tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-350056842024-03-13T02:10:07.719-07:00The SureshotA writer's blogPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-32896496778952435712011-08-01T09:39:00.000-07:002011-08-02T07:19:41.852-07:00movingI'm afraid I am making the switch to wordpress. I have been playing around with a blog on that host and I like it much more. I do not know if I will continue this one. I may keep it to post any non-Sureshot work, while my wordpress blog is exclusively related to my book. You can find that blog at: <a href="http://www.thesureshot.wordpress.com/">http://www.thesureshot.wordpress.com/</a>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-77000151015273076602011-06-13T16:29:00.001-07:002011-06-13T16:32:18.561-07:00Long time no blogIt has been a while since I paid any attention to my blog, my writing or much else beyond family, work and church, but it is summer and I have the opportunity to once again make an effort to write, post to my blog, tweet, facebook and generally waste massive amounts of time on-line. It's great. So...I appologize to anyone who missed me, I hope to be reaquainted with you, and I promise that next time I will post my leave of absence so there will be no confusion. I hope to make up for lost time this summer. I have a lot of things planned, but we'll see how it goes.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-67534719419826739752011-02-17T18:55:00.001-08:002011-02-17T18:55:54.281-08:00This is crazy<span xmlns=''><p><em>I finished a chapter about whether the hiring process in the teaching profession is flawed. There certainly seems to be some problems there. <br /></em></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> Ideally a school should be able to hire and fire the teachers they decide are best for their institution. Instead they are beholden to a series of agreements and laws that force them to conduct much of the hiring and firing in the early spring, months before the school year begins and the actual demand for teachers in known. They are also unable to keep the teachers they want and remove the ones they decide are a poor fit, or are not producing enough. Instead they are forced to eliminate the most junior teacher without any other consideration. I heard recently that in one state the "teacher of the year" was pink-slipped because he was the most junior. If a school is forced to fire the best teacher the state has to offer because of a union agreement, or state law, then something is wrong. <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> It creates a system in which the school that just made an effort to find the teacher they decided was the best for their school through a rigorous hiring process is forced to release that teacher at the end of the year, just in case they will no longer need him because they will be unable to release him in the fall. Furthermore they cannot release another teacher who may have grown complacent or even belligerent and spiteful. Nope, the school is forced to release the teachers they recently sought after and gladly placed in their classroom. Imagine baseball teams releasing their most recent draft pick to save money rather than the player who has not produced for the past few years and his past his prime. A team owner would likely not make that decision, but schools are forced to do exactly that. They cut the newest teachers who are energetic, and full of inspiration and insight from their recent studies, even though they are inexperienced.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> I would like to see some change in the way in which teachers are hired and fired in our schools. This may seem simple but it will not be easy. It will pit teachers against each other, but this is already the case so until we address this problem it will continue. President Obama mentioned getting rid of poor teachers and encouraging new and enthusiastic ones, but so far I have not seen a change. I was worried when I heard him make the point in his campaign that he did not know how much influence the union had over education. This is not the whole of the challenge, but it would do well to allow schools to have more influence over their own staff. <br /></span></p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-89099001432526700722011-02-17T18:50:00.001-08:002011-02-17T18:50:59.365-08:00Valentine’s Day Sonnet<span xmlns=''><p><em>This was a sonnet I wrote for my wife on Valentine 's Day. For whatever reason, I have been writing them again. I like sonnets. Most of my students hate them and complain about having to write them for English class, but I try to redeem the form for them. They can be a little challenging, but I like the challenge of having to force poetry into a concrete structure. Anyways…here it is.<br /></em></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>They say that today I should love you more.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Somehow this day, they call the day of love,<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Supposed to increase my love from before.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>They know all about what love is made of.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Two dozen roses can surely melt hearts.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Or loads of fancy chocolates perhaps.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Men don't forget to get them lovely cards.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Diamonds may be forever, but I'll pass.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Sure roses are red, but soon they'll be dead.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Candy is sweet, but how much can you eat?