I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky
Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped awa y. she slipped away.
Its more than a feeling, when I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
till I see marianne walk away
I see my marianne walkin away
Friday, March 09, 2007
A sad day for AI wannabes
This is one of the saddest funniest most annoying things I've ever read. The local government in Lilburn is outlawing karaoke.
Because it brings in crime.
Apparently, the criminals in Lilburn are mainly of the Jets!/Sharks! ilk. Although, how awesome would it be to see bunch of yuppie white guys running around, challenging each other to dance-offs?
Because it brings in crime.
Apparently, the criminals in Lilburn are mainly of the Jets!/Sharks! ilk. Although, how awesome would it be to see bunch of yuppie white guys running around, challenging each other to dance-offs?
Return of The Rage Diary!
I hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate my job. And I'm really not a hateful person. Normally, I dislike the word and prefer not to use it, but in this case it's actually a bit of an understatement.
I realized a while ago that I was much too smart to be wasting my time slicing meat and making sandwiches for spoiled rich assholes. However, the job market isn't exactly booming for English majors with poor-to-moderate computer skills, so I'm pretty much stuck here until I can find something better. Or until I finish up my MAT (if I'm not royally screwed over again, admission-wise) and get a job in the school system.
Why the sudden vehemence? Well, it's not entirely sudden. More like a seething rage that's been bubbling and building for several long months. It started out small, with the crappy mid- or closing shifts that no one particularly cared for but that I seemed to get stuck with with alarming regularity. It wasn't so bad when I could spend my nights playing video games and my mornings sleeping in, but when I started back to school it got a lot harder to schedule in study time. Especially when the library was only open while I was an hour away, catering to morons. The fact that my complaints and pleadings seemed to fall on deaf managerial ears only compounded my frustration.
The proverbial straw, however, was tonight's little incident. See, our deli has three sections: fried chicken, subs, and traditional/sliced meat. I was working in traditional, and I asked the next person in line what I could get for him. He mumbled something about a sub, so I pointed out the sub line and moved down to help. There were already two people waiting, but they were being taken care of so I asked the man to repeat his order. He mumbled some more, and I had to ask a few times before I finally ascertained that he wanted a Philly (the bane of any "sandwich artist"'s existence). I turned to get his bread, and when I came back, he had disappeared. The other customers in line were as confused as I, so I just moved on to the next patron. After about 5 minutes, the man (I'll call him "Phil") still hadn't returned. It turned out that he had gone up to the front to complain about me to the manager. About what, I still haven't a clue. But it was bad enough to almost earn me a write-up. I say "almost" because one of the other customers who had been waiting in the sub line was checking out at the same time, saw Phil complaining about me, waited until he left, then went to the manager and told him that he had been there the whole time and saw that I had done nothing wrong. He then came over and told me the same thing. The store manager never came to ask my side of the story, just called the assistant deli manager and told her to write me up. After she heard about the second man backing me up, she went to the manager herself and told him that she didn't want to write me up because she had received two conflicting accounts and didn't know what had actually happened. She was actually told to make Phil's sandwich and give it to him for free because of the incident, and when she took it up to him he apologized profusely, saying that he "hadn't wanted to go to the manager." First of all, then why did you? And second of all, if I'm the one at fault, why are you apologizing? Guilty conscience, maybe?
Whatever. I'm just glad that second guy was nice enough to come to my defense, because he saved me from a blemish on my otherwise spotless customer-service record. Not that I care all that much. I begged the deli manager to suspend me for a week (which is, believe it or not, typical punishment for such an infraction) - it would give me more time to study, see my boyfriend, and look for another job. She just laughed and told me not to worry about it.
I realized a while ago that I was much too smart to be wasting my time slicing meat and making sandwiches for spoiled rich assholes. However, the job market isn't exactly booming for English majors with poor-to-moderate computer skills, so I'm pretty much stuck here until I can find something better. Or until I finish up my MAT (if I'm not royally screwed over again, admission-wise) and get a job in the school system.
Why the sudden vehemence? Well, it's not entirely sudden. More like a seething rage that's been bubbling and building for several long months. It started out small, with the crappy mid- or closing shifts that no one particularly cared for but that I seemed to get stuck with with alarming regularity. It wasn't so bad when I could spend my nights playing video games and my mornings sleeping in, but when I started back to school it got a lot harder to schedule in study time. Especially when the library was only open while I was an hour away, catering to morons. The fact that my complaints and pleadings seemed to fall on deaf managerial ears only compounded my frustration.
