January | 2013 | bharrington's Xanga Site

Month: January 2013

The Daily News

1 I just woke up thinking once again that this was already written.

2 Curses!

3 Ah, whatevs.

4 I went through a “The past is prologue” things yesterday.

5 Do you ever have that song “Who are you?” drift through your frabjous brain?

6 That happened to me yesterday, for a brief stint.

7 I was at meetings until almost 6 p.m. They all reminded me of where I’ve been and where I am now.

8 Fifteen million people having meetings about how to teach.

9 I don’t think I’ve ever changed my style because of meetings, or data, or new discoveries which inevitably become old discoveries.

10 At meetings, you always hear stuff like this: “They’re going to want to see this. They’re going to want to see that.”

11 It’s a very very very old hat.

12 Yesterday I had a conversation with this student who comes in at lunch each day to do her homework. I told her that I had meetings beginning right after lunch and going all the way into the early evening.

13 One meeting in particular I was disturbed about because I don’t always play by the rules, as anyone who knows me will attest.

14 I knew one meeting was going to be me and an administrator who was going to give me a slight slap on the wrist for not crossing all my T’s and dotting all my I’s.

15 I usually dot my T’s and cross my eyes, which inevitably pisses people off.

16 I was clearly a bit stressed about having this one-on-one, even though I knew that this administrator was a class act.

17 In the midst of stressing over that meeting, the student looked up from her studies and said, “You’re the best teacher at this school, by far.”

18 I don’t believe that, not for a minute.

19 I said, “I don’t know about that. I have colleagues who are awesome, although I haven’t seen many of them teach. I admire them as professionals and as good, caring teachers.”

20 I assume that all teachers have their fans.

21 I do know one thing.

22 I do know that an effective teacher must love teaching. They must love their job, and if they don’t, then they’re in the wrong profession.

23 I especially loved teaching a Yerba Buena. I ran into a whole bunch of my former colleagues last night at the meeting.

24 One teacher is now working at Independence, and mentioned Ponch. He is the maestro extraordinaire over at Indy.

25 We fell into brief conversation about teaching. I said, “Ponch and I had an answer to the statement that teachers always hear, which is this: ‘I can’t see how anyone can be a teacher.’ ” People say that all the time. “I can’t see how anyone can be a teacher.” Ponch had a great answer.

26 His answer, and our answer: “Beats workin’!” A double take and a Three Stooges moment. Always happens when I’m with that guy.

27 Pat answer.

28 Whatever that means.

29 On my way home I thought of how much I love the profession, even though it drives me crazy with all its accountability experts.

30 With all of my training over the years, I still think that the best teachers are the ones who are excited every single day about going in and teaching.

31 I still don’t think I’m anywhere near the teacher I would like to be.

32 I’ve gotten near; I know that.

33 It sounds a bit cliche, but I’ve “mellowed” with age.

34 This means that I don’t demand respect by throwing chairs across rooms, or throwing hissy fits. I don’t cuss. If I get upset, the worst thing I might do is say, “Excuse me,” and I’ll walk out of the room for a minute.

35 I really try to keep things moving, and I smile, even if upset.

36 The best advice I ever received about teaching came from my first principal, Dr. John Hernandez, right after he hired me. I asked him what advice he would give to a fresh, new teacher. His advice: “Be genuine.”

37 Brilliant.

38 Sometimes there are ordinary people who walk into our lives and give us awesome advice, and we are too stupid to realize the brilliance.

39 “Be genuine.”

40 Fancy that.

41 Eight billion accountability idiots looking at data and all, and one gentle soul tells me everything I need to know about teaching in two words.

42 Iono.

43 I had a long day yesterday. I went all the way into the early evening having people at meetings trying every which way to make heads or tails about all of this.

44 Why do I teach?

45 Beats workin’.

46 And I believe in “Be genuine.”

47 It just ain’t that hard.

48 Well, it’s getting late. Or early.

49 Whatevs.

50 It’s once again well into the four a.m. so I think I’ll crawl under some covers, close my eyes, and slumber for a bit.

51 Enjoy your Thursday.

52 I already know that I will.

53 See you again. Be genuine.

54 Peace.

~H~

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             The Daily News

1   My day has been booked for me.

2   Lately I have had the fortune of having everyone on Earth booking my dance card.

3   I’m just rolling with it, but it is officially annoying.

4   Yesterday I got my entire lunch booked for today. That means that I have work, and then meetings from now until 6 p.m.

5   Can’t wait.

6   It’s okay. I will probably bring some performance-enhancing drugs, like Crystal Light and baloney.

7   What else can I be?

8   Sometimes I feel I’m being stalked.

9 At my age, that’s pretty flattering.

10 I’ve learned to be patient with all of this.

11 Everybody else’s world seems more important than my own.

12 Sound familiar? I speak on behalf of Everyman/Everywoman.

13 What do you expect from 2013?

14 Everybody has to work twice as hard for some reason.

15 Of course, I think it’s all a conspiracy to turn us into zombies.

16 Whatevs.

17 I (We) no longer sleep. I just nap at intervals in order to please the rest of the world.

18 The rest of the world.

19 What the world needs is a good night’s sleep.

20 When I talk about my own world, by the way, I’m talking about all of our worlds.

21 We have what I have called “scramblers” in our lives.

22 Scramblers are people who wish to pencil us in on their dance cards. They think nothing of taking our time away from us. They are everywhere in the working world. They put us on constant Stacy Alert.

23 Never mind.

24 Reference to a grand old movie.

25 Wayne’s World is officially a grand old movie.

26 I can’t quite call it a classic, because it isn’t black and white.

27 The entire concept of Stacy Alerts is charming.

28 Stacy is symbolic of anybody who comes walking at you that you want to avoid.

29 Scramblers.

30 I’m not even sure it’s a good word, but somebody had to put a word to it.

31 I got scrambled like crazy yesterday. I already had this day scrambled due to a monthly meeting I somehow got myself into. That’s the one that takes me into the six p.m.

32 My only break today got booked for me through a phone call I was idiotic enough to take yesterday.

33 Good person, but booked my only break of the day for a meeting.

34 I technically don’t have to go to it.

35 But it’s a person who works really hard, and I am willing to sacrifice.

36 So sometimes scramblers are good people. They just think nothing of kidnapping your time.

37 And this week is especially booked, since I had not only the meeting that runs until 6, but a weekend taking care of my Dad, culminating in a Super Bowl party on Sunday, more than likely at his house, which is an hour away.