<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Cards are great, but can't keep you warm in bed.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Jewels wonderful, until the bill you greet.<br /></span></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>But none of these can say any better,<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>More than today, I'll love you forever.<br /></span></p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-74818210628030556802011-01-30T08:24:00.000-08:002011-01-30T08:33:52.918-08:00Sureshot resurrectionI am hoping to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">resurrect</span> the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span> this year. I have been brainstorming a plan to make it happen and will hopefully be able to stick with it this year. it should be easier than the past few years since with any luck we won't have a baby born this year and I will be able to devote more time to writing and trying to sell books. I have done a poor job of it in the past but still have hope for making some decent sales. This is probably it though. If I cannot get some sales done this year I suspect the book will be dead. I desperately want to sell 5000 and get the second published. It is just waiting. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span> the Assassin (the second book) is even better than the first, but the first is no slouch. Often I get positive feedback about it and still have people ask about the second. This needs to happen. I need to get there. It must be my top priority this year, and look, as I post this, a whole month has already passed. As part of my effort to keep <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Durbar</span> alive I am going to write short stories about him that I can post here and hope to put into a news letter so I can keep interest going. It is going to be a long year. But I am confident I can get there. I also want to produce a "<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">commercial</span>" of sorts to post on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Youtube</span>, and might try and make some other things I can put up there. Lastly I am on the lookout for Role playing forums where people get together to role play characters and adventures. I hope to host some based on my story and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Pavshia</span> where the stories take place. Maybe all this will add up to something. I sure hope so. When <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span> came out I gave myself 10 years to try and make a go at writing full time. That was 5 years ago. The clock is ticking. I am not down on myself because I have been very busy with family (4 kids in 6 years) but the time is now. If anyone out there has any ideas, let me know. Otherwise, look for <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span> short stories and a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span> newsletter. Wish me luck.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-5449367191679223422011-01-04T12:33:00.001-08:002011-01-04T12:33:53.755-08:00Time Machine<span xmlns=''><p>I recently watched "Hot Tub Time Machine," which was plenty funny even while using a silly concept. It was cute, had some good dry humor, through some bare boobs in to draw the 15 year olds and so was probably not the worst movie I've ever seen. For me it reminded me of how much I hate time travel as a plot point. It is one thing if you are trying to use time travel to make some sort of philosophical point. I like Christmas Carol, and Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, both which bend the rules of time, but when you use it to correct only to get the writer out of a corner he backed his self into, it is really annoying. Star Trek did it with their recent movie and it pissed me off. In Star Trek 4 they went back in time, but it was to correct a problem in the future. They went back and then forward again, and didn't travel around randomly changing the plot and course of the story as they went as well as the characters who are affected every time a change is made. It just seems lazy to me. It doesn't allow the reader to predict what might happen and not in a good way. Readers like to anticipate the next page, and like to be fooled, but also like to believe that the plot is possible. With time travel all of that is removed. You can't predict what might happen because rime travel is not based in normal human understanding. Even for the science fiction reader the plot and characters can get too complicated to follow. So I vow to never use time travel as a literary tool. Except that I have a story that features it a bit…ok, I guess you can use it, but don't expect me to like it. And "Hot Tub Time Machine" was still funny even if the idea of traveling time in a hot tub with drunken naked men is dumb. </p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-8750266012577805242010-11-26T13:18:00.001-08:002010-11-26T13:18:47.561-08:00Reform?<span xmlns=''><p>Another excerpt from my current project on reforming education. I have finished the second chapter now and am about 7500 words into the book—a pretty good start. <br /></p><p>So perhaps the teacher education programs are at fault? The state has gone to great pains in creating a number of standards, regulations, requirements and paperwork for a prospective teacher to accomplish but is it really helpful? Are there new teachers who are qualified or are they lacking.