The proverbial straw, however, was tonight's little incident. See, our deli has three sections: fried chicken, subs, and traditional/sliced meat. I was working in traditional, and I asked the next person in line what I could get for him. He mumbled something about a sub, so I pointed out the sub line and moved down to help. There were already two people waiting, but they were being taken care of so I asked the man to repeat his order. He mumbled some more, and I had to ask a few times before I finally ascertained that he wanted a Philly (the bane of any "sandwich artist"'s existence). I turned to get his bread, and when I came back, he had disappeared. The other customers in line were as confused as I, so I just moved on to the next patron. After about 5 minutes, the man (I'll call him "Phil") still hadn't returned. It turned out that he had gone up to the front to complain about me to the manager. About what, I still haven't a clue. But it was bad enough to almost earn me a write-up. I say "almost" because one of the other customers who had been waiting in the sub line was checking out at the same time, saw Phil complaining about me, waited until he left, then went to the manager and told him that he had been there the whole time and saw that I had done nothing wrong. He then came over and told me the same thing. The store manager never came to ask my side of the story, just called the assistant deli manager and told her to write me up. After she heard about the second man backing me up, she went to the manager herself and told him that she didn't want to write me up because she had received two conflicting accounts and didn't know what had actually happened. She was actually told to make Phil's sandwich and give it to him for free because of the incident, and when she took it up to him he apologized profusely, saying that he "hadn't wanted to go to the manager." First of all, then why did you? And second of all, if I'm the one at fault, why are you apologizing? Guilty conscience, maybe?
Whatever. I'm just glad that second guy was nice enough to come to my defense, because he saved me from a blemish on my otherwise spotless customer-service record. Not that I care all that much. I begged the deli manager to suspend me for a week (which is, believe it or not, typical punishment for such an infraction) - it would give me more time to study, see my boyfriend, and look for another job. She just laughed and told me not to worry about it.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Recipe Tuesday: Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef, 7% fat
1 cup frozen diced onions
1/4 cup frozen diced bell peppers
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
8 ounces spaghetti
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
1 (26-ounce) jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Fill large saucepan 1/2 full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta.
2. Meanwhile, mix beef, onions, peppers, 1 egg, garlic powder, oregano, and seasoned salt in large bowl. Mix by hand (or in food processor) until thoroughly blended. Spread mixture evenly in 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Wash hands.
3. Stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
4. Drain pasta thoroughly (do not rinse). Whisk remaining 2 eggs, in medium bowl, until well blended; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. Add pasta and toss to coat until eggs and cheese are well blended into pasta. Spread pasta evenly over meat mixture.
5. Spoon pasta sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake 30–35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F and meat is fully cooked. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (Makes 8 servings.)
I was a little worried about how today's recipe would turn out. Mainly because I managed to mess it up before I even started cooking. See, one of the directives for this particular one was to go ahead and mix up enough batches of the meat layer for all the presentations I had to do (three), place them in individual Zip-loc baggies, and store them in the fridge until needed. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, apparently I read the directions wrong because I put THREE eggs in each mixture, rather than ONE. And I didn't even realize my mistake until I had finished with the final batch and prepared to actually start cooking.
Lucky for me, no one seemed to noticed. I was worried that the base would be too "eggy" or something, but I guess not. And that's one of the important things to remember when you're cooking: it's ok if you screw up, because people probably won't even notice. And if they do, chances are they'll be willing to overlook little mistakes. Of course, it's also important to read directions carefully. Just so you know.
1 pound lean ground beef, 7% fat
1 cup frozen diced onions
1/4 cup frozen diced bell peppers
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
8 ounces spaghetti
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
1 (26-ounce) jar tomato and basil pasta sauce
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Fill large saucepan 1/2 full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta.
2. Meanwhile, mix beef, onions, peppers, 1 egg, garlic powder, oregano, and seasoned salt in large bowl. Mix by hand (or in food processor) until thoroughly blended. Spread mixture evenly in 9- x 13-inch baking dish. Wash hands.
3. Stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
4. Drain pasta thoroughly (do not rinse). Whisk remaining 2 eggs, in medium bowl, until well blended; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese. Add pasta and toss to coat until eggs and cheese are well blended into pasta. Spread pasta evenly over meat mixture.
5. Spoon pasta sauce over top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese. Bake 30–35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F and meat is fully cooked. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. (Makes 8 servings.)
I was a little worried about how today's recipe would turn out. Mainly because I managed to mess it up before I even started cooking. See, one of the directives for this particular one was to go ahead and mix up enough batches of the meat layer for all the presentations I had to do (three), place them in individual Zip-loc baggies, and store them in the fridge until needed. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, apparently I read the directions wrong because I put THREE eggs in each mixture, rather than ONE. And I didn't even realize my mistake until I had finished with the final batch and prepared to actually start cooking.
Lucky for me, no one seemed to noticed. I was worried that the base would be too "eggy" or something, but I guess not. And that's one of the important things to remember when you're cooking: it's ok if you screw up, because people probably won't even notice. And if they do, chances are they'll be willing to overlook little mistakes. Of course, it's also important to read directions carefully. Just so you know.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Recipe Tuesday: Chicken Cacciatore
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
large zip-top bag
cooking spray
2 teaspoons roasted garlic
1 pound steak-topper vegetables (fresh pre-sliced mushrooms, onions, bell peppers)
1/4 cup red wine
1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
8 ounces bowtie pasta
1. Cut chicken lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips (wash hands). Fill large saucepan half full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place flour, seasoned salt, and Italian seasoning in zip-top bag; shake to mix. Add chicken (wash hands) and shake to coat.
3. Remove pan from heat and coat with cooking spray; add garlic and chicken. Coat top of chicken with cooking spray; cover and cook 2 minutes.
4. Turn chicken and add steak-topper vegetables; cover and cook 3 minutes.
5. Stir wine and pasta sauce into chicken until blended; cover and cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce boils and begins to thicken.
6. Meanwhile, stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender. Drain pasta. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.
I didn't try it (being a vegetarian and all), but a lot of the customers liked it. It makes a TON of food, though, so I still had to toss a bunch at the end of each demonstration. I'm going to try it with veggie chicken strips and see how it turns out.
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
large zip-top bag
cooking spray
2 teaspoons roasted garlic
1 pound steak-topper vegetables (fresh pre-sliced mushrooms, onions, bell peppers)
1/4 cup red wine
1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
8 ounces bowtie pasta
1. Cut chicken lengthwise into 1-inch-wide strips (wash hands). Fill large saucepan half full of water. Cover and bring to a boil on high for pasta.
2. Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place flour, seasoned salt, and Italian seasoning in zip-top bag; shake to mix. Add chicken (wash hands) and shake to coat.
3. Remove pan from heat and coat with cooking spray; add garlic and chicken. Coat top of chicken with cooking spray; cover and cook 2 minutes.
4. Turn chicken and add steak-topper vegetables; cover and cook 3 minutes.
5. Stir wine and pasta sauce into chicken until blended; cover and cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce boils and begins to thicken.
6. Meanwhile, stir pasta into boiling water. Boil 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender. Drain pasta. Serve chicken and sauce over pasta.
I didn't try it (being a vegetarian and all), but a lot of the customers liked it. It makes a TON of food, though, so I still had to toss a bunch at the end of each demonstration. I'm going to try it with veggie chicken strips and see how it turns out.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Well, that didn't last long...
Overheard at the on-campus coffee shop this morning:
"Oh my God! I totally gave up talking about people behind their backs for Lent, and I'm already doing it!"
I wonder if she's studying PR?
"Oh my God! I totally gave up talking about people behind their backs for Lent, and I'm already doing it!"
I wonder if she's studying PR?
