A Moment Away

My son is coming up today to see us and we're going to hit the Ren Fair. Tomorrow I've got to get a test graded that I gave yesterday, and Monday starts final exams. Lots more grading.

In addition, on Wednesday I'm giving a presentation on "The Care and Feeding of Writing Groups" at the local library. I'll be doing two presentations. I've copied the announcement below, though I know pretty much none of you are in this area.

For these reasons, I'm taking a few days off blogging and probably won't be back until Friday of this coming week. Hang tough!

ST. TAMMANY PARISH –Have you dreamed of belonging to a creative writer’s group? You can receive advice from experienced writers during two programs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 10 at the Causeway Branch library, 3457 Hwy. 190 and from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 16 at the Slidell Branch, 555 Robert Blvd.

Charles Gramlich and other members of the Northshore Inklings Writing Group will speak about the types of writing groups, how to form one, and how to maintain it. They will also discuss their experiences self-publishing an anthology of member’s works called “Louisiana Inklings: A Literary Sampler.”

Audience members can purchase“Louisiana Inklings”as well as Charles Gramlich’s book “Write With Fire.”The authors will be available to autograph the books.

The event is free and open to the public, and registration is recommended. Light refreshments will be available. Seating space is limited to adults. Please register online at http://register.stpl.us/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp or call the library at(985) . Registration opens two weeks before the date of the event.

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Final Exams and Cutting Line

My first round of finals starts today and will run through the middle of next week. I hope to have final grades turned in no later than the 11th. I then have two articles that I’ve agreed to finish between the 11th and January 3rd. That shouldn’t be too difficult but it will certainly take time away from blogging. These are for a reference work on graphic novels and my articles will deal with two such works, Bloodstar, based on a Robert E. Howard story, and A. D. New Orleans After the Deluge, which is about Hurricane Katrina. The upshot is that I won’t be around the blogosphere as much as usual for a while, although I’m not abandoning it, of course.

Speaking of finals, I have to relate an experience I had yesterday. I generally eat at the school lunch room and it isn’t unusual for there to be some standing in line involved. I frequently get irritated at the students who cut in line in front of others. I sometimes say something and at other times don’t, depending on how far from the cut I am. Yesterday, I’d been standing in line for quite a while and was finally only two people back from being served when a student in one of my classes cut in front of me. I was somewhat taken aback but did mutter in a loud voice, “Oh come on.” The student did not make eye contact, and in fact I’m pretty sure she never even noticed I was there. I’ve realized through other dealings with the student that she is extremely self-centered and seldom notices anyone unless they can do something for her at that moment.

This student will certainly get the grade she earns in my class, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen her take short cuts and be inconsiderate of others. Although I doubt she will ask me for a letter of recommendation, if she did I would have to say no. It’s certainly not just the frequent cutting in line and inconsideration, but includes cutting corners in classes she’s had with me that makes me feel this way. Yesterday too, for example, she came to my morning class about five minutes late, (early for her), and after bumbling around disrupting the class while she got settled, she asked me a question I had actually been covering in the moments when she was trying to get to her seat. The look on her face when she asked the question seemed clearly to indicate that I was confusing her with my unclear presentation on the topic. Although I answered her politely, I must admit to a touch of irritation. And I thought to myself that there’s no way I’d feel comfortable recommending her for graduate school where she might eventually become responsible for other people’s welfare. Maturity and empathy for others counts.

And now for some happier thoughts, I’m putting up the links below to some books I’m hoping a certain loved one of mine will buy new for me for Christmas. She knows who she is and would never cut in line in front of me. :)






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Sunday Updates, and a book I Gave Up On

I gave another final yesterday. Yes, on Saturday, and got those grades turned in last night. One more test to go, on Monday, and I'll be done. I did get a nice thank you card from a student for a letter of recommendation I did for her, so certainly not all students are rude and inconsiderate.

I finished the book Bloodstone by David Gemmell and found it just as good as the others in the "Stones of Power" series. However, I gave up on a book I'd started, and that is a rare event. The book was The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived and I was actually looking forward to it with some relish. It was subtitled "How Characters of Fiction, Myth, Legends, Television, and Movies have shaped our Society, Changed our Behavior, and Set the Course of History. It featured such characters as Icarus, Santa Claus, Dick Tracy, Peter Pan, Kirk and Spock, Tarzan etc.

The book was well written and others might enjoy it so don't let my stopping overly influence you, but here is where my problem came in. Typically, the authors would start to discuss a character, Hercules for example, and would give some accurate background on where the character originated and some of the legends surrounding the character. Then they would try to funny the entry up with some modern jokes, generally political ones. First, I didn't find any of the jokes funny. I mean every joke about Bush that can be made has pretty much been made, and who wants these jokes in a book that will surely last longer than Bush's time in office. I won't want to be reminded of Bush in years to come.

Second, in some cases they apparently extended the joke into making up some fiction of their own, and at times I actually had difficulty telling where the "true" story of the character left off and the modern authors' "made-up" stuff began. For me, this destroyed the usefulness of the book as a reference source. And so I put it down.

I "treated" myself to a movie last night after finishing my latest exam. My choice was "30 Days of Night," a vampire flick. I was very disappointed. The idea was great, a city in far north Alaska which experiences a month without the sun is isolated and attacked by vampires. The ending also had the germs of a very good idea in it, but the delivery on both ideas was very weak and completely unconvincing, particularly the ending.

Well, now I'm off to make my blogging rounds. See ya soon.

Learning a Foreign Language

I just gave my final, final exam this morning at 8:00, and now the grading begins. Why am I taking the time to blog then some of you may wonder. Well, if you’ve ever looked at a daunting stack of essays big enough to choke a Baleen whale, and realize that your next couple of day swill be spent in their company and their company alone, you might forgive me for hesitating to begin the task. Nevertheless, the tests will get graded, and final grades will be turned in on time. And most likely I will still be relatively sane, albeit only semi-coherent, when I’m done.

In the meantime, here’s a little language lesson from Talera. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test. I’m sure as “dahh” not gonna grade any more “krutt-loving” tests than I have to.

Curse words: There are, of course, many more. But here is a sample: Dahh -- Generally translated as Damn or Hell
Dihmus vishka -- possible translation is “god in heaven.”
Lart -- Rodent (You Rat)
Vish -- Usually translated as Shit or Piss
Krutt – a type of parasite whose name is also used as a curse.


General words:
Ahy -- Greeting
Dihn -- A small coin of little importance.
Dhorn -- Day
Dhu -- Hundred
Efrinore -- druid-witch-shaman. A magic woman of the wood. Herbalist.
Jhesan -- Lord (or sometimes Prince)
Jhesana -- Lady (or sometimes Princess)
Khi -- soul, spirit, psychic energy, charisma
Khiang -- Warrior
Khisan -- Warlord, who rules by the Khi.
Lehr -- Outlaw
Mercredi -- Foot mercenary
Mordai -- the name for the hour of the Taleran day that comes after midnight, when the veil between the living and dead worlds is said to be thinnest.
Nex -- Place
Phal -- Island
Phoros -- Healer or Physician
Phorosnex -- Hospital
Phrer -- Priest or monk
Rha -- War
Rhath -- Warrior
Rhahn -- battle
Rhanvin -- fighting slave, gladiator.
Saar -- Gesture of polite title, like Sir
Saaress -- Gesture of polite title for a woman. Madam.
Saysa -- term of endearment, like the English “baby” or “honey.”
Vin – slave