38 That’s a lot of hours not home taking care of business.

39 I decided to ride this rollercoaster, because somewhere in all of this is an element of good deeds and fun.

40 Today, however, is going to be murder. Three meetings.

41 Here’s something you might not know about me. I hate meetings. I don’t hate too much in this life, but meetings destroy me.

42   I realize they are necessary to any business or institution, because everything revolves around accountability.

43   It always reminds me of Mel Brooks in Blazing Saddles. He is the governor, and his jacket says “Gov” on the back. He calls a meeting with his constituents and opens with the classic line, “Gentlemen, we have to protect our phony-baloney jobs!”

44   Ah, perfect.

45   So I simply have to go in today with that message, and then avoid Stacies.

46   I assume that is the plural spelling of Stacy.

47   Well.

48   I’ve certainly gotten off to a good start.

49   It is now into the four a.m. and I’m booked for the next twelve hours.

50   I don’t mind an attempted escape right now.

51   Gottago. Scramblers. Stacies.

52   They steal your world.

53   I think if I escape now that I’ll be fine.

54   I hope you learned something in all of this.

55   That’s my job; that’s my nature: hoping people learn things.

56   It takes a lifetime to learn things, and what you learn is that you never learn.

57    Gottago.

58    Have a GREAT day. Keep an eye out for scramblers.

59 See you again.

59 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 I tried writing this yesterday afternoon and it was useless.

2 It absolutely must be in the middle of the night, or nothing.

3 I read what I wrote and it was idiotic.

4 I won’t trouble you with the topic, because it was inane. I decided to do my usual routine, which worked out much better.

5 I awakened at around 3:30 a.m. and had just fallen down a deep hole into my own Wonderland. Cheshire cats, teapots, and freshly painted red roses.

6 A Disney DN had written itself before my feet hit the floor.

7 The deal is, my last class of the day completely rocked and understood my lesson.

8 A few of them angered me because they came in late, and they were on cell phones at the beginning of my lecture.

9 Instead of getting angry, I merely stated that they needed to get to my class on time, and that they needed not to be texting while I was trying to help them get smarter.

10 They sheepishly put away the phones, and some even apologized for coming in late.

11 Last class of the day.

12 I then gave them a tip on how to get on Amazon and to buy a Warriner’s grammar book for under six dollars. Warriner’s is THE grammar book that has been used to help people speak well for what seems like centuries. Despite that, it still didn’t land safely on quite a number of people. But my students tuned in yesterday.

13 I then had them take a paragraph from a piece of literature and write the parts of speech over the top of each word.

14 To the layperson, that doesn’t sound like much, but to a teacher, it was absolutely startling.

15 I walked around the classroom and heard comments like, “That’s an adjective, fool!” Or “What part of speech is ‘that’?” Pronoun or adjective, depending on the use.

16 It was a grammatical Wonderland. They taught each other the entire time. I tried interfering, but they weren’t interested. They taught each other. I’ll state that again: they taught each other. And it worked.

17 Baby steps.

18 Speaking correctly is making a comeback, at least in my classes.

19 A perfect period of teaching took place yesterday afternoon. The students engaged in teaching, arguing, and asking me to referee. They climbed over each other, often trying to outdo one another.

20 Oh, it might not seem like much, but it was clear that these guys were miles ahead of their peers in terms of understanding how our language is supposed to work.

21 They knew every part of speech and how it was working in sentences. They understood complex things about writing.

22 They asked REALLY good questions, such as, “What part of speech is ‘else,’ as in “anybody else?”

23 I had to think, because I refuse to rely on teachers’ copies of books. I pride myself in working through those sorts of complex questions so that I am working as hard as the students.

24 Hopefully I’m right here, but I figured that “else” was an adjective.

25 To the layperson, this stuff isn’t important. But I have to fight things like, “I ate a olive yesterday.” Grammar is almost extinct. It is “an olive” fool.

26 Or “Yesterday I had ran downtown.” <basketball buzzer> Uh…it’s “had run.” We no longer teach these things. We don’t have the books. Grammar is disappearing at an alarming rate. Alot is becoming one word. It isn’t. It is two words. A lot. But yesterday my students were getting it. They were almost addicted to correctness. I was in the middle of some sort of cartoon.

27 Wonderland. Quite a cartoony dream.

28 At one point, some student yelled the *f* word. Just barked it in the middle of all the learning. Everything stopped, and all eyes went to me.

29 The class knew I wasn’t kidding around, and fell silent. I happened to be standing at my podium, a thug in a gangsta hat with a crease in his cheek. Pure silence. Tension. In Facebookease: that awkward moment when you shout something at the exact time everybody else is suddenly silent.

30 I spoke.

31 “I assume that was one of those accidental blurts that sometimes happen to all of us. I will make some lemonade then.” I didn’t even point out the student, nor did I send him out of the room.

32 I had the parts of speech written on the board.

33 Continuing.

34 “You just saved me a little time. What you just blurted out is called an interjection. An interjection is the first thing you say when you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer. You say things like, “Ouch!” “Doggone-it!” “Oh fudge!”

35 Corny stuff. Unease.

36 “You also say things like, “Well…” or “Oh!”

37 I looked over their heads. I grew taller.

38 ”Interjections are interesting in that they have absolutely no grammatical purpose or function. We just say them. They exist outside all logic of language. But they are a part of this beautiful thing that we call language. So I’m not at all very angry about a little slip; it happens to all of us, and it usually happens when everybody falls silent at once. Let’s just remember that we are in a classroom.”

39 “You may continue with your teaching.”

40 Awesome moment.

41 In my earlier days I may have handled that a lot worse. I may have gone off on the kid and berated him. I might have thrown him out of the room. I might have even hurled a dictionary in his direction.

42 I knew he had just slipped. It’s human. I knew that. He was scared to death, because he just happened to yell that at the same time the class silenced. That is one of the designs of life. It has happened to so many of us.

43 So we all blew it off, and they returned to arguing about seemingly insignificant things like verbs, adverbs, and all things that train our thinking.

44 We older folks take it for granted that we can speak well.

45 Well, not good. My students understand the difference, and the correctness.

46 It may sound a bit nerdy, but that is why I awakened into the three a.m.

falling down a hole into a cartoony wonderland.

47 I had originally tried writing this stuff yesterday afternoon. It wasn’t the same. My theme was “lousy hot dog buns.” I was going to call it something fluky like “Malice in Bunderland.”