Monday, January 01, 2007
Books Read in 2007
Absalom, Absalom!, William Faulkner*
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz**
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon
The Ancient Child, N. Scott Momaday*
Arabian Nights and Days, Naguib Mahfouz*
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, Eoin Colfer**
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth: The End, Lemony Snicket**
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Barry Lyga**
Becoming A Teacher Through Action Research: Process, Context, and Self-Study, Donna Kalmbach Phillips and Kevin Carr*
Beyond Discipline, Alfie Kohn*
The Blonde Theory, Kristin Harmel
The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter*
Boomsday: A Novel, Christopher Buckley
The Boy Next Door, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison*
Bluford High: Lost and Found, Anne Schraff**
Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis**
Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko*
The Clique, Lisi Harrison**
The Clique: Best Friends For Never, Lisi Harrison**
Come Together, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
Come Again, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
Confessions From the Principal's Chair, Anna Myers**
The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon
Cupcake, Rachel Cohn**
The Dark is Rising Sequence: Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper**
The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown*
The Dead Father's Club, Matt Haig**
The Devil in the Junior League, Linda Francis Lee
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine**
Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep, Liz Kessler**
Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools, Rud Turnbull, Ann Turnbull, Marilyn Shank, and Sean J. Smith*
Fairest, Gail Carson Levine**
Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner
Good to Great, Jim Collins*
Gossip Girl, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Gossip Girl: All I Want Is Everything, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Grammar Alive!: A Guide For Teachers, Brock Haussamen*
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood*
Haroun And The Sea Of Stories, Salman Rushdie*
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling**
Herzog, Saul Bellow*
Holler If You Hear Me, Gregory Michie*
House of Stairs, William Sleator**
How I Survived Middle School: Cheat Sheet, Nancy Krulik**
How To Get Suspended And Influence People, Adam Selzer**
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke**
In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning, Nancie Atwell*
Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition, Jane Austen
Lost in Austen, Emma Campbell Webster
The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor**
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Me and Mr. Darcy, Alexandra Potter
More Tales From the Classroom at the End of the Hall, Douglas Evans**
Mr. Knightley's Diary, Amanda Grange
Mumbo Jumbo, Ishmael Reed*
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich
Off The Road: My Years With Cassady, Kerouac, and Ginsberg, Carolyn Cassady
On The Road, Jack Kerouac*
Op-Center: State of Siege, Tom Clancy
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson**
Possessing The Secret of Joy, Alice Walker*
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
The Princess Bride, William Goldman**
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz**
Shopaholic and Baby, Sophie Kinsella
Somebody's Gotta Say It, Neal Boortz
Sounder, William H. Armstrong**
The Storyteller, Mario Vargas Llosa*
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, Chuck Palahniuk
The Stupidest Angel, Christopher Moore
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway*
The Supernaturalist, Eoin Colfer**
The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Liz Kessler**
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume**
Teaching With the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen*
Thank You For Smoking, Christopher Buckley
Thunderstruck, Erik Larson
Understanding By Design, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe*
Wanted!, Caroline B. Cooney**
Audiobooks:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss
I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, Margaret Cho
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door, Lynne Truss
Teacher Man, Frank McCourt
TBR:
Bitch, Elizabeth Wurtzel
The Historian, Elizabeth Kostovo
Heroes Don't Run: A Novel of the Pacific War, Harry Mazer**
Lush, Natasha Friend**
My First Year as a Teacher, edited by Pearl Rock Kane
Inquiry-Based English Instruction: Engaging Students in Life and Literature, Richard Beach and Jamie Myers*
What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most, Todd Whitaker*
Soundings: A Democratic Student-Centered Education, Mark Springer
italicized - in progress
bold - educational research
* - for school
** - YA
If they're still starred and italicized by this point, they were for my American Modernism class, WAY too Modern for my taste, and (with the possible exception of Herzog, which was really funny) will probably never be picked up (and therefore finished) ever again.