<br /></p><p>It seems there is a bit of both. While I don't knock the state for its efforts to try and account for every teacher and their training, it does not seem to be making much of a difference. In fact, there have been some teachers run off because they had been teaching a subject for a number of years without the proper qualifications. Many of these people left the private sector and became teachers. Some were engineers who taught physics, or former missionaries who taught Spanish. Others were chemists or biologists who desired to teach in order to pass on the skills and expertise that they possessed. Some of them quit teaching because they were unwilling to jump through the hoops. They knew they were good teachers. Their students knew they were good teachers, but they did not have the proper credential, and rather than do what was required in order to continue their job, they left the classroom.<br /></p><p>To be fair to the state, the new requirements were made clear and there was ample time given to complete them, but for some it didn't matter. Perhaps they only had a few more years of teaching left in them anyways before they took time to spend with grandkids and travel, but for whatever reason some left.<br /></p><p>I don't think that this is really the problem however. Still part of me thinks that there is a lack of proper teacher training. Now any veteran teacher will tell you that things were simpler when they began and that keeping kids alive and busy was the main objective, but still there can be some improvement. <br /></p><p>The state knows this too and is trying to compensate for the lack of training new teachers arrive with by offering a mentoring program at the schools themselves. Even knowing that and knowing that some credential programs are not as good as others, I still feel as though the schools of education are not the problem. Most seem to be doing what they, and the State of California, feel is best to prepare a new wave of teachers. After all it is not an easy thing to take a recent college graduate who has spent her entire life as a student and get her to the other side of the classroom in one year. Teaching is a challenging occupation that takes years to master and so they might be doing the best job they know how. <br /></p><p>In the end I can excuse the schools of Education from blame, and certainly hope we can refrain from "blowing them up." The problem must lie elsewhere, so please allow me to continue exploring my own journey to nail down the problem.</p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-820019638100264322010-11-24T08:11:00.001-08:002010-11-24T08:11:57.338-08:00Reform?<span xmlns=''><p>Another excerpt from my current project on education:<br /></p><p><br /> </p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> I was in my first year of full time teaching trying to teach a group of 15 and 16 year-olds modern world history. Whether I succeeded or not is a matter for debate, but at one moment I thought about giving up. In my 8<sup>th</sup> period, the last class of the day, I had an exchange student from Germany, who in spite of learning history in a language that was not his first managed to score higher than any of my other students. Hans, was somehow an object of desire among the female students in spite of the fact that he was highly arrogant and sarcastic. At one point one of these female students decided to ask about exchange programs even though such a question was significantly off topic, not that such a thing was unusual.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Maria's hand shot up and without waiting for me to call on her she began, "Hey Mr. B?"<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>Figuring that she wanted to know something about World War 2, the topic of the lesson I responded, "Yes Maria?"<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>She perhaps did not really even know what we were learning that day since she had spent most of the period chatting with her cousin and the exchange student. "If I want to be an exchange student, to say…England. Do I have to learn the language?"<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'>I paused stunned by the question, but trying to spare the student's feelings I calmly answered, "Maria, they speak English." <br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> He faced did not betray proper understanding of my answer and sure enough she wanted some clarification, "So I don't have to learn it?"<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> I decided to try and clarify further so I repeated, "They speak English in England."<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> At that point a few students had cued into the fact that this young woman was making a fool of herself. Her friend, upon hearing the laughter decided that she was in on the joke so she tried to pile on to Maria's embarrassment by adding, "Duh, of course you have to learn the language."<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> By now most of the other students were aware of how ludicrous this line of questioning was, but for me, I had not figured out how to get through to her without making fun of her so I repeat louder and slower as though it was a matter of volume and speed that caused this young woman to fail to understand me, "They speak English in England."<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'> Still the girl looked confused. At last I had a new idea, "Maria, they speak English. You speak English." She nodded was the confused look fixed on her face, but I had no more time to try and illuminate her. <br /></span></p><p> It was at that moment that I decided maybe the students I was getting had missed a few steps on their way to my class.</p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-26419279853320269322010-11-07T08:59:00.001-08:002010-11-07T08:59:01.561-08:00Reforming Education?