Maybe I'll have a chance to continue the New Brunswick saga now? Thar be whales!
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Thursday, 2 October 2014
This Blog Is Made By Emeth
Today at
school it was the first october it was kind of misty outside
[The author's kturtle code]
It
was the second day with my new class it was a pretty nice day (for
me) I had D.P.A [daily physical activity]
out side in the mist (I like getting wet) and it was pizza day after
school (I liked going home in the rain) I made some thing on Kturtle
(that was pretty awesome)...
But I also got a (Dun
Dun Dun) seriously
it
was just a headache! By
the way my teacher (that I have now) is pretty nice, I used to have
Mme Huffman at a french school (you probably know that because of
Mme
Huffman.
(THIS IS A WEIRD
TITLE!!!!)
O.K
back to the serious stuff, so it was a 99% good day at school just
because of that headache!
But my class is still pretty good P.S my class has NO TOYS so we don't do free time!
 |
| [The author's selfie!] |
reset
sh
go 215, 100
pw 1
tr 45
pw 2
pc 645, 55, 8
bw 40
tl 45
pw 19
fw 45
go 115, 0
sh
fontsize 11
print "Hello dude i'm waving at you!"
cc 53, 255, 195
sh
go 215, 100
pw 1
tr 45
pw 2
pc 645, 55, 8
bw 40
tl 45
pw 19
fw 45
go 115, 0
sh
fontsize 11
print "Hello dude i'm waving at you!"
cc 53, 255, 195
[The author's kturtle code]
Next stuff...
Why
I Got A New Teacher
Well it was kind of confusing for Mme Huffman to have a grade one
and two class and the principal thought it would be better to have
a just grade two class and and there is one good thing and one bad
thing about my class 1. my class have A WHOLE TON
of windows 2. the bad thing we have cubbies [rather than lockers].But my class is still pretty good P.S my class has NO TOYS so we don't do free time!
 |
| [The author's headache (dramatic re-enactment selfie)] |
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Selena's Year in Books
Inspired by Tim's post about his year in books, I am adding my list and commentary here, mostly because I like the look of all the book covers in a grid that so simply and elegantly conveys my literary 2013.
This was the year of sci-fi for me, as I applied to McMaster under the Science Fiction banner and thought that if I'm going to be studying sci-fi, I probably should seriously get down to reading some of the books I've been meaning to read for a long time. Dune was the first I picked up and it would be hard for anything to top it; but Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, though extremely hard to read at times, was its own kind of brilliance.
Tim already wrote about The Quantum Thief (and the sequel, The Fractal Prince, which I haven't read) which was a wild ride I wanted to take up again the moment I'd finished it. It was definitely one of my favourite books of the year. It's really rare to encounter a book that immediately demands a reread, especially ones so dense and pretty much incomprehensible. I had no idea what was going on for most of the book, but it was so atmospheric and stylish--with characters that were so wry, intelligent and completely badass. I mean, check out that cover.
It was a good year for non-fiction too. The highlight here for me I actually encountered in one of my Fall term classes, Romanticism, War and Peace. Mary Favret's War at a Distance is probably the most beautiful academic book I have read. She weaves excerpts from the Romantic poets--Wordsworth, Cowper and Coleridge most notably--into her literary and cultural analysis and her work becomes like a poem itself. Apart from the style, her argument (that since the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars, we in the West experience war as simultaneously distant and, as war-infused language and imagery and affect, as a part of everyday life) was both fascinating and frightening. If war is now an innocuous part of the everyday, how do we end it? If we are all accustomed to living in a state of constant siege, how can we resist violence when it manifests, especially so far away from us personally? These are really, really important questions that too few people are thinking about. I hope that my own academic work, though not directly dealing with Favret's subject, will be as beautifully crafted as Favret's War at a Distance--and as poignant.
Two children's books charmed me this year: Catwings and The Last Unicorn. I read Catwings to Istra in two long bouts sitting on the green hill behind the Ajax townhouse and perhaps that was part of the charm of it, and also just watching Istra's wonder and excitement at the very idea of a winged litter of kittens making their way in the world. It is a very sweet book and hopefully in 2014 and beyond we will get to the rest of the books in the Catwings series.
I read The Last Unicorn aloud to Istra as well, as a bedtime story. The Last Unicorn isn't really a children's book, as it was pretty complex at times, especially the poetic interjections. Despite the rather adult language, Istra pushed us along by insisting that we read this every night until the finish. I'm not sure how much she really understood--for example, the butterfly's poetry was near-Shakespearean in its word choice and order--but the main story had a fairly straight-forward arc that Istra latched onto. Apparently this book has long since been made into an animated movie, but as the writing was a big part of the delight of this book, I think the film probably could never stand up to the book.
