

La La La La Fernando
Over the past year or so, I have developed a small infatuation with ᗅᗺᗷᗅ. Every band has a peculiar sound, but ᗅᗺᗷᗅ has been a pleasant surprise for the range and sheer variety of styles exhibited in their discography. They are commonly cited by music critics as having been accomplished studio musicians. But when I think of the generous portions of canned meat studios have been churning out since the nineties, I am not sure that the compliment is not overwhelmed by the deliri


Classroom Blogging – Wikis and Other Stuff
Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Wikis, & Other Tools that are Shaping a new Information Landscape (2nd ed.) by David F. Warlick. Warlick wants teachers to know that blogs are not the only game in town. Depending on your goals, there may be other digital platforms which are better-suited. He briefly mentions the rise of the Content Management System (CMS). Our school is transitioning to Moodle, which is one such system. Technically, blogs are also a CMS, though


642 Things to Write About
Last Christmas, my sister, who is a far more thoughtful gift-giver than I am, bought me a clever book titled 642 Things to Write About. The book is a list of – as you might well guess – 642 writing prompts. It's like journaling with structure. As part of my more random side, I am setting this book beside my computer with hopes of (eventually) writing on all 642 topics (less a small handful which are too salacious for general publication). Some prompts will do little more than


Classroom Blogging – Blogging for Beginners
Classroom Blogging: A Teacher's Guide to Blogs, Wikis, & Other Tools that are Shaping a new Information Landscape (2nd ed.) by David F. Warlick. In this third section of the book, Warlick begins by clarifying the key difference between the internet proper, and the “blogosphere” - the world of blogs. The Web is basically a vast global library, passive in nature. The information is there on the digital shelf for you to check out. On the other hand, blogs are a global conversati


Slaver Day vs. Labor Day
As a teacher who benefits from having an extra day off in September, it perhaps it will seem counter-intuitive for me to criticize Labor Day. But, in this era of intellectual lethargy, where even so-called conservatives have been shaped by a virulent strain of cultural Marxism, it has become necessary to draw rather clear lines. First, let’s be clear that the Labor Day holiday does, in fact, have rather dubious origins, being first established by a conference of mostly social


Mr. B. Explains Why I Have More Than a Feeling (updated 9/4)
I relay a brief correspondence between myself and Mr. B. Note to readers: Mr. B. is an extraordinarily talented, conservatory-trained musician. We are also in a thriving record exchange club together. At present, the club has two members. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mr. B., Musical question. In the song aforementioned, there is a phenomenon which I was hoping you could help me to understand. There are several points in the song where the no