Happy Saturday! Sheesh! The kids are having a four-day weekend. Yesterday was unplanned, as Mother Nature treated us with a wee but of freezing rain. Monday is Family Day, here in Ontario, and several other Canadian provinces.
My oldest daughter, Amanda, turns 16 on February 22. Wait? What happened to that toddler who used to waddle around like a starfish in her snowsuit, and LOVED, Dora The Explorer?
But like time, I must press on, because yours is valuable and I just know you’re dying to know the answers to these crazy words. It’s not all fun and games on this blog; you are about to learn some highly transferable wordsmithing here. Pshaw! No . . . it’s fun and games.
If you haven’t had a chance to do the quiz, you can either scroll down to the last post, or click on this link. Wacky Word Quiz
First up, we have the one that would get the best reaction should you ever decide to call someone it. Have your cell phone camera ready, because the face may look something like this:
FARTLEK: A: an activity runners do when they switch between sprinting and jogging
Did you get that one? I mean; how did they come up with that? Maybe the certain displacement of gases produced by the runner’s efforts? 🙂
Next up, we have Bumber Shoot: C: umbrella
What a downer, unless it’s raining. I was expecting some voracious carnivore of a weed, launching up from a jungle floor to snatch unsuspecting prey.
Ummm . . . moving on. Do you think the woman in the photo below just might be an
Abecedarian?
NOPE! Unless she’s a C: anyone currently learning the alphabet
“Hey! Are you calling me a skirl?”
“We’d never dream of it, Betty, um, I mean, Sparkle Twirl.” (Ya, I don’t get the nickname, either, I think she gave it to herself.)
SKIRL = A: the loud wailing sound produced by bagpipes
So there you have it! Go forth and use these words liberally, in whatever context you’d like, for not many will know what the heck you’re talking about!
First off I want to start out by saying we had crazy weather last evening. I’m talking a major snowstorm and a thunderstorm at the same time! It’s called ‘Thundersnow’ and this is the first time I’ve personally witnessed it. Nothing like the sight of a blizzard backdropped by flashes of lightning, let me tell you.
But now I’m moving on to discuss a place that never sees snow, and a story that will nest in your heart forever.
Interested? Please read on!
Here’s the Gist:
In this commercial fiction novel with an historical backdrop, The Sons and Daughters of Toussaint, Isaac Breda seeks to renew the revolution of his famous forefather, Toussaint Louverture. He is depressed that a revolution which had so much potential, and which had cost so much, seemed to have so little to show for it. He resolves to start a non-violent revolution to make their freedom real. In the first half of the novel, the story is told by alternating chapters between historical sections, telling the story of Toussaint and his compatriots, and contemporary sections, where Isaac seeks to renew Toussaint’s spirit in his people. Isaac’s story intersects with that of his best friend’s beautiful sister, Marie-Noëlle. At first she is mainly focused on moving to the United States and making her fame and fortune in modeling. But her character develops into a powerful agent of change herself. When Isaac dies at the hands of entrenched interests in Haiti, the revolution falls on her shoulders. The immense challenge transforms both her and her country.
My Thoughts:
When I was a kid, my dad went to Haiti several times to help with a number of construction projects. While he often told me stories about his experiences, two things stick out in my memory. The photos of treeless and eroding mountainsides, with small shanties built at their bases, and the resilience of the people.
This is exactly what I found on the pages of this inspiring novel. A nation that has struggled to gain a foothold in the climb towards democracy, despite being under constant assault by dictators, gangs, and natural disasters.
Madsen paints a vivid and accurate picture of the trials and triumphs of a land under constant pressure, and it starts with the historical revolution led by Toussaint Louverture. As a student of history, I appreciated the switching perspectives between Toussaint’s day and the twenty-first century revolution led by Isaac. Bravery in the face of tremendous danger is realistically tempered with the protagonist’s bouts of self doubt and discouragement.
Buoyed by the courageous support of the people, his closest allies, and the love of his life, Marie-Noelle, Isaac finds the strength to face the monsters. With an eye towards changing the national political landscape and Haiti’s global reputation, Isaac learns to savour the smaller victories. One scene depicts him standing beside a litter free river that had once been choked with garbage. The locals had banded together for the clean up. He smiles even though his ultimate goal remains distant.
