Ladies and Gentlemen, The Parts of Speech!

Noun – is a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea. A noun can be a proper noun or a common noun.
Examples:
George Washington, Charlotte Bronte (people, proper nouns)
man, woman (people, common nouns)
Maplewood Park, Chicago, Illinois (places, proper nouns)
playground, town (places, common nouns)
baseball bat, tennis ball (things)
independence, freedom (ideas)

Pronoun – is a word that replaces a person, place, thing, or idea. Pronouns can act as subjects or objects, and some can show possession.
Examples:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they (nominative case, can act as subjects)
me, you, him, her, it, us, them (objective case, can act as objects)
my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs (possessive case, show possession)

Adjective – is a word used to describe, or modify, a noun or a pronoun. An adjective describes “what kind,” “which one,” “how many,” or “how much.”
Examples:
the brown dog (Which dog?)
the colonial house (What kind of house?)
the two cars (How many cars?)
She is blonde. (What kind of hair?)
He is tall. (What kind of height?)

Verb – is a word that shows action or that indicates a condition or a state of being.
Examples:
I run. Polly talks. The boys eat.
I am sick. She is tired. The people are free.

Note: It is best to use strong action verbs that paint a vivid picture in the readers' mind (e.g. race, waddle, chomp). The verb "to be" (e.g. is, are, was, were...) is not descriptive, so requires the use of adverbs.

Adverb – is a word used to describe, or modify, a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb describes how, when, where, or to what extent the verb performs.
Examples:
I run fast. (How fast do I run?) The boys are eating now. (When are the boys eating?)
I am very sick. She is extremely tired. The people are finally free. (These examples all show to what extent the verb performs.)

Preposition – is a word used to show a relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other word in the sentence. Prepositions often show direction, location, or time.
Examples:
in the morning, up in the sky, down south, in a minute, at 2:00 p.m., before bed, by my side, without a doubt, over the hill, after school, through the door, across the street, around the world

Conjunction – is a word that connects other words or groups of words to each other. There are three types of conjunctions: coordinating, subordinating, and correlative.
Examples:
Steve and Sally are going to the store. (coordinating)
Sally is going to the store because she likes Steve. (subordintating)
Sally likes Steve whether he likes her or not. (correlative)

Interjection – is a word used to express emotion that has no grammatical relationship to other words in the sentence. Interjections should be used sparingly and usually only belong in narrative dialogue.
Examples:
Uh oh, I made a mistake!
Oh no, I forgot to call Jane!
Well, what are you going to do?

Four Paragraphs to the Last Four Seasons

As my final semester of the credential program comes to a close, I have been thinking about my experience as a whole. For the most part, I have not really enjoyed it. It was extremely difficult. However, I will say that I have learned an incredible amount in a very short time. The program has enhanced my abilities to write lessons and assess learning. It has taught me how the effects of culture and politics play out in schools and about the necessity of including literacy in art education. I cannot begin to numerate the ways I have learned from my daily interaction with students at the school site.

My growth as a teacher has been substantial, although not pleasurable. I suppose that real growth rarely is easy, but I doubt I would be able to sustain the rigorous schedule of the last two semesters. I am afraid that if teaching is even more difficult than the credential program, I may not be “cut out for it.” I am hopeful that it will be easier in many ways and difficult in different ways than the program has been.

The only area that I feel unprepared for is the beginning of next year. I have been told that the first few weeks with the student are the most important of the year. They set the stage and mold the temperament that the class will have for the rest of the year. Simply being aware of this situation is no consolation to me because I know of so many other things in the dynamic world of teaching that cannot be told, but rather, can only be shown. I have never been shown how to begin a school year.

This year comes to a close and with it the term of my continuous education. Now I can begin the process of learning in adjunct to a whole new set of responsibilities. I am excited, but also wary. Like a ball player before the beginning of the game, I wait in great anticipation. Let the learning begin.

Grandma Dorothy

My grandmother died today.

Holy Act of Congress, Batman!

Free Beer

At a London brewery on October 16, 1814, a huge wooden storage vat burst open, flooding the streets with a 25-foot-high wave of beer. Eight people drowned in the flood, while dozens of others ran to scoop up the free beer.

New Music?

This band, at long last, has some integrity/originality:



Lyrics:

Sæglópur, á lífi
Kominn heim
Sæglópur, á lífi
Kominn heim
þaõ kemur kafari
Komin heim
þaõ kemur kafari
Komin heim

A lost seafarer, alive
Has returned home
A lost seafarer, alive
Has returned home
A diver comes
Has returned home
A diver comes
Has returned home


Sigur Rós hail from Iceland, and rightly claim to bring you the beautiful landscape of their homeland with their music. It's impossible to justify it with words, you have to listen to it to understand.

