happy halloween

Boo!

E2H...

Read Our Town by Wednesday. Boards are open. RW/WW Mon and Tues.

E3H...

Begin reading Asher Lev if you bought it today. Boards are open. If not, "What's Hasidism all about?" board is open, so work on finding that out. RW/WW Mon and Tues.

CW...

Everyone must have a conf Mon or Tues for qtr assessment!!!



no journals today; we partied instead :-)

--kt

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personalities

Important note to juniors: My Name Is Asher Lev is now available in the bookstore. You should purchase it tomorrow with cash or check for $14.95.

You know what I find fascinating?

Two English classes, consisting of friends, balanced in intellectual approach and creativity, both enthusiastic about a subject, nonetheless manage to have such completely different experiences when conversing about that subject!

Case in point:

Period 2 today, a wild and wacky ride through the crazed and barely controlled chaos that was our "what is art?" conversation (part two): insightful, insane, bewildering, overlapping, random, frustrating, argumentative, opinionated, and brilliant, dominated by the question of whether "art" as self-defined by the madmen who murder or commit other criminal acts and call these art belongs within our ever-expanding (or never-limiting) categorization;

vs.

Period 5 today, a much more calm and reasoned conversation on the same subject that began with the same premise (that there must be a definition for the word "art" because not to have one essentially makes the very word meaningless), but no less passionate, no less focused, no less full of opinion for the fact that it was not as wild and free-form as 2nd Period's conversation was. This time the conversation was dominated by the notion that, as Colin expressed it, there must be a difference between what can be art and what we perceive to be art. (That, he said, is the difference between the pile of candy on the street and the one in the museum.) Take away murder and rape and killing animals for fun and profit and the discussion gets a bit less emotional, I guess.

One thing I will say for both classes: you guys so rock!

Tomorrow is Halloween. I have a costume that scares the crap out of me. It's cheesy as heck, but it is scary as heck too. One hint: the category is politics.

(Duh.)




j: infomercials
music: vegematic--steve goodman

--kt

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stil riding high

This morning's E3H-2 class was a major kick: what an unexpected, fantastic discussion! I felt like DC Berry in that "whacking words" poem; it was undoubtedly the first time I ever had a class blow off RW to have a discussion!

Mrs T <-- smiles

anyway...

We'll come back and continue that conversation, after I am sure considerable online rehashing tonight, and new records set, in tomorrow's class. Friday, as you know, is Halloween. And a party. You've earned it.

:-)

Bring goodies.



j:the long, slow-moving line
music: the long and winding road--the beatles

--kt

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painless

Hi, all!

Well, I managed to get through the day. Now an hour or so of 4N6 and then I'm off to vote. (Vote early; vote often. I cut my political teeth in Chicago.)

I'll do my best to get to more grading tonight. If the lesson did not manage to sink in today: your posting grades are going to bite you badly if you don't start doing them better. Of course, many of you are posting brilliantly, as our near-record totals attest, but come on! How can we have people with 15, 10, 5, zero posts at this stage? In this first quarter, with fewer grades to balance them, the posting grade will count as much as 1/3. Heck, it might even count more! Why are you doing this to yourself when this grade should be a "gimme" A?

Remember: this is analytical writing to learn. It doesn't even matter if ultimately you decide that your argument was incorrect, having weighed other counter-arguments. It's the participation that matters.

Tomorrow:

E2/3H: RW (but 3H should bring les objets d'art)
CW: projects and confs

this is fantastic:

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

j: socrates' last words: "hemlock? what hemlaa...."
music: suicide is painless--theme from M*A*S*H
silly 70's: i think i love you--partridge family

--kt

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post-weekend blaaaahhhhg

I guess you all figured out that that was not me sitting in class today, right? I mean: I don't know who it was, but I'll bet he or she wasn't wearing an "**Insert Random Plural Noun Here** For Obama" button. :-)

Yes, I was out sick, and yes I've been sick this weekend. Which means yes, I have not managed to get everything done that I had hoped to get done. I'm working now, trying to get whatever I can finished, but it will not be everything, and that basically, um, isn't good. And I'm not able to access my gradebook for some reason, so I can't even post what I have graded. When it rains, it pours. (Or, in the case of last night, it snows.)

We'll do tomorrow what we were supposed to do today. You might even get some things back; who knows? Crazier things have happened.

