1. Today was the week of the school play, and I've basically been working non-stop all week up until last night. The good news is that the kids pulled it out and really did a great job with the show. The bad news is that I now have to try to make up all the … Continue reading Sunday Flotsam: Mostly ‘West Side Story’
Thoughts
Bowser vs. Dr. Eggman
Death Battle is a web-show pitting fictional characters against each other in death matches. It's generally pretty entertaining, though it's sometimes a little uncomfortable seeing beloved characters getting eliminated (even if it's all meant to be hypothetical). The funny part is how much effort is put into the analysis, with extensive engineering calculations trying to … Continue reading Bowser vs. Dr. Eggman
Sunday Flotsam: Reconstruction Narratives and More
1. My illness has mostly recovered, leaving me only extremely tired, hence I've been spending most of the weekend resting. 2. My US history class has reached the period of Reconstruction. In trying to research it, I spotted what I think is a narrative in progress. See, I was trying to look up specifics on … Continue reading Sunday Flotsam: Reconstruction Narratives and More
Friday Flotsam: Miscellaneous
1. I ended up missing three whole days of school this week due to my illness. I kept thinking I was coming out of it, then another symptom flared up. 2. I had happened to hear Miley Cyrus's Party in the USA recently, and I was thinking to myself "You know, Weird Al's version is … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Miscellaneous
Saturday Flotsam: More Civil War, More Snow White, and ‘Wall Street’
1. I've fallen sick this week and ended up staying home yesterday. 2. Before that, however, I was telling my US history students about the Rebel Yell. They weren't quite getting it, so I tried to demonstrate (poorly, since I'm not Southern). I then had to admonish them, "Guys, don't do the Rebel Yell in … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: More Civil War, More Snow White, and ‘Wall Street’
‘Discarded Image’ Commentary Part 2
The second part of my commentary on C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image is finally up. And this chapter gets into some very interesting territory. The Middle Ages, like most ages, were full of change and controversy. Schools of thought rose, contended, and fell. My account of what I call the Medieval Model ignores all this: … Continue reading ‘Discarded Image’ Commentary Part 2
‘Death Note’ and Hell (*Spoiler Warning*)
I will be spoiling the end of Death Note in this one. In the beginning of Death Note, the shinigami (death god), Ryuk warns Light that any mortal who uses a Death Note will never go to heaven or hell, hinting at a unique punishment for such a transgression. At the very end it is … Continue reading ‘Death Note’ and Hell (*Spoiler Warning*)
Saturday Flotsam: Teaching History, Kansas Context, and a Paradox
1. My history book for sixth grade starts off its survey of the men of the Middle Ages with an account of the Norse gods, paralleling previous entries in the same series which started with the Greek gods to set the stage for famous Greeks and so on. The trouble is that, from what I've … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Teaching History, Kansas Context, and a Paradox
Sunday Flotsam: More Teaching and Some Fire Thoughts
1. From today's sermon: St. Augustine said that, "Peace is the tranquility of Order." That's a line to build a frame of life on! And, as you can tell by the fact that this is going up two days late (again), I lack order in my life. Something I need to work on. 2. Back … Continue reading Sunday Flotsam: More Teaching and Some Fire Thoughts
Friday Flotsam: New Year and Such
1. First a happy New Year to all! 2. I'm not going to bother with New Year predictions; I don't have my finger on the pulse of anything enough for it to be worth it. 3. Well, I'll do one: America will (yet again) not acquire Canada. Considering that the current Canadian government acquired and … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: New Year and Such
Serpent's Den 