Beyond School » meme

7 Musical Things Meme, Part 1

Clay Burell — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:02:49 +0000

My homey Dean Shareski, whose name fits Saskatechewan perfectly, tagged me for some sort of meme about something like “7 Things You Might Not Know About Me.”

Like Dean, I already did a similar meme about eight things, so pardon me for fiddling with this one for the sake of self-pleasuring.

I’m going to give it a musical bent.

7 Things You Might Not Know About My Musical Tastes

1. Joni Mitchell Slays Me

Blue Goddess.

I’ve been listening to almost nothing but Joni Mitchell‘s Blue on my drives to and from my weekend work at the radio station for the past two months. I would marry Joni in a heartbeat for the mere pleasure of looking over her shoulder as she wrote her lyrics. They stand right up there with Keats and Shakespeare, *hrumph-hrumph*, mutatis mutandis, in my book. Add to that the purity of her voice as it navigates the crushingly brave but fragile melodic lines of her songs, and you can add me to the list of those who are, to quote Keats in the “Ode on Melancholy,” “among her cloudy trophies hung.”

God, Blue is perfection. Where to start? “All I Want” should be sung at every wedding:

All I really, really want our love to do
Is just bring out the best in me and you, too….

I want to talk to you
I want to shampoo you

(–that “talk to you” / “shampoo you” rhyme slays me in rhyme, image, and whim.)

I want to renew you
Again and again
Applause, applause,
Life is our cause.
When I think of your kisses
My mind see stars.

I could go on and on, and will a bit more. (But you’ll have to click to read it below the fold:

How about “California,” with its lines,

I met a redneck on a Grecian Isle,
He did the goat dance very well.
He gave me back my smile,
Though he kept my camera to sell.

There’s more to say about “California” – especially the concluding “Will you take me as I am?” plea at the end, which comes as close to an “essential question” and bone-deep prayer to Life as anything anyone could want – but really, you have to hear it to love it.

How about the crushing “The Last Time I Saw Richard”?

The last time I saw Richard
was Detroit in ’68
and he told me
‘All romantics meet the same fate
someday, cynical and drunk,
and boring some stranger
in some dark cafe.

(I’m generally not a drinker, but otherwise I get Richard.)

‘You laugh,’ he said,
‘You think you’re immune -
Go look at your eyes
They’re full of moon

You like roses and kisses
and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realise theyre only pretty lies
Only pretty lies, just pretty lies.’

He put a quarter in the wurlitzer,
and he pushed three buttons
and the thing began to whirr
And a bar maid came by
in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said
‘Drink up now its gettin on time to close.’

‘Richard, you haven’t really changed,’ I said
‘It’s just that now you’re romanticizing
some pain that’s in your head.
You got tombs in your eyes,
but the songs you punched are dreams -
Listen – they sing of love so sweet,
love so sweet
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet.’

Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dishwasher
and a coffee percolator
And he drinks at home now most nights
with the tv on
And all the house lights left up bright.

‘I’m gonna blow this damn candle out.
I dont want nobody coming over to my table,
I got nothing to talk to anybody about.
All good dreamers pass this way some day,
Hiding behind bottles
in dark cafes.
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days.’

Sheesh. To quote Frank Zappa, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” Just go buy or download Blue. And Court and Spark. And Ladies of the Canyon. And Hejira (oh my god, Hejira:

I’m porous with travel fever,
But you know I’m so glad to be on my own.
Still somehow the slightest touch of a stranger
Can set up trembling in my bones.

I know – no one’s going to show me everything.
We all come and go I know.
Each so deep and superficial
Between the forceps and the stone.

Well I looked at the granite markers
Those tributes to finality, to eternity -
And then I looked at myself here
Chicken scratching for my immortality.

In the church they light the candles
And the wax rolls down like tears:
There’s the hope and the hopelessness
I’ve witnessed thirty years.

We’re only particles of change I know, I know
Orbiting around the sun;
But how can I have that point of view
When I’m always bound and tied to someone?

White flags of winter chimneys
Wave truce against the moon
In the mirrors of a modern bank
From the window of a hotel room.)

I quit. Just listen. (And Joni, if you’re reading this, and despite the charge of bigamy, can we talk?)

2. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony Number 9 (and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and unfinished 10th, plus Das Lied von der Erde - “The Song of the Earth”) was, I’m convinced, penned by (choose your) God or the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

God.

I discovered Mahler in Los Angeles in the early ’80s, thanks to the divine intervention of Nat King Cole’s adopted son Kelly, who died of AIDS in the ’90s. Kelly saw me in Ship’s Coffee Shop on Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, near UCLA, one 3 a.m. reading Thomas Mann’s novella Death in Venice, and mistook me for other than straight (no harm done, it’s happened many a time). He sat next to me at the counter and struck up a conversation about literature that led to my impressionable young self declaring Humanities as my major and Mahler and Beethoven as my gods. Then he dumped me when he realized I was woefully immature and, possibly worse, irremediably straight (I didn’t choose this, it’s just me).

Anyway, he lent me his Mahler LP’s and, long story short, after a few failed attempts to hear the divinity, one magic listen to the First (the “Titan”) finally delivered it. This ex-semi-hillbilly ploughed through and memorized Symphonies One through Six, never got Seven and Eight, and to this day considers the Ninth the most perfect artwork he’s ever encountered.