<span xmlns=''><p>Here is an excerpt from one of my current projects, on education:<br /></p><p><br /> </p><p>I had some interesting interactions in my program that caused me to pause and try to make sense of the field into which I was heading. I was unable at the time however to gain proper perspective. One of the situations was in my class about how to teach second language learners as we call them. California especially, but other states as well have a plethora of students from a number of countries, speaking a number of languages. This poses a challenge for the teacher obviously because in any given class there may be a large proportion of students who did not grow up speaking English, and who's parents also do not speak the common tongue of this nation. In my student teaching experience, I taught a group of students who were entirely made up of second language learners. It was interesting trying to teach about the history of 20<sup>th</sup> century America while my students had trouble understanding .<br /></p><p> Anyways, my professor was a woman who hailed from Argentina, but had since gained a college education in the United States through a doctorate program. She was the mother of two high school students at a local school. There were several things that bothered me about her and the class. The first was that she was never on time. It was normal for us students to be assembled in the class before she arrived and then took a few minutes to set up. She dismissed this as cultural, explaining that in Argentina no one is ever on time. Interesting. The next thing that piqued my attention was that she regularly denounced the American education system as unfair for immigrants and even extended it to the nation as a whole. I found this difficult to swallow as she herself was the product of the American college system had held lofty degrees and positions in education. Furthermore she drove a luxury SUV and her daughters attended what was commonly accepted as the bourgeois high school in the area. She was always adorned with jewelry and dressed in fashionable clothes. She seemed to embody the American dream and not the American nightmare she was selling. I was getting confused. <br /></p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-44187916916512617772010-10-16T06:52:00.000-07:002010-10-16T07:03:14.275-07:00Teaching BookI think I may need to write a book about teaching. It appears that there is a great interest in it right now as conversations about education get more intense. There are documentaries coming out about what is wrong with teaching and a great number of debates about funding unions etc. I myself find it a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">provocative</span> topic, not merely because I'm a teacher, but because my first four years have been so <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">tumultuous</span>. I think I am going to have to write a mini <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">memoirs</span> about it then to share my struggles and insight with anyone who is interested in education. The challenge I have when I think about it and brainstorm what I might write is offending people I work with. On the one hand, I wouldn't be lying about them, only telling the truth as it happened, but on the other being written about in a book may make people upset. Should I care about that? Does it matter? I suppose I could write around the people and speak of things in more general terms, but that may not be as interesting. I get the sense people like conflict, and I have had a few in my short tenure as a teacher. Well, I'll keep thinking about it since I don't really have time to write it anyways. Maybe I'll even outline a bit. Or write a chapter or two. Fine, I'll write it.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-49903989170591687612010-10-15T22:40:00.000-07:002010-10-16T06:45:32.888-07:00TiredI am not sure how some people do it. With the addition of our fourth child in just over six years, I seem to have no time for much of anything lately. My week consists of work, children's sports practices, church and if there's time, sleep. My motivation for other things has decline dramatically. I have a number of writing projects in limbo, books unread and obviously a neglected blog, but when I have time for anything I usually choose sleep. I imagine this will change eventually as the newest baby gets a bit older and we are able to sleep through the night again. For now though it is difficult. It is lamentable because of the things I would like to get done. So many books that are still unwritten. I don't know when they will get done. For now my main priority is rest. I hope it changes soon.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-16507563386721797702010-07-31T12:40:00.001-07:002010-07-31T13:02:46.100-07:00Book Review: Stranger in a Strange Land<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2_XmO7p-r4k/TFSBUc_3KxI/AAAAAAAAAJY/hlYJJ4qYexI/s1600/89d2810ae7a053d7298bb110.L._AA300_%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500163233307634450" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2_XmO7p-r4k/TFSBUc_3KxI/AAAAAAAAAJY/hlYJJ4qYexI/s320/89d2810ae7a053d7298bb110.L._AA300_%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div>This is a book I've had for a while. A friend bought it for me when I was 18 (I think; it is getting difficult to remember that far back) and for whatever reason I had not read it, but managed to hold on to it. Finally I picked it up and read the dang book. It was really good. Well written, interesting, strong characters and plot. Basically everything you would look for in a book, this