Welcome!

This blogging community keeps getting smaller and smaller, I have had over 1750 visitors since March. I have also made some new friends. I have added some new blogs over on the right so check ‘em out. If I forgot anyone drop me a line!

-S

How to spot a teacher.

I'll be turning these in this week. No students until September.

Why am I alone on this island?

I have a secret. I have kept it to myself, but now I am ready to share it with the world.

I liked The Island.

There.

I said it.

I feel so liberated.

I have no idea why this movie is not doing well. I know, I know. Michael Bay. No one likes the guy. Then why have his movies grossed over $1 billion?

I thought The Island was a good movie, not a great movie, but a good one. I was entertained; mission complete. I liked the characters, the chases where cool, stuff blew up. Did it tug at my heartstrings? No. Did it make me think about my place in the universe? No. Was I entertained? Yes.

So, please, someone tell me why I shouldn’t like this movie.

New Site (For me anyway)

I have just discovered The Screenwriting Life. If you haven’t already check it out.


-S

Why are you just sitting there?

According to my wife, there are only 58 days left of summer. Now, I am more of an Autumn/Winter type of guy, but I am really enjoying this summer. Between the barbeques, trips to the beach, and summer concerts in the park, not to mention the great summer-school schedule, I have been having a great time. You really can’t beat working four days a week and getting off at 1:20. So, what ever you do, enjoy your summer!

-S

Suddenly, walking to work doesn’t seem so bad.

Japan's Sakakibara Machinery Works has unveiled its version of a sit-in walking robot, dubbed Land Walker 2.

The 3.4m, one-tonne robot walks at 1.5km/h. It is operated by four pedals in the cockpit.

A monitor showing the feet area helps the driver watch their step.

Air guns on each side of robot shoot a rubber ball 20-30m. The company sells it for 36 million yen ($43,500).

Sunday morning walks to the donut shop with my daughter. Sometimes it is the little things. Oh, and congratulations to John August on the birth of his daughter.

I love finding that red envelope in my mailbox.

I got a camera phone so expect pictures.

THIS is why I became an English teacher!

As I mentioned before, I will be teaching 11th grade English this year and I just found out that I will be teaching Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye,

It’s going to be a great year!

-S

Summer School

Well, summer school is half over and it is running smoothly. I was expecting 40 kids per class, but with the kids who never showed up and the dropouts, I am down to 15 students per class. They are all pre-freshman; so high school is a new world for them and they are all well behaved. The best thing about summer school has to be the schedule. I love three day weekends and getting off at 1:20. Plus, it is great teaching in shorts and t-shirts, although that was a bit strange at first.

On the writing front... What am I saying there is no writing front. I have not yet started my second draft and it is pissing me off. One problem is Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. It is an in-depth game that plays like a movie.

Back to the second-draft. I need to develop more characters to flesh the story out and I will start that this week. There, now that I have put it in writing I have to do it. At least that’s the plan.

If anyone has any insight on starting the second draft, I would love to hear it.

-S

Priced to Move

The way home prices are going, if I want to buy a house I have to move. I teach high school and my wife works for a city and we can’t swing the $500,000 median price range. California has a reciprocal credential agreement with 35 states which means that with my teaching credential and some experience I can teach out of state. Now, we are thinking of where to go. We think that it would be exciting to get a new start and want to move before my 7-year-old daughter gets much older.

Here are my choices:

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia

If you have any insight into housing prices and teaching salaries in these states, drop me a line.

Of course, if you wish to purchase a screenplay so that we can stay, that will be fine too!

-S

Born in Arizona moved to Babylona . . .

My girls took me to the King Tut exhibit at LACMA for Father’s Day. Well, they got me the tickets. It is sold out for several weeks and we finally went on Friday. I remember the last time it was here because I really wanted to go, but I was 8 and couldn’t get a ride. I have always been interested in Egyptology and the exhibit did not let me down.

The exhibit gives you a glimpse of the life of a Pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty. There were the gold laden items and a full-size gold sarcophagus. But there were also chairs, tables, board games, even a leather dog collar; all preserved by the desert climate.

Tickets are $25.00 and the exhibit goes through November 15th.

But the Boy King was not the surprise of the day; that award goes to Tim Hawkinson.

Your ticket also gets you into the rest of the museum and that is where we discovered him. Tim Hawkinson is a multimedia artist in every sense of the word. From the foam and bubble wrap tree that drips water in rhythm, to the bird skeleton made out of fingernail clippings. But my favorites were the clock motors hidden in everyday objects; the hair brush with hair that tells time, a branch with a flower whose petals tell time, or the Coke can whose tab tells the time.

All in all, it was another great Father’s Day.

Thanks Girls!

-S


Me and My Girls