Meanwhile, have a nice evening.

--kt

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100th attic post!!!

This is my 100th Topham's Attic post! (And they said it would never last!) :-)

Today, on this joyful Friday when the weather decided that fall was not quite good enough and maybe we all need a reminder of what winter is about (29 degrees on Sunday? is that necessary?), E2/3H had in-class essays and CW is finishing up a collage poem project.

Moving on...

As noted earlier this week, E2h is heading to Grover's Corners, NH for Our Town; find a copy somewhere and start reading. We will have an introductory discussion on Monday to give you the lay of the land and move the workshops back a day or two.

E3H is firmly ensconced in What Is Art-ville. Part Two of Bring Your Art Day is Monday. Over the weekend, take a look at these quotations from artists and others about what art is. Then let's start a new board online to discuss them. You'll find it under Asher Lev, which is the next book we'll be reading (which happens to be about an artist).

CW? Write stuff!!! And finish your collage projects over the weekend. I can hardly wait to see them!

And one more thought...

Zamboni Palin???? Really??? Zamboni?

--kt

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ants at the picnic

Let's hope not! But let's also hope that some of you were or are are the production of Picnic at the RMA this evening (7:30 start).

I hope not! But I do hope that you were or are at Picnic in the RMA tonight (7:30). If you do/did see it, I've started a board about it online; dive in!

As for tomorrow:

You know the drill:

E2/3H have in-class essays tomorrow. We will not have journal time tomorrow in order to accommodate these essays. (Silly 70's on Monday instead.)

CW continues the project and maybe we do some conferencing.


Ah, life! So much to do. So many websites blocked by silly barracudas.

j: life is not a picnic
music: stoned soul picnic--fifth dimension

--kt

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perpetually moving on

...and in the grand scheme of things, you might wonder, what are we going to be up to next?

well, i'll tell ya:

--if you're an e3h-er, the fantasia project will fill up our time for a bit, along with an exploration of what is art? that begins with your assignment from this morning; following that, we'll be reading a novel by Chaim Potok called My Name Is Asher Lev, which will be available in the book store probably next week.

--if you're in e2h, as we bring our discussion of Dickinson to a close, that doesn't mean we are through with poetry; however, since we still have at least two stops on the Transcendentalist journey remaining, we'll come back to the land of verse. After this week, we'll be traveling to Thornton Wilder's Our Town. See if you can procure a copy.

--if you're in cw, we're working on several pieces already and starting this collage-based project; we will also be looking at how point of view affects narrative and how form affects poetry in the coming few weeks.

the immediate future:

thursday:

cw: working on collage project in class
e3h: what is art? discussion begins
e2h: final dickinson discussion

friday:

cw: collage project again/confs
e3h: in-class essay: poetry
e2h: in-class essay: dickinson

Now, if you are in E3H, you might notice that there is an in-class essay on Friday that I had not mentioned. That is due to the fact that several of you asked me not to have a weekend essay. So in lieu of doing so, I am going to have you write a holistically-graded in-class essay instead. The advantage of course is that it will be done immediately. The disadvantage is that you cannot take your time in composing it. However, you do need practice in this type of writing. (What did you get on last year's semester one final?) For a reminder of the English Dept. grading rubric, check the link to the right.

Fantasias will be due on 11/3.



j: perpetual motion
music: number six driver--eddie from ohio

--kt

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the secret is out

Psst...don't tell anyone...this is the coolest blog in the whole school!

(No, I don't toot my own horn or anything...)

But really: I mean there's Hangman, for crying out loud. Hangman. And weird quotes and silly ads and occasionally entertaining videos and challenging vocab puzzles and lots of other insane stuff.

And did I mention Hangman????

Oh, and yeah, there's, like, your homework and stuff here too. There's that. :-) E2H: More commentary online re: the Dickinson poems and the Dickinson parodies.

E3H: Ready for tomorrow's discussion re: the other Ch 6 poems? Online discussions continue.

E2/3H: Wikicab!

CW: Bring in your dialogues and magazines and glue sticks and scissors.

j: spilling the beans
music: water spirit--jan carter

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howling at the moon

It really doesn't do any good. Trust me. I was all over it after the Rays won...

Anywho...

