Beyond School

A field headquarters in the War on Schooliness.

Diane Flips the Goat-Sucker (and Stephen Takes a Fall)

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Flipping the Goat-Sucker

(After that last post, I need a bit of fun.)

The blog readability level site is getting a bit viral. Diane Cordell got genius on her own blog, while her A Hundred Echoes quotes-only archive of Shakespeare and Other Great Writers earned college undergrad, I think (right, Diane?).

Me? As a proud eschewer of obfuscation and re-laxative preacher against constipated Latinate diction (ever notice how voiceless the Latinate, how forceful the Saxon-Germanic are? I’ll choose “kissing” over “osculating” any day), I have nothing but pride (okay, I’m lying) in this badge for BS:

cash advance

But in the spirit of fun (and as a rematch of our “Edublogger IQ Live Wrestling Extravaganza” a couple months ago, which is my all-time favorite post on this blog) - and because I spent a well-spent hour this morning watching Stephen Downes’ recent lecture on Free Learning and Control Learning - I gave in to the impulse to enter Stephen’s “Half an Hour” blog. Stephen, congratulations - you’re a smarter writer than me. Here’s your grade:

cash advance

Those college classes really paid off!

(– and Diane, congratulations: You’ve taken the title from Stephen and really “flipped the goat-sucker”!*)

Photo credit: ”flipping the goat-sucker” by upeslase

*My reward of 10,000 Korean won still stands for anyone who can enlighten me on the meaning and origin of this lovely phrase.

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Written by Clay Burell

November 17th, 2007 at 2:54 pm

8 Responses to 'Diane Flips the Goat-Sucker (and Stephen Takes a Fall)'

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  1. Hey, cheer up Clay, we clear thinkers (and writers) are just easier for all our readers to understand. From another Junior High School level blog writer.

    [Reply]

    Jo McLeay

    17 Nov 07 at 4:58 pm

  2. I love how the blog readability has spread virally around the blogs from educators, librarians to non-profit bloggers.

    I achieved High School level whereas my friend Kathryn Greenhill (Librarian Matters) was Junior High School Level. As she says we are writing so people can understand our posts. But I would really love to know how it determines the level.

    [Reply]

    Sue Waters

    17 Nov 07 at 7:26 pm

  3. Clay,

    Thanks for the (dubious) honor and the new research challenge (goat-sucker?). Is there a badge I can display on my blog? On second thought, forget the badge - I don’t want to alienate my reader-geniuses!

    Another site I found, Juicy Studio,
    http://tinyurl.com/2g6k67
    gives a more detailed explanation of “readability” and might actually prove useful if you are targeting a specific audience.

    Amazing what information is available when you know where to look!

    diane

    [Reply]

    diane

    17 Nov 07 at 9:58 pm

  4. Clay,

    Could the answer to your question be this easy?
    http://tinyurl.com/bdf3g

    Call me the Chupacabra-chucker!

    diane

    [Reply]

    diane

    17 Nov 07 at 11:03 pm

  5. Further investigation reveals a kill made by a Texas farmer
    http://tinyurl.com/2de7nu
    and a video clip from Mexico
    http://tinyurl.com/yotxhz

    I believe the “flipping” part of the phrase was tacked on by the photographer who took the wrestling picture you credited.

    I’ll keep you updated on any further leads.

    *Brought to you by a certified 24/7 library goddess-researcher-relentless learner!

    diane

    [Reply]

    diane

    17 Nov 07 at 11:22 pm

  6. [This didn't post last time I tried. If it's duplicate information, please delete!]

    Clay,

    On further investigation, I found this news report of a possible goat-sucker encounter in Texas
    http://tinyurl.com/2de7nu

    and a video clip from Mexico
    http://tinyurl.com/yotxhz

    I believe that the “flipping” part of the phrase was added by the photographer you cited as a description of the wrestling action he captured.

    *The above information was brought to you by a 24/7 certified library goddess/researcher/lifetime learner.

    diane

    [Reply]

    diane

    17 Nov 07 at 11:35 pm

  7. [...] I’ve noticed several ed-tech bloggers getting a kick out of this fun but silly site. Let’s indulge [...]

  8. Kramer auto Pingback[...] technotuesday.edublogs.org/2007/12/22/another-meme… &#149 Found on Ask.com Diane Flips the Goat-Sucker (and Stephen Takes a Fall) | Beyond School The blog readability level site is getting a bit viral. Diane Cordell got genius on her own blog, [...]

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