Adteacher

"Sometimes I feel that life is passing me by, not slowly either, but with ropes of steam and spark-spattered wheels and a hoarse roar of power or terror. It's passing, yet I'm the one who's doing all the moving." ~Martin Amis Time. It seems like time is always an issue. I just spent almost an hour of a gorgeous Saturday morning sitting at my kitchen table planning my week's menu so I can spend another hour (or so) at the grocery store getting fresh food for the next three days of eating for two people. It is only recently that I am an empty nester, so actually I am buying less groceries than I am used to. No more cookies or chips for the kids. We are eating healthy with Jorge. (See http://jorgecruise.com/ ) Still, it seems that I never have quite enough time to "get it all done." Only recently have I begun to ask myself "what's the hurry?" "The hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas, as those of a fool are by his passi...

One thing I have noticed in the dozen or so years that I have spent in education, and in the previous 20 years of my professional career, is that people don't always agree. Nor do they always get along well with each other. Sometimes there are valid reasons for this, and other times... there are not. I wanted to reflect on the times that there is not really a reason that you can pinpoint, but you just decide that you "don't like someone." How to get past this problem? Most adults have the ability to allow individuals to be who they are and to learn to accept them even if they don't particularly like them. This is sometimes harder for younger people who are not as practiced at it. I notice that as we work in groups more and more in the spring semester, this topic comes up in discussions with some students from time to time.             Let's see if I can advise. I’ve been asked many times by people I have kno...

Some very interesting facts about your noggin. Via: Online Schools

The wedding hasn't really been a huge topic of discussion since it happened I guess, but now the pictures are beginning to be available... and it brings it right back to the fore. The photographers http://www.kristiscot.com/ were just wonderful at the wedding, and the fruits of their efforts are going to be so treasured by our family. I spent more on my wedding photographer than I did on any other aspect of my wedding, and I stand by what I thought way back in 1978. There is no better investment than pictures of important events. I will post a few of them every now and then so that you can see how the wedding was covered by Kristi and Scot. The photo above was taken during the actual ceremony, and it beautifully shows what it was like to actually be there at the time. The photo at left was taken of DJ and Hailey during their first dance as husband and wife at the reception. It was such a lovely moment. They were just indescribably happy at this moment. I remember that I had te...

"The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude." ~Robert Brault I've been thinking a lot lately about life in general and how it morphs and changes almost daily, but there are a few things that are real constants. One of those things is the love that animals develop for their humans, and vice versa. I have watched so many different kinds of people develop "mushy tendencies" when they are around their pets. It is funny how those eyes can melt your heart. "An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~Martin Buber Every day when I arrive home, one of the best moments of the day comes when my two schnauzers, Mitzy and Marley, come bounding out ready to greet - somehow I feel that they have waited for that moment all day long. They are such loving little creatures, and they seem to always understand how I am feeling. Some days they are playful and gregarious. Some...

The majority of my day was spent discussing one of the most challenging products I have assigned for students to promote... SPAM. I don't know why I do these sorts of things to myself, but I am determined to teach these students about advertising and how some products are harder to promote than others, so I chose to have them do a public event to promote Spam. I have to say, today their groups told me their ideas for a promotional event for Spam where they are competiting against each other (a la "The Apprentice") and there are some pretty crafty ideas underway! Some are better than others, of course, but of 11 groups that I met with, no two ideas were the same! Good job! Other than discussing "a product made from salted pork developed to feed the troops during WWII", today was rather normal. We had a gorgeous spring afternoon and the students at school were mostly in a good mood. For the time of year it is, they are doing fairly well in the motivation departm...

Today was so much fun with the students. We did some study of the ads for toys from the 50s and 60s, and we had a discussion about how TV advertising has changed as the sophistication levels of kids has increased over the course of the last 50 years or so. It was a really enlightening conversation for me as well as for the kids, I think. It was interesting to talk to this generation of "videogame" kids and for them to hear from me, a member of the 1960s plastic toy generation. It was so amazing how much our imaginations had to play into our lives. The kids now said that they liked to use their imaginations too, but that it wasn't required as much when they were involved with their videogame play. Since we didn't have video games, we had to use our imaginations a higher percentage of the time. I am about the same age as a lot of their parents, so they gave me their perspectives on what kinds of toys they thought their parents played with, and I gave them my perspective...

Hi ho, I'm sure that like me, everyone was ready for a change of pace for a few days. It's that time of year, springtime has hit with a vengeance. What a lovely series of days we had for our Easter break. Also, it was particularly nice for me since I got to host the family gathering on Sunday this year. I had 19 over for lunch, and it was great. We had a lovely meal and a whole afternoon to just hang out and enjoy family. The few days leading up to Easter were busy, but happy. I got a chance to get some errands taken care of and enjoyed a few nice meals out with hubby. The really cool thing that happened is getting an outdoor dining area set up. I had wanted a nice table and chairs that would be comfortable and inviting and covered with a large umbrella.I ended up with one that I really liked. Wish I had a pool to park it next to... maybe I can go somewhere with a great pool this summer! Speaking of summer, it really isn't far off now. No big summer plans ye...