Of course, in between reading all of these books, I have been writing one of my own. I'm on my fourth round of major revisions. Maybe after this round I might release it into the hands of a few selected readers for testing. Hopefully someday my cover will appear in some "A Year in Books" lists.
This was the year of sci-fi for me, as I applied to McMaster under the Science Fiction banner and thought that if I'm going to be studying sci-fi, I probably should seriously get down to reading some of the books I've been meaning to read for a long time. Dune was the first I picked up and it would be hard for anything to top it; but Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, though extremely hard to read at times, was its own kind of brilliance.
Tim already wrote about The Quantum Thief (and the sequel, The Fractal Prince, which I haven't read) which was a wild ride I wanted to take up again the moment I'd finished it. It was definitely one of my favourite books of the year. It's really rare to encounter a book that immediately demands a reread, especially ones so dense and pretty much incomprehensible. I had no idea what was going on for most of the book, but it was so atmospheric and stylish--with characters that were so wry, intelligent and completely badass. I mean, check out that cover.
It was a good year for non-fiction too. The highlight here for me I actually encountered in one of my Fall term classes, Romanticism, War and Peace. Mary Favret's War at a Distance is probably the most beautiful academic book I have read. She weaves excerpts from the Romantic poets--Wordsworth, Cowper and Coleridge most notably--into her literary and cultural analysis and her work becomes like a poem itself. Apart from the style, her argument (that since the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars, we in the West experience war as simultaneously distant and, as war-infused language and imagery and affect, as a part of everyday life) was both fascinating and frightening. If war is now an innocuous part of the everyday, how do we end it? If we are all accustomed to living in a state of constant siege, how can we resist violence when it manifests, especially so far away from us personally? These are really, really important questions that too few people are thinking about. I hope that my own academic work, though not directly dealing with Favret's subject, will be as beautifully crafted as Favret's War at a Distance--and as poignant.
Two children's books charmed me this year: Catwings and The Last Unicorn. I read Catwings to Istra in two long bouts sitting on the green hill behind the Ajax townhouse and perhaps that was part of the charm of it, and also just watching Istra's wonder and excitement at the very idea of a winged litter of kittens making their way in the world. It is a very sweet book and hopefully in 2014 and beyond we will get to the rest of the books in the Catwings series.
I read The Last Unicorn aloud to Istra as well, as a bedtime story. The Last Unicorn isn't really a children's book, as it was pretty complex at times, especially the poetic interjections. Despite the rather adult language, Istra pushed us along by insisting that we read this every night until the finish. I'm not sure how much she really understood--for example, the butterfly's poetry was near-Shakespearean in its word choice and order--but the main story had a fairly straight-forward arc that Istra latched onto. Apparently this book has long since been made into an animated movie, but as the writing was a big part of the delight of this book, I think the film probably could never stand up to the book.
Of course, in between reading all of these books, I have been writing one of my own. I'm on my fourth round of major revisions. Maybe after this round I might release it into the hands of a few selected readers for testing. Hopefully someday my cover will appear in some "A Year in Books" lists.
Saturday, 19 October 2013
A roundup of sorts
It's been strangely hard to find time to do any updates here since we moved. Ironically, as I type this, we're (most of us) up north -- where one would think I might be generating some more content to post. But it's raining, so maybe I can just catch up a bit.
First, the first day of the new school... it was also raining. Here we are making our way. Fun times...
You can click the picture for more exciting scenes of that morning.
Also that first week, our neighbor Maria offered (actually, practically begged) for us to come and pick grapes from her vines. She doesn't use them anymore. So we ended up with a lot of grapes. And so, here is Selena working her grape jelly magic.
At this step she is squeezing a bit more juice out of the grape pulp after they'd been draining through cheese cloth all night.
A bit of a story about the cheese cloth. I was sent out at a late hour to get some at the nearest big 24 hour grocery store. After searching and searching I could not find any, so I asked one of the cashiers if she knew where it was. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Cheese? Cloth?" she says. I try to explain what it is. She is baffled, and eventually calls over another young woman to consult. The new person at least admits she has heard of cheese cloth, but has never seen it. Well, at least here I had some support that the stuff exists in the world, and I'm not just a crazy old guy wandering around in the dark asking about nonsensical items. Cheese? Cloth? All they could do was direct me to the isles I'd already looked in. It wasn't there.
What's this world coming to?! The young people no longer know the cheese cloth! And this particular grocery store did not seem to have any.
When I got back it turned out we already had some after all. We just hadn't looked hard enough.
