Some years thigns feel perfectly normal with some highlights but few significant changes. In our life, we seem to let thigns pile up so there are really packed years. This was one of them.In January, after a few months preparation, the house was put on the market and much to our surprise, we had a […]
Growing up, my family had its traditions, usually reserved for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Passover. I don’t really many others during “normal” times. Once Deb and I started dating, I was introduced to her family traditions and we quickly adopted many of them, preferring home cooking over store bought holiday meals.As we raised our family, the […]
Oddly, every time you hear a cliché you want to dismiss it and then you find out there’s a reason they get repeated often enough to earn the term. I’m reminded of that as three well-respected actors have passed, proving that celebrity deaths happen in threes.Darren McGavinHe was TV’s first Mike Hammer and maybe more […]
I had lost track of the various series on the SyFy channel after several proved disappointing. So, while I had heard of these series, I had never bothered to check them out, especially with the lack of buzz they received from my peers. Recently, though, circumstances has led me to mainline Lost Girl, a series […]
Twas the week before break and somehow five days felt like ten. The amazing thing is that every member of the faculty felt the same way. There was the pressure to wrap things up in time for the break despite losing two days the week before to the weather. We had an assortment of extra […]
I miss writing.Sure, I still review at ComicMix and twice a month recommend interesting releases at Westfield Comics, but long-form creative writing is proving incredibly elusive. Of course there’s a good reason for that: school. It is taking up far more time than I expected it to, leaving me more enervated than I thought was […]
There’s been a lot written about the 24/7 work week, as our devices allow us unfettered access to one another. Thankfully, my students don’t email me often and the office Inbox is quiet during the weekends. As the administration catches up afterhours, I have come to expect their missives at all hours so often check […]
Yesterday, Robbie and I went to the New York Comic-Con and we had a blast despite all the technical difficulties Reed Exhibitions encountered with running their first consumer-based comic book show. Given that 95% of their business is b-to-b trade shows, this caught them totally under-prepared despite warnings from various comics consultants.Last week pre-reg was […]
This week, weather permitting, the students will be receiving their second quarter interim grades, a chance for them to assess how well they’ve progressed. It’s also an opportunity for me to see if I am actually teaching them anything. Every now and then, I ask the kids one-on-one if they’re learning and they assure me […]
It’s been way too long since I’ve posted and with good reason. I’m busy. Nothing new about that, I like being busy but this is really a different schedule and set of commitments that is threatening to become all-consuming.The best things my department chair says to me are “don’t stay too late” and “stop working […]