Alex Rider: Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz**
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon
The Ancient Child, N. Scott Momaday*
Arabian Nights and Days, Naguib Mahfouz*
Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception, Eoin Colfer**
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth: The End, Lemony Snicket**
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, Barry Lyga**
Becoming A Teacher Through Action Research: Process, Context, and Self-Study, Donna Kalmbach Phillips and Kevin Carr*
Beyond Discipline, Alfie Kohn*
The Blonde Theory, Kristin Harmel
The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter*
Boomsday: A Novel, Christopher Buckley
The Boy Next Door, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison*
Bluford High: Lost and Found, Anne Schraff**
Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis**
Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko*
The Clique, Lisi Harrison**
The Clique: Best Friends For Never, Lisi Harrison**
Come Together, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
Come Again, Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees
Confessions From the Principal's Chair, Anna Myers**
The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon
Cupcake, Rachel Cohn**
The Dark is Rising Sequence: Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper**
The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown*
The Dead Father's Club, Matt Haig**
The Devil in the Junior League, Linda Francis Lee
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine**
Emily Windsnap and the Monster From the Deep, Liz Kessler**
Exceptional Lives: Special Education in Today's Schools, Rud Turnbull, Ann Turnbull, Marilyn Shank, and Sean J. Smith*
Fairest, Gail Carson Levine**
Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner
Good to Great, Jim Collins*
Gossip Girl, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Gossip Girl: You Know You Love Me, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Gossip Girl: All I Want Is Everything, Cecily Von Ziegesar**
Grammar Alive!: A Guide For Teachers, Brock Haussamen*
The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood*
Haroun And The Sea Of Stories, Salman Rushdie*
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling**
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling**
Herzog, Saul Bellow*
Holler If You Hear Me, Gregory Michie*
House of Stairs, William Sleator**
How I Survived Middle School: Cheat Sheet, Nancy Krulik**
How To Get Suspended And Influence People, Adam Selzer**
Inkheart, Cornelia Funke**
In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning, Nancie Atwell*
Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sandition, Jane Austen
Lost in Austen, Emma Campbell Webster
The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor**
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Me and Mr. Darcy, Alexandra Potter
More Tales From the Classroom at the End of the Hall, Douglas Evans**
Mr. Knightley's Diary, Amanda Grange
Mumbo Jumbo, Ishmael Reed*
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, Barbara Ehrenreich
Off The Road: My Years With Cassady, Kerouac, and Ginsberg, Carolyn Cassady
On The Road, Jack Kerouac*
Op-Center: State of Siege, Tom Clancy
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson**
Possessing The Secret of Joy, Alice Walker*
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
The Princess Bride, William Goldman**
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Alvin Schwartz**
Shopaholic and Baby, Sophie Kinsella
Somebody's Gotta Say It, Neal Boortz
Sounder, William H. Armstrong**
The Storyteller, Mario Vargas Llosa*
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, Chuck Palahniuk
The Stupidest Angel, Christopher Moore
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway*
The Supernaturalist, Eoin Colfer**
The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Liz Kessler**
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Judy Blume**
Teaching With the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen*
Thank You For Smoking, Christopher Buckley
Thunderstruck, Erik Larson
Understanding By Design, Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe*
Wanted!, Caroline B. Cooney**
Audiobooks:
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss
I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, Margaret Cho
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door, Lynne Truss
Teacher Man, Frank McCourt
TBR:
Bitch, Elizabeth Wurtzel
The Historian, Elizabeth Kostovo
Heroes Don't Run: A Novel of the Pacific War, Harry Mazer**
Lush, Natasha Friend**
My First Year as a Teacher, edited by Pearl Rock Kane
Inquiry-Based English Instruction: Engaging Students in Life and Literature, Richard Beach and Jamie Myers*
What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most, Todd Whitaker*
Soundings: A Democratic Student-Centered Education, Mark Springer
italicized - in progress
bold - educational research
* - for school
** - YA
If they're still starred and italicized by this point, they were for my American Modernism class, WAY too Modern for my taste, and (with the possible exception of Herzog, which was really funny) will probably never be picked up (and therefore finished) ever again.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
TV Obsession 1
Here's the newest Smallville recaplet, courtesy of TWoP:
Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure this series jumped the shark way back in season four. Which I recently bought on dvd. I used to LOVE Smallville, and I had the first three seasons already. When I found the fourth season at GameStop for only $30, I didn't question why I hadn't bothered to purchase it before. That was the season that introduced Lois Lane, after all, and isn't she awesome? Having watched (most of) the season again, I'm now starting to remember why I stopped watching in the first place. Lois got really annoying, really fast. And Lana, who in my opinion had ALWAYS been annoying, because super-annoying with her stupid tattoo and MuLana kung-fu fighting.
But I've grudgingly started watching again, because it did pick up (slightly) last season. There were two episodes when Lana died, which, awesome! Even though one was a future-dream-sequence and the other was reversed by Jor-El, they still made my nights. But this whole pregnancy thing is just retarded. I'm sick of seeing Lana with Lex. I wish they really would kill her off already. I thought comic-Lana was annoying, but tv-Lana is even worse. I am excited, however, that Jimmy has been brought in as a recurring character, and also that Martian Manhunter was sorta-introduced. Bring on the Justice League, baby!
