english

A woman: without her man is nothing.

A woman without her man is nothing.

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.

I saw this on car chock full of bumber stickers and I was inching forward, trying to read them all. The image it produced in my mind made me laugh out loud. Then it reminded me of the above sentences in Lynn Truss's grammar book Eats Shoots and Leaves.

Chock full is a strange expression. Am I spelling it right? I wonder where it comes from. In the past 2 weeks 2 people have said to me "take a gander" and I have never heard that before. I told my students that and some of them thought that was funny. Then I proceeded to ask them to take Dylan's "Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues" with a grain of salt, and they didn't know what I meant. I would like to know the etymology of all those phrases.

These kids are so cute I can't believe it.

This is Daniel and Anna, my nephew and niece (5yrs & 3yrs) who live in TX whom I hope to visit this summer.

And this is their little bro, Mark.

worry in the waves

I should spend less time trying to make my blog look different and more time writing, huh? I think my writing urges only come midmorning (when I'm teaching) and late at night. Lately I've been too tired at night to think straight, but tonight I've reach my second wind, and my mind won't stop, so here I am. If I posted every time I composed in my mind, you'd have too much to read.

Confession. There is a singer/songwriter that I love a lot that I haven't shared with people. I've been thinking about it for the past few weeks, wondering why I keep him such a secret. He's too good to be kept a secret. The problem is that he is wacky, and I'm afraid of rejection. But I don't think his lyrics could ever be rejected, and whenever I listen to them I am so sustained. I want to share them. This one brought me through summer of 2003 when I learned to pray with faith and saw God provide quickly. James 1.

When we ask
and we doubt
it's like being tossed about
on terrential seas
see it drift away...
On the ocean's crest
Wave goodbye
to your request
when we ask and we doubt
worry in the waves

This is from Half-Handed Cloud's album
"We haven't just been told we have been loved"


One guy on Amazon.com write this, and I think it's very fitting:

...But he approaches his music like a child, and like a child his imagination and energy abound in both music and lyrics. Half-Handed Cloud's approach to songwriting-- whimsical and weighty at the same time, and above all brief-- is jarring at first, and his eclectic instrumentation amplifies the apparent eccentricity. But a close listen to this album reveals it to be a towering accomplishment, inventive and layered. And for Christians: know that this is a re-introduction to the Lord by a musician who knows how to communicate his childlike faith-- that is, his music will make you wide-eyed and innocent again.
(Is it bad to copy this? I'll site it, and you can read more here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JODW/002-8113860-5056028?v=glance&n=5174)

There's more, lots more where that came from. But it's late, and I think I can sleep now, so I'll sign off.

may day

Though teaching can feel like the toughest job, and when its tough to get up on a Monday morning, I know I have the best job when May flowers are sitting on my desk in a little glass jar from the best parent ever.

There are only 4 more weeks to go here. But I'll miss these kids.