48 Not the same. I absolutely must deadline this thing in the middle of the night, when everything is strange.

49 Right before I wrote this I was in dreamland. I was literally in a cartoon, with lush colors, teapots, Cheshire cats, an ocean of turquoise tears, yellow skeleton keys, and red paint.

50 There are worse things.

51 May I depart with a request?

52 Speak correct in front of younger people.

53 Correctly.

54 Let’s all join forces to bring elegance back.

55 That’s all.

56 Have a wonderful Tuesday.

57 Stay classy.

58 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 “You’re perfectly mad!”

2 I’m into the 4 a.m. once again, and some old film or other is flickering in front of me. I was setting up for the writing of this nonsense, heard that line, and lifted a smile.

3 I swear on a stack of bibles that I have no idea what movie it is, or anything about it.

4 Frankly, I don’t really wish to find out. It is one of about a million I watch each night/morning.

5 I don’t really watch them. They are sort of like night lights with black-and-white visuals and sound that sometimes cracks.

6 I wake up to 2013, when nobody says things like “You’re perfectly mad!”

7 Or “Oh, my darling, I love you!”

8 I enjoy my night lights.

9 I enjoy going to sleep early, and then awakening to a heater, a blanket, and an old movie.

10 I enjoy movies with people moving swiftly along rainy streets.

11 I enjoy umbrellas.

12 I enjoy my time of day. Somewhere in the middle of the night, I imagine. It’s as though I have taken my hand and stopped the world.

13 “I can’t marry you. I don’t know your name!”

14 Only deep into the 4 a.m. would you hear an almost tag line like that coming off the screen. That was the second-to-the-last line in said unknown film. I didn’t catch the tag line. But that was the line going into the tag line. It doesn’t get any better than that.

15 Ah, the joys of insomnia.

16 Who knew it would come to this?

17 What most people don’t understand about insomnia is that it can not only be controlled, it can be engaging.

18 It feels as though I have slipped through the cracks of the insanity through which we all live, and given sweet, precious moments for myself.

19 If that sounds a bit selfish, so be it.

20 I have these scant wee hours to relax. Most people have no concept of relaxation.

21 They get flustered, and try to force it with weekends that often don’t go the way they would like. Or with stressing the entire time they try to relax.

22 I used to laugh at that. I would see people who would be ridiculously impatient on vacations.

23 Ever see people on the freeways during the summer?

24 They are more nervous trying to escape the madness than when they are when working.

25 They tailgate other drivers. They roll down their windows and shout at the car in front of them, “Come on you idiot! Can’t you see that I’m in a hurry to relax????” It is almost comical, were it not so dangerous. Morons. No escaping them.

26 I’m awake for the day.

27 I had an extremely stressful weekend. I had to go under the hood of the DN and do a repair job.

28 I had tons of grading to do. That’s always a pleasure.

29 I had to plan lessons for what is going to be a stressful week.

30 I had people at work barking at me for things I didn’t do to make their lives easier.

31 I had to help family.

32 I watched my own work stack up.

33 And I fought it all.

34 By the time I went to sleep, I had conquered all of that boushit.

35 I went to sleep early, and I am now completely awake, refreshed, and ready for the day.

36 Healthy, not wealthy, but quite wise still.

37 I look around my cozy living room, see that everything is organized and ready for the coming week, and smile, like Joe-the-Bear, who sits in peace on a whatnot.

38 A whatnot is a piece of furniture that has a system of shelves that holds figurines, pictures, and whatnot.

39 Last week I gave that as a vocabulary word.

40 It was from some extinct short story by Mark Twain.

41 I had never really read it until last week. It’s this charming little piece called The Californian’s Tale. Most people have never heard of it.

42 It’s about a gold miner still hanging around California some years after the gold rush. He comes upon a former miner named Henry, whose house, unlike all the abandoned ones, looks pretty, and has flowers and paint, and is absolutely beautiful. Henry is waiting for his lovingly gorgeous wife to return from visiting relatives.

43 The narrator becomes engaged when he sees a picture of Henry’s wife, who looks absolutely charming.

44 I won’t give the plot away, as I know there are readers out there who might enjoy this remarkable gem.

45 If a guy like me uses the word “charming” twice in the four a.m. you know the story has charm.

46 I teach seasonally.

47 This story is truly about the real forty-niners.

48 And Twain uses the term “whatnot” as a piece of furniture that holds knick-knacks.

49 I am convinced that very few people in 2013 would know that.

50 We have a couple of whatnots in the very room from where I am writing at this moment.

51 They hold small figurines, beautiful pictures of all things past, and the venerable Joe-the-Bear.

52 I just tried taking a picture of Joe-the-Bear but it was too dark, and he looked ghastly. When I have a bit more time, I’ll share him. He is gallant, and quite the gentleman. He just hangs out with this look that is a replicates me.

53 He is the gentleman I always hope to be. I look up to Joe-the-Bear.

52 Well, some other movie is on, and is winding down. I’ve heard the word “darling” more than I have perhaps ever. It must be darling night on TCM.

53 It is now approaching the five a.m. when the clock radio blares at me with unimportant suddenness, reminding me of 2013. I push this ten-minute button that hushes all the trash out there, and I close my eyes and think about more pleasurable things, like Mark Twain, whatnots, and Joe-the-Bear. It will pop on in ten more minutes with massive news of still more misery,and I will again pop it on the head, silence it, and I will attempt to think of niceties.

54 By the second or third pop, they will have reached sports news, and I will rest my eyes ’til it is time to jump back into all the madness that is 2013.

55 I will then have coffee, edit this nonsense, and walk into my week tanned, rested, and ready. The art of insomnia, beautifully orchestrated.

56 It might not be for everybody, but it works for me.

57 Enjoy your Monday. Fly low.

58 See you again.

59 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 I missed a deadline yesterday.

2 I have two DN’s done, but evidently I pushed some wrong button on the first one.

3 Both were brilliant.

4 But I pushed a wrong button.

5 Ironically, the theme of both was about how inanimate objects slap us around.

6 I can’t go into details because I suddenly have no control over the look of the DN.

7 This happened once before.

8 It is out of control. This DN, for example, can’t even have the classic The Daily News heading. Won’t let me.

9 I have no control over the look, the pics, the fonts, or anything.

10 I can’t do anything on it any longer.

11 I do this in the middle of the night, so I have no time to figure it all out.

12 This DN is just me trying to convey that to the masses.

13 I don’t know that I have the wherewithal to fix it.

14 I might be down for a while, which has NEVER happened.

15 Ironically, I had begun writing a fun little history of the YB Drama Workshop.

16 I wrote part one the other night, and part two last night.

17 Part one had been finished and ready to launch when a poem disappeared

just as I pressed “save changes.”

