are you ready to rumble?

(or something like that)

Welcome back.

I hope your break was warmer than mine. I spent mine in beautiful downtown Vernon Hills. (Nope: I didn't get to Naples, so no special class sessions at the Beach Bar. Darn.)

Today we began Macbeth in E3H, Serious Portfolio Insanity in E2H, and Stanislavski Up the Wazoo in Drama (for which you should read Ch. 4 through page 130 and also do the "Don't Bother Me, I'm Acting" assignment).

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

utterly random zen moment of the day:



--kt

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and then there were none

Dateline: Lake Forest, IL
Thursday, March 20, 2008

She sat alone, abandoned, within the walls of a room normally bursting with rambunctious youthful energy. All week long, it seemed, the seats in the room had been growing mysteriously more and more vacant, until today, finally, there was no one in them at all. The white board called out a topic for a journal no one could see, mocking the confluence of the first day of spring and the arrival of yet another winter storm watch in the city. The playful bubble letters of E3H and E2H smiled and winked from the larger board, where they had been etched the week before in a silly feud between the classes. Along one end of the room, portfolios remained neatly stacked on a black stairway that climbed to nowhere at all. Everywhere else in the oddly silent room, chaos reigned, as if an Ozian tornado had torn through upsetting anything not nailed down.

At her computer, she typed on, wondering whether anyone would even bother to read the words. Probably not, she thought, but the notion didn't dissuade her. She smiled at the thought. What does it mean, she wondered, if I continue to write things that I know no one will ever see but me? Am I insane? Schizophrenic? Did I have one too many lemonades at lunch? The question unresolved, as she knew it would be, she continued typing onto the mute screen, waiting for her own opportunity to vanish like a dream into the false spring's air.

Spring Break Assignment:

E3H: finish up antigone boards; read act one of macbeth for monday when we return...

E2H: post on sonny's blues; send me your essays by tomorrow; read catcher in the rye by wednesday when we return

Drama: catch up on everything; have a great break.

random thought of the day: Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"” (Robin Williams)

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More Student Disappearances at LFHS

special to tophamsattic blog

Dateline: Lake Forest, IL
Wednesday, March 19, 2008

More of LFHS students in continued to vanish mysteriously today as the annual spring break ritual drew ever closer. Faculty and staff alike grew more and more alarmed by the incredible shrinking student body.

"I dressed like a leprechaun on Monday," said Stan Eaton. "Mrs. Topham invited me in to do an Irish jig. I hope I didn't accidentally unleash some faery magic."

No reports of students mysteriously turning up anywhere have been confirmed, though there have been unconfirmed rumors that certain tracts of sandy land in Naples and in Cancun are more crowded than usual.

E3H: Buy Macbeth; you need it! It's in the bookstore and only $5.99. And those boards are still calling to you...

E2H: Essay due tomorrow. We'll talk about "The Moths" and "Sonny's Blues."

Drama: We'll be doing an activity around Stanislavski.

random thought of the day: As an outsider . . . what do you think of the human race.

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Student Disappearances Mystify School

Dateline: Lake Forest, IL
Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Students in LFHS English classes mysteriously vanished today only days before the annual spring break is set to begin. Teachers throughout the school expressed concern that something dark and ominous is afoot as their class sizes dwindled ever closer to zero.

"I was talking to my class about probability," one math teacher said, "and two of the girls simply disappeared!" The astonished instructor, who asked that her name be withheld, said that the class had been about half its usual size when it had begun. "But then those two vanish. I mean what are the odds?"

Wellness classes on Tuesday morning had to combine with choir classes in order to have enough people for games, creating the unusual experience of Ultimate Frisbee and a Capella Chorus, a hybrid contest that was won by a team that, upon catching the winning toss, immediately leapt into a five-part harmony of "Oops, I Did It Again."

Karen Topham, English teacher, reported that her casses were notably smaller than normal. "I'm just hoping that by Thursday they'll all be gone and I can take an extra day off," she said, apparently without any curiosity about where they've all gone. "Oh, kids disappear all the time here. I hardly notice anymore."

E3H: anouilh's antigone: the boards are calling to you!

E2H: sonny's blues: the boards are calling to you, too! and don't forget that you have a paper due thursday!

