Libby Says...
I know this has already been posted all over the Web this week, but I've had the tab open and just really want to post it. So I will. So there. Via NeilGaiman.com: The super-mini short stories were "invented" when Hemingway wrote what he is said to have called his best work in six short words: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Wired magazine asked some famous writers to contribute their six word short stories and published them in the November issue. Some of them are amazing! I particularly like these.
For a me, these serve some of the same function as some of my other writing favorites - haiku and Fibs (Fibonacci poems) - playful, focused, interesting writing exercises that can really serve to make a good point. I have to find ways to incorporate all of these into my teaching! :-) Here's my first shot at the six words short story: Crying, she closed his eyes. Then... or... What should've been world-changing ended quietly. I've got a long way to go with these - anyone else have one? Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
Wow, guys - thank you so much! I suspect had my brain been slightly less fuzzy, I might've found some of your solutions on my own, but clearly I needed the assist. I've downloaded iPodRip based on what Warren, Matt, and Adrienne pointed me to. It's currently in the process of loading iPod data, so I certainly hope that's got me fixed up. One of the nice things about having friends (and articles) point you to shareware is that you have some certainty that it is both useful and not trojan-y spyware. I've become a bit too paranoid for my own good, possibly. For now, I like the software - I'll report back when I know more. Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
Had my friend Margo point out that I hadn't blogged in a bit (of course, she hadn't seen the blogs from the last week or so, but...) I'm trying to get myself back in the habit. I was missing the Lotus community today - I got a review copy of a Lotus book in the mail and a few requests for help from the wide world. It made me miss the days when that was all that occupied my brain. On the other hand, tomorrow we're talking about rites of passage, coming of age, and the seven ages of man using Jacques' seven ages of man dramatic monologue from As You Like It and that sounds pretty fun, too. I do like my Shakespeare! :-) On another note, I'm having an iPod cranky moment. I had my iPod synched with the computer that I sent back to LotusUserGroup.org. I thought I'd backed up all my music, but apparently I missed a folder when doing my copying. Now, in order to synch my iPod with my new computer, it says I have to erase everything that's on the device to synch with a new PC. ARGHG! Since that music isn't on this machine, I'm about to lose 944 songs. Anything I'm missing here that I can do that I'm not realizing? Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
To their beliefs and to refuse to do business on whatever grounds (pun intended) they like, but it's certainly a company with whom I plan never to do business. If you're in the Houston area and share my beliefs, I hope you steer clear as well. Dear Mr.==== Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
Now goes into helping our kids put together the yearbook. Yes, you heard right. I'm the yearbook adviser. It's amazing both how many things are similar in running a magazine to running a yearbook staff and how many things are different. It's interesting, though - I don't have the role I'm used to having. At e-Pro Magazine, I was the editor - but we had an editorial director and a publisher/editor-in-chief. For the yearbook staff, I really fulfill those roles and our students fill the roles I'm used to doing and supervising. One thing that hasn't changed? The budget is always the limiting factor. ;-) But, I think we're really doing some impressive things, even with a limited budget and mostly inexperienced freshmen on our staff. This week, while we're in intersession week (a week of tutorials and fun classes between quarters), we have an hour-and-a-half block each day during which to work on the book. So far, we've picked a cover, done some advertising, gotten some training on the software we'll be using, and planned a yearbook signing party for Friday. I hope the signing party goes well - it's an idea that is supposed to get some interest in the yearbook in general, help us sell our 2006-2007 book, and make sure that everyone has picked up their 2005-2006 book. But I think that many people will be there for the pizza. What do you remember about your high school yearbook? Did you work on it? Do you still have it? Were you in it? Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
