It's In My Blood

This is the ship my family and I sailed on across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Mediterranean when I was 11. From Maryland to Greece - the trip of a lifetime.


Sea-Fever

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

By John Masefield (1878-1967)

Fun Activity

1. Grab the nearest book
2. Turn to page 23.
3. Find the fifth line.
4. Write the next three lines here and post the directions.
5. Grab the nearest book only. Not the coolest book or the most interesting book, but the nearest one.

My book: Blackboard for Dummies

This statement is especially true of the quick-start guide in the first half of this chapter. In the second half of this chapter, we describe the most important ways (and Blackboard has a ton of them) that you can customize your course to fit your instructional needs. Believe it or not, putting these two halves together yourself sets you apart from the average instructor!

Yes, I Am A Product of the 80's

Okay, so I just saw the trailer for Transformers: The Movie and can I tell you how crazy excited I am for this movie to be coming out. Seriously, I was a HUGE fan of the Transformers cartoon back in the day. My friend Alana and I used to play in the vacant lot across the street from our houses and we used to be Transformers. Oh yes. I would say "I'm now transforming" and I would make all these noises and move my arms and legs around and assume a different position. And then we would fight battles and stuff.

Anyway, all that to say. I'm so excited. Yes, this makes me a geek, but whatever. TRANSFORMERS!!!!

Karaoke

Last night I headed to a friend's house for a goodbye dinner party. Dessert was karaoke with the American Idol version of Karaoke Revolution. I sang Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" and killed the song. So much fun. Then a duet with Ben. We sang "I had the time of my life" from Dirty Dancing. We didn't so great on that one. But we had so much fun.

Good times. I'll miss Ben. But at least his super fun roommates are still around so the party won't stop. Hooray. And Bon Voyage Ben.

There Are No Words To Describe This

Except that this is not real. It is a faked shot.

My Favorite Road Names

I found this one last summer when I went camping in Glacier National Park in Montana: Going-to-the-Sun Road. This is an awesome road and an awesome name.

Another one I saw as a kid driving from Virginia Beach to Maryland to visit friends after we moved. We would drive the back roads north and stop at Stuckeys: Mattawoman Beantown Road.

Shakespeare is in the House

My weekend was bookended by William Shakespeare.

On Friday I went to the Shakespeare in the Park and saw "Love's Labour Lost." This was a work sponsored event with free dinner and great seats. It was set in the 60's with a Beatles influenced trip to a guru in India. It was weird and not that great. I left at intermission.

Sunday I went to see "Hamlet" at the Shakespeare Theater Company. It was their final dress and a friend who works there provided free tickets. It was set in a modern time with some cool twists. It was fresh and I really enjoyed it. I left when it was over.

Ra ra ra for Shakespeare.