one had. The story is about Michael Smith a man born on Mars to astronaut parents who is adapting to life on Earth. He has strange habits and beliefs given his martian origins and it is interesting reading about him trying to learn human behaviors and actions. Mostly humans do not make sense to him, but when he finally understands he becomes a powerful man who is messianic in nature. To further that idea he starts his own complicated church, which is a strange mixture of pagan practices and highly organized denominations. I began to get the sense that Heinlein was somewhat similar to Ayn Rand in that he was promoting personal enlightenment and responsibility and even the Randian theme of human heroes. I'll have to grok that some more. Overall it was very good, a little slow in the center of the book, but still great. I especially loved the character Jubal Harshaw the eccentric and grumpy lawyer/ writer who mentors Smith among other things. I recommend it to anyone interested in solid Sci-fi and even general fiction. It is a great read. </div>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-18256134180136241242010-07-23T16:51:00.000-07:002010-07-23T16:56:11.018-07:00Don't live in darknessFor better or worse I've been on a poetry tear lately. I had put poetry away for a while claiming that it was a lower writing form, and then when I was having trouble writing prose went back to it in order to practice the craft. Now I've been writing it randomly and posting some here. Well, here is another one then.<br /><br />Don't Live in Darkness<br /><br />Don't live in darkness,<br /> follow the light.<br />Forever lost in,<br /> the pitch black night.<br />So often afraid,<br /> no need for fright.<br />Stay right where you are,<br /> hold on with might.<br />You know someday soon,<br /> will come your knight.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-28754995566728274812010-07-20T08:35:00.000-07:002010-07-20T08:50:38.673-07:00LearningI got to thinking about the upcoming school year and how I would adjust my teaching methods to improve student learning and wondered about a whole slew of things. I started to think about all the brilliant people in the world. Not just the classic scientist types but the creative minds in music and the arts, engineering and construction, medicine and even things like interior design and cosmetics. I was thinking about all of the people who are really good at what they do and I wondered how they found it.<br /><br />Then I decided that they probably found their passion and uncovered their ability in spite of public education. I know I certainly didn't. I continue to lament the things I wrote in school that I took a chance on. You know, creative pieces that went beyond the assignment and took real effort. Then it made me sad because most of those were returned to me as "incomplete," "off topic," or "did not meet standard." What horrible words. In my class I try to reward effort, creativity and passion, but I fear this is not the case in most of the education world.<br /><br />No. In education we focus on standards, benchmarks, tests and rubrics. Tools, we tell ourselves, that will improve student learning. Perhaps. But how does a student find his passion if he cannot stray beyond the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">preconceived</span> standard? Does he have room to explore? Or is he a slave to "direct instruction model," like we have adopted on our campus? Will he love to learn or hate the worksheet, drills and endless measuring he must endure? Will school enhance his life or handicap him?<br /><br />I would like to see a learning environment where students were encouraged to explore a variety of subjects in multiple ways in order to discover the God given talents and abilities and then, along with a passionate teacher, develop as a whole person and not just another test taker, another seat filler, another number in the expansive sea of faces. Can I do this in my classroom, or will I be written up for not putting daily objectives on the board, using direct instruction model and preparing my students for bench marks? I'm afraid.<br /><br />Just some thoughts.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-21167145979763986512010-07-05T10:39:00.000-07:002010-07-05T10:41:05.264-07:00I See YouYou try to hide<br />I see you<br />You put up walls<br />I see you<br />You dress up<br />I see you<br />You put on a show<br />I see you<br /><br />Seeking<br />Hoping<br />Longing<br />Needing<br />Hurting<br />Bleeding<br />Seething<br />Weeping<br /><br />I love you<br />For your passion<br />I love you<br />For your caring heart<br />I love you<br />Mother, Daughter, Sister<br />I love you<br />Perfect creation of GodPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-68352682042099342010-06-28T09:29:00.000-07:002010-06-28T09:35:59.156-07:00Irish LimerickFor my next poetry form, I chose Irish Limerick. It is a simple form, but slightly more complicated than Haiku because of the necessity for rhyme. It was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">surprisingly</span> more difficult than I thought. I have never found sonnets to be too challenging, and yet limerick took me a little while to master. However, I feel that in the end I wrote a few clever limericks and I'm ready to move on. Here they are for your enjoyment:<br /><br />Voting<br /><br />They say it's my duty to vote.<br />To take it serious; not joke.<br />Is an elephant best for the country?<br />Should I lend my support to a donkey?<br />To me they both stink like a goat.<br /><br />Global Warming<br /><br />I heard the earth is getting warm.<br />We must switch from petrol to corn.<br />I just can't believe the reason.