Search This Blog

11.21.2013

Your Observations


These are the observations you shared with us yesterday. 3rd and 4th block. This is how I recorded them, so if it doesn't make sense...well, then it doesn't.

Three spiders in house + Backstreet Boys

People are passionate about childhood movies

Turkey has an avg of 3,000 feathers

This month has rained more than snowed

Majority of items owned are blue

Lady bite apple in Target and puts it back

Listen—hear blood pumping in ears

Classrooms with windows = better participation

Gets dark at 5:18 dark blue to black

Humans baboon, chimps are only animals to kiss

9 yr old having a boyfriend

7th grade girls have horrible style (aero uggs and baggy jeans)

News makes my parents angry – they yell at the TV

Contrast b/w public cheer and angst

Making eye contact with teachers during tests is very very scary

Formula for WHS girl: Uggs, Lulus, Northface, Caribou cup

Pomegranates looks really strange  (overall)

When we blush, it evokes sympathy of those around us (adrenaline response to stimuli)

NPR!!!!!!!! Poems about food: eating is the only form of professionalism tha tmost people ever attain

There’s a water bottle in my ceiling

Bathroom stall 2nd floor D wing: Keep Calm and Breathe

Spyhouse Cafe—girl walking with 2 guys…chucked the flowers

Telephone poles look like crooked cacti

Norwegian chess player (peeps are obsessed)

Ellie stares at people at stoplights-- awks

DQ meal– chicken tenders come with toast

No 2 laughs are the same 

7 lovely logics: (advice)

All the classrooms in the horseshoes have windows with blinds (that are in bad condition) so during lockdowns, the blinds don’t really help…

Grandma’s house: tiling and carpet separated by thin metal transitions that wiggle

Strange how people share intimate details about their lives with their hairdressers (counseling)

Food: sensory experience versus cognitive awareness

In Romania Christmas eve—no decorations, Christmas day is when decorations appear

The way people treat their pets says a lot about how they treat other/their character

Trail run: in the woods, beware purple thorns

The world is never completely silent

People are either staunchly, stubbornly closed minded or apathetic

Highway, white sedan, little old ladies surrounding tall man

APUSH didn’t mention anniversary of Gettysburg…but AP CALC did!

It’s fun to hold/smell money-- flashback and realizations about money

People have tics and habits and mannerisms

Brother’s long hair-- “weird woman”

Email: etiquette is missing in many exchanges with adults (it reflects poorly on them)

When teacher leaves the classroom during a test/quiz …cheating? Nope.

One camera for each level…surveillance

Hanukkah begins the day before Thanksgiving this year.

Ms. Boyd swears. (When girls fight.)

When a person dies, the brain is active for 7 minutes: WAKING LIFE

Dumbledore=bumblebee
The girl who sits in front of me just had a 10 minute discussion with her table-mates about the popular game "Candy Crush". I have never played it, but apparently she heard on a night-time news program the previous night that changes to the game were in planning. There is mutual outrage among the involved parties. Clearly "Candy Crush" is a major part of their day to day existence. This is troubling ...


11.15.2013

Happy Weekend

This weekend, you're exploring 10 words from that mondo list--look into origin and etymology, look into context, connotation, usage, etc. and write 2 exemplar sentences that demonstrate the accurate use of the words. These sentences should aim to be legitimate and believable--not halting and awkward.

Also this weekend, you're hunting for a passage of mind-blowingly good writing. Find and bring in a passage that exemplifies qualities of good writing--a passage that you'd commit to memory if you were ever compelled to do such a thing. It can be any genre, any form. No more than a page.

New BLA groups will meet briefly on Tuesday to finalize their plans. The following week, Nov. 26th, will be the first official BLA meeting. (That's the day right before Thanksgiving break.)

Keep up with those observations journals. Remember to blend fun facts, random things, stories, bits of conversation, thoughts, etc. Sometimes pause and write for a while. Explain why you find something interesting, what you notice about it and why it maybe seems interesting to you. Other times you can just record snippets.

As for your weekend blog post, please write something based on a conversation you overheard or participated in. Take this however you'd like, but offer a little blurb of introduction before your post that explains where and when this conversation took place and whether or not you were a participant or merely a snooping bystander. Have some fun with it. Craft your words, don't just barf up a story.


11.13.2013

The Art of Looking

The Art of Looking is the article/essay you are reading for tomorrow. This link takes you to one of the greatest resources for interesting things I have ever known ever: Brainpickings.org. I love it.

A more printer-friendly version is on our moodle page and I'm working on putting it on my website, too. Read it. Enjoy it. Heed the suggestions to observe your surroundings and learn from them.

This directly feeds into your observations journal.