vocabulary exercises. Please strive to donate at least 2000 grains of rice. While doing this, please jot down 3-4 words that you learn and like. Remember them for tomorrow because I'll be asking you to incorporate them into your next post. Note: freerice.com measures your right answers against your incorrect ones and then sets a level of words. If you strive to do well, your level and the difficulty will increase: this is the goal!

Additional note: Friday will be the last day you can post any of the assigned November posts for partial credit. I always award quality writing, even if it comes in somewhat tardily. Shoddy writing that is completed after its original due date will have points deducted.

Happy Writing!