On his quest to track down and capture escaped Phantom "Zoners," Clark travels to Seattle (er, Seattle, British Colombia?) to investigate a case of sailors and dock workers who literally had the bones sucked out of them. Anyhoo, Clark poses as a medical student (ha!) then a coroner (ha ha!) to find clues. The culprit is a giant dude with sweet fronts who is pulling the bones out and drinking the delicious marrow. Mmm, bone marrow (drool).... Clark tries his crest on the thug, but it turns out it doesn't work because the guy's not a phantom. Before Clark can get his ass kicked further, someone else attacks the Zoner, killing him. It's a giant green dude in a cape who eats Oreos. I don't want to ruin it, but...Martian Manhunter! In the other storyline, Lex is transformed into an electronic frequency by a former resident of Floor 33.1, a KryptoVillain who is trying to expose the secret lab. As Lex is stuck in his frequency, he can see and hear Lana, but she can't see or hear him. Much lovey-dovey "I miss you! I love you!" sentiments are exchanged as Lana tries to get him back. She spills the beans about being pregnant. Lex is thrilled because he wuvs Lana. And she wuvs him, too. Jimmy busts out his dad's old radio equipment to pick up the frequency (Kenneth) and the KryptoVillain is killed by Lex and a knife in a decidedly old school way. Lana tells Lex she's cool with the evil things that may or may not have happened in Floor 33.1. Papa Luthor moves the lab while Lex is all static and afterward demands to be made a partner in the experiments as a condition of sharing the new location. Lex, moved beyond all reason by Lana's deep and sudden love for him, decides to get his woo on. He brings Lana into his office, which is full of candles and flowers, and proposes to her with a very expensive ring. Pregnancy. A wedding proposal. I think the last ingredient for jumping the shark is The Great Gazoo.
Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure this series jumped the shark way back in season four. Which I recently bought on dvd. I used to LOVE Smallville, and I had the first three seasons already. When I found the fourth season at GameStop for only $30, I didn't question why I hadn't bothered to purchase it before. That was the season that introduced Lois Lane, after all, and isn't she awesome? Having watched (most of) the season again, I'm now starting to remember why I stopped watching in the first place. Lois got really annoying, really fast. And Lana, who in my opinion had ALWAYS been annoying, because super-annoying with her stupid tattoo and MuLana kung-fu fighting.
But I've grudgingly started watching again, because it did pick up (slightly) last season. There were two episodes when Lana died, which, awesome! Even though one was a future-dream-sequence and the other was reversed by Jor-El, they still made my nights. But this whole pregnancy thing is just retarded. I'm sick of seeing Lana with Lex. I wish they really would kill her off already. I thought comic-Lana was annoying, but tv-Lana is even worse. I am excited, however, that Jimmy has been brought in as a recurring character, and also that Martian Manhunter was sorta-introduced. Bring on the Justice League, baby!
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
My Favorite Book This Year
I've finished two books so far this week, which was pretty productive.
I had been reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter for a few weeks. I can't really afford to buy new books right now, so when I get my weekly email from Borders about new books that I might enjoy I just add them to my Amazon wishlist and/or try to hunt them down at my local library, usually without results. (Side note: I was on a three-month-long waiting list for The Devil Wears Prada. After a few weeks, I got tired of waiting and dropped the 6 bucks for a paperback copy. I'm still trying to decide if it was worth it.) Anyway, I saw a blurb about TMKD a month or so ago and was intrigued by the premise, but because it wasn't readily available I eventually forgot about it and read something else. See previous side note. It was actually quite serendipitous when I went to my sister's house and discovered, nestled among the James Pattersons and Nicholas Sparkses (yarg), the very book I had been looking for! I was extremely impressed with my sister, and I have to admit that my respect for her literary habits increased a bit. She agreed to loan me TMKD with the brief but telling review: "It's good, but sad." Truer words have never been spoken. This book was beautiful. It has an interesting plot: a young doctor delivers his wife's twins, but when he realizes that the daughter has Downs Syndrome, he gives her to the nurse helping him with the delivery and tells her to take the baby to an institution. He tells his wife that their daughter was stillborn, which leads to a sense of grief permeating their marriage and affecting them (and their son) for the rest of their lives. In the meantime, the nurse has decided not to leave the baby girl at the institution, and instead runs away with her and raises her as her own daughter. The story was just incredible, but the characters are what really made the novel for me. Edwards really got into their heads and allowed me to sympathize with each of them, no matter how badly they dealt with the sadness and loss they felt.