18 It was actually public and on Facebook when I did a final edit right before

going to work and saw that pictures had disappeared, the poem disappeared, the

text went horizontally north for about four miles, and it looked ridiculously

undone, like morning robes and hair.

19 I’m writing right now to send a sort of “pardon our dust” thing, even though I did

nothing to make this horror happen.

20 I’m fine with it, but it just means I have to look under the hood and see what is

going on. It’s like trying to look at the engine of an old jalopy.

21 I’m in an old movie, I swear. Think classic films, and some guy riding in an old

jalopy, loving the afternoon and when suddenly the engine makes a loud noise, and

suddenly starts smoking and farting. I pull over on some country road, lift the hood,

and get hit in the face by a stream of oil.

22 I take a handkerchief out, wipe off my face, look around, and a tire blows.

23 That’s where we are with the good ol’ DN.

24 It is out in the middle of nowhere, sitting in some weeds with a faulty engine and

a flat tire.

25 I’ve no way of fixing it ’til the weekend, which is already booked with all sorts of

other things.

26 I love writing the DN, because it is history, and it is so simple, and it is such a lark.

27 It’s me at my maddest madness during the witching hour.

28 But it is not working, let me tellya.

29 And I have spent two nights trying to fix it, to no avail.

30 I’ll work on it, but meanwhile, pardon my dust.

31 I’ll do everything in my power to get this up and running again, but

it may take some time.

32 And energy, which is beginning to run on empty.

33 AnywayZ…

34 As I wrote “AnywayZ…” some actress in some old movie just said, “Anyway…”

35 Perfect coincidence at a perfect moment.

36 Anyway…

37 I guess the best I could do right now is to wish you all a good weekend.

38 We’ll see you again.

39 All apologies. I think I’ll have this thing licked before the day is over. Might even write a second, ‘cuz I owe you one.

40 So yeah. See you again; I’m convinced of that.

41 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 I’m watching an old movie from 1968 called The Split right now. It stars among other people the great Cleveland Brown running back Jim Brown. They just had a scene where discussion of an upcoming playoff game happens. Ticket prices: $5.50 to $8.00. Brown is stalking the vendors and the concession stands, watching all the open cash that is exchanged.

2 The playoff game is at the Coliseum, and is between the Los Angeles Rams and the Atlanta Falcons. The Rams win the game 20-3. I enjoyed watching the Falcons lose.

3 Brown needs money.

4 He decides it might be a good idea to rob the ticket booths. The upcoming game can evidently fit 80,000 people. It can actually hold 93,607. I looked it up. Who knew?

5 Pretty low-budget stuff. He decides to “audition” different thugs, most of whom were relatively big stars at the time: Brown, of course, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Klugman, Diahann Carroll, Julie Harris, James Whitmore, and even an actress named Beverly Hills. Gene Hackman plays a corrupt police detective. Everybody is crooked. I couldn’t care less about any of the characters.

6 I got a bit hooked by the fact they were watching the vendors. The program vendor at the beginning of the film had individual dollars folded in each finger, quite the way to hold money back in 1968.

7 As a former stadiu vendor, I realized rather quickly that facing money in the palm of the hand works much better and much faster when selling programs, and that guys who would do that were doing it more for show than anything else. All vendors work on commission, and our commission was 20%, which meant we had to move swiftly and accurately.

8 The trouble with finding this all-star film into the 3 a.m. is that I’m trying to watch it and write this stuff at the same time.

9 I do like the premise of the film, since I was in that business for years.

10 Not a good idea to try to rob those guys. Trust me. It isn’t the store’s money; it’s their money. They can get pretty protective pretty quickly. I worked with a guy one time who had a gun in his duffle bag. It scared me, but he was a gun guy, and said if anyone even came close…

11 Yeesh.

12 And this was “back-in-the-day.”

13 In the film, the seven or eight guys in on the robbery have all sorts of doo-dads and gadgets that can help them wire up the Coliseum, which already looks old and dingy. I’m convinced that whatever wiring they may have tried wouldn’t work in a concrete stadium.

14 The total amount they wish to run off with: $500,000. I don’t know if the math adds up if tickets to a playoff game are $5.50 to $8.00.

15 Seems a little high. They would have to get all of the money.

16 Or not.

17 These guys are real thugs.

18 Some of the stuff in the film is pretty accurate. The money bags have locks on them, just like the real deal. The vending set-up and money rooms look right.

19 Anyway, greed gets the best of everyone in this story, which is fairly accurate about the vending profession. A lot of guys aren’t greedy, but the ones who are…another “yeesh.”

20 This is why it isn’t a good idea ever to attempt something like this. I know some guys who would have killed their mothers if someone tried to rob their stand.

21 One time I stupidly chased some miscreant fan who tried to steal two mini-baseball bats. How stupid was I? Pretty stupid. This guy stole small weapons and ran down the ramp. I jumped over the table and chased him yelling, “I’ll call the police!” To my astonishment the guy came back up the ramp, gave me the bats and ran off.

22 My partner looked at me like I had twelve heads. “That guy could have cracked your skull with those bats.”

23 I felt like an idiot, but I also took one for the team.

24 Two $7.00 bats. My delicious greed almost got me killed.

25 Anyway, here’s the plot of this film, which is pretty low-budget. It’s from Imbd.

A pair of crooks conspire to rob the ticket booth at the Los Angeles Coliseum during a Rams game. Before they can perform the heist, the two must find precisely the right henchmen to join them. Each potential gang member must undergo a rigorous test of skill. Thanks to care and precise planning, the caper comes off smoothly and afterward the gang leader (Jim Brown) hides the money in the apartment of his ex-wife (Diahann Carroll). She only agrees to keep the money on the provision that he reform so they can get back together. Unfortunately, the wife’s lust-crazed landlord (James Whitmore) busts into her house the next day and tries to rape her. During the struggle he kills her and then takes the loot. Later a crooked cop (Gene Hackman) investigates. Meanwhile, when the gang members learn that the loot is missing, they suspect a double-cross and engage in a huge battle. The cop finds the money and at first keeps it for himself. The head crook eventually figures out that the cop has it and so goes to him to make a little deal. (courtesy of IMDb)

26 Pretty small-time stuff, but somehow with an all-star cast.

Nolte in Teachers, a 1984 film

that comes closer to the real deal

than most people think.

