1. First full week of teaching. I feel like I'm starting to find my feet and it's becoming less stressful and uncertain. 2. I'm still waiting for Alice in Wonderland to arrive, so my sixth graders are reading short stories while I pretend this was the plan all along. This week was Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, which was … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mongeese, Kiki, and Computers
Poem – “Lilly Pond”
"O for a heart likeThe lotus that springs stainlessFrom the mud, the dewOn its leaves like precious gems.”-Sojo Henjo
Saturday Flotsam: Random Thoughts
1. I made it through my first (almost: we had the Feast of the Assumption off) full week of full-time teaching. The short version is that, while there were some rough patches, I survived. 2. Are there any browsers left that let you toggle the 'tab-close' buttons off? Because I find those very annoying for … Continue reading Saturday Flotsam: Random Thoughts
Poetry – “A Dream”
In visions of the dark nightI have dreamed of joy departed—But a waking dream of life and lightHath left me broken-hearted. Ah! what is not a dream by dayTo him whose eyes are castOn things around him with a rayTurned back upon the past? That holy dream—that holy dream,While all the world were chiding,Hath cheered … Continue reading Poetry – “A Dream”
Vintage Tribute by the Decade
I found these excellent video tributes to pop culture by the decade. I would say they tend to draw too much from the same sources (e.g. the 1980s one has about ten clips each from Aliens and The Breakfast Club and not one from Nightmare on Elm Street or Return to Oz), but the editing … Continue reading Vintage Tribute by the Decade
Friday Flotsam: Teaching, Napoleon, and Oz
1. Well, I made it through my first week of the new teaching job. It was overall easier than I expected; it felt like slipping back into a somewhat familiar routine, the same sense of just standing up and talking to the class. 2. That said, it did feel a bit like building a railroad … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Teaching, Napoleon, and Oz
Poem – “The Rainy Day”
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary;It rains, and the wind is never weary;The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,But at every gust the dead leaves fall,And the day is dark and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary;It rains, and the wind is never weary;My thoughts still cling to the … Continue reading Poem – “The Rainy Day”
Friday Flotsam: Melancholy and Random Thoughts
1. I had my first teacher meetings this week. Next week starts classes, though with shortened days. 2. In a rather melancholy mood for one reason or another. 3. Reading Dickens, I occasionally stumble across moments that show how masterfully understated he could be, when he took the trouble. Most of the time, when he … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Melancholy and Random Thoughts
Maternal Loadstones: Mrs. Nickelby vs. Mrs. Bennet
I don't know that anyone can read both Nicholas Nickelby and Pride and Prejudice without comparing the maternal figures featured in each. In the cozy, but substantial niche of "embarrassingly foolish mothers," these two reign supreme as the most prominent and perhaps most troublesome. But the question remains; which one is worse? For my part, … Continue reading Maternal Loadstones: Mrs. Nickelby vs. Mrs. Bennet
Fantastic Schools Vol. 8 Now Live!
I am shamefully behind hand on this (the release happened right in the middle of my move), but I am pleased to announce that Fantastic Schools vol. 8, featuring a story by your servant, is now live and available for purchase: Some of you may remember Fantastic Schools vol. 2 from back in 2021, featuring … Continue reading Fantastic Schools Vol. 8 Now Live!
Serpent's Den 