<br />For the current warming season.<br />Is cars and cow farts in the morn.<br /><br />Woman & Men<br /><br />Women say men can't understand.<br />Difficulties facing woman.<br />But a woman will never know.<br />What it's like for a normal schmo<br />Who's wife won't give it up to her husband.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-71327780748854997332010-06-24T10:17:00.000-07:002010-06-24T10:28:51.010-07:00HaikuI decided to practice a few types of poetry and started with haiku because, well, it's easy. 5, 7, 5 syllables. It is supposed to be in present tense and center on natural themes. I created some haiku about random junk, enjoy.<br /><br />Soccer Haiku:<br /><br />Ninety Minutes long<br />Clash of two teams both hoping<br />Only one will win<br /><br />Let's go USA<br />Ninety minutes with no goal<br />Ninety one shoot score<br /><br />Philosophical Haiku:<br /><br />What is in a man?<br />Love hate war peace fear courage?<br />Defined by actions<br /><br />What is good in life?<br /><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gold</span> and silver will tarnish<br />Family survives<br /><br />Sun rises and sets<br />Wind blows leaves fall winter comes<br />Spring always returns<br /><br />The Hunter will stalk<br />the Hunted will hide or flee<br />Each desire life<br /><br />Love Haiku:<br /><br />The Wife of my youth<br />From the first moment we met<br />My heart was all yours<br /><br />My lover my wife<br />You are the light of my world<br />The sun and the moon<br /><br />Always my best friend<br />I share everything with you<br />You are all I needPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-44911231514051508562010-06-23T10:52:00.000-07:002010-06-23T10:57:33.319-07:00Summer Vacation?I always look forward to summer because it is an opportunity to write and read and develop, but as usual it never seems to work out that well. So far I have spent 1 week teaching kids at Vacation Bible School (<span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">VBS</span>) and watching the world cup (Go USA!). Not exactly productive. I have managed to finish reading a couple books, but I started them a couple months ago so I can't really count it as much of an accomplishment. I thought about writing some poetry again, only because it might help get me back into a writing mood. On a positive front, I received more encouraging feedback from folks who have read <em>The <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Sureshot</span></em>, but as usual it still has not translated into sales. I am waiting for another shipment of books and suspect I am going to sell a few this year <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">because</span> I have a more concrete plan to achieve sales. It turns out that sales are everything. Quality of work is debatable, sales are undeniable. So sales it what I'm going to focus on. That while welcoming another child into the world in a month and teaching again when school starts up. Busy. It is shocking sometimes, and a wonder I can get any writing done. We'll see how it goes this summer.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-69885534619826462872010-05-20T19:52:00.000-07:002010-05-20T20:01:56.099-07:00Random musingsI can't believe it has been two weeks since I posted. I have been doing a decent job of keeping up with my twitter, but managing email, twitter, blogger, and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">facebook</span> is <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">exhausting</span>. I got tired just writing that list. I have not done great writing 250 words every day. That's not to say I haven't managed to write, just not every day. So many things to do in a regular day. It would be so much more motivating if someone paid me to write. Speaking of which another play was rejected by a publisher. I would have given up by now if I hadn't read blogs of people who have been rejected hundreds of times. It is such a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ridiculous</span> business. Some make it, some don't and it doesn't seem to be based on talent. If only I was a brilliant marketer. I think I am at the point where talking about my book and scheming ways to sell more is high on my list of priorities. Nothing less will sell books. It is something I have come to terms with. Oh well, I guess I will keep writing and trust that I will be successful eventually. It does get old hearing from everyone who reads my work how good it is, and yet I have no market success to prove it.<br /><br />I finally bought some generic <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">bic</span> pens. They are <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">ok</span>. I would gladly throw them out for the pens I want. I even went on the Bic web site and found that I can have them personalized for like 30 cents a pen if I buy a ton of them. I thought about it. I just don't know what I would do with 500 pens. I guess I could use them all eventually. Back to work.