27 I’ve seen films about schools and teachers, and don’t recall ever seeing anything close to the real deal with the possible exception of the 1984 classic Teachers, starring Nick Nolte. The Split does show a bit of accuracy of how the money circulates at a football game, although if it was a playoff game, I don’t know that it would have been quite as easy to pull off a heist. There has always been extra security at large events.

28 They escape in an ambulance that somehow makes it through the traffic. That would never happen at Candlestick Park, which becomes Beijing after a game. Those guys would have been stuck in two-hour traffic with their take.

29 Anyway, I think I would rather watch a film about vending than I would one about teaching. I think the concept is interesting, but that the characters one meets in that profession are much more interesting than the stock low-budget crooks in this film.

30 My favorite part of vending was the different characters I worked with, people from all walks of life, most of whom get hooked on at least one team. It was a hard job, but one filled with fun times, great games, huge concerts, and lots of laughs.

31 Zany stuff.

32 Hard workers.

33 Lots of wiseguys. Lots of characters, that’s for sure.

34 Sensational memories.

35 Do I miss it?

36 A little. Working the seats was always fun, good exercise, and being right in the thick of it.

37 Tough on the body though.

38 Up and down steps for three or so hours.

39 For the record, souvenirs makes WAY more money than selling anything in the seats. It’s a long day, because you are essentially setting up your own little store, and you are accountable for every single piece of merch, which takes a LOT of time, so they are long days, and if your stand comes up short, YOU and your partner or partners pay.

40 Tremendous money when times are good. I can’t begin to imagine what my friends are making this season, what with the Giants, A’s, and Niners having good seasons. It’s probably pretty high.

41 Anyway, I thought it was fun to take a glimpse at the film. It was really not a great film, but a film about the vending life would be pretty interesting. It is the world of entertainment and sports turned inside out. I have even worked the circus.

42 Well, I am into the 4 a.m. and have another long day, with meetings all the way ’til six, so I think I’m going to pull up to the curb, park, and get me some sleep.

43 Have a GREAT day!

44 See you again.

45 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
SUPER BOWL BOUND!!!

The Daily News

1 With all the news the past couple of days, the one that topped off today’s DN was the apparent hoax by an employee of the Manly Library near Sydney Austrailia, who posted this notice on the library door:

2 I was driving down the freeway listening to all the stories coming over the airwaves when I heard that one. I naturally figured that this library probably didn’t do that, but for a half-second I believed it, and I chuckled.

3 Turns out it was a rather polite college student working part-time who put the sign up, something I would certainly have done when I was younger.

4 Interestingly, those books probably should be placed in the fiction section, along with the Warren Report on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the Biography of George W. Bush.

5 It all would have been proper if you ask me.

6 The trouble with the Lance story is that once we start peeling that onion, we would be left with billions of sports’ books sitting on the selfsame fiction shelves.

7 Homie won’t go there. I prefer to live in the dream world of my sports’ teams having a banner year.

8 Moving on, Part the First: So to the Niners and all their fans: This is It! Eighteen years flew by, and here we are once more facing a Super Bowl that could be for the ages. Fun season! Is it safe to say that the best two teams are in there?

9 It’s all about survival. I’m reeling, honestly. For a brief moment the other day, I thought we were going to get side swiped. I thought it was going to be one of those games that was going to soak us. I had faith, but I worried about our defense, as well as the entire first half time of possession.

10 I also had a feeling that Coach Jim Harbaugh might have had a few words with the boys during half time.

11 Good guess.

12 So what fun! An entire new generation of Niners’ fans is going to enjoy the tradition of the greatest franchise in NFL history. It is storied, and filled with excellence. Will these words upset some people? Of course.

13 Have we had a few bad years? Lots.

14 So have all the other teams. So why not flex a little? Might we lose?

15 No way.

16 I’ll be happy to eat a little crow if somehow I’m wrong, but I don’t think so.

17 It’ll be a fun dance.

18 I was glad to see that Jim Harbaugh turned the focus from the brotherly battle right back to the players.

19 It’s all other-worldly, but I’m going to enjoy all the hype, and I’m going to live the dream.

20 Fun stuff, and I am always going to enjoy fun stuff.

21 Moving On, Part the First: So…Stan-the-Man Musial walks into a bar…

22 One of the true greats.

23 I was so busy last week that I didn’t even stop to hear that news. A gentleman named twoberry, a goodly fan of both the Niners and the DN, wrote me and asked why no mention of Musial. Well, here’s why: I got whisked away from internet access soon after reading his inquiry, and never really was able to get fully back, but the reason I didn’t mention Musial was because I simply didn’t know that he had passed. I took off for the mountains shortly thereafter and had no real internet access.

24 I WAS able to use my iPhone, but I’m not very good at using my phone as a computer. I have too many thumbs. I was able to throw a shout out to the Niners via Facebook, but I much prefer my laptop when it comes to doing any sort of lengthy items. My focus this past weekend was on visiting family.

25 So thanks twoberry. I’ll try to write you directly, but I know I am going to get inundated with work this week. I was whisked away to far and exotic places this weekend, and was unable to get done what I wanted to get done. I did get to get things done that should have been done, however, and that was to enjoy a wonderful respite from all the stresses of daily living.

26 I actually got to get back to the land of the living. My family insisted that I get away from all my school nonsense and enjoy some time laughing, joking, eating, feasting, and enjoying the game while resting in the pines.

27 Excellent advise!

28 The company store can take a nice back seat nine cars behind.

29 Moving on, Part the Second: Let me say this. I wasn’t back to work from Christmas break three minutes before I had idiocy-in-nincompoopedness rain all over me. The exact same things that had almost driven me to a complete and total nervwracking breakdown flew instantly at me like mad bats.

30 I would like to thank my family for whisking me out of harm’s way into the mountains, and allowing me to laugh and to enjoy life.

31 I brought my entire traveling desk up there, unloaded my laptop, my papers, my pencils, my calculators, my lesson plans, and all things school into the back bedroom, and never touched it. Not one second was spent on anything work-related. Sidebar: I consider my car my traveling desk. I have no real desk.

32 Will I pay for it? Of course! My next two days are already booked by other people, and evidently I have nothing to say about it.

33 That has been my life lately. Other people booking my time, and assuming that is okay to do so.

34 That is not okay to do. It is sensible to ask people first. We are probably all guilty of booking other people’s time, but when what seems like twenty-some odd people start throwing dates at you, it gets pretty stressful. “You’re going to be there, right?” is beginning to get me.