A Quotation

“Love is so short, forgetting is so long.”

- Pablo Neruda

George Michael's Logical Syllogism

Premise 1: Guilty feet have got no rhythm
Premise 2: Though it's easy to pretend, I know you're not a fool
Premise 3: I should have known better than to cheat a friend
Premise 4: And waste a chance that I'd been give
Therefore, I'm never gonna dance again, the way I danced with you

Russian Imperial Stout (the desroyer beer)

Imperial stout, also known as "Russian Imperial Stout" or "Imperial Russian Stout," is a strong dark beer or stout that was originally brewed by Barclays brewery in London, England for export to the court of the Tsar of Russia. It has a high alcohol content (nine or ten percent is not uncommon) intended to preserve it during long trips and to provide a more bracing drink against cold climates. The colour is very dark, almost always opaque black. Imperial stout exhibits enormously powerful malt flavours, hints of dark fruits, and is often quite rich, resembling a chocolate dessert.

Over winter break, my step-father cracked open a version of this brew from Stone. It had been a long time since a beer had "taken me out" and this one surely did. The robustness of the malt and hops are indeed remarkable. In fact, a friend of mine was enjoying one a few days ago and actually had to stop drinking near the end of the pint because he was overcome. If you ever get the chance, drink this one with a few good friends.

Can You Guess Which Ride We're On?

Last summer, I was workin' crazy hours with my uncle both at the Horn shop and out at his property. Most days exceeded the 12 hour mark and we rarely took a day off. At one point, I had worked for 45 days straight. It was a cruel, cruel summer.

Why did I do it? Well, he's building a house just outside the city of Fresno and it was crucial that we got the roof on before the rains came. It also had something to do with the duckets.

Do to large time commitment, a feeling of entitlement began to rise up in me and one day, in the midst of the swealtering heat, I said, "Harry, when we finish this house, we're going to Disneyland." It was a joke. It was also serious.

Well, this past thanksgiving, with the roof on the house that joke was realized. The photo is proof. If I had to do it all over again, I would.

A Portrait of California

So, my dad plays this game with license plates as he's driving around town. He counts the last three numbers of a license plate sequencially beging at 000. Right now, he's on 680. Truck plates don't count. He's been playing this game for over 6 years. Others play this game as well.

Dreaming of Becoming a Fireman

Lots of little boys dream of becoming firemen when they grow up. Firemen are some of the more idolized professionals among the 3-8 year old demographic. Today, I saw the manifestation of this as I was driving home. As I passed by the local fire station, I noticed that the big fire engine doors were open and that a stream of water was pouring out into the drive way. Then I noticed the fireman holding the hose and a little boy, no more than 3 years old, by his side. The boy's mother stood off to the side, watching with glee. It was a perfect encapsulation of what used to be good about American culture.

I feel like we all want to become firemen is some sense or another. For instance, I was eating some really hot salsa earlier today and I was, like, "Damn, that is some hot stuff. My mouth is on fire! I need a fireman to put out the flames that are coming out of my mouth."

(Sigh)

"I wish I was a fireman."

Double IPA Festival in Hayward, Ca

This past weekend the executive chef at Calvin Crest Josh Haas, my step father Dave Divelbiss, world renown Gear's of War advocate Brad Long, and I made the trek up to the Bay Area to enjoy some serious brews. The weather was a bit sketchy at times, but the beers made up for what mother nature left out. Here is a photo of some of our selections: Hebrew's RIPA (Dark), Pizza Port's Hop 15, and Russian River's Pliny the Younger (light). Of all the beers present (well over 50 different Interpretations of the Double IPA style), Russian River won the day with their incredible Pliny the Younger. I'd like to give a big up's to all the guys for letting me tag along on some seriously "Good Times."

Men at Work's Logical Syllogism: 80's Music in Review

Premise 1: Do you come from a land down under?
Premise 2: Where women glow and men plunder?
Premise 3: Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
Therefore, you better run, you better take cover.

A Brief History of the Nonic Pint Glass

“Conical” glasses are shaped, as the name suggests, as an inverted truncated cone around six inches tall and tapering by about an inch in diameter over its height. More often than not, the glass bulges out a couple of inches from the top; this is partly for improved grip, and partly to prevent the glasses from sticking together when stacked. This style of bulged conical glass is often termed “nonic” by suppliers. This is the most common type of pint glass found in UK pubs.