Today in Stating the Obvious

The president tells us too many Americans are still out of work.

Fallon meets Glee meets Springsteen

This made my day.

Spoke too soon - RIP, Harvey Pekar

About that living well into your eighth decade? Sadly, comics great Harvey Pekar didn't make it too far. He died today in Cleveland at age 70.

(One of my Facebook friends blames Pekar's death on Lebron.)

You're 70! Live it up!

Both Lit Lounge parents hit the big 7-0 this year, and they're in good company: Ringo Starr, Pele, Alex Trebek, Chuck Norris, and Nancy Pelosi enter their eighth decade in 2010. This NY Times article explores what septuagenarians can expect:

The eighth decade, said Dr. Anne Basting, is “now seen as an active time of life: you’re just past retirement, that’s your time to explore and play mentally.” But while many will be healthy, others will not. “There will be an increase in frailty and disability because people are living longer,” said S. Jay Olshansky, a demographer at the University of Illinois at Chicago who studies aging. For some people, an increased risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s “is going to be the price they pay for extended longevity,” he said.

The risk, gerontologists say, is that in celebrating the remarkable stories, we make those not playing Radio City, and certainly those suffering the diseases that often accompany old age, feel inadequate.

No need for the elder Larsens to feel inadequate - they're still crazy after all these years. 

I blame the pubic schools

Seems that most of y'all can't figger out basic English grammar, even if y'all been speakin' it yer whole life.

Clearly, I've failed in my efforts to educate the masses. I shall leave education and find gainful employment where empirical vacuums are welcome: Fox News.

My Summer Reading List: The First Three Weeks

In addition to the 1250 AP Lit essays scored in Louisville, I spend summers away from required reading to plow through a dozen or so books I've acquired since the last summer break. Here's what I've read so far:

•  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Kindle edition) - If you've been treated for a major disease in the past thirty years, you owe a debt of gratitude to Henrietta, whose killer cancer cells continued to grow after her death. These HeLa cells are cultivated around the world, but her family never knew the truth about what happened to Henrietta's cells until author Rebecca Skloot entered their lives.


• Faceless Killers - Turns out that Stieg Larsson isn't the only Swedish mystery novelist. Henning Mankel's been doing it for years. Faceless Killers is the first of ten novels to feature the work of detective Kurt Wallender


• The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains - If you teach, you need to read this book. Nicholas Carr explores the science behind neuroplasticity - how our brains change based on what we "feed" them. Long story short: If you've read up to this sentence, you're doing much better than the average web reader.


• Tinkers - Paul Harding won the Pulitzer Prize for his debut novel, and it is easy to see why. As an old man lies dying, he drifts in and out of consciousness, recalling his life as well as the lives of his father and grandfather. Harding does not employ a traditional narrative, so don't expect to be pulled in a la The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Instead, be patient. Savor the poetic prose, especially Harding's attention to the wonder of the natural world. 

Back to my reading. Next up: Wesley Stace's by George, a story about a boy, his grandfather, and his grandfather's ventriloquist dummy. The dummy "narrates" much of the story.

Here's Nicholas Carr to explain The Shallows on The Colbert Report:

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Exile on Fourth Street - Wrapping up the AP Lit Exam Reading

One week ago this morning, I sat down with seven readers and one very gracious leader at Table 89 for the AP Lit Exam reading. Seven days and 1250 essays later, it's time to head home. But first, a few notes from the week that was. . .

I read Question 3, the "open" essay, where students answer a prompt using a major work they've read. This year's question dealt with the concept of being exiled as being both "alienating" and "enriching". I've endured hundreds of essays on Heart of Darkness, Jane Eyre, and Brave New World. Future students should be grateful for this, as I have no intention of ever teaching these titles after this week.

While there were some incredibly lame responses, on the whole, I thought the essays were better this year than last. Unfortunately, they were also much, much longer on average. Our colleagues on Question 1 (poetry) had it much easier; they were finished at 10:00 AM yesterday. The rest of us wrapped up just before 3:00 PM.

This was the first year that both the AP Lit and AP Lang exams were read in Louisville - some 2000 high school and college English teachers under the same roof. 1200 of us gathered Sunday night to hear former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins - some of us got there two hours early to snag a decent seat. Collins is a phenomenal poet, one of the few rock stars of the profession.

The food was edible. That's an improvement over last year's "wouldn't feed it to my dog" rating. We managed to get out for a tasty rack of BBQ ribs at FABD (Frankfort Ave. Beer Depot), where they also serve Oberon on tap. Follow that up with a night at the ballpark with the Louisville Bats, and you have the makings of a wonderful week.

But it will be good to get on a plane at 9:55 and head home.

Live from Louisville - AP Reading 2010 - Monday AM Edition

Billy Collins was AMAZING. But after spending 14 hours in the Kentucky Convention Center, I had a strong desire to have a conference with my pillow. Photos to come, promise.

Lowell has once again made Newsweek's Top High Schools list! Details here.

Live from Louisville - AP Reading 2010

Since the College Board frowns on detailed blogging, I'm going to keep this vague and brief: All is well. Good group of readers at my table, good question, and pretty decent responses to the prompt so far.

Best t-shirt I've seen: "Shakespeare hates your emo poems." Love it.

Tonight's entertainment: Poet Billy Collins (who probably hates emo poems, too). I'll post pics of his visit later tonight.

Today in the Death of Common Sense

Woman sues Google for bad walking instructions. Apparently "Left, Right, Left, Right" was a bit too much for her to comprehend.