Drama: stan the man continued...

random thought of the day: Never stand between a dog and a tree.

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top o' the mornin'

Sure, an' 'tis St. Patty's Day and here I am sittin' in my classroom without even a bowl of Lucky Charms to call my own. I do, however, have a shamrock bear sitting high on my back as I write these words, so that's somethin', right?



:-)



E3H: we're in anouilh's antigone: get online and dive in, everyone; it's march madness board discussions!



E2H: boards for the four current stories should be in session; read catcher over vacay!

essay topic (we'll discuss Sonny's Blues in class after you've done so online):

Write an essay comparing the treatment of females in at least two of the three stories.



Drama: oy...this early vacationing is causing trouble...we did not get to stan the man today, but if we had i'd be asking you to work through 4.3 and 4.4...they are coming up...



random thought of the day: Don't go to bed angry . . . stay up and plot your revenge.

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Fri(day) at last, fri(day) at last, thank god almighty it's fri(day) at last!

(my apologies to mlk)

over the final weekend before spring break, when the world is finally warming up a tad (though I think snow is expected tomorrow--and what else is new?), and the endless winter shows subtle signs of considering its departure (I saw a crocus this morning!), this is what I'd like you to be doing (when you are not either enjoying nice weather or shoveling one last snowfall):

e3h: read anouilh's antigone; boards are open and waiting... note that we will be discussing this on monday, not having reading workshop

e2h: read Sonny's Blues (84); this and the girl stories are for the boards...

drama: rituals! get your groups together! individually, it's time to start reading chapter four. Read the first several pages of the chapter and do exercises 4.1 and 4.2.

random thought of the day: You just want to have your cake and eat it . . . Too right! What good is a cake if you can't eat it?

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and now for a word from our sponsor

It's Thursday. That's almost Friday. And that's a good thing.

E3H: ya'll are discussin' that antie-gone play on the internets, y'hear? and t'morra you'll git a twennieth centry version...

E2H: we'll talk more about the two stories...and you'll buy catcher...meanwhile, tonight...read a few short short stories: girl (673), barbie-q (270) and the moths (1118)...compare the characters on the boards

Drama: tomorrow is teacher day! (and we're working on our ritual scenes)

random thought of the day: There is no future in time travel.

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midweek muddle

OK, everyone, here's the scoop on where we stand as the temperatures (finally) soar into the forties (oy!) and the sun shines over chicagoland...

drama class: we have identified our two ritual groups; now it's your job to decide what your group is going to do for its performance, brainstorm it, flesh it out, plan it, practice it, and execute it...this will likely require getting together over the weekend...meanwhile: tomorrow is "bring a parent" day and friday is "bring a teacher" day...

e3h: we're in antigone, and the boards should be buzzing with the whole "rule of man vs. rule of god" issue among other things....

e2h: buy catcher in the rye...tomorrow is the "debate" on the main elements of "the fall of the house of usher"...don't forget to go online tonight to plan it all out...

random thought of the day: The 50-50-90 rule: Any time you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

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way late on a monday

OK, Drama peeps: here's the buzz:

If you want to discuss your spy subject with your partner, call the person or people that are listed with your name below:

Monica, Chase
Maggie, Johnny
K Luk, Ian, Emma
Emily, Sarah
Julia, Kristen

Talk to each other about the people you've been watching. You are still the one responsible for your primary person. Your job here is to bounce ideas off of each other, to ask questions and get someone elase's opinions.

Tomorrow, each of your will come to class dressed (to the degree you choose) as your subject. When you get here, simply be that person for a few minutes. Act like him/her. Interact with others as he/she does. Once you have identified someone else in the room (and you begin by knowing at least one other person--the one you shared with tonight!) you could interact with that person the way your subject would normally. After a few minutes we'll possibly play a game...in which you'll be your subjects.

Once we're through, you'll reveal your subject, show us how they walk, sit, move, etc., and tell us what you've observed.

Enjoy!

E2H: It's WW tomorrow. According to my countdown gadget, I miscounted your days: tomorrow is 40 days.

E3H: Antigone boards are open. And a last chance to post something on the Oedipus boards to offset your previously-posted grade.

random thought of the day: A camel is a horse designed by a committee.

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workin' for the weekend...

