Prickly Galaxy.

June 29, 2009

The prickly pear cactus flower becomes a hook for three ideas I'd like to explore tonight from the quiet sanctuary of Crow's Cottage. I look back to the moment of the image's capture on high land above a smooth bowl of earth known as Big Basin in the Red Hills of south-central Kansas. The cactus grew on the prairie among thousands of its wildflower fratres and sorores, a beautiful band of colorful vegetable creatures, brilliant under the warming midday sun, at leisurely sway in the soft west wind.  

Humongous Thingy on Wheels.

June 28, 2009

In this neck of the woods, moisture during the first six months of 2009 has befallen us at two speeds. Wide open and off. Earlier this spring, we were in the wide-open mode. It was as if the Thailand monsoon season I experienced in the early 60s had been transplanted to Arkansas. Now the spigot is turned off. As if we did not pay our bill. Trees are chasing the dogs. Fish are forgetting how to swim.

From Rhodes to Gizeh.

May 24, 2009

Ron Fritze's latest dispatch from The Brilliance of the Seas comes on the heels of visits to Rhodes and Egypt. He blends history, culture, and contemporary social mores into a chatty narrative about Ancient Wonders of the World, tourist traps, and enduring grandeur amid the squalor of Alexandria and Cairo. The dispatch for Planet Clio features photographs of fortifications in Rhodes, the great Hospital of the Knights, a Rhodian cat, the Citadel of Saladin, Mohammed Ali’s Alabaster Mosque, the Nile River, pyramids, and the skyline of Cairo.

Jim Hayley 1929-2009

May 13, 2009

Jim Hayley, a fine and honorable man, passed away the other day. Our photographer and essayist Joseph Dempsey was called upon to deliver Jim's eulogy. In Jim's memory and honor we share the text with our readers, along with a photograph taken at the celebration of Jim Hayley's long and prosperous life. The eulogy appears at the bottom of the feature entitled "Harvey's Barn," which was published in November of 2008.

Let's Do the Hip-Hop.

May 7, 2009

A fresh, intriguing, challenging, and get-real voice for sensible change in school and schooling is Alan Sitomer. "Mr. Alan," as his inner city Los Angeles students call him, is a popular circuit speaker, an acclaimed teacher, and an articulate advocate for innovation and student-centered literacy initiatives. In an interview with LitTunes' Christian Goering, Alan discusses Hip-Hop in particular and pop music in general, and illustrates how tunes can help teachers engage students in the English language arts classrooms.

Literacy Alive!
Reading with the Razorbacks.

April 27, 2009

Arkansas folks love their Razorbacks. We call the hogs — whooo, pig soooie — wear Razorback Red, and stick Razorback paraphernalia on our cars, vans, and windows. We decorate yards, offices, and houses with Big Red icons and regalia. Fans wear hog hats and piggy noses to the ballgames and dress their kids in Razorback cheerleading outfits, sweatshirts, and blazers. So, it was no surprise when over 60 little Razorback readers appeared at the Fayetteville Library on Saturday, April 4, to get autographs from their favorite Razorback athletes at the annual Kappa Delta Pi Reading with the Razorbacks event.

The Heathys.

April 23, 2009

Linking a classic and complex novel with five pop tunes provides the foundation for a robust and innovative lesson designed for advanced placement and university level high school English students. Making Connections between Wuthering Heights and Popular Music combines textual analysis, note taking, persuasive writing, and public speaking activities into a challenging and extended exercise in critical thinking. Created by Heather Jakobi of London, Ontario, Canada, the lesson is also downright fun, culminating in The Heathys awards presentation ceremony, patterned after the Grammys. 

Our Quest:
Simple, Enriched, Enlightened.

April 15, 2009

Diversity is an oft explored concept in education. Diverse people, things, and ideas can even become the inspiration for poetry. Guest Writer Walter S. Polka, an accomplished teacher, administrator, and writer with a wealth of experience and wisdom, invites the reader to journey through advancing levels of understanding in the quest to embrace difference, uniqueness, and individuality.

The Seashore.

March 11, 2009

On the beach are the waves, and currents in the gulf, and tides that rise 'n fall. Each natural event, occurring in its secluded way, is modest and subtle.

And winds, too, blowing stout and steady. Some of the educated observers tell us that the winds have blown for many thousands of years to build-up the island. And the dunes, they move! Sometimes an inch or two between sunsets. Were you patient enough, and focused like a falcon on the hunt, and willing to believe, you could sit in your solitude and watch the procession creep with the winds — if your bearings were sound and your viewpoint secure.

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.