Bobblehead

During the break, my wife and I took a trip to Las Vegas. I ventured there with a specific mission in mind: to obtain a bobblehead of myself. A friend of mine found a booth at the Mandalay Bay near the aquarium. They take a picture of the customer's face with a fancy 3-D camera (like that movie Avatar!) and another with a standard camera. After choosing an appropriate body, I paid an exorbitant amount of money that counted as my Christmas gift from my lovely bride.

And talk about an appropriate body! The beauty of my buddy's bobblehead is that his holds a saxophone and he's a music teacher that played sax all through high school and college. Unfortunately, the only body available reading a book was one that was also sitting on a toilet. There weren't any others that truly felt like they captured me, at least not in bobblehead form. But then I turned the page in the catalogue and how could I say no to that lovely specimen?

I guess I have to grow my goatee back and haircuts are out of the question at this point.

The Blame Game

Frosh
The differences between the Franco Zeffirelli version of Romeo & Juliet and Baz Luhrman's version are numerous. It's your job to have noticed them in your notes and then write a paragraph discussing those differences. When looking at the characters, notice the way they act, the way they look, and the way they talk compared to how we read it together in class using the text. Notice what the actors do, their apparent feelings and emotions as well as what is left out when tracking the action. Finally, keep track of where the characters are located, the time period and the time of day when looking at the setting.

Bonus for Frosh (10 points): In a thoughtful (5 sentences minimum sounds thoughtful to me), explain who you think is most at fault for the brawl that occurs in I.i and why you think so. Use evidence from the scene to support your answer. The deadline to answer is Thursday. Any answers submitted beyond that will be lost to the sands of time.

Seniors
Act II is incredibly dense with thematic dichotomies. In particular, you'll find plenty of evidence for the natural vs. supernatural dichotomy towards the end of the act, both figuratively in what characters say and literally in the actions they describe happening in the wake of Duncan's death. Macbeth is the picture of insanity vs. sanity, too. Act II also provides the actual murder of the king, which up to now, had been something Macbeth seemed to want to avoid...or did he? That leads us to the bonus question.

Bonus for Seniors (10 points): In a thoughtful response (6-8 sentences minimum seems pretty thoughtful) explain who you feel to be most responsible for Duncan's death and why. Is it Macbeth, Lady Macbeth or the witches? Or is it someone else entirely? The deadline to answer is Thursday. Any answers submitted beyond that will be lost to the sands of time.

Emo Equivocation

Frosh
Emo is the word of the day because that's the best way to describe one of our titular characters. Look, Romeo is a bit of a putz, but he's also a teenager, and who among us wasn't a putz at some point? And who can say they won't be one in the future? I know there will be a point in the future where it happens again, too. A person is lucky if they go through a week with a putz-free moment viewed by the general public, let alone those smaller moments wherein he or she is secretly aware of the putziness involved even if others are not.

Seniors
Equivocation is the word of the day. It's fun because Macbeth allows you to determine what the title character says is true or not or if the truth even exists. This is the ultimate English major treat because there's evidence that supports both sides, and, as long as you can support it well with evidence, you're not wrong. Everybody wins!

On cynicism & hard work

Frosh
Last Thursday and Friday we read Romeo & Juliet. Meanwhile, I'm in the process of grading the accumulated work of the semester.

Seniors
We went through some more of Act II in Macbeth. Things pick up big time in this act. Make sure you're paying attention because while some texts may discuss the ideas of the thematic dichotomies, they rarely identify them as such.

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Finally, Conan O'Brien's farewell address on the Tonight Show last Friday was pretty inspiring. I'm writing this on Monday morning, but I'll edit the post later to include video of it. In the meantime, here's a transcript of what he said.

"Every comedian dreams of hosting the Tonight Show and—for seven months—I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second [of it] ... All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

Good stuff, right? I can't say I always live by it, but it is something I extol to others in the hope of seeing more people express optimism in the face of crushing defeat.

On Biting Thumbs & Late Nights

The rain has made it hard to get to the gym to work out. With the weather the way it is, my dog stays inside all day, so I have to rush home to let him out, and he's not too keen on being alone in his cage for another two hours after I get home. Then the wife arrives back and the motivation to stay home with her grows while the motivation to go anywhere else, let alone the gym, wanes. Angela is way cooler than any of the people there anyway. At least I can say I've been eating better, so hopefully the progress lost in not going these last four days isn't too severe. I just hate to lose that momentum, but the alternative ain't half bad.

