This, That, and the Other thing....

I can't take it! I miss the blog-o-sphere!  I'm dying to share what I learned about creativity - but, not until I can do it justice. And - I'm dying to catch up on every one's blogs.

      I barely survived finals with a horrible virus and jumped into summer courses (this is me taking a two hour final in a silent room of 30 students..."sniff, sniff, sniff, crinkle~crinkle tissue packet, cough-cough.......sniff, sniff, sniff, crinkle~crinkle...." , but hey, I got an A- in my first of two "teaching math" courses and it's like learning another language...."explain in words and drawings to a fourth grader how many 2/3 sticks of butter are in 6/5 sticks" Um, yep - that weird.

     And talk about naive! I signed up for summer courses when my advisor explained that the math option for teaching is ONLY 10 extra credits on top of the electives I can use and I can graduate on time if I take them over the summer. Okay, I agree and get home to register online and find out two of the three are on campus - only one online. THEN my husband mentions that the kids will not be on summer break until three weeks into my classes and we have to scramble to cover those crazy hours in the morning between sunrise and school bus.


     And I had not thought of the concept that a 6 week course is not just a 6 week course - it's a 16 week course crammed into 6 weeks which includes 3 hour lectures three times a week and suggested study times for Statistics are 20 hours a week. In other words - How many 16 weeks of statistics are in 6 weeks? And what's my probability of actually studying 20 hours a week for 6 weeks? Any guesses?  


The good news is week one is almost behind me - YAAAAYYYY!


And completely off the subject but bizarre happening last night - lightning struck so close to my house that the smoke detectors went off twice and the strike was so loud my ears were ringing!


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Mom Monday - Lawn Ornaments

     So, I was recently on the receiving end of some parenting criticism. Now that my kids are older and play dates are few and far between, I rarely receive outright criticism from other parents. Someone recently made repeated comments about my sons' bikes and skateboards being all over the front lawn and how they should be disciplined in the same way that this person was taught to keep bikes and things put up - by throwing them away.

Lovely, yes!

     Ummm, okay - maybe this person had very little freedom or fun in life but I'm okay with it. No, I don't enjoy stepping over bikes or having to move skate rails off the driveway before I can park, but every time I see those things I am reminded of wisdom handed down to me by older generations. To those who want to raise kids in sterile homes and pristine yards where lawns are for looking at know this: 

Love them enough to let them? Yes!

     I do enjoy seeing my kids put their things in their places. However, the day that the bikes and skateboards are no longer strewn about, will be a sad day that my children have grown and no longer feel that freedom to hop on a bike, pedal away and back, hop off and run in the house to tell me about their adventure.
      I am thankful that I have healthy children that can ride things on two wheels, hop on skate rails, and shoot hoops. I am thankful that I live in a place where a bike left in a yard remains a bike left in a yard and not a "missing bike". Most of all I am thankful for the women who passed down advice like, "I know they are giving you trouble today, but be thankful that they are healthy enough to dish it out!"



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A little genre help, please?

Okay, I know I should be studying for finals, but I need a little down-time and this is where I go. I have been checking out a new genre of YA - graphic novels. One of my son's has been borrowing and buying Anime comics lately and having me take him to B&N to pick up more. I go along with it and chalk (is it chalk or chock?) it up to being a phase and hey - it's reading for fun and that's what it's all about, right?

from Manga site

So, we got really confused at B&N - what's the difference between Anime, Manga, and Graphic Novels? I know the first two have a definite Asian style and content. I've seen Graphic Novels based on American & European romance recently, but what about Anime & Manga? Something about one is made into film and one is strictly book-form?  I need some help here.......

from Anime site

And what's with the girls in these books? Ugh! 








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Would you believe....

.........someone actually stole my son's copy of The Hunger Games at school? We've been passing around a set with friends and family and now my with only a few days left in April, my son will end 6th grade on a sour note on reading.
      Since he's a reluctant reader, I was pretty happy to see him take an interest in such a thick book. As for the content, he's got me to have a never ending discussion with about the brutality in it and as he's moving into 7th grade, so I thought it would be a step up in reading challenge material. Funny how a certain other student suddenly has a copy with his name all over it in Sharpie. I have this overwhelming urge to wear a pinkish wig, chartreuse lipstick and outfit and walk by his desk  and wish him, "May the odds be ever in your favor....."

------------evil, I know--------------

Klaatu barada nikto

Finals are here and it feels a lot like this.........

Leaving the world as you know it

And everything in your life stands still until you take those  all-encompassing, comprehensive finals

And just for fun:

at least Helen didn't run a way screaming, and trip!

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As soon as finals are over, I've got some really cool stuff to share -we'll talk about creativity: where it comes from and where it goes.....

Have you hugged your metaphor today?

I love metaphors! Love, love, LOVE them!

They are everywhere - in movies, works of art, music, poetry, writing. There's something about sharing that creative image or scoopful of words with the writer and fellow readers. I love to watch a movie and pick out all the metaphors....."see the character open the unexpected present? That's symbol of the sacrifice someone is going to make for him later in the show....."  I must really be annoying to watch movies with!




What about similes. Similes are like windshield wipers on a stormy day - revealing what you couldn't see without them, like a thesaurus of the middle of your brain-a paper copy of your descriptive thoughts and interpretations, like an image played out with interchanging scenes all depicting the same meaning - a busy person compared to a "bug on a hot rock"

So now that we have a simile for similes, here's a simile for metaphor - It's like a supersized #3 cheeseburger meal at McDonalds given to you on a day when you've had plain oatmeal for breakfast.

Those who master similes and metaphors are the most creative and thereby most desired people to listen to: Jesus, Spielberg, Gaga, Shakespeare: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate:" – William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18

What's a metaphor for metaphor?

Have you hugged your metaphor today?

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Do people just need a little "bling" to get them to read?

     In 2012, it's all about the ebooks!  Yes, we love giving/receiving Nooks and Kindles at Christmas. Seems like the trend in ebooks has come full circle and become a contributor to literacy rather than a destroyer. I am one of those "love the stink of  paper books" nerds - yes - that be me! But, I do read ebooks as well - even on a  21/2" cell phone screen at times.

     The news lately has been sharing some info gathered by the Gates foundation about trends in reading. Here I was last week lamenting the loss of print encyclopedias, when surveys were being tallied showing that since the ebook's release, people are reading more and buying more books and not just ebooks. The survey says that people who read ebooks are also buying more print books.

 Looks like we've got our jelly for our peanut butter (oh yeah, that calls for a Peanut Butter Jell-ay dance!)

   


Now if I could just figure out how it can benefit the job market for future librarians - anyone?

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