My second book, As Simple As Snow, I finished in only two days. My best friend, Fran, read it and loved it, and she told her boyfriend to give me a copy for my birthday. This first sentence on the back cover had me sold: "Anna Cayne had moved here in August, just before our sophomore year in high school, but by February she had, one by one, killed everyone in town." Awesome, right? Anna, as it turns out, writes obituaries for fun. She's one of the quirkiest characters I've ever read, and I absolutely adored her. The book is part coming-of-age, part mystery, part romance, and part I'm-not-sure-what. It's definitely different, though. One of the reviews I read compared it to The Virgin Suicides, which is pretty spot-on. I wasn't even aware ASAS was classified as YA until I went online and started researching it. There's actually a website devoted to the book, which includes an excerpt (entitled "Anna's Room") in which the narrator describes the esoteric music, books, and art found in...you guessed it, Anna's room. The great thing about the internet is, all the allusions have links, so you can see which David Wilson poster Anna has on the back of her door, or find out who the heck Isadora Duncan was. It makes the story that much better, because you gain a better sense of Anna's personality and interests. The mystery of the novel is never resolved, but there are clues and hints, and I'm thinking a second read-through will give me even more to think about. Unfortunately, I raved about this book so much, I now have three friends in line to borrow my copy, so it may be awhile before I get a chance to pick it up again.
I had been reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter for a few weeks. I can't really afford to buy new books right now, so when I get my weekly email from Borders about new books that I might enjoy I just add them to my Amazon wishlist and/or try to hunt them down at my local library, usually without results. (Side note: I was on a three-month-long waiting list for The Devil Wears Prada. After a few weeks, I got tired of waiting and dropped the 6 bucks for a paperback copy. I'm still trying to decide if it was worth it.) Anyway, I saw a blurb about TMKD a month or so ago and was intrigued by the premise, but because it wasn't readily available I eventually forgot about it and read something else. See previous side note. It was actually quite serendipitous when I went to my sister's house and discovered, nestled among the James Pattersons and Nicholas Sparkses (yarg), the very book I had been looking for! I was extremely impressed with my sister, and I have to admit that my respect for her literary habits increased a bit. She agreed to loan me TMKD with the brief but telling review: "It's good, but sad." Truer words have never been spoken. This book was beautiful. It has an interesting plot: a young doctor delivers his wife's twins, but when he realizes that the daughter has Downs Syndrome, he gives her to the nurse helping him with the delivery and tells her to take the baby to an institution. He tells his wife that their daughter was stillborn, which leads to a sense of grief permeating their marriage and affecting them (and their son) for the rest of their lives. In the meantime, the nurse has decided not to leave the baby girl at the institution, and instead runs away with her and raises her as her own daughter. The story was just incredible, but the characters are what really made the novel for me. Edwards really got into their heads and allowed me to sympathize with each of them, no matter how badly they dealt with the sadness and loss they felt.
My second book, As Simple As Snow, I finished in only two days. My best friend, Fran, read it and loved it, and she told her boyfriend to give me a copy for my birthday. This first sentence on the back cover had me sold: "Anna Cayne had moved here in August, just before our sophomore year in high school, but by February she had, one by one, killed everyone in town." Awesome, right? Anna, as it turns out, writes obituaries for fun. She's one of the quirkiest characters I've ever read, and I absolutely adored her. The book is part coming-of-age, part mystery, part romance, and part I'm-not-sure-what. It's definitely different, though. One of the reviews I read compared it to The Virgin Suicides, which is pretty spot-on. I wasn't even aware ASAS was classified as YA until I went online and started researching it. There's actually a website devoted to the book, which includes an excerpt (entitled "Anna's Room") in which the narrator describes the esoteric music, books, and art found in...you guessed it, Anna's room. The great thing about the internet is, all the allusions have links, so you can see which David Wilson poster Anna has on the back of her door, or find out who the heck Isadora Duncan was. It makes the story that much better, because you gain a better sense of Anna's personality and interests. The mystery of the novel is never resolved, but there are clues and hints, and I'm thinking a second read-through will give me even more to think about. Unfortunately, I raved about this book so much, I now have three friends in line to borrow my copy, so it may be awhile before I get a chance to pick it up again.