35 I decided this weekend that school can be put on hold. I have serious issues going on with people who seriously my attention, and your kid’s F-in-English grade doesn’t really concern me.

36 <cheshire smile>

37 I got home last night from Paradise, California and smiled a bit. I know I’ll probably be stressed and upset, but I enjoyed the time I spent with people I love and enjoy. The mountains and trees were calming, the laughs and food and songs simply rocked.

38 I feel that with the MLK weekend, I got renewed hope. I didn’t see the Inauguration; I was in transit. I thought all weekend about the spirit of Martin Luther King, and of how much he did to liberate not just African Americans, but all Americans.

39 I can never believe how ridiculously difficult his entire movement was, how brave he must have been, and how eloquent he was. Like all great men, he had his faults. Don’t we all. A man of his bravery and stature is sure to have a few.

40 I appreciate all he did for America. I can’t remember at this hour what his personal photographer was, but I brought him into our Theatre at Yerba Buena years ago, and had a short chat with him. He had nothing but good things to say about MLK, and he gave me an autographed poster (his autograph, not Dr. King’s).

41 I had to set up sound and lights for the gentleman, who was true of Dr. King’s spirit.

42 I’d love to say I’ll never forget that, but I forget everything nowadays.

43 I do remember the spirit of an event. This was one of Dr. King’s best friends, and I must admit I was swept up in how human he was, and how many good things he had to say about his friend.

44 I enjoyed that.

45 I hung the poster in my classroom, which was the Piano Lab at the time for those of you who walked through our own history. I was proud of it, but also a bit naive.

46 Within a day it was gone.

47 At first I was outraged, but after a few seconds I thought otherwise.

48 Some student probably needed it more than I ever could. If that student is reading this, enjoy it guilt-free. It was that important, and Dr. King that much of a hero, then enjoy it. I have the memory of it.

49 Moving on, Part the Thoid: I am now well getting into the four a.m. and find myself smiling and feeling healthy. I’d love to add wealthy and wise to the mix, but I’ll stay with healthy, at least for now.

50 I think it would be wise for me to go to bed. I expect that Phoebe the Wonder dog will awaken within the next half hour to go out. She tends to do that the second you drift off.

51 I won’t mind.

52 It has been a wonderful weekend, and Dr. King, thank you for the inspiration, and for the liberation. We all need it.

53 To my readers, enjoy the day. Everything I put down here is with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

54 And Sir Twoberry, thank you for the sad but interesting news about Stan-the-Man. I need to know these things.

55 You are a gallant soul.

56 Have a great Tuesday everyone!

57 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 I have a confession. I don’t care about Lance Armstrong, nor do I care about football players who are liars. What’s all the fuss? People need lives, I swear to you.

2 Taylor Swift has had thirteen boyfriends in four years. Who cares?

3 Dear Abbey has walked into a bar. That’s some news, I imagine.

4 I’ll stick with watching old movies.

5 If you’ve been following this nonsense, the last real news I had to report was that I watched an old movie last night about a giant Venusian lizard that was terrorizing all of Italy.

6 That was charming.

7 I am again well into the three a.m. watching this little jewel called Suzy, starring Jean Harlow. It features Cary Grant bursting into song at one point. Delightful stuff.

8 Ah, the joys of conking out early.

9 It’s almost as though I am attempting to escape the twenty-first century, and all of its nonsensical yellow journalism.

10 Yes, younger generation. They used to have a name for sensationalist news.

11 They called it yellow journalism. It was considered ridiculous by real newspaper people, who at one time were considered the watchdogs of society.

12 I took a journalism course in college at one point, and learned all of this stuff. At 4 a.m. I can’t begin any attempt to teach you all of that.

13 So I will once again dip into Wiki, which is one of the worst sources for information on the planet, but which is also one of the easiest, if you consider that perhaps 80% of it is relatively accurate.

14 That’s far better than what we are getting from mainstream sources, and it fits right in with the idiocy that passes for news in this twenty-first century.

15 What we call news nowadays is a fit of lies, controlled by moguls and scoundrels, and scum like Rupert Murdoch. The masses are being controlled, cajoled, and brainwashed.

16 Ah, vell. Goodness knows where it will all head.

17 For the younger set, I did look over the Wiki article on yellow journalism, and it seems to hold up relatively well with what my professors taught me. I didn’t have time to go through all of it, but it looks pretty accurate.

18 Keep in mind that when I put the DN out there, it is two to three hours of inspiration during my insomnia, and is seldom the result of digging deep into stories.

19 It is simply a silly hobby designed to entertain, just like modern journalism.

20 The DN is just a bit more accurate than the mainstream sensationalist drivel.

21 So at the risk of changing all my fonts and pics, here is a short Wiki piece about Yellow Journalism and what it is. See if you see any parallels to modern reporting.

Yellow Journalism

Yellow journalism, or yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents little or no

legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques include exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering,

or sensationalism. By extension the term yellow journalism is used today as a pejorative to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional or unethical

fashion.

Campbell (2001) defines yellow press newspapers as having daily multi-column front-page headlines covering a variety of topics, such as sports and scandal, using boldlayouts (with large illustrations and perhaps color), heavy reliance on unnamed sources and unabashed reliance on self-promotion. The term was used to describe New York City newspapers about 1900 as they battled for cirulation.

Frank Luther Mott (1941) defines yellow journalism in terms of five characteristics:

1. scare headlines, in huge print, often of minor news.

2. lavish use of pictures, or imaginary drawings.

3. use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, pseudoscience, and a parade of false learning from so-called experts.

4. emphasis on full-color Sunday supplements, usually with comic strips.

5. dramatic sympathy with the “underdog” against the system.

Sources

1 W. Joseph Campbell (December 2001). “You Furnish the Legend, I’ll Furnish the Quote.” American Journalism Review

2 Mott, Frank Luther (1941). American Journalism. p 539.

23 I originally put the entire article in here, but it ran crazily all over the page.

22 Yeesh.

24 I don’t even know if this is being inserted in the middle of the article, or at the end.

25 I also had around twenty more items, but got a bit too heady and negative. No point.

26 So I’ll keep it short today, going into a wonderful three-day.

27   And Taylor Swift has had thirteen boyfriends in four years.

28   I can’t top that.

28 Have a great weekend, and Go Niners!

29   This issue of the Daily News is possessed.

30   So I’m lighting out early.

31 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 I’m into the four a.m. watching this ridiculously hilarious film about a giant Venusian lizard that is terrorizing Italy. It is immune to bullets. What makes it funny it isn’t that much of a giant. It’s smaller than an elephant, making it one of the most low-budget monsters in cinematic history.

