Wednesday, May 26, 2004

h'lo (again)...got called away to Murphysboro...this upset my plan to put my class on a blog...had it all worked out, too. a forced break from esl/efl...after twenty yrs. tchng, not even a summer off, really...also, big storms coming through the area, major boomers, that make everyone talk tornado...I miss my kid when my schedule changes like this, but notice that my flooded office is drying up slowly in my absence...esl/efl still drying on the vine here in the usa, maybe i should be looking around instead of listening to allathis...

Friday, May 21, 2004

hello (again)...it's been an eventful week and i've been negligent here on the blog scene. my office is flooded. my 2-yr-old sprained his knee. a new term started. i may start a blog with my students; i'm working on it. it'll be private at first. the bad news rolls in for esl/efl in the usa. went to kentucky a while back...that inspired the picture below. in kentucky, when the newspapers talk about the people who are running the country (rumsfeld, bush, etc.), they introduce them and explain who they are. but when they talk about nascar drivers, they don't have to...
Just Passing Through

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

h'lo again...you may be wondering, where's the esl? only esl people have been visiting; i'm trying to devote this more to esl/efl, as i got my poetry and playwriting on other blogs, but i haven't really said much about esl/efl. Well,
here's what i think about krashen, and here's what i think about universal grammar, and I'd be glad to hear your comments about any of this, while i get organized and get this free service to put comment markers on my blog. meanwhile, i'm on break...looking around, spending time with the kid, working on an online course. Stay in touch!

Sunday, May 09, 2004

'lo (again)...a world of esl/efl, at my fingertips, though now, the latest is, students aren't coming to the u.s....they can't, even if they want to...it's like those immigration guys are clearing us out like so much trouble, they just don't want to deal with it. i realize that the world will go on...the world is not just us nativists, those who still can travel, will, & those students will find another place to study, but this is such a tragedy for my life, for our town, and our future, the future of any university. so i realize, bush with his policies, hasn't proven to care much about that, yo child left behind, iraqi horror picture show, etc. all i'm saying is, what a tragedy for everyone. and to think, this weekend i actually saw someone wearing a flag...how could they? do people think this is good?

Thursday, May 06, 2004

howzitgoin'...here's a couple of novel ideas, you heard 'em here first. i call them novel ideas because they're both for novels though i haven't even written a page. the first is a novel set in a coffee shop that is entirely conversation. the second is a novel that is made up entirely of half-conversations on cell-phones. i might start these out with short stories and see how it goes...the hard part is developing/describing characters, i think....ok, back to esl/efl...it's hard to concentrate with ieps closing down all over the country...however i'm going to have to...concentrate, that is. baby's still sick. still getting used to blogs, you change your template, you don't see it until you post again. if then? more later...

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

...h'lo (again)...the baby is sick...the play made it into the news....i started a poetry blog (needs work)...gave a final to my class; gotta run...

Sunday, May 02, 2004

...vwe met? i'm new to this blogging...but, i'm liking it...it's immediate, it's here&now, like my 2-yr-old. i'm home, staring at final research papers about las vegas etc., the little guy's in bed w/his mom, it's drizzling, but i put on a play today, successfully i'll add, and i'm restless, so i walk in, rain & all. connect to the community. update the template. weed the garden. calm my nerves. it's like the road, in a way, its relentless neutrality, green signs and wildflowers, a salve for the mind. soon as i get my poetry blog up, i won't bother you with this, i'll stick to esl/efl, my life. later...

Saturday, May 01, 2004

allo...so i'm with this aol character, and we're with blogger, and i notice, aol has a completely different take on this scene...and, occasionally just blinks off, shuts down...takes off. can't handle it i guess. makes it hard to cut & paste too...i've always thought html is kind of a stone-age tool, pretty basic, but pretty good too, maybe i'll take "a href" on as a pen-name. but some folks are making it more complicated...more on this later...or earlier, depending on when you get here...
howzitgoin? i've been messing with the template, the blogs on the side, which i want to look good before i invite people over...there are a lot more out there besides the ones i've got...also putting up graphics like the one below which i'm sure dates me, i never won 11 million dollars. go tell my students....they think i'm a nut...what else is new? it's finals week, gotta run, i've got term papers to grade. ..my students are writing about environmental problems of las vegas. it's been enlightening, so to speak. more later...