But this is about more than just one man, and the hearts of the people continue to beat strongly long after he’s gone. Marie continues what Isaac began as she lives up to the bold statement, “Nou pa pè!”
Meet Keith:
I am a retired minister, living in East Wenatchee, Wa., who teaches chess to children, works for AmeriCorps, teaching about the Opioid Pandemic, AND writing fiction!
The story line isn’t written on the wall. Unlike the Biblical account, no matter how hard I stare, no hand appears to write Dan out of the tar pit he’s gotten himself trapped in, again. Sheesh!
This is for those of you, if you’re like me, who struggle, at times, to get collect the right words from that pile of scrabble tiles tumbling inside your cranium.
You type, think, type, backspace, type, stare at the wall; time slips past and the hands of the clock have suddenly moved alarmingly close to quitting time. For me, that’s when the rest of the household gets up. It’s that dreadful wormhole again! Sucking time and productivity into an eternal vacuum. There’s no fix for it, no way to simply remove a filter and shake it out. It’s lost, forever.
Those who know me, are aware that physical fitness is a huge part of my life. I devote a great deal of time to developing the three key physical fitness elements: strength, cardio, and flexibility.
Recently, an idea came to me, as I waited for that magic hand to reveal the ‘golden nugget’.
I decided to incorporate a technique I’ve often used in my workouts, into my writing. Some of you may be familiar with HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Simply put, the idea is to go hard for a brief period of time, and then continue exercising, but at a slower pace. This has proven, and I’ve benefited personally, to be a more effective and time efficient way of exercising than traditional forms. The ratio of time spent going hard to slowing down, are dependent upon fitness levels and goals.
I thought you were talking about writing, not running, Bierman. I am, well now I am. I’ve discovered, for me, at least, that the same principles can be used in writing life.
No more staring at walls or scratching my head, trying to squeeze out the next sentence. These days, I write and read, in intervals. I’ll work on my WIP for fifteen minutes to half an hour, and then switch to reading blogs for about ten to fifteen minutes, before writing again.
I find reading the excellent work of others, and their different approaches to wordsmithing, very stimulating. It gives me a chance to ‘let someone else take the wheel.’
No matter how much you love to write, and I do, creating something out of nothing can be mentally draining. This method allows for a break, while keeping your creative side working in the background.
I read blogs because they are short, and I can finish them within the allotted time frame. Blogs also give you the chance to read material from different authors, thus stimulating your brain to a greater extent.
You may have your own preference, such as Twitter, Facebook, or some other social media platform. I would advise against reading a book, as it can get intertwined with your work, and it should be something you can finish within the timeframe.
I hope you’ve found this post helpful. If you have any techniques that you use, please share them here.
Well, it’s Valentines’ Day weekend, and also one of the coldest months of the year up here, in Canada. It’s as though Mother Nature is either thumbing her nose, enacting vengeance for a serious jilting, or attempting to fire the flames of romance by freezing the body.
If you ask two, ten, a dozen, or hundreds of Canucks, you’ll get as many opinions, or maybe a shrug, followed by, “Dunno,’ sorry.”
The story for todays’ review takes place where breath doesn’t freeze scarves rigid, nor are toques a staple, even in winter. We’re traveling to pre-historic Africa.
What Amazon says:
Born in the harsh world of East Africa 1.8 million years ago, where hunger, death, and predation are a normal part of daily life, Lucy and her band of early humans struggle to survive. It is a time in history when they are relentlessly annihilated by predators, nature, their own people, and the next iteration of man. To make it worse, Lucy’s band hates her. She is their leader’s new mate and they don’t understand her odd actions, don’t like her strange looks, and don’t trust her past. To survive, she cobbles together an unusual alliance with an orphaned child, a beleaguered protodog who’s lost his pack, and a man who was supposed to be dead.
My Turn:
Jacqui does a great job of instilling a vivid picture of what most certainly was the red in tooth and claw existence, quite literally, of early humans.
