The Undead ...

I've recently started to "read" Audiobooks. And don't give me that crap about how you "don't read audiobooks, you listen to them." Because the only difference I see at this point is that with audiobooks, you don't physically see the spelling of a word. I consider myself an avid reader, and have decided that Audiobooks are just another facet I needed to add to my repertoire.

Ok, let me clarify quickly - I've already read through several audiobooks, and this insertion into my library really began as a way to refresh my memory about certain books. I teach English, and as such, I need to read frequently in order to stay with my class. Audiobooks have severly minimized the time I have to spend preparing for class. Perhaps I am overzealous here, but I like to be at about the same point in the novels my kids are reading so that I don't move beyond them in discussions. Also, let the record show, I drive over an hour in each direction to get to work. Fortunately, I really love my job. So anyway, I've since decided to read for pleasure with Audiobooks; this does not by any means indicate that I will be relinquishing text reading. Simmer down.

The point of this is that I just finished Dracula, by Bram Stoker. It really was extremely well-written. I know that Stoker did not come up with the idea of Dracula, but that his story was based on legends already in existence. Nonetheless, the narrative style is unlike anything I can think of before it, and better than similar styles since. I'd already read Chuck Palahniuk's Diary. It's similar in terms of styles - diaries and what not - and supernatural elements, but not so much in -how do you say?- scope. As I was saying, Stoker took the diaries of several people and used them to narrate the tale of the most storied vampire in our history (to date ... Blade is nothing, stop trying). I also just started reading Mirror, Mirror (Gregory Maguire) and it's excellent so far.

So, read any good books lately?

Woosh

And a (literally) torrential downpour happened last night. If you're reading this, you probably heard about it. Something like 7 inches in an 8-hour period. It literally rained - and heavily - for at least 6 hours straight. I know this because I couldn't sleep through it. I was dogsitting, and the house I was staying in has a tin-like ambience and window-unit air conditioners, so the typicaly dripping noise was replaced with a much more forceful "plat". So I found it difficult to fall into a slumber. To make matters worse, I was in someone else's home, so I didn't have my normal accoutrements to make the time pass in an efficient way. I would have liked to have done some reading, or at least listening (I'm starting to utilize the books-on-tape thing). I have several books I'm in the middle of, and 4 hours (the time I wanted to be asleep) would have really taken a chunk out of at least one of them.

I'm back at school today. Not because kids are coming back anytime soon. Though summer school does start on July 7. I'm making attempts to help revise the curriculum I will be teaching next year. I've accomplished one of my goals - to reduce the amount of Shakespeare my kids read. I rather think his literature is overread and overtaught. So says me. But who am I?

Attempts at updating

Yesterday, I bought a Moleskine. It's basically a little notebook that I can carry around with me in order to jot down my thoughts on the run. I go places, and don't always have access to paper and what not - until now. In my youth (that is to say, when I was younger), I would just grab whatever paper product was around:

napkin, paper towel, sugar packet, toilet paper

... I was quite indiscriminant. That was because I was writing music then. I'm not really into that mind set anymore, so we'll see what comes out. I think I will have to be very deliberate to begin with. Someday, there's a book coming out of me, so maybe I'll start getting that info down. Hopefully, it will at least help me clear my mind of all the rattling that goes on inside it.

Soon, the updates will become valid and useful. I promise. I'm still practicing for now.

I Hate to do this, but...

I was going to try to avoid being that standard political critic, but some things need mentioning at every opportunity. So, apparently, our beloved and fearless American leader has decided that a marine sanctuary is vital to our safety from terrorism. Is this, or is this not, the same person that was all about drilling for oil in an Alaskan wildlife refuge paying no heed to the necessity of their sanctuary? I guess I'm just confused and somewhat baffled by the hypocrisy of our "elected" leaders. Sorry to be that guy.

Titleless

So, BGE (my power company) apparently is auto-enrolling people into their "Rate Stabilization Plan" since prices are jumping so drastically. I did not know that. Subsequently, wifey called me today to tell me that we had to opt out. Done and done. I would rather have that jump than pay an extra 5% to top it out. Eh. I got it done in time though, whew!

So, as you can see, I'm not so keen on the quickness of updating the bloggery. But I promise to try and get better. I'm gunning for a weekly update. We'll see.

So, the purpose here is not yet concreted, but my ideas are floating around. Observations? Word play? Figuring out how to use this thing? Still taking ideas from you though.

Things to do ...

Today is the final exam for my Freshmen ... that means my school year is effectively over. Yes, I will have students in my room for the next couple of days, but that's cool - in general they're good kids. But I do have to clean out my room. I've started already because my seniors left two weeks ago. I'm also spending some time preparing for a new class next year (the aforementioned one).
Wifey is out of town for a couple of days. That makes me a bachelor for the week. Not necessarily a good thing. I have a few tasks I need to accomplish to maintain my sanity. I still don't really know what I want to do with this blog - I don't think I want to do the "personal diary" thing; I would rather try to engage people & hopefully make it interactive. Ideas are more than welcome, though I have begun to formulate some myself ...