Book 9 of 2010

I finished this book while taking a break from grading during STAR testing.

9) Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman's latest book of essays is his best one yet, but the author is not without his annoying intricacies. His use of the word 'iconography', I'm looking at you.

Thesis Crunch Time

This here bloggy message thing (© Matt in period 5) has been neglected lately save for my updates about the books I'm reading, which in and of themselves have served to further distract me from the task at hand. That task is my thesis, which is due in t-minus four weeks. So while this blog is a valuable tool and one I intend to continue utilizing, my thesis, which is a big part of what will allow me to complete my Masters degree, will be my focus for the next few weeks. Also, the irony of the fact that I am putting my classroom blog on a temporary hiatus to focus on a thesis about teachers using things like blogs both effectively and professionally is not at all lost on me. The sooner I finish this project and the ULV semester, though, the sooner I can get one of those fancy new iPads. I will call it iPADD because that is a Star Trek reference. Nobody tell my wife, though, because I will never hear the end of it.

Meanwhile, good luck to everyone participating in the STAR testing tomorrow. It is my sincere hope that Alta Loma shoots well past the already lofty goal of 790.

Book 8 of 2010

There is nothing notable or interesting about when I finished this book.

8) My Custom Van - And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face by Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black is a comedian best known for being a talking head commenting on pop culture during VH1 celebrations of various decades. He's also an actor who has been in movies and television shows like The Ten, Wet Hot American Summer and Ed. This is your standard "book by a comedian" whose title describes the format: essays (52, in this case, since I bought the paperback version) that will blow your mind all over your face.