Two other things before we get started on the day's events:

1. Everybody should turn in the first outside reading update tomorrow.
2. If you're not paying attention to the recent dust-up between NBC, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien, you're missing out on some of the most interesting developments in late night television in almost 20 years. The original brouhaha that developed when Johnny Carson vacated his throne as the King of Late Night is one of the first entertainment stories that actively received my attention. The fact that there are three times as many people on at late night nowadays (the aforementioned Jay and Conan, Dave Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, the largely silent Craig Ferguson and the largely unfunny Jimmy Fallon, not to mention the tag team of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert) has made this particular story even more interesting. In case you're wondering, I'm with Coco.
   

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Frosh
So how about that test, huh? Keep those terms in mind for our time reading the play.

The first and last scenes in Romeo & Juliet are the longest in the play, which is something I never really noticed before. However, diving in to Shakespeare is tough but it gets easier the more people read it. Keep up with the study guide for each act because those will be invaluable (which is better than valuable because it is priceless, you see) later on when having to write about the play or when taking a test.

Seniors
Well, the storms sure did honk up the testing time, didn't it? I hope you did well regardless.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's version of Macbeth starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench is definitely interesting...and also sometimes laughable. BUT! It's important to understand that seeing the different interpretations of Shakespeare provides the opportunity for nuances in the story that could be there even if they are never explicitly stated. When Duncan orders the Thane of Cawdor's execution, he appears to address Ross in the text, but this particular version instead sees Duncan order Malcolm to take care of it. Malcolm's moment of hesitation allows Ross to step in and carry the burden for the Prince of Cumberland. What does this particular interpretation say about Malcolm? I'd love to see what you have to say in the comments.

On Shakespeare and Assignments

So we are a bit behind in our blog posting. Of course, this is the royal 'we,' which is really a grand effort to avoid taking responsibility in saying I and shifting the blame to a collective. But onward! There are tests on terms this Tuesday! Fascinating!

By the way, the Folger Shakespeare Library is a blog for both teachers and students about the Bard and provides some great resources. Check it out when you get the chance.

Frosh
Poetry has always been a weak spot for me, but sonnets are interesting in that they go against what I imagine is the natural convention of poetry, a form that's supposed to be free and spirited and all sorts of other hippie type words, by having so many rules and strict standards. Specifically over the last week, we covered Sonnet 73, which is a great poem to look at for its metaphorical content, as well as the prologue of Romeo & Juliet. Be prepared to really dive into metaphors and symbolism with Shakespeare because the dude loves it.

You will have a copy of the play on Monday, either one you pick up from the library or a bonus point copy you purchase for yourself.

Seniors
We finished Act I of Macbeth and I'd like to think everyone is starting to see Shakespeare in a different light. I genuinely get excited about this time of year because I like talking and I like Shakespeare and those are two great tastes that taste great together like peanut butter and chocolate. The big thematic dichotomy present, especially in the first half, is 'good vs. evil,' what with the witches and Macbeth's horrid thoughts of regicide. The latter part of the act, with the introduction of Lady Macbeth, develops the dichotomy of 'masculinity vs. femininity.'

You also received the Act Paragraphs assignment, the first of which will be due Monday, January 25 and is worth 50 points. Expect to have those due roughly three days after we finish each act. It's never clear how long an act will take to read together, which is why I can't give you hard and fast due dates for those paragraphs.

Everyone (hopefully) turned in their Aside Questions and the Shakespacket Essay. That's 85 points which I hope to have graded very soon.

I hope everyone is keeping up with the outside reading requirements. The first outside reading update is due on Thursday for both the freshpeople and the seniors.

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Finally, here's the only entertaining thing that will probably happen on American Idol this year. Enjoy.

Book 2 of 2010

This was completed on January 12 while driving to the gym.

2) I Drink for a Reason by David Cross
In an attempt to get through a few more books this year, I subscribed to Audible.com. The first book I ordered was Under the Dome by Stephen King, but that thing is a ridiculous 54 hours and I've only listened through the first file that's eight hours long by itself. That particular audiobook is daunting is what I'm saying.

And my eyes hurt.

Frosh
You learned the components of a sonnet. Then you got the opportunity to continue memorizing the lit terms for which there is a test next Tuesday.

Seniors
It's Macbeth time! And, seriously, I dig this play a heck of a lot, which might be apparent as I have a tendency to ramble on and on about it. My hope is that in my rambling, you get useful and interesting information because that's one of the cooler parts of education. Yeah, I want you to build skills and what not, but it's also awesome to find out something that you didn't know before. Right? How do you view education? I know there's more to it than that, but I'll save my answer for a later date. In the meantime, 10 point to the dudes and dudettes that give me a thoughtful answer.

Deadline to answer is tomorrow.