Ready for the Good Times
Today was the 8th day of my 10-day stretch of work. I really hate when my manager schedules me like that, but every time I try to talk to her about it, she blows me off. So I go to the assistant deli manager instead, and she usually changes it for me. She couldn't change my days off, but she did arrange for me to not close 5 days in a row (!), so that's something.
I've also been sick for the past few days, and not having a day off to lay around in bed didn't help much. But I've been taking OTC meds and sleeping as late as I can, so I've been feeling better. So when my friend Laura called and asked to meet up for a drink tonight, I was torn. She recently moved to Atlanta, so when we get together we meet in Conyers, which is about halfway between the two of us and roughly an hour and a half from my house. In the end I decided to go, because she's one of my closest friends and she was feeling pretty down and needed someone to talk to.
Laura is awesome, because she's actually 20 years older than I am, but we still have a ton in common and can talk about anything. It's almost like having a cool older sister who gives me advice and introduces me to cool music. Right now, we're in pretty similar places in our lives. She recently lost her job and moved in with her daughter to save money while she decides what to do next, whether to go back into food service full time or try something different. Having recently quit my crappy retail job and moved in with my parents to save money while I decided what to do next, I can relate. We also talk about politics (she took me to a Democratic rally last year, where I got to meet the nominees for Secretary of State), religion (we're both open-minded and well-read on this topic), and books. She lent me The Time Traveler's Wife last year, which was amazing, and I just finished As Simple As Snow and will be lending it to her next. Basically, whenever we get together we talk, laugh, and have a ton of fun. I'm glad I went out to see her tonight, even though I'm dead tired now (and would be asleep already, if not for massive stack of CD's I'm uploading to iTunes as I type). It's nice having someone to talk to about all the stuff that's been going on lately, and about all my frustrations re: what to do with my life, my crappy job, my insecurities about the future, etc.
Plus, Laura regaled me with anecdotes about the most recent man in her life. This guy is a recovering peeping tom (there's seriously a 12 step program for it!) and a complete religious fanatic. She calls him "a study in contrasts." I call him a trainwreck, but entertaining second-hand.
I've also been sick for the past few days, and not having a day off to lay around in bed didn't help much. But I've been taking OTC meds and sleeping as late as I can, so I've been feeling better. So when my friend Laura called and asked to meet up for a drink tonight, I was torn. She recently moved to Atlanta, so when we get together we meet in Conyers, which is about halfway between the two of us and roughly an hour and a half from my house. In the end I decided to go, because she's one of my closest friends and she was feeling pretty down and needed someone to talk to.
Laura is awesome, because she's actually 20 years older than I am, but we still have a ton in common and can talk about anything. It's almost like having a cool older sister who gives me advice and introduces me to cool music. Right now, we're in pretty similar places in our lives. She recently lost her job and moved in with her daughter to save money while she decides what to do next, whether to go back into food service full time or try something different. Having recently quit my crappy retail job and moved in with my parents to save money while I decided what to do next, I can relate. We also talk about politics (she took me to a Democratic rally last year, where I got to meet the nominees for Secretary of State), religion (we're both open-minded and well-read on this topic), and books. She lent me The Time Traveler's Wife last year, which was amazing, and I just finished As Simple As Snow and will be lending it to her next. Basically, whenever we get together we talk, laugh, and have a ton of fun. I'm glad I went out to see her tonight, even though I'm dead tired now (and would be asleep already, if not for massive stack of CD's I'm uploading to iTunes as I type). It's nice having someone to talk to about all the stuff that's been going on lately, and about all my frustrations re: what to do with my life, my crappy job, my insecurities about the future, etc.
Plus, Laura regaled me with anecdotes about the most recent man in her life. This guy is a recovering peeping tom (there's seriously a 12 step program for it!) and a complete religious fanatic. She calls him "a study in contrasts." I call him a trainwreck, but entertaining second-hand.
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