Broadsided

Apologies to all, but I have been broadsided at work. I tried to get to the 'cast last night and was so bleary eyed I couldn't actually read the GarageBand screen or the text of the chapter. Tonight's going to be a long one too.

However, the good news is that We Have More Andy Minter for the next couple of episodes. The bad news is the chapter that precedes him is so hideous that I'm going to have to record it myself. I simply cannot make you listen to someone pronouncing "Defarge" as "Deh-far-jay" for a whole chapter. And not only that, but it's a chapter where the name is said close to a million times.

Not that I'm prone to hyperbole.

Regardless, and embarrassingly in a week where there's no 'Cast, I need to send my heartfelt thanks out to donors from the week:
Lauren of California
Patty of Indiana (I think)
And, as always
Heidi of...well...her own special world.

Next week--two shows to make up for this (and I'll finish editing the special surprise interview for you too asap)!!!

Episode Fifty-nine: The End Begins...

Tonight we begin book three.
Tomorrow I conduct a new (surprise) interview. You'll not believe who...

I'm starting a blogroll of supporter/subscribers, so if you've sent in a donation and have a blog, please let me know so I can link to it!

I fight (and beat?) the specter of grammar education—and exhaust my wussy self in the process!

Ooh, and go here to see a Dragoon. NICE uniform! Here's David Brin's Earth. Some wild art for you!

And just a little quote to compare someone we all know with the French Revolution:

"God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. ...
And what country can preserve its liberties, if it's rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."

by: Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father
drafted the Declaration of Independence
3rd US President
Source:
November 13, 1787,
letter to William S. Smith,
quoted in Padover's Jefferson On Democracy

Episode Fifty-eight: Both Over and Underwhelmed

Heather has a close encounter with the OED, some frustrating times getting SAWPed, makes progress on a Clapotis, regresses on a warp, and falls in love (all over again) with Jane Eyre. Thanks to Becky (my Bastille Babe), Tikabelle, Irish Clover, Paper, Knitting2Relax, Teresa (my doppelganger), Heidi, and Julie--don't forget to swing by her Podcast!

Next week--should all go according to plan--another bonus interview for you and (finally) the Knitting Disaster Essays! (There's still room for more! Send 'em in!)

And again, many thanks for your donations and support. Especially now when I'm not-quite-so-gainfully-employed, it's a blessing.

Episode Fifty-seven: Of Math and Martyrs

Bach's Goldberg Variations, writers are fun to hang out with, but you're afraid of our competition, My first Odeo! Looking for a dime and trying not to be a martyr. (Now you'll have to listen. That won't make any sense otherwise!)

Disclaimer for this week's episode below.

Get your pattern in the Knitting Pattern-a-day Calendar* and go check out Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... a really scary article Teresa sent in, To be or not to be? At U.S. colleges, it's increasingly 'not' :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Other Views

OH! I forgot to say on the 'Cast--there's still one knitting book out there just waiting for a knitting disaster story. I have two...will you be the third?! Send 'em in. Don't be shy!

Oh, and Chapters 21 and 22 of Book the Second! But, sadly, no Chip or Andy...not this week. They'll be back though. Promise!

Don't forget to check out Julie's podcast!

*The 411: $500 will be awarded as First place for both calendars; there are also 2nd and 3rd place prizes; and all contributors whose patterns are used will receive a 2009 calendar. Please go to our website at http://www.knittingpatternaday.com and learn more about the submission requirements and our contest. If you have any questions, please contact me and I will gladly answer your questions. You can also download the informational PDF if you're interested.
Good luck--and let me know if you win!!!

Disclaimer:
The "teacher as martyr" reference comes from an article I read years ago--and an idea that's still being discussed--that teachers are only "allowed" to fall into two categories: martyrs and saints. It went on to say that in any other profession this would be unacceptable, but that for some reason, teachers tend to work (and work well) within those confines. Which means when they no longer have the time or energy to be either, they have to quit. I am not saying that all teachers are martyrs, just that there are some (myself included) who fit that category. There are others (rarely ELA teachers) who manage to have a life and be a teacher. I could never find the balance. Follow up with this entry from Michael Fullan's book, Change Forces.

Episode Fifty-six: The Very Best Thing

With love to my family and especially my sons who remind me often that they are my very best things.

I get a little verklempt about Ovid as Theatre.

Today, a little rambling, what I'll do with the start of my "summer vacation", the return of Andy and Chip! (Did I tell you I wrote fan mail to Chip? He didn't write back. My heart is broken.)

Chapters 18, 19, and 20 of Book The Second...we're closing in on that revolution, folks!