Inside and Looking Out.

August 17, 2008

I promise, I'm not in a rut of old barns and houses, although there is recent evidence to the contrary. It's just that my explorations of late have turned up little else. Last week, a few readers favorably commented on seeing the inside of an abandoned domicile for the first time, so being the accommodating type, it is mine this week to show you the inside of a barn. Old stuff for those hailing from rural environs, new stuff for those deprived of this visual information until just now.

The Whole Language.

July 29, 2008

With a breathtaking view of the desert cacti on the horizon, we looked out the conference hotel's two-story windows and thanked our lucky stars for the splendid setting. We had come to Tucson to present our ideas about innovative approaches to literacy. We also came to network, to learn, and to gain fresh perspective on our work in literacy education.

A Doggie in the Classroom.

July 23, 2008

As public schools search for ways to satisfy the No Child Left Behind mandate of having every student become a proficient reader by year 2014, administrators and curriculum specialists look to an array of effective strategies to help students improve their reading skills. Reading First, a federally funded reading initiative, is one example of a prescribed approach for teaching reading skills at the elementary level. Whole language instruction, the close examination of literary works, the LitTunes methodology, and guided reading are other methods employed in the school arena.

And then there's the puppy dog....

From Vigo Bay to Home We Go.

July 22, 2008

Posted from There's No Place Like Home:
Ron Fritze's account of his sea cruise to ports on the Atlantic and Mediterranean comes to an end with his final dispatch at journey's end from the home fires of Alabama. Beginning at Vigo Bay in Galicia and continuing to the strange convergence of the Itchen and the Scratchen in Winchester, Ron relates tales of raging battles, rebellious cheeses, a Keatsean riverine reverie, and beer, bangers, and mash. He writes:

"For us it was a partly cloudy day with pleasant temperatures, so we were luckier than Tennyson. Vigo Bay was the last stop on our cruise itinerary. I was interested in visiting the port of Vigo since it would provide an opportunity to tour Santiago de Compostella, the great pilgrimage destination. The Independence of the Seas entered Vigo Bay, which is sheltered from the rough waters of the Atlantic Ocean by three islands strung across its opening. It is a sight to behold. One wonders what it is like to navigate Vigo Bay in a sailing ship."

German in a Global Context.

July 12, 2008

"We enjoyed a very interesting lecture today on Emperor Max's involvement in Mexico. This kind of topic is close to my heart — it's important to pursue German Studies as German letters and culture within German-speaking countries, but it's also important to remember and consider that these countries don't exist in a vacuum! The overarching theme of the summer school has led to some wonderful insights into Germany, Austria, and Switzerland's importance in the wider world...."

Back to the Same Spoke.

May 1, 2008

The old man becomes diaphanous, appears as a pale shadow slipping across the eaves in the early hours after the equinox. He is someone's necessary afterthought.

The few who look his way see through any and all that shows of him — bald like a lie, bewhiskered like thin smoke, blue like points on a spinning milky way.

Two States, Indiscernible.

February 7, 2008

He comes in search of unification.

From the salty mist he walked onto wet sand, greeting me in the earliest rays of the day. "We've work to do," he said, his voice like gravel under boots, his bare feet like brush bristles on the surface of the beach. "We've contradictions to merge into a higher truth. Be ready."

We named him O....

Letter from Abu Dhabi.

June 10, 2003

Soon after the USA launched the war in Iraq in March, 2003,
a friend of CornDancer contacted us to ask if we were interested in publishing a series of dispatches from Abu Dhabi, where he lived and worked with the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. Yes! Thus was born the Letter from Abu Dhabi, a series of eight dispatches filed by Jack E. Vines, recounting his experiences as an American ex-patriot caught-up in the intrigue and passion of a region consumed by thoughts of war.