Allergic to Peanuts

"Mother Goose & Grimm" Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Best Gift to Get a Guy

This would be the best gift in the world, hands down.

Big Red Bow from BranitVFX on Vimeo.

Watch Misery Mountain

So last year I got to be part of this great short film where I played the villain and got to stab a guy in the throat and chop another man's head in two. The movie is finally completed and you can watch it on YouTube. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Graphic Novel Review: THEA STILSTON #2: REVENGE OF THE LIZARD CLUB

Set in the world of Geronimo Stilton, THEA STILTON #2: REVENGE OF THE LIZARD CLUB follows the adventures not of the famous mouse Geronimo, but his sister Thea. However, in THEA STILTON #2: REVENGE OF THE LIZARD CLUB, Thea Stilton is not seen for much of the book. Instead the story focuses on the Thea Sisters, five female teenage mice who attend the Mouseford Academy where Thea is a journalism teacher. Chronologically, this book seems to take place not too long after the events of the THEA STILTON #1: THE SECRET OF WHALE ISLAND. In this story, it's election time at Mouseford Academy and both the Lizard (girls) and the Gecko (boys) Clubs are electing new presidents. Vic de Vissen ends up competing in the competition to best his rival. Meanwhile, his sister Vanilla isn't running, but chooses one of her friends to run in her place. Meanwhile, a mysterious black ship has been reported off the coast of Whale Island and it seems that the black boat is involved in some illegal dumping of chemicals! It's up to the Thea Sisters and their friends to get to the bottom of the mystery. Although the series is definitely marketed towards girls, THEA STILTON #2: REVENGE OF THE LIZARD CLUB is a story that boys will probably enjoy, too. I’d guess the reading level for the book is for those in 2nd-5th grades. Personally, I enjoyed the story and am looking forward to reading another book in the Thea Stilton series.

The Difficulty of Teaching

I came across this interesting article today that was published a few days ago in the Washington Post. It's from a gentleman who left a job in the high-tech industry to become a high school math teacher. In the United States, people generally have no idea how difficult it is to teach. For the most part, teachers are constantly asked to do more and more and more with less and less. When I was getting my teaching certificate, the statistics were that within the first three years of entering the profession, 30% of teachers leave and never return. In the ten years since then those statistics have risen and the percentage is now around 45%. I'm actually surprised it hasn't raised above the 50% mark, yet. However, my guess is that in another 1-3 years from now with the full implementation of Common Core it will rise above that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/05/03/teaching-is-harder-than-working-in-high-tech-by-a-teacher-who-worked-in-high-tech/?tid=up_next#comments

Cannonball Baptism

 

from Amusing Grace by Jonny Hawkins

Pancake Breakfast

Book Review: COFFEE WITH JESUS

Like many readers, I first became acquainted with David Wilkie's "Coffee with Jesus" via a Facebook post that someone had forwarded. I don't remember which strip it exactly was at the time, but I liked how succinct and pithy it was. When I had heard that the comics of "Coffee with Jesus" had been compiled into book form, I had to get a copy.

The book COFFEE WITH JESUS is a collection of most of the "Coffee with Jesus" strips that have been published to date so far. I'm not sure if it contains all of the strips, but it seems to have most of the strips that can currently be found on the Radio Free Babylon website. There also seems to be a few strips in the book that haven't been published on the Internet, yet. The strips in the book are separated into seven thematic chapters. Each of these chapters has a short introduction. In addition, at the end of the first six chapters there is a short character biography about one of the re-occurring characters in the strip: Kevin, Carl, Ann, Lisa, Joe, and Satan. The book also has a well written introduction from the author about how the strip came to be and how it has slowly evolved since its inception. At the end of the book, there are some discussion questions; COFFEE WITH JESUS would actually make a pretty decent, albeit unusual Bible study.

The artwork is quite simple and that's part of the charm of the strip. There are no ongoing story lines and although there are reoccurring characters, you don't have to be familiar with any of them to understand the strip. If you do read all of the strips, you can see some slow character development with the characters. Some might find Jesus' comments in the strip to be a bit too snarky or satirical. Personally, I think that (for the most part) they hit close to the truth about our lives and help shed some much needed light into the darkness or shatter some illusions and idols that we all have. If nothing else, it really makes me think what Jesus would say to me if I was to meet with him on a weekly basis and share a cup of coffee.

California Dreaming

Today, it is Thursday, May 1, 2014. The normal high for a typical May day is usually 65-70. The high today is expected to only reach 55. That's what the high is supposed to be, of course right now the temperature is only 48, so it might not even get as warm as 55 today. I'm wearing a hoodie and almost thought about wearing a coat today, too.

During the months of January and February, Fairbanks, Alaska was warmer more days in those two months than the temperatures. That means out of the total 59 days, it was warmer in Fairbanks, Alaska for at least 31 of those days than it was in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been a long, long old winter and even though spring has been here for over a month, this past winter just won't die.

I am not a fan of winter. It is the discontent of my soul. I love Christmas and don't mind the snow as long as I don't have to drive around in it. However, I don't get to just play in the snow anymore and the cold makes me miserable.

For most of my life, I've thought about moving to California. I gave the idea up several years ago, but that only lasted a few years. There's a siren song sweetly singing my name and calling me to that place and one day, I will answer it. In the meantime, I'll just be California dreaming until these cold days go away.