Hey, 3h...new uploads to look at for Fantasias here and here. The latter one has a truly messed up audio, and neither has the music, but I'm still working on that...

E2/3H: Discussions online are ongoing...WW tomorrow.

CW: Discussions online are ongoing...Confs tomorrow.

j: howling at the moon
music: howl at the moon--cheryl wheeler

god i'm so original!

For those who miss the debates...

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

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coming home

As I write these words, it is only five and a half hours until the homecoming game.

Go Scouts!!

OK...that being said...

it's time for weekend homework!

(I know: you're beyond excited, right?)

CW:

Post the character sketches! Then work on creating the stories into which you'd like to place these characters...

Here are a few concepts:

Bringing your character to life:

Write a back story for your characters. What would have happened to make them as they are today? What caused their problems and created their needs and desires? Just free write for 5 or 10 minutes...

Dream one of your character's dreams in a free write...

Interview your character; explore his or her motivations and emotions and concerns; let yourself be surprised at the answers.

As you go through the story, keep these things in mind: What does she want? What's in her way? How does she get in her own way? How will she overcome internal and external obstacles? How will it end? How will the reader feel at the end?

Tips for plot creation:

Use the writers' rules of three: have your character try three times to solve a problem. Write from the perspective of problem/solution. Ask yourself "what happens next?" and just free write. If you get stuck, make a list of 100 possibilities, no matter how crazy they might be; include ideas that make no sense, that are illegal, that are obvious, that are too scientific, that are magic, that are hilarious, that are out of character, that are ridiculous, that are unwise, etc.

Never forget the critical importance of conflict. Conflict comes from action, atmosphere, argument, problems, emotions, word-choice, sensory details, mystery, or what-have-you, but everything comes from conflict.

E3H:

Online, continue the boards. Especially discuss "Ulysses," as fifth period didn't get to do so in class. Consider that we will be moving next week toward a project in poetry.

This project is called a fantasia.

A fantasia combines a poem, your own interpretation (literal or allegorical), visual images, your voice, and music.
For information about how to make one, click here. Below, you'll see a student's visuals from a few years ago. Imagine the student reading the poem and music playing that enhances the mood and experience; the audio did not copy.

I tried to embed it, but it would not embed. Go here to watch it.

So, in addition to continuing the discussions this weekend, you should begin the process of developing this project. Our lab time is limited in availability, and I do not know if I will be able to get you in there as a class, but I will try. First step: select a poem! I need to approve it, so email me when you know what you want to do. Most poems in S&S are eligible.

There is a new board called Fantasia Poems, where you should post your selections once they are approved for discussion and assistance. Peers can help you with ideas for images and interpretation and even pronunciations. I'll have much more info on this later.

E2H:

Continue the discussion boards on Dickinson; remember that you'll be writing an essay later next week. Meanwhile, there is a new board open called "Dickinson parodies" into which you should post your own personal parodies of the Dickinson style. Base your poems on any of ED's poems (other than the ultra-short ones), but you don't need to copy her topics. Just her style. :-)

Have a great weekend!

j: live long and prosper
music: never lived at all--ellis paul
silly 70's: gimme dat ding--the pipkins

--kt

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no more debates!

well, i for one am psyched about that :-)

one thing that is most definitely not debatable is that i have to get caught up on my grading, and you guys all know it. again i ask that if you have handed in an essay in writing you also email me a copy; i have a mislaid folder that still has not turned up containing several random papers, some from each class. i'd like to reconstruct these scores asap...

homework...

much better posting these last two nights...keep up the good conversations...

e2/3h: continue the discussions for one more night, with an eye toward focusing the conversation in the shortened period tomorrow

cw: post your character sketches (and, optionally, your ally/antagonist/mentor characters) in the "character sketch" board for feedback

80's day flashback:





speaking of 80's day...

i received this in an email today...how perfectly timed! thought i'd share:

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up, what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning…

uphill...

BOTH ways…

Yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today:

You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen! Then we had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!

When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids.’ Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your Imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens; it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only m-net And there was no on- screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your butt and walk over to the TV to change the channel! And there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!

And we didn't have microwaves, either. If we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that! If we wanted Popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,

The over 30 Crowd

j: #20 + #1
music: sweet dreams (are made of this)--eurythmics

--kt

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ditto

Um...yeah...

it was a testing day, for crying out loud; the classes were 20 minutes!

just look at yesterday's post and do more of that...

