| Some Thing's You Just Can't Deny |
[May. 12th, 2008|09:51 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | my house | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Predictable - Good Charlotte | ] |
I'm doing this cuz i love you guys. I should be passed out in my bed cause i'm not feeling good, but i remembered i had to post so i dragged my but outta bed and came to do it. so, here you guys go.
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| Teaching |
[May. 12th, 2008|09:41 pm] |
This post is going to be all about how I suck as a teacher. So let's get this part of it out of the way right away: yes, I know I'm a good teacher. I know I'm a lot better than other teachers/professors out there. I have an enthusiasm for my subject matter, I have convictions about the skills I teach, and I'm very very good at imparting both to my students. I know that. But remember that thing about competent people not thinking they're competent and the idiots thinking they're all that? Well, this is one of those posts, okay?
Because while I am good in general, I suck donkey's balls in the specifics.
I don't grade. Not I don't like to grade. I just don't grade. I hate the time suck it represents and I hate being confronted with my students' low education level and complete ignorance, so I just don't do it. And that's just so not helpful for the students. How can they improve in a writing class if they don't get anything back from me?
I don't do the readings I give my students. I usually go with what I remember about the text from reading it years ago and add a quick skim if I need to. I certainly don't do background research. When my students don't know that England is a monarchy and then I have to explain what a monarchy means, researching the finer historical points of whatever text I assign them is pointless.
All my lesson plans are by the seat of my pants. I don't have an overall scheme. I rarely have a complete calendar on my syllabus. I write the paper prompts days late and just before class when I do get to them, so they're not as step-by-step comprehensive as they need to be. I don't include a rubric, which I have to start doing to justify my exasperation with the papers I get and the grades I then give them.
I'm not actually good at teaching literature. I've got this conviction about teaching my students how to be literary critics, because that's not something anyone ever overtly taught me, but I don't actually know how to go about doing it. I've got this conviction about using one third of class time in literature courses on paper writing, but I resent it and so drag my feet on actually doing it, so the papers I receive suck. If I would just do what my convictions lead me to do, things might get better, but that requires forethought and planning and that's hard, dammit.
I need prior planning. I need to read the assignments. I need to put thought into the prompts I give out. I need to GRADE, dammit. I need to believe in my students again. I have a vague memory that at the beginning of the semester, I loved my students. Right now, I'm so frustrated with them and their inability to GET what I thought I taught, but I don't know if it's them or me, because I wasn't actually a very good teacher this semester.
I'd like to recommit myself to getting it right next semester. I used to put more time and thought into it, but that was when I was teaching one class a semester, with 18 students. The 4/4 load, with three preps, plus ALL the other work I'm doing, is a bit overwhelming, and everything suffers because of how I procrastinate my teaching and grading. |
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[May. 12th, 2008|05:26 pm] |
My internet wasn't working last night so I wrote all this in notepad and went to bed really early. :'D
( tl;dr (seriously, it's boring shit) )
Now off to watch the game! (If I can figure out what channel it's on.....) |
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| 'night. |
[May. 13th, 2008|12:05 am] |
How can the second season of The Tudors be so very awesome when season one sucked so much? *flails* With one or two exceptions, all the characters are so likable and tragic and beautifully flawed! Now if only we'd get to see more hot George/Mark sex, I'd love the show even more.
Proper post tomorrow; bed now. I have an appointment with my dentist at nine thirty tomorrow morning. I have no idea how to be awake at that time, much less be up and about and enduring someone poking around in my mouth! |
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| Language Usage |
[May. 12th, 2008|04:46 pm] |
Saeva posted that she hates the fannish usage of the word pimp and she wants people to stop. Several people chime in in comments that this creeps them out, too.
Myself, I'm not bothered by the use of the word pimp. (Possibly because I think well-regulated sex work is not intrinsically evil, or possibly because I don't know any street-level prostitutes who would be dealing with pimps as opposed to madams.)
On the other hand, I'm not attached to pimp. Pimp's chief useful attributes for my purposes — it's short and fandom is the only language sphere in which I see it used (when not referring to the sex trade or competitive/casual sexual relations) — could be replicated by some other word.