2 It just got into a fight with an elephant.

3 I’m not a betting man, but I’ll bet the monster wins.

4 It has clung to the elephant like an enormous tick. They’re running through the streets of Rome in old-film jitterbug style. It has the elephant in a what looks like a half-nelson.

5 DOWN GOES THE ELEPHANT!

6 The creature is growing. It is suddenly enormous. Even though word is out that it is immune to bullets, military people who should know better continue to shoot at it. Continually.

7 I came in at the end, but I had a feeling it would all go down to a final scene at the Roman Colosseum.

8 There will be tanks, helicopters, and guys on huge walkies.

9 The monster has found his way from Sicely to the Colosseum. Knock me over with a feather. He climbs to the top. He doesn’t seem too interested in girls, which is unusual for a monster.

10 He gets to the top of the Colosseum; people are screaming; guns are being fired. They might as well try to bring the fellow down with marshmallows and whipped cream.

11 Uh-oh. Looks like the military is going to the most dangerous weapon in the ’50′s: the stovepipe bazooka.

12 The monster might be immune to bullets, but NOTHING is immune to bazookas in ’50′s monster movies.

13 The monster takes a shot in the belly. He grabs his belly. He is reeling.

14 Another bazooka shot. The monster saves himself by grabbing the top of the Colosseum.

15 A woman’s scream.

16 The monster falls, taking a huge chunk of the Colosseum with him, and is clearly dead on impact.

17 One officer says to the other, “Why is it always, always so costly for Man to move from the present to the future?”

18 The End.

19 My favorite line: “Get that elephant out of here!”

20 I watched it while trying to get my laptop to start. I’m convinced that electronic devices pick up on my negative vibes and shut down on me anytime I am stressed.

21 And I have been stressed. Computers, School Loop, Data Director, among other deadline-important items all keep closing down, keep not saving things , keep posting “Under Construction” signs, and keep buffering when I am racing deadlines.

22 It’s like they know.

23 Moving on, Part One: Yesterday at a meeting one young teacher told us that they now have computer programs that could grade papers.

24 These things are sure getting smart.

25 I naturally began to wonder if they are smarter than we think.

26 I began to wonder if someone is giving computers human qualities, injecting them with that childish urge to do practical jokes on random people.

27 This has been a banner year for technological meltdowns.

28    That probably explains my fascination with monster movies lately.

29    So much worse can happen.

30    Oh well. Like I always say, if that’s the worst of my problems, I got no problems.

31     It’s sort of funny, because yesterday I was stressing my inability to reach a very important website so that I could once again run answer sheets for our Benchmark test, which was a huge thorn in the butt at the end of last semester.

32 Computers. It’s funny. You have good vibes with certain programs, and bad vibes with others.

33 It’s sort of like people.

34 Anyway, I’m giving the test on tomorrow, and I KNOW that it takes an act of Congress for an old geezer like me to get the answer sheets off this irritating program called Data Director. I figured it out right before Christmas, and made a diving catch for a touchdown right before we left for break. I got those answer sheets done through the help of several colleagues, many as stumped as I with the procedures.

35 Data Director recently changed their access procedures, so we had to go a different route to get these things than we did at Christmas. To make a long story longer, I was just about to log in when this student flew at my door, crashed into the rectangular window on the door, and dropped to the ground.

36 I smiled, because I recognized the guy as a student I had last year. He was in my seventh period English 4 class, and came to visit with a girl who was also in the class.

37 I instantly dropped everything I was doing and sat down for a lovely chat. We talked about all the goofballs from the class, and all the fun we had in the Spring, with Shakespeare, with poetry, with skits, and with my Cafe Verona day, when my room becomes a hip coffee house, complete with food, drinks, and yes, nickel-cups of coffee. We have a poetry reading with every student sharing a poem or two, and at the end of the period I strap on my guitar and sing a couple of songs, usually well-rehearsed. I have a mic and an amp to give it a live effect. Last year I did Simon and Garfunkel’s America, and a surprise for even myself, Punky’s Dilemma, a jewel of a song. The former students laughed, and their eyes twinkled with fond memories of a fun day. Data Director disappeared in an instant, replaced by laughter and warmth.

38 Sometimes when I tell people I teach, they ask, “What do you teach?”

39 In a rather non-condescending way I answer gently, “Students.”

40 I may change that. I may say, “People.”

41 I don’t really teach them though. I do when lecturing, but they teach me as well; it’s a two-way street.

42 The chat found those two wonderful students and I simply exchanging all the good times we had in class, moving quite naturally to their hopes for the future, and to their dreams. And to my dreams as well.

43 After they left I decided I was done for the day. It was such a nice visit!

44 I turned and looked at my computer. The LED lights started snorting like a hungry dragon. I thought to myself, “That was such a nice visit…” Then my annoying work ethic said, “Get in there and get it done.” So I logged in to my fierce enemy, Data Director.

45 The screen had a brick wall with a sign on it that said something to the effect of “Sorry, Data Director is not available at this time.”

46 I smiled, winked, shut it all down, turned my hat slightly askew, and made my exit.

47 I don’t need to be told more than once. There are things at home much more important than that ridiculous nonsense.

48 Have a great Thursday. I’ll slay that dragon later today. I’ll use my bazooka. Thank God for the Second Amendment.

49 See you again.

50 Peace.

~H~

www.xanga.com/bharrington
The Daily News

1 Yesterday was a banner day for Facebook.

2 I have two Facebooks, for the record. One is for my school life, which includes all of my former students, my current students, and my colleagues at work. The other is for my friends and family, who don’t mind seeing pictures of me doing cannonballs into the pool at the lodge we stay in each summer when we go to Tahoe. Nobody I know professionally should ever have to witness that.

3 Sometimes the two Facebooks cross-over, which is always fun.

4 My deal with Facebook is that I usually sort of post something and then fly through the Facebook nonsense just out of boredom. It’s fun as a teacher to see that students go on to live full and wonderful lives without really knowing what a participle is, or a gerund. Who cares? Facebook. I swear. Where do we go from here?

5 Yesterday, almost everybody had fun posts. I saw children smiling, birthdays, walks in the park, cute grandpas, and a smorgasbord of recipes, beaches, horses, puppies, and good times.

6 It was nice, because I went to bed really early and awakened into the1 a.m.

7 This is perfect for a professional multi-tasker. Here is how a muti-tasker works: I got home early yesterday, set up grading camp, graded about an hour of tests, ate dinner, and then conked out. It was a good day. My students were perfect yesterday, at least in my eyes.