:-)

j: testing...123(4)...testing...
music: 1234--feist

--kt

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oct 14...the school year is almost over!

Yes! We've finally arrived at the tipping point!

:-)

While we are thinking ahead to next summer, enjoy this little video...



and now back to our regularly scheduled blog...

CW: flesh out those character pieces! What aspects of character have you considered? Here are some to consider:

• appearance (height, weight, hair, body, dress, build, imperfections)
• poses (how he stands and sits)
• birthplace and birth date
• home (interior design, lighting, carpet, cleanliness, exterior, outbuildings, surroundings)
• favorite room
• favorite xxx
• job, sports, hobbies, interests, music
• family (relatives, happy/sad childhood)
• view out her window
• vehicle
• habits
• likes, dislikes, prejudices
• motivations (what does she want?)
• first domino (what just happened to cause the problem he now faces?)
• fatal flaw (quirk or characteristic that causes his problems)
• saving grace (quirk or characteristic that will save her from disaster)

E2/3H:

See last Wednesday and this time...do the assignment.

j: it's oct 14 and the school year is almost over
music: that summer--garth brooks

10/10
j: the world before columbus
music: world before columbus--suzanne vega
silly 70's: kung fu fighting--carl douglas

10/9
j: out east
music: please come to boston--dave loggins

--kt

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5...4...3...

It's incredible to think of the numbers that have dropped off of that countdown on the white board to get us to where we are: the brink of Emily Neal's 17th birthday!

(Oops: I meant the brink of the 3-Day Weekend!)

As you know, I'll be away for the next few days on a college trip with my daughter Julie. We'll be visiting BC, BU, Emerson, Brown, Amherst, U Mass, and maybe others. Prahbably take a wahk acrahss Hahvahd yahd...

What the heck.

In the meanwhile...here's what I'd like from you:

CW: Tonight, take one of the paragraphs from last night (or a completely new character) and use the technique we discussed today--beginning with some specific physicality--to open a door into who that character is. Create that character in a short piece and bring the piece for conferencing tomorrow.

Friday in CW is a workshop day.

E3H: Tonight, go online and use the boards to discuss the literary devices we've begun talking about. Play with them, creating impromptu examples of your own ("Ode to a Soggy Hot Dog"). Discuss where you see them in the poems. Focus your attention tonight on allegory, which is going to be the major subject of tomorrow's in-class discussions.

Friday in E3H is writing workshop.

E2H: Tonight, go to your Sound and Sense book. You will find poems by Emily Dickinson on pages 32, 41, 60, 80, 108, 153, 154, 163, 229, and 355 I'm calling your attention to. Read these 10 poems. Look for the structures and other physical similarities among them. But also recall that I said that Dickinson was something of a Transcendentalist in her thinking: what do you sense in these poems that takes you there?

Go online and discuss any of these poems you feel like discussing. You'll be continuing that discussion on Friday in class, after a day of Writing Workshop tomorrow.

E2/3H will have a combine Reading/Writing Workshop on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend!!!



j: invisible ink (see all of the tittles?)
m: invisible ink--aimee mann

--kt

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countdown to the weekend

Heck, my weekend starts day after tomorrow, but it will be a darned expensive one. College trips cost tons, even if you don't have to shell out for hotels!

So, let's take stock, shall we? Where are we at this juncture in our school year? Three days before Columbus Day weekend, my cast finally off so I can at least pretend to start catching up on things, all of my classes reaching the end of opening units. Where are we going from here?

A preview:

CW:

Starting tomorrow, with tonight's people-watch and compose five paragraphs describing five people you find interesting assignment, we are moving into several weeks of focused exercises and discussions of technique, aspects of writing, style, and structure. oh, yes, and of course: we'll be writing and conferencing.

E2H:

Tomorrow, you'll be in Writing Workshop. We are going to move from there into the Sound and Sense book, where you will meet some interesting poets, beginning with another Transcendentalist, Emily Dickinson. From there, we'll be looking at a 20th Century Transcendentalist play that my English teacher uncle once argued was the most significant work of American literature...and I agree: Our Town.