Saeva fails to come up with that word, and no one in comments does any better than PROMOTE, which fails on both counts.
So, somebody come up with some short, relatively unique verb to replace pimp in the fannish lexicon, and I'll use it, and I hope you will, too.
( extraneous bitching not on point ) |
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| Columbus' Eggs |
[May. 12th, 2008|08:48 pm] |
gacked from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) storm_grant
Since tonight I will be busy reading (a veryyy long book...) I thought to leave you with some "aforismi". All those phrases in Italy would be defined "Columbus' egg", means something so huge you can't possible have never seen it, but still you need that someone point it to you to realize that exist (or that it's truth).
From yahoo group gaywritersreaders:
If homosexuality is a disease, let's all call in sick to work: "Hello. Can't work today, still queer." ~ Robin Tyler
I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother. ~ Charles Pierce
"Dear Abby," In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood. "You could move." ~ Abigail Van Buren.
The one bonus of not lifting the ban on gays in the military is that the next time the government mandates a draft, we can all declare we are homosexual instead of running off to Canada . ~ Lorne Bloch
Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just afraid of a thousand guys with M16s saying, "Who'd you call a faggot?" ~ Jon Stewart
My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there praying for a man, and I'm giving them my share. ~ Rita Mae Brown
Soldiers who are not afraid of guns, bombs, capture, torture or death say they are afraid of homosexuals. Clearly we should not be used as soldiers; we should be used as weapons. ~ Letter to the Editor, The Advocate
You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight. ~ Barry Goldwater
Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? ~ Ernest Gaines
My own belief is that there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
Drag is when a man wears everything a lesbian won't. ~ Author Unknown
If male homosexuals are called "gay," then female homosexuals should be called "ecstatic." ~ Shelly Roberts
My mother took me to a psychiatrist when I was fifteen because she thought I was a latent homosexual. There was nothing latent about it. ~ Amanda Bearse
It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's like disapproving of rain.... ~ Francis Maude
The only queer people are those who don't love anybody.... ~ Rita Mae Brown
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals; it's just that they need more supervision. ~ Lynn Lavner
If Michelangelo had been straight, the Sistine Chapel would have been wallpapered. ~ Robin Tyler
Pronouns make it hard to keep our sexual orientation a secret when our co-workers ask us about our weekend. "I had a great time with... them." Great! Now they don't think you're queer - just a big slut! ~Judy Carter
I get sick of listening to straight people complain about, "Well, hey, we don't have a heterosexual-pride day, why do you need a gay pride day?" I remember when I was a kid I'd always ask my mom, "Why don't we have a Kid's Day? We have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but why don't we have a Kid's Day?" My mom would always say, "Every day is Kid's Day." To all those heterosexuals that bitch about gay pride, I say the same thing. "Every day is heterosexual pride day! Can't you people enjoy your banquet and not pee on those of us enjoying our crumbs over here in the corner?" ~ Adam Row |
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| Mystery Meat! |
[May. 11th, 2008|11:45 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  naughty | ] |
So my dad gleefully informed my mother and I that for Mother's Day he was going to serve salad, mashed potatoes and "Mystery Meat"
I snuck into the kitchen and took a peak and a picture or two when he wasn't looking.
Can you figure out what it was?
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| Mother's Day |
[May. 11th, 2008|10:46 pm] |
One of those wonderful days that is just soul-satisfying, although not really amazing for any obvious reason.
My mother watched the boys last night (in which my baby is possessed by screaming hissy-fit demons) while we were in Raleigh. We get back around two in the morning and fall into bed at my mother's house. We wake up in the morning and bring a cold boy to bed with us. It's pouring rain so we have a slow breakfast of waffles and sausages. After it clears up, we start lopping branches off my mother's trees, under her direction. Then it clears up a bit more, so we go out to buy some plants, take out her misshapen box bushes, replace them with cool plants, and then eat her amazing dinner. Then we come home.
See? Nothing really interesting or exciting or noteworthy. But a wonderful time with family and good hard work and fabulous food.