Escape? Solace? Meditation? Thinking of books as an escape mechanism probably isn't new to anyone who considers himself or herself a reader. It's certainly not new to me. I've been using books as an escape for sadness, frustration, and sickness for as long as I can remember reading. And, in the grand scheme of escape mechanisms, I suspect there are worse choices. Of course, like anything else, if you use too much escape and too little dealing with the issue, it gets to be a problem. Sometimes, however, the escape is a perfect solution. Over the last week, while I've been trying to recover from bronchitis, I've re-read a series of books I read almost every year. They're not great literature and I know the stories and characters as well as I know anything. But the reading is soothing, restful, and, yes, I admit, slightly addicting. This time when I was reading, I noticed a familiar feeling that I had a new name for. The feeling is the same one I get while doing yoga and meditating. If you've done a good savasana (corpse pose), you probably know what it feels like. Your mind quiets and the myriad thoughts that are usually racing or drifting around settle like sand floating to the bottom of an aquarium. Your breathing and heart rate slow and become steady. You feel peaceful. When you're done, you sometimes have the answers to problems that have been on your mind, despite, or maybe because, you stopped worrying over them for a while. It's a lovely feeling, and quite fleeting for most of us, although the more yoga and meditation you practice, the more you feel it. Anyway, I've heard of chanting, walking, and even driving meditation. I know I've meditated while running (although, I have to admit, not lately). For some reason, reading these books again this week and weekend gave me the same feelings. I'm finally feeling healthy again (mostly) from this painful bronchitis (although I'm still wheezing a bit) and I'm not as panic-stricken about all the work I have to do. Maybe it's wishful thinking, maybe it's just the leftover codeine talking, but I think I've discovered another meditation option to stick in my bag of tricks. How do you meditate? Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link
My apologies for the long delay. I've been dealing with not only the new career, but also having to buy and put together a new computer. It's amazing how little time you have when you're doing all new things. So, thanks for your patience and thanks for all the kind words you had for me when I announced my new career and job. I'll tell you this for nothing - it's not easy. My kids are - mostly - wonderful. Some days, as you might imagine, they try my patience. I'm always amazed when they can't do something simple, like read directions. On the other hand, they are mostly incredibly nice people who are just going through a tremdendous amount of growth and change. Not easy for anyone, as I know. ;-) I just wish I could reach some of them - those who refuse to do any homework or can't seem to get their lives in any kind of order. So, let's see. I'm in the process of recovering from a serious bout of bronchitis - I was out sick a few days this week and even on Sudafed (which ought to hype you up), I've been sleeping a ton. I'm finally starting to get a little better, although I must admit to spending all morning curled up, reading, drinking tea, and resting. Being a first-year teacher, especially when you work at a school with incredibly high expectations, is exhausting. To be fair, it probably doesn't help that I'm also still in grad school. I had to drop back to taking only one class this semester, just to make time for everything (not that I've actually managed to make time for everything, but it's a valiant effort nonetheless). The class is called Against the Grain: Dissenters and American Society and it's interesting to talk about American history from the angle of the people who worked most to change the way the country worked. First quarter I taught Persepolis and Persepolis 2 (among other things, like narrative writing, the basics of essay writing, lots of vocabulary, fact and opinion, some Langston Hughes poems, and excerpts from Journey from the Land of No) -- and even though we had some doubts about whether the books were the right ones, I think my students enjoyed them. Of course, who can resist graphic memoir (graphic novel style, but true memoir stories)? And it's always interesting to read stories that deal with a similar time of life -- Marjane Satrapi writes about her life from age 7 to her early 20s dealing with the 1978-79 Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war, and growing up in Iran and in in boarding school in Austria. Satrapi's life includes so many experiences that are part of growing up - I think my students and I could identify, which makes it easier to recognize that Iranians are people just like us in so many ways. I studied the books as part of a paper I wrote during a class on Islam in my grad school program, and it was exciting to share those books with my kids. Of course, I have about 20 minutes to rest on those laurels - I now have to figure out what I'm going to do with my second quarter! Not to mention the huge pile of midterms I have to grade. And the yearbooks I have to help my kids put together. Wow. I'm making myself tired already. Now that I've got my new laptop configured, I'll try to update more often. I can't connect at school, though, so it might not be as often as I'd like. In any case, I hope things are going well for all of you. I'll try to keep posting on my life as a teacher, my grad school classes, my yoga practice, and anything else interesting that comes up. Don't expect too much about Notes and Domino right now, although during the summer or other breaks, I may try to find a few things to write about that are part of the community that I miss so much. Permanent Link to this entry: Permanent Link |
| :: Finding Libby :: |
| •Send me e-mail |
| •IM Me at AOL: LibbyNicoles, MSN: LibbyNicole@hotmail.com, YahooIM: LibbyNicoles, or Sametime via YellowBleeders |
| •RSS Feed |
| ::Currently Reading (or Watching or Hearing):: | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| ::Other Stuff:: |
| • Photos: Flickr |
| • Photos: Yahoo! |
| :: Referrers :: |