E3H:

Back in the poetry tomorrow, you're going to be looking at the underlying devices in these pieces. Go online tonight and discuss examples of the literary devices these chapters are covering, as you find them in the poems. Your job is to discover what they are all about. Help each other. We'll talk about them tomorrow. After that, you'll undoubtedly be writing something... You will also be heading into project territory next week!

Hey everyone:

Let's get that Wikigram board going! And E2/3H, let's get the Wikicab going! And CW: let's get some YI submissions going!

About taking risks:

As I have said in class, your challenge this year is to take chances in discussions. Don't play it safe! Climb out on those limbs, even if they might break off behind you and send you crashing to the ground. If at some point in this year you are not at least in serious danger of crashing and burning, you didn't play the game very well.

About e-mailing me:

Please put your class abbreviation (cw, e2h, e3h) in the subject header, and use that also as the start of the *@sunspark.com address.



J: the misadventures of unobservant uma
music: observation--eddie from ohio

--kt

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moving on

ahem...

well, someone's still playing baseball in this city, at least for today...

oy...

things for all...

e3h:

you've been on the boards, right? good. now go one again, for the wikicab poll and wikigram too.

e2h:

we'll be showing off projects tomorrow

cw:

is your "after art" piece up? have you been commenting? how many pieces have you left feedback on?

and, if this isn't piling it on...



j: moving on
music: a dying cubs fan's last request--steve goodman

--kt

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debate or debacle?

Last night, that was the choice. This weekend, maybe the choice will be less ugly for local baseball fans?

We shall see...

Homework

CW: Post your after art" pieces and begin feedback.

E3H: posting discussion on Ch. 6 poems

E2H: "different drum" Thoreau projects (due Monday): if you have not cleared yours with me, email me today

important

Monday we all be in the library. Meet here first.
Next week will be a make-up/drop-in conference week.

This video is not funny. It is simply great:



j: crap, not again
music: oops, i did it again--britney spears
silly 70's: billy, don't be a hero--bo donaldson and the heywoods

--kt

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let's play two

and we might as well read two too...

Don’t Try This at Home, Dude

By Stuart Shea

You can’t cut the lawn
Like Carlos Z. pitches.
You’d lose hold of the mower
And get 80 stitches.

You can’t do your taxes
Like Carlos Z. throws.
You’d ball up receipts
And punch your own nose.

You can’t do brain surg’ry
Like Carlos Z. hurls.
Your patients would die
While you did angry twirls.

But there’s nothing like watching the dervish in blue
When he harnesses everything that he can do.
Just ask HOU.

Armageddon Somethin’ Goin’ On

by James Finn Garner

Some say we face the End Times,
With ice caps disappearing,
Financial pains and hurricanes,
And war with Russia nearing.

But th’ hills of Armageddon
Will look like fields of clover
If the Pale Hose and Cubs oppose
Each other in October.

We’ll see blue-faced yuppies pounce
On shirtless mokes with mullets,
The Bridgeport night with bombs alight,
and Bernie’s strafed with bullets.

The hordes of Satan’s army
And counterparts from Heaven
Will find that they’ve not much to save
If the Series goes to seven.

:-)

E3H

Go to the boards; discuss (in your sections) the poems assigned yesterday. You are preparing yourselves to be tomorrow's discussion leaders (and grades could be involved).

E2H

Again, we have little specific that we can do until tomorrow with the literature. Therefore I'd like you to add something to the discussions of either the Wikicab or Wikigram board (or both).

CW

Time to work on your "after art" poems. Select a painting and begin working on a poem that is your reaction to it. When you are finished (any time between now and Saturday), post it online along with the artwork or a link to it.

j: double talk

music: i don't want to talk no more--dave hawkins

--kt

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102 years later...

Both the Sox and the Cubs in the playoffs? Can Chicago even survive this?

:-)

It's Open House night at LFHS! (Not that any of you cares; you're all watching the Cubs!) Just in case anyone decides to do, I don't know, homework...

E3H:

Old White board group: "Mind," "Ghost of a Chance"
New white board group: "I Taste..." "A Valediction..."
Bookcase group: "Metaphors," "To His Coy Mistress"
Pillow group: "Toads," "Dream Deferred"

All: first five poems in Ch 6.

CW:

Those who didn't today, bring in your objets d'art.

E2H:

Oh, watch the Cubs already...



j: 102 years ago...
music: 100 years--five for fighting

--kt

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