So that was my Mother's Day. Oh, except that Theo MADE me a card that has three hearts with arms and legs and faces on the front, the big one labeled "You," holding the hand of a smaller one labeled "Me," which is holding the hands of a smaller one labeled "Isacc" (yeah yeah). And inside the card read "I hope our hearts are always conected. Happy Mother's Day." Made and written and illustrated completely by himself. Amazing child.
Oh, and I got a Garden Rocker and a box of jasmine tea. :) |
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| Red |
[May. 11th, 2008|12:08 pm] |
Ok so the new theme over on IJ is red.
I also submitted some Icons for challenge 41 over at ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) bj_icontest . It was my first time entering any type of challenge, so I never expected to place in any of the categories. I tied with brianslave68 and maybe742 for 2nd place in the lyrics category. It was a lot of fun working on the icons to participate. I am looking forward to doing it again. Congratulations to all the winners.
Now here is my Red icons and my challenge 41 entries.
  
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| Looking for a painting and posting post from 2 weeks ago about Edinburgh |
[May. 11th, 2008|08:52 pm] |
I meant to post the following a few days after I came home, but have been so busy with the Victorian stuff that it has been sitting in a tab for two weeks now. I wanted to add some stuff on Glasgow and Bridge of Allan but that will have to be on a later date.
What I really wanted to ask was if anyone has seen a picture of the painting "Portrait of a Young Man tying his garter" anywhere on the net or in some art-book? I've tried to find it and no hits anywhere. It's hanging in one of the first rooms to the left as you enter the Scottish National Gallery, from the Tuscan School, no named painter, and from the mid 16th century. Utterly beautiful and I'd really like to know more about it.
Now I'm heading back to Middlemarch, and also my bread-baking, since I had a package of fresh yeast that really needed to be used.
The old post:
We spent one afternoon in Edinburgh last week, and got stuck in the National Gallery. I enjoyed the Warders' Choice exhibition, maybe most of all because of all the different life-stories they shared. I am very fond of large art museums, but you really do get lost in them. Time flies and you stand and contemplate certain pictures for ever and ever. We probably spent almost four hours just in the main galleries, which isn't that much for a museum visit if you don't have anything else to do, but it meant that we just had time to browse a local bookshop and then everything was closed.
We walked up to the castle anyway, but I had e.g wanted to visit the Camera Obscura as well, for very sentimental childhood reasons (it is an important plot element in a Swedish childrens' detective story about Agaton Sax) and that was also closed. But the Royal Mile made for a nice evening walk, and I did see the "new" Scottish Parliament building at the end. We also visited Cannongate kirkyard and saw Adam Smith's and Robert Fergusson's tombs. |
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| Happy Mother's Day To All the Moms on my Friends List. |
[May. 11th, 2008|09:49 am] |
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| What the Heart Wants by Cassidy Ryan |
[May. 11th, 2008|05:10 pm] |
 Jamie is a 24 years old guy trying to live like he feels he has to do. Five years before he gave up to family pressure and left his lover Nick, to try to be the good son his family wanted. But now he is no more willing to pretend and has left the family's comfort to live alone and pursue his dreams as an artist. He also adopts a stray cat, Hellion, who is all up to his name.
When he brings Hellion to the vet, he discovers that his former lover Nick is the vet. And after a first cold moment of embarassment, Nick seems willing to restart from where they were five years ago. But Jamie did a terrible thing to Nick and he is not sure that Nick could ever forgive him.
This is a sip, less than 20 pages, but very sweet, even if, truth be told, the real main character of the book is Hellion, the cat. He has all the more interesting scenes, and he remembers me all my past experiences with cats and vets.
Jamie and Nick are very young, and they have all the time to get back all the waste time of the past five years. The story is short and not all the untold questions are straightened between Jamie and Nick, but they have some good basis to start over.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/zencart/
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting+reading+list&view=elisa.rolle |
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| ::sulks:: |
[May. 12th, 2008|02:35 am] |
I don't wanna go to bed. I don't wanna! So what if it's half two in the morning, I still don't wanna!