8 They had really lagged on Monday, but I encouraged them by pointing out that they were Californians, and that we ALL lag on Mondays and Fridays.

9 I taught participles and gerunds. How do we even call ourselves human beings if we don’t master those two things? We owe this to our children. Participles and gerunds.

10 What the heck are they anyway?

11 I don’t think I even knew until around my fourteenth year teaching.

12 Now that I see how much they have touched my life, I can’t see how I ever lived not knowing what they were.

13 Okay. For the layperson, here is a quick lesson: a participle is a verb-form ending in -ing, -d, -ed, or any irregular past-participle verb form used as an adjective, and sometimes as both an adjective AND a verb.

14 Got it?

15 It’s a word that looks like a verb and operates as both a verb and an adjective. It should be called a “vadjective.” But for whatever reason, it isn’t. More’s the pity.

16 I can’t stress the importance of knowing this.

17 Let me break it down for you.

18 Let us dissect Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. It is an extraordinarily famous song, and it contains a bunch of participles and gerunds. It made Journey a ton of money. So don’t sit there and tell me that participles and gerunds shouldn’t be the center of your universe. Let’s examine this classic more closely.

19 Here are the lyrics:

Just a small town girl

Livin’ in a lonely world…

20 ”Living” is a participle. It makes the girl more specific. She is a “Livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. Livin’ begins an entire phrase that lets us know more about the girl. She isn’t just any girl. She is a “livin’-in-a-lonely world” girl. For the record, she is actually a “small-town-livin’-in-a-lonely-world” girl, but the focus is on participial phrases, right? I will reiterate: “Livin’” is a participle because it is a vadjective. Got it? Oh, not yet, ayyy?

21 How about another from this grand old song?

22 Here go:

Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit…

He already is not just a boy, but a city boy, because city, while clearly a noun, is working as an adjective modifying boy, making the boy more specific. That’s what adjectives do.

Both “born” and “raised” are participles, because both are by birthright past-participial verbs, but both have been positioned to work as adjectives modifying the city boy. He’s not just a city boy any longer. He is also a “Born-and-raised-in-South-Detroit” city boy. The entire phrase makes him more specific. The entire phrase is one big adjective. Isn’t this beautiful?

23 While I gave this lesson, I couldn’t help throwing in other identifiable parts of speech.

She took the midnight train goin’ anywhere…

“Midnight” is a fun adjective modifying “train.” That’s what adjectives do. They modify nouns and pronouns. “Midnight” is again unique in that it is a noun working as an adjective, sort of like “baseball bat.” ”Anywhere” is an adverb. They tell how, when, and where, for the most part.

24 Allow this professor to continue, if you please. Hopefully your hot oatmeal is going through your eyes and nostrils at this point. This is a good thing. It means your day is starting out just right, and you are getting edumacated simultaneously.

25 Shall we continue?

A singer in a smoky room.

The smell of wine and sweet perfume.

Two fragments and a lousy rhyme.

26 English rocks.

27 ; )

28 Are you ready to kill me yet?

29 The lesson shall continue. A-hem. Here go:

Strangers, waiting up and down the boulevard…

“Waiting” is a participle. It looks like a verb, but actually starts a phrase that becomes yet another adjective modifying “strangers.” They aren’t just “strangers.” They are “waiting-up-and-down-the-boulevard” strangers. The entire phrase works as a singular adjective. Got it? The doctor is in.

30 Still more:

Streetlight people…

First off, they are no longer simply people. The noun “streetlight” is another noun secretly working as an adjective to make the people more specific. They could be “ugly” people, or “fancy” people. But they are not. The noun “streetlight” ends all that.

Continuing:

Livin’ just to find emotion…

“Living” is a participle that begins this phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying the streetlight people. They are no longer simply “streetlight people.”

They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people. I love that line, by the way.

31 Shall we continue continuing:

Hidin’ somewhere in the night.

Okay. “Hiding” is a participle that begins THIS phrase, the entire set of words acting as a participle modifying further the “Living-just-to-find emotion” streetlight people.

They are now “Living-just-to-find emotion-hiding somewhere-in-the-night-streetlight people.” Talk about baggage…

32 The students just wanted to hear the song, but I kept deliberately interrupting it. Was it obnoxious? Yeah, of course it was. By design. Roll with me here. Sometimes teachers deliberately torture their students. I did yesterday, so just roll with this for a second or two more. Continuing.

33 How could I not give credit to this line:

Some will win, some will lose,

Some are born to sing the blues…

34 I let that one play, and then shouted across the room, “Great rhyme!”

35 I then let the song play with no further interruption. Many started singing, some started dancing, while others began drumming fingers. It was all pretty fun.

37 I had them write a bunch of phrases of their own, and told them that if their groups put the phrases on the board, and if the phrases were all close to perfect, that I would play the song loudly at the end of the period, and that they could sing and dance out the door when the bell rang.

38 It worked. Their sentences were perfect. They had mastered a major writing tool.

39 I played it LOUD. In one class a few kids got up and danced, and in every class they left the room singing, “Don’t stop, believing, hold on to that feel-yay-eee-yay-an…”

40 Both teachers on each side of my room came in and laughed. It was a great day.

41 I threw a mini-Facebook post out there midday. I rarely do that because I don’t really have the time, but I had to share.

42 Turns out that I threw that into a banner day on Facebook.

43 It is now into the 3 a.m. I have some old TCM thing going on. One of the classic mugs just said, “Small town.”

44 I looked up and smiled. I wasn’t really watching it, just using it as a lamp.

45 Just another in a series of a bajillion mini-coincidences.

46 AnywayZ…

47 For the record, there is no “s” at the end of “anyway.” And there certainly isn’t a capital “Z.”

48 It’s late. Or early. Multi-taskers can’t really tell the difference.

49 I’m going to tuck this magical little lesson into bed.

50 I hope you reached quintessential edification. I stole the Journey idea from some teacher’s You Tube. I modified it so that it would work with my students.

51 Consider yourself quintessentially edified.

52 It’s Wednesday, and life couldn’t be any better, at least for now. You have been drenched in participals.

53 Enjoy your day, and before you know it, there should be a three-day weekend for the majority of you.

54 Meanwhile, avoid idiots who want to make your life miserable. If you see them coming towards you, back-door ‘em ’til Friday. It’ll be wonderful for your mental health. Hope you enjoyed your English lesson.

55 See you again.

56 Peace.

~H~

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