I think I've never read a story faster in my life than I read Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge today in E2H...if I was not wiped out before that, I certainly am now...

OK...what to do, what to do...

This weekend it's all about the boards:

E3H: the key questions have to do with theme: what is the ultimate message of Oedipus the King? Sophocles probably didn't even believe in the gods, but he created a world view in which trying to avoid their prophecy constituted the height of hubris. You should not/cannot place yourself above the gods, right? Yet we know too (and so did Sophocles) that Oedipud at every step of the way had decisions to make that could have and should have altered the outcome of this play. So in the Great Throw-Down between Fate and Free Will, who wins here? What does this play argue? (Also check the poll in the "Oedipus the King Speech" thread; I'd like your opinion.) Finally, read the play Antigone for Wednesday.

E2H: re-read Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in your Short Fiction book. On the Short Stories board, discuss issues you find within that story, but especially talk about foreshadowing and mood. Then read Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and explore it for the same factors.

Drama: secret spy selection has been moved to Tuesday! We will be discussing and sharing observations on Monday as well as seeing the start of a new project. Next stop after that: Stanislavski. Please note: if anyone has suggestions about the play we'll be dong, let me know (or better yet: bring me a copy of what you have in mind!)...

random thought of the day: There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know. (A. Bierce)

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5:00 and time to blog

It took me an hour to figure out a Scrabulous move...

Tonight...

E3H: on the boards: Oedipus Rocks. Discuss his tragic flaws and the role of Fate.

E2H: same as yesterday. :-)

Drama: same as yesterday. :-)

(damn I'm a lazy typist today!)

random thought of the day: Despite the cost of living . . . it still remains so popular.

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Oedipus Wrecks

In E3H today we saw how our man Oedi basically loses it at the drop of a hat (or maybe it's the drop of a laurel wreath). But we also saw that the good citizens of Thebes demand proof (unlike their irrationally hasty king) before convicting someone they have long trusted. So tonight's bulletin boards should focus on that very topic: the burden of proof. What evidence is put forth? How does Sophocles present it? When do the king and queen begin to recognize the truth? Are there moments where scenes complete reverse their (or our) expectations?

In E2H, we started our scenes today. We'll finish them tomorrow. So for now...other than Wikicab and Wikigram and Writing Workshop and Reading Workshop....there's no homework.
:-)

In Drama, almost everyone got through their self-imitations. So tonight's assignment posting asks you to discuss what you saw. Check out "Exercise 3.5" on the board. Also update your own reflections. Three Entrances tomorrow.

random thought of the day: Ever stop to think . . . and forget to start again?

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semi-super-mini-whoopee-Tuesday

Hey, they need to call it something, and Super Tuesday was taken.

:-)

(And now a moment of silence in memory of the career of Brett Favre. A great QB. Now the Bears just might lose to the Packers, though...)

E3H: We're in Oedipus mode. Bulletin Boards are open and flying high!

E2H: DOAS scenes tomorrow!

Drama: We're doing 3.5 (Self-imitation) in class tomorrow, along with the three entrances exercise.

random thought of the day:
At age 4 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . having friends.
At age 17 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . . . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . . . having friends.
At age 80 success is . . . not peeing in your pants.

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Out sick

Yep, this is me. I don't own the image (hence the superimposed logo), but I own the physicality being portrayed by the image. She's even got my hair.

So, though I might be OK–or at least able–to come in tomorrow and attempt to instruct you all in something, I was unable to do much more today than sleep until noon (when I was not coughing and hacking) and now attempt to blog a few words to you all.

I hope that things went all right in class today. It must have been nice for the juniors finally to have time to read with no other agenda. :-) And the sophomores too, though their portfolios are about to rev up. Drama folks, did you make headway?

Here is what tomorrow will look like if I am there:

E3H: We will be discussing the first of the Theban Plays. If you look on the boards, you should find a new one for Theban Plays and a child board for Oedipus. Go to town!

E2H: We will be in Writing Workshop. I hope you have checked the new Conference Schedule (linked to the right) and are ready if you have one scheduled tomorrow.

Drama: We'll be performing the exercise you worked on today in class. (3.5 in the book)

random thought for the day: If I had my life to live over I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. --erma bombeck

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