So the weeping began about 11 AM, when my sister and Snuffles the poodle loaded into the car and started the trek back to Virginia.

My house is very empty, and there is no one at my back door. :(

Just a pic of The Mystery Machine for Beastie, the world’s best lover of Scooby Snacks.

Error! Error!

Whoever came up with this obviously got something wrong…

Today’s Horoscope
Whoever said that it’s impossible to have it all clearly never met you. As one of the most can-do signs in the zodiac, you’re able to set your sights on a goal and get there. Your trick? You never let yourself get overwhelmed.

Herewith are assorted poodle pictures. When there’s a poodle in the house, you have to do what the poodle wants you to do. It doesn’t matter if you had plans of your own. Poodles decide for you. Mostly, they apparently want to have their ears rubbed and for you to give them whatever it is that you are eating.

I’ve also snuck in a picture of my new USB lava lamp :) A birthday present from my sister and niece and nephew.

Today we did get some things done in spite of poodle interruptions. Most importantly, I got a new chair to sit on at the desk. My old one was (1) dirty and resisting cleaning, and (2) no longer letting me adjust it. It had one height setting, the lowest one. This new one seems to have better back support, though it doesn’t tilt back like the old one. I think it will work however, and it wasn’t very expensive.

We also got some pillows and such stuff to try to adjust my bed further. I’m supposed to be sleeping with the head of the bed raised 8 inches because of the acid reflux. I’ve put wedge pillows between the mattress and box springs. That seems to be working, but my sister is going to help me put some non-slip padding between the two so that the wedge pillows quit sliding the bed down. Going to try to fit the pillows in better and make things more stable. The pillows made all the difference for my sleeping without problems, so I need a more permanent solution.

I did actually open a lesson plan today, but I never got anything done on it. I blame the poodle.

Despite the fact that I just got flowers last week for Stanley’s memorial, my mom sent flowers and a stuffed teddy today for my birthday. :)

My sister and one of her poodles, Snuffles, have arrived for a birthday visit. I’ve been older for an hour and two minutes. Snuffles, named after Sirius Black’s alias, is shown here attempting to camouflage into the couch.

He keeps checking me out in the living room, even though Kerri is in bed. You can never tell when I might get out a steak or open the doggie treats. Earlier this evening, he was outside chasing bugs. I’m not sure what he planned to do with them when he caught them.

On a work note, I sent out the ReadWriteThink content report, listing the latest three lessons. We now have 11 of our 60 needed for the year. I’m editing one on the Holocaust, and I’m writing one of my own on Reading and Writing in the Digital Age, which asks students to widen their definition of “text.”

Also learned that the member price for my Kit will be $47.95. That seems like a good price for the packet of info. It could easily be a course packet for a grad class or methods class, so it seems about right to me. We’ll see what happens when it hits the online store later this month. Reviews aren’t back from the reviewers, so I guess I get to spend the weekend goofin’ off rather than revising. I’m taking Friday and Monday off to be with my sister. :)

“Google Lets Surfers Sift Through Blogs” from The Washington Post

Apparently Google wasn’t searching enough things so now they’re searching blogs too. Of course, you could find blogs in the regular search. I’m guessing the idea is that they help you limit the hits that are returned. I’d just like to know how they’re defining a blog and whether they’re going to be able to filter out the spam blogs (splogs).

I
now have a scan of the folder cover for the Topical Resource Kit I’m
working on, Engaging Media-Savvy Students: Exploring Multimodal
Literacies through Popular Culture and Technology (Click the image
for a bigger version).
The manuscript is currently with reviewers. It’s supposed to be back by the end of the week. Unless something changes violently because of their comments, the collection will include two full journal issues plus nine additional articles. The resources provide inquiry materials for study groups (or teachers’ ed/graduate classes) exploring these framing questions about teaching multimodal literacies through popular culture and technology:

• What are multimodal literacies? How does the definition affect our understanding of reading and composing?
• How do multimodal teaching practices help students learn?
• How do we teach multimodal literacies in both digital and non-digital environments?
• How do we build on the multimodal literacies that students bring to the classroom?
• How do we balance students’ exploration and use of multimodal resources with ethical concerns such as respect for intellectual property rights?

The Kit should be in the NCTE bookstore within a month and will be in the books booth at the NCTE convention in Pittsburgh.

Tags: English language arts |
K12 instruction |
lesson plans |
multimodal literacy