Anyhow, on the topic of fruit, we also went to check out a local pick-your-own orchard.
Many of the trees were a bit different at this orchard that others we've been to. They are bigger, older trees; but they've been pruned to grow downward. They look a bit like upside down trees. (The apples on them were also a bit unnervingly huge.)
Again here, click the image for more apple picking pictures.
First, the first day of the new school... it was also raining. Here we are making our way. Fun times...
You can click the picture for more exciting scenes of that morning.
Also that first week, our neighbor Maria offered (actually, practically begged) for us to come and pick grapes from her vines. She doesn't use them anymore. So we ended up with a lot of grapes. And so, here is Selena working her grape jelly magic.
A bit of a story about the cheese cloth. I was sent out at a late hour to get some at the nearest big 24 hour grocery store. After searching and searching I could not find any, so I asked one of the cashiers if she knew where it was. She looked at me like I was crazy. "Cheese? Cloth?" she says. I try to explain what it is. She is baffled, and eventually calls over another young woman to consult. The new person at least admits she has heard of cheese cloth, but has never seen it. Well, at least here I had some support that the stuff exists in the world, and I'm not just a crazy old guy wandering around in the dark asking about nonsensical items. Cheese? Cloth? All they could do was direct me to the isles I'd already looked in. It wasn't there.
What's this world coming to?! The young people no longer know the cheese cloth! And this particular grocery store did not seem to have any.
When I got back it turned out we already had some after all. We just hadn't looked hard enough.
Anyhow, on the topic of fruit, we also went to check out a local pick-your-own orchard.
Again here, click the image for more apple picking pictures.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Spring-time Homework
 |
| Istra working on her homework, with Mommy's help, on a lovely spring afternoon. |
Thursday, 25 October 2012
All the future hunchbacks
 |
| Istra is second from the right on the bottom row. Her current best friend, Ayesha, is forth from the left. |
 |
| Emeth is second kid from the right at the back. He still has no friends, and seems to prefer it that way. |
Monday, 22 October 2012
Istra is Bused
Conquering her fears (especially after the mix up on her first attempt last Friday), Istra managed to make it home on the school bus for the first time today. On Friday, for her first time, Selena and I met her after school and went with her to the bus to reassure her and make sure she got on the right one. While helping "motivate" her up the bus steps, I mentioned to the bus driver that she was particularly nervous, because it was her first time. The bus driver asked her name and where she got off. Everything seemed good. Selena and I jumped back on our bikes to race the bus home to meet Istra at the other end. On our way to the bus stop, Selena wanted to run in to take off her coat (or something). While inside the phone rang, and it was the school. They said they had Istra in the office there. What?!!! But we put her on the bus ourselves! There was much confusion, no one seemed to know what was happening. We figured maybe Istra panicked and got off. Going back to the school to pick Istra up didn't add much clarity. The secretary said that she came back in because she was on the wrong bus; but this made no sense because we were absolutely certain we put her on the right bus, and had even talked to the bus driver. Anyhow on the way home Istra finally revealed that the bus driver had checked a list before leaving and said Istra was not on the list so had told her she had to get off and go to the office. So anyhow, this morning we verified with the morning bus driver (she takes a different bus in the morning) that Istra was definitely on her list. So today I went to meet Istra after school again to be extra, extra, extra sure she was on the right afternoon bus. It was the right bus. The bus driver recognized us approaching and told me right away that it was the wrong bus. I showed her the print out the school had given us which has the bus number on it. The driver insisted that Istra wasn't on her list. I explained that she was on the list of the morning bus. At this point one of the other girls on the bus piped up and confirmed that she'd seen Istra on the morning bus. The driver asked her what stop she got off at, because she didn't recognize the stop as it was on the print-out the school gave us. The girl explained that she got on at a different stop than Istra, but Istra was definitely on her bus. At that point an observant boy came forward and asserted to the driver that Istra got on at his stop. (The very boy that can be seen getting off just behind Istra in the first picture.) So he told the driver his stop name, and the driver scowered her lists again... and ... then... all of a sudden... yes, there's Istra on the list! No idea how it was missed before. But in a blink everything was suddenly all sorted.
I raced home to meet the bus. Gramma decided that she needed to come too, and bring a camera to immortalize this momentous occasion (as can be seen gloriously above), so everyone can share this magic moment.
And here's mommy, in grade 1 (or 2?), also immortalized waiting for her school bus, with Aunty Whitney. They are waving. (The bus is sneaking up from behind a mailbox.) But where are their classic Rainbow Bright and Fraggle Rock lunch boxes?!
Oh, here they are....
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