Book 1 of 2010

While I have absolutely no intention of reading 2,010 books in the year 2010, I am hoping to hit at least 25. As I am a notoriously slow first-time reader, I will be impressed with myself if I can do so. I also like to practice what I teach (thanks, Jim Burke), so I'm going to hold myself accountable by reposting my GoodReads reviews of books I finish here. Here's my first book read of 2010, completed on Friday, January 8.

1) The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore
Moore forces the reader to keep track of a ton of characters, but the overall story is engrossing and amusing.

Gym-tastic!

It seems like all working out is a practice in self-loathing. We do so in an effort to change what we don't like because the person we see isn't the person we wish to be. If we do like what we see, working out or getting fit or staying in shape is meant to ensure that we don't become the person we used to be or the person we imagine we are at our worst. I find it fascinating that going to the gym is based on bettering one's self but the job is never complete.

These are the things a guy thinks about after watching the Jersey Shore.

Frosh
We went over the new-style outside reading update which will put a large focus on incorporating quotes. Master this skill and your future teachers will stand in awe at your level of awesomeness. After that you started to create flash cards of a list of important lit terms. We'll be working on that at length on Monday.

Seniors
Everyone read and understood the expectations for outside reading. You need to show me your book choice by Thursday. You then received the opportunity to read through and work on the Shakespacket Essay. Not everyone seized the opportunity; I hope those folks find the time to go over the information and write a cohesive essay because it's due on Friday.

Edited for a cheap joke.

Macbeth like Big Mac, not McBeth like McDonalds

Frosh
Yesterday, both classes did a great job working on the Idiot's Guide Outline assignment. Today, we discussed some of the sentences you wrote for said outline. The information students choose to include is always interesting. Not everyone managed to do distill the information in one sentence. Maybe that's something I should look at in the future. Creating complex, coherent sentences is a valuable skill to have, though, which is why I set up the assignment in that way. After going over the different sentences, we discussed Ptolemy and his view of the universe. Your assignment is to pick three questions to answer in 3 to 5 sentences for each question. That'll be due tomorrow, so make the answers as thoughtful as you can.


Seniors
Ah, terms. Sometimes they're boring, sometimes they're fun, but they always feel necessary one way or another. The terms were split over two days. Yesterday, the terms followed a discussion of where the line exists in order to accomplish your bucket list items and the items of those important to us. It's a big goal of mine for our class discussions to become more inclusive this semester because there are going to be way more of them than there were first semester. I'd like to see more of you participate than the same four people in each class. While there are a few exceptions that occasionally make themselves heard, it always seems like we have the same people answering. I'd like to challenge those of you that sit back and listen to make a conscious effort to speak up more this semester. One of the coolest things for me to see as a teacher is a student I rarely hear speak up with an insightful comment in a class discussion. Let me know if there's anything I can do to facilitate this more for you, or just choose to do it sometime (sooner rather than later, hopefully) so you can see the look on my face as I get floored.

Don't forget to grab your student IDs or to have a copy of Macbeth by Monday. Monday is the cut-off date for you to be eligible for the 40 possible bonus points.

My Bucket List

Frosh
You read through a chapter of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare and began your outline of ol' Willie's early life. Tomorrow will see you get a second day to work on completing your outline.

Seniors
Bucket lists are fun! Pay close attention to what we did today because it'll pay off later once we get into some of the larger ideas from our study of Shakespeare. As for my four things, they are as follows in no particular order:

• Write a novel
• Perform a backflip
• Get into a fight with a Canadian in Spain
• Make you guys learn something

It's an ambitious list to be sure, but I think it's relatively realistic and original, important traits for items on any to-do list.

It's Twenty Ten, not Two Thousand and Ten.

Seriously, do you want to spend the next 90 years saying "Two Thousand and..." every single time? By saying it the correct way, you look out for yourself and your progeny. It's not like anyone ever said One Thousand Ninety Nine or One Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty Four. Do yourself a favor and correct everyone who says it wrong because your children and your children's children will thank you.

In all seriousness, I know some of you are going through rough times due to the circumstances surrounding your return from break. Just know that it's important to talk it out; it doesn't have to be with me even though I'll gladly make myself available. Talking helps, and I'm sorry those of you affected have to go through this.

Frosh
We went over the past semester's grades. You retrieved your work from the past semester. Everyone discussed what comes to mind whenever William Shakespeare's name is mentioned. After tomorrow, you'll hopefully have more to say than "your 8th grade teacher" and "old."

Seniors
You took a look at the final grades, and we discussed the second semester syllabus. The contract for the second semester is due on Friday and make sure to name two things expected of you phrased in the form of goals based off what you read in the second semester overview. Finally, if you wish to attempt the first bonus point assignment, make sure you have a copy of Macbeth or a receipt for it in hand by next Monday.