The first in a trilogy, a solid foundation is built for the next two books in this series. There is plenty of action, yet I found there were parts that grew too repetitive, and perhaps could have been left out.
I must be honest about the fact some of my personal beliefs about the ‘coming into existence’ of humanity are in conflict with certain views expressed. I’ll not argue them here, nor anywhere, as they are mine. No amount of debate will sway me, nor will I convince those who disagree. I think it’s best to agree to disagree and leave it at that.
Overall, the information presented in this book has been well-researched and conforms to the mainstream view. The main characters are well constructed and there is growth based on experience.
I believe this novel achieves what it sets out to do. As part of a trilogy, the entire series will need to be taken into account. As of this moment, I’ll give it Four Stars.
Meet Jacqui:
Bio
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years both in a traditional classroom and online. She is the editor of a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum,K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and author of over a hundred books to integrate technology into education. She is adjunct professor on tech ed topics for the University of California San Diego, Colorado State University, and others. She is a Master Teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics. She is the author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days as well as the prehistoric fiction, Man vs. Nature.
She’s best known as Ask a Tech Teacher, curator of the popular blog used by teachers, administrators and homeschoolers around the world. It is the go-to resource for advice, pedagogy, tips and tricks, freebies, help, reviews, and classroom materials in tech ed. She has been quoted in national newspapers such as the Washington Post and appeared in local education-oriented radio programs such as BAM Radio and CoolCat Teacher. Her blog has received many awards from organizations such as Common Sense Media and Ed Anywhere.
Jacqui is the voice behind Structured Learning webinars, providing training to teachers and administrators on tech ed topics like flipped classrooms, digital citizenship, Common Core Standards and tech, how to organize the classroom for tech, and age-appropriate tech to support curriculum and standards.
Her teaching philosophy can be summed up in two words: critical thinking. Start with organic conversations. Make technology authentic and encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning. Instruction is self-paced, differentiated and responsive to student needs. Lessons include Essential Questions, Big Ideas and self-reflection.
Jacqui works with teachers and school districts to integrate technology into their school curriculum and standards, running seminars on using tech tools in the classroom, introducing educators to popular ideas like the flipped classroom, differentiation, setting up the digital classroom, using tech in Common Core and more. She also writes articles and white papers for Districts to be shared on blogs, newsletters, and parent information guides.
Jacqui Murray has a BA in Economics, a BA in Russian, an MBA, and a California teaching credential. Before teaching, she worked in the business world for twenty years. She has a daughter who attended the United States Naval Academy and now serves as an Officer in the Navy doing cybersecurity, and a son who attended UC Irvine and serves as an Army SGT in the Signal Corps. She also has a brilliant Labrador Retriever named Casey—what a character. She spends most of her time teaching, reading, geeking, and writing.
Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost upon us, so, yay! Today, I’ve brought back the word quiz.
Those who’ve been following my blog for awhile, you know what to do. Well, not that it’s overly complicated. Quite simple really.
Each word will have four possible definitions, of course, only one will be right. You can put your guesses in the ‘Comments’ section, or not, and I’ll be back to reveal (Ta-da!) the correct one.
As before, I’ll ask each of you to practice ‘Googlestraint” (made that one up myself, my Mom is so proud . . . um, I think.) In plain English, please do not ask Google or any other ‘know-it-all’ virtual entity.
Here we go!
Bumfuzzle:
A: to be confused
B: to have social anxiety causing flatulence
C: (19th century slang) to make a huge mistake that cannot be fixed easily
D: the tuft of hair on top of a male baboon’s head
Tarradiddle
A: taking one’s sweet time at a project/activity
B: the large wheel on a cotton ginny machine
C: a lie
D: navel lint
Sialoquent
A: to speak eloquently
B: tendency to spray saliva when speaking
C: an unruly nose hair that causes irritation and embarrassment
D: to walk gracefully
Ratoon
A: (19th century slang) a derogatory term for a chewing tobacco spittoon and those who use them
B: the massive pin that connects the boon to the bucket on a tractor
C: small shoots that come from the roots of a plant
Mark Bierman 