I just wish I could work out why. ::sighs::
::sulks::
::reluctantly heads for shower and bed::
Edit to add: The problem with being 33, living on your own, and motherless, is that when you don't want to go to bed, there's noone to make you. Which means that once WoW has worn out it's welcome you end up leaving random, irrelevant, possibly rambling and meaningless comments on other people's livejournals. Ooops, sorry! |
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| Lauren Dane: A Suburban Mom in Disguise |
[May. 11th, 2008|03:16 pm] |
 I just added a new post to the "Chatting with" series on "Rosa is for Romance".
Lauren Dane: A Suburban Mom in Disguise
"Lauren Dane is a suburban mom with a salacious imagination that she’s put to good use with her writing. Her favorite thing is when people tell her that she doesn’t look like “someone who’d write those books.” She lives in the Northwest with her husband and three very rambunctious kids. She writes everything from paranormals to contemporary BDSM books and develops terrible crushes on all of her heroes. Even though she lives in her head a lot, she does venture outside from time to time to collaborate with other authors, oh and to buy shoes too."
To read more:
http://rosaromance.splinder.com/post/17063007/ |
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| Time Out by Clare London |
[May. 11th, 2008|10:35 am] |
 Oliver and Marc have a good relationship. Oliver is a very wealthy business man, favourite of media with his handsome features and his blond hair. But Marc has seen behind the appeareance, behind the sad eyes and asked to work specifically for Oliver, as security specialist. After some months together as employee and employer and also friends, Oliver and Marc became lovers and now, one year later, they seem quite happy.
For their first anniversary, Marc wants to give to Oliver a special present: one day as an anonymous man, without worries for press and work. Because, even if they live together, they have very few chances to be together and outside their apartment, they are always employee and emlpoyer and not a couple. Maybe for the first time Oliver realizes how much Marc changed his life to be with him, and questions himself if what he gives in return is enough.
This is a nap-size dream, a read of 40 pages thought to be read in a session. And it accomplishes its scope. Both characters are very nice and the relationship between them is very romantic and sexy. Even if it's a short story, there are also some nice supporting characters. Both main characters than one of the supporting character, Caleb, would deserve a longer story. I would see this one like a short sequel of a longer novel where the author tells us how Oliver and Marc met and how they became lovers.
http://www.shop.dreamspinnerpress.com/product.sc?productId=101
Waiting Reading List:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting+reading+list&view=elisa.rolle |
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| I don't really know of many other mothers in bandom, but... |
[May. 11th, 2008|02:33 am] |
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| Sorta a Meme |
[May. 11th, 2008|12:13 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | meme | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
I saw this on tv the other day and thought it was kinda cool.
1) Think of your favorite color and pick three words to describe it.
(purple)
-eccentric
-creative
-bold
2)Same thing for your favorite animal
(fox)
-cunning
-independent
-adaptive
3) Now imagine a white room with a window and pick three more words
-bright
-quite
-heavy
The first 3 words describe how you see yourself the second 3 describe how you believe others see you and the last 3 describe how you see death. |
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| Movies, Books, new Author & James Marsters |
[May. 10th, 2008|08:56 pm] |
Iron Man. awesome. yes, there's a short clip after all the credits. (credits were long, lots of people involved) Previews were fun, but I saw the same car commercial three times. Movie was awesome. I loved it. did I say how much fun I had? Robert Downey Jr...never expected such a great Tony Stark. Graphics are great, and who doesn't want a 3-D system like he has?
And let's just get it on record now, that I want the poster for the new Narnia Prince Caspian movie...the one in my theatre was huge...like a wall hanging...just huge.
Had time to kill today (woohoo, I'm not on call this weekend) Stopped by favorite places, Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. You know, if they ever put a kiosk in the stores to buy e-books I'll really go broke. Purchases:
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (and great, I just bought book two and haven't read book one!!!)
Janeology by Karen Harrington, a legal thriller dealing with "retrocognition"
Small Favor by Jim Butcher unabridged audio for work commute read by JAMES MARSTERS, a novel of the Dresden Files
WOOHOO. What better voice to be read to on a work commute?
Check out these book covers:
  
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bored
distressed
sleepy