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-33417715608963725722010-05-04T20:18:00.000-07:002010-05-04T20:26:11.699-07:00PensI have a problem. I have become very particular about what type of pen I will use. While I can tolerate inferior pens for many things, I cannot use just anything for serious writing. I hate writing in any color but black. In the army, we were only allowed to use black ink. Blue was "the air-force's color" as though only they were allowed to use it so it was black only. When I was younger (High School) I found that my hand writing sucked. It bothered me but I was never really able to figure out why it was so bad or how to make it better. I did notice however that the writing <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">utensil</span> made a difference. Wood pencils were good, but not mechanical ones. Pens...well...that was hit and miss. Flood or fountain pens seemed to make my <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">penmanship</span> worse. I took a liking to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">bic</span> round pens; black. This is the only pen I like. I bought a couple packs of them a year or so ago and always managed to have a few around. A month ago I ran out. The one I was using ran dry and I was forced to find something else to write with. I thought I would eventually make it to a store to buy some more. I have been woefully disappointed. I have been completely unable to find the pen I want. Two drug stores and a target have let me down. Today I was in a <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">CVS</span> and found the pen I like in blue but not black. I finally broke down and bought some generic black ball point pens in the hopes that it will satisfy my need. I am not hopeful. I will let you all know if I get satisfaction. My writing career may be over if I cannot get a hold of the pen I so desire. It is <em>that</em> serious.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-39809224666318346182010-04-13T20:12:00.001-07:002010-04-13T20:19:45.901-07:00Richard Dawkins’ Special Visitors<span xmlns=""> <p>I wrote a short story about Richard Dawkins. It involves him meeting his two favorite imaginary creatures, the "invisible flying pink unicorn" and the "invisible flying spaghetti monster" (I'm not making this up). If you haven't seen the video clips of him comparing God to these two creatures they are laughable. At least the people there think it is really funny. I am not sure why believers (in whatever religion) continue to try and convince him of God because of their belief. He clearly will not be swayed by such arguments and always counters with sarcasm (humor is another of his many talents) and ridicule. After all the man has made it his recent goal to destroy people's belief in whatever god they believe in. He is very generous and nondiscriminatory when it comes to this and mocks every god from Zeus and Thor, to Jesus. He thinks they are all laughable and so he dispenses with mockery evenly. He is actually especially critical of Muslims lately, which has shockingly not drawn the ire of fellow professors, many of whom defend the faith if for no other reason, but on political correctness grounds.<br /></p><p>So…I wrote a story about him meeting his two most common examples of silliness, the unicorn and the spaghetti monster. It is a tongue-in-cheek exercise but one I enjoyed. In the story I assert, through the two characters, that he is just as religious as anyone else, in fact more so. I contend that he has created his own religion. I put forth a number of reasons why this is so: he has his own texts, he has monetary motivations, he claims to have a monopoly on the truth, he even has his own images to worship (my two creatures). I think it is very cleaver. He will think I'm an idiot, but then he think nearly everyone is an idiot, especially people who believe in an active deity.<br /></p><p>Oh well…I guess Dawkins doesn't need me as a parishioner, he has many thousands already, all of whom defend his belief vehemently. I'm just another moron following a make believe God after all.<br /></p><p>If anyone would like to read the story, I will gladly send it with the expectation that you will give me feed back.</span></p>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-85570068462766369172010-04-11T11:39:00.001-07:002010-04-11T11:42:17.237-07:00Daily Challenge<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2_XmO7p-r4k/S8IX7zrtWNI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/p-CwGOpTmhI/s1600/250words-350w%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 149px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458952014579718354" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2_XmO7p-r4k/S8IX7zrtWNI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/p-CwGOpTmhI/s320/250words-350w%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span xmlns=""><br /><p>I have decided to try and take on a daily writing challenge. I discovered such a thing surfing around and reading other people's blogs and I decided that it was high time I do the same. I have generally not written daily, but rather in spurts. I may not write anything for two weeks, then write 5000 words all in one day. This is not necessarily bad or good, it is just how I operated. However, at least for the time being, I would like to be more disciplined in my craft. This should not only up my production, but increase my skill. I really need to focus on writing right now as I make another go at being a successful writer.<br /></p><br /><p>There is a community of people engaging in a daily writing challenge and so I am just following them. To make it easy on myself, I am starting with the smallest daily level I found, 250 words. Normally when I start I write well more than 250 words, but then so be it. My goal is not to write a lot, but to write every day. If I can get into a better habit of writing then I have succeeded.<br /></p><br /><p>I was thinking over why I don't write every day and I usually fall back on business. But everyone is busy! I think if I just cut out a few things, carry a notebook and pen around with me all the time, and hold myself accountable, I should be able to make my goal every day. I hope anyone reading this Blog will do the same.<br /></p><br /><p>With that said, this post is already 286 words. Done for the day? I hope not.</p></span></div>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-52084987300938760562010-04-07T12:08:00.000-07:002010-04-07T12:14:57.513-07:00Living WaterFor the Easter play this year I wrote a script that circled around the theme of water and also the woman that Jesus meets at the well in Samaria. I think this is such an interesting interaction because it is so relevant. The woman has been divorced five times. That is bad in our day-and-age, let alone 2000 years ago. She is also living with a guy who is not her husband! Yet Jesus looks into her soul and has mercy on her. He offers her grace. He <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">describes</span> it as living water, and talks about the spirit of God and how no one will thirst when filled with the spirit. Of course he was talking about a spiritual thirst, but the water metaphor is powerful since all of us need water. For the first time in a while there were a lot of female roles in the play. It is especially hard to have a lot of female roles when doing a time play about <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Easter</span> because it usually contains Jesus and the 12 disciples. There's 13 men already! This play allowed me to create mostly female roles with only a couple disciples and Jesus as main male parts. The cast performed it beautifully! I could scarcely imagine it being better. They even filled in where my script probably fell short. I was very proud, and it was a huge blessing to see my work performed. God willing, there will be many more plays to report on. As it is, this is number five. I am already working on the next two.Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-51882563318691216122010-04-06T11:42:00.001-07:002010-04-06T11:42:23.290-07:00Spring Break Break Down<span xmlns=''><p>So I had high hopes for Spring Break. I thought I could get a bunch of things done around the house, for school, and writing wise. My family was all sick but not me so I thought I could still be productive. Everyone was coughing. We all went to the doctor on Tuesday. My wife had bronchitis; the kids were getting over sinus infections or something. Me? Tip-top. Then Wednesday night the younger two started throwing up. Again and again. I lost count how many times they barfed (partly because I didn't get up for all of them apparently). Then Friday, my oldest child threw up. Needless to say productivity came to a screeching halt. Our days consisted mostly of laying on the couch and watching TV or playing Wii. Then Sunday night I got sick. I threw-up a few times and suffered through a horrible night. So here I am on Tuesday. My wife is working, the kids are better (I guess) and I am feeling a bit better. Will I get something done? We'll see. So much for a productive break. I'd rather be working. </p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35005684.post-85633504754720369972010-04-02T13:48:00.001-07:002010-04-02T13:48:54.262-07:00Jurassic Park<span xmlns=''><p>I finished reading <em>Jurassic Park</em> a few weeks back after borrowing (sort of) the book from my Opa. He loves Crichton and after reading the book I too am impressed. It moved well, was entertaining and also interesting. It combined not just the engaging plot, but also grappled with some hot issues, namely the Earth and our interaction with it. I often tell my students that I have two real fears; things that I think jeopardize our existence on this planet. They are robots and genetic engineering. Maybe I have seen too many sci-fi movies but those two things scare me more than anything else because I see in them the flaws of humans magnified. All of our pride and vanity could be manifest in either robots or genetic engineering because our highest aim in either of those is to be god-like. For all we can do, we cannot create life, at least not life that didn't already exist. Maybe I mean that we cannot create new life. So I see both of these endeavors to be motivated by a desire to be like God. That scares me. <em>Jurassic Park</em> tackles this folly. In the book, of course, it ends up being a bad idea to try and bring back dinosaurs, as cool as it might be, because we cannot control them. This is made supremely evident, and Crichton did a good job of creating characters who clearly wanted to be god-like. <br /></p><p>In the end I was very satisfied with where the book went. My favorite character ends up being Ian Malcolm, who in the movie was also good, though as well as he was portrayed in film, I liked his book character even more. He understood the flaw of mankind and expressed it in his mathematical "chaos theory." It was ironic because some of the other characters accused him of being arrogant, and yet they were the ones trying to recreate life that had died out long ago. My favorite line in the book comes from him near the end and fully describes how I feel:<br /></p><p> "Let's be clear. The planet is not in jeopardy. <em>We</em> are in jeopardy. We haven't got the power to destroy the planet—or to save it. But we might have the power to save ourselves."<br /></p><p>I love this line. This get's at one of my core beliefs—we are not that important. I laugh every time I see a "save the planet" bumper sticker, or hear about global warming because I believe that, as Ian Malcolm stated, we are not significant enough to destroy or save the planet. What we really mean is we are messing it up for us. Fine. But the planet? We couldn't create it, and we can't destroy it. We are not God, though some people apparently think we have his power. I however, do not, and apparently Crichton agrees with me. </p></span>Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06781439822343602694noreply@blogger.com1