Why? The first movement, to me, captures the full range of Mahler’s emotions as he coped with the news that, at roughly 51 years of age, a terminal heart condition meant a tragically early end to his life. (I don’t care, frankly, about the factual accuracy of this interpretation. If it’s a fiction, which it may be, it works for me. Why not in Art as it is in Religion?)

The murmuring cellos are the murmuring heart. The falling thirds are the tender acceptance of a mortality that can’t be forestalled, and the beautiful expression of the same. The chaos of the middle and end of the movement are the gamut of other emotions – rage, despair, metaphysical searches (against hope) for consolation, on and on.

Then, BAM, the second movement is an entirely funky burlesque that breaks all rules of decorum. Mahler seems to be giving the finger to critics who accused him of lacking skill in counterpoint, so he gives it to them with a vengeance. The guy’s so cool – he goes out of this life not crying, but showing his ass and his scorn in unparalleled sublimity. The second movement rocks.

I don’t particularly care for the third movement, but the final fourth makes its peace with mortality in a way that, musically at least, bridges the way to heaven. It doesn’t end so much as die, quietly and exquisitely. I defy you identify exactly where the performance stops and the silence begins.

To quote Das Lied von der Erde,

Dunkel ist das Lieben,
Ist der Tod.

[Sad is life,
is death.]

3. I would also marry Nick Cave – and I’m straight.

Also God.

Jesus, where to start.

From his early “Kicking Against the Pricks” LP, Cave reminded me of William Blake in his ability to “marry Heaven and Hell.” (The structure of his song, “The Hammer and the Anvil” on that album is also reminiscent of Blake.)

Cave’s blend of diabolical anger and aggression with angelic tenderness and romanticism (not to mention his deftness at blending Christianity and Eroticism) just does it for me. (Puritan alert: skip the following lyrics – you won’t get their beauty:)

The butcher bird makes its noise
And asks you to agree
With its brutal nesting habits
And its pointless savagery.

Now, the nightingale sings to you
And raises up the ante.
I put one hand on your round ripe heart
And the other down your panties.

Everything is falling, dear;
Everything is wrong.
It’s just history repeating itself.
And babe, you turn me on -

Like a light bulb.
Like a song.

You race naked through the wilderness;
You torment the birds and the bees.
You leap into the abyss, but find
It only goes up to your knees.

I move stealthily from tree to tree;
I shadow you for hours.
I make like I’m a little deer
Grazing on the flowers.

Everything is collapsing, dear;
All moral sense has gone.
It’s just history repeating itself
And babe, you turn me on.

Like an idea,
Like an Atom bomb.

We stand awed inside a clearing,
We do not make a sound.
The crimson snow falls all about,
Carpeting the ground.

Everything is falling, dear;
All rhyme and reason gone.
It’s just history repeating itself
And, babe, you turn me on.

Like an idea,
Like an Atom bomb.

I also love these heretically holy lines from “The Gates of the Garden,” which, again, are so channeling Blake (think “The Sick Rose” or ‘The Garden of Love”). It’s set in a churchyard, in which stand a lover and his beloved:

Leave these ancient places to the angels.
Let the saints attend to their keeping of the cathedrals.
And leave the dead beneath the ground so cold,
For God is in this hand that I hold -
As we open up the gates of the garden.

Won’t you meet me at the gates
Won’t you meet me at the gates
Won’t you meet me at the gates
To the garden

“God is in this hand / that I hold.” Slay me. (Then remind me of the cynicism of Joni’s “The Last Time I Saw Richard”: “All romantics meet the same fate / Someday cynical and drunk …. in some dark cafe…. / Pretty lies.”)

I love Cave’s disdain for modern mediocrity; it rings of Nietzsche:

Back on the street I saw a great big smiling sun,
It was a Good day and an Evil day and all was bright and new,
And it seemed to me that most destruction was being done
By those who could not choose between the two.

Amateurs, dilettantes, hacks, cowboys, clones
The streets groan with little Caesars, Napoleons and cunts
With their building blocks and their tiny plastic phones
Counting on their fingers, with crumbs down their fronts.

I passed by your garden, saw you with your flowers -
The Magnolias, Camellias and Azaleas so sweet -
And I stood there invisible in the panicking crowds
You looked so beautiful in the rising heat.

I smell smoke, see little fires bursting on the lawns,
People carry on regardless, listening to their hands.
Great cracks appear in the pavement, the earth yawns,
Bored and disgusted, to do us down.

Babe
It seems so long
Since you’ve been gone
And I
Just got to say
That it grows darker with the day.

(If you roll your eyes at the apocalyptic nature of the poem, you’re not paying attention to the state of the planet. How many decades does our species have left, based on scientific research? If you say more than ten, I’m inclined to argue. But I hope I’m wrong.)

Cave’s two lectures, “The Flesh Made Word” and “The Secret Life of the Love Song,” are available on CD as well. “The Flesh Made Word” is a stunning bit of prose-poetry theology via coming-of-age personal narrative. He’s one of the best heretics alive.

Coda:

Ah, sheesh. It’s time for a nap. Dean, thanks for starting this. It’s the most impossible post I’ve ever written.

17 Comments

At January 18, 2009, Charlie A. Roy wrote:
Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check out these musicians. I've been hording my itunes gift cards from Christmas. Might have to do some shopping today.
Charlie A. Roys last blog post..Putting the Fun in Fundraising
At January 19, 2009, Kate Tabor wrote:
So, Clay - yes, and yes! And that means I have to check out Nick Cave.
"Blue" and Joni Mitchell are such a part of a certain time in my life. I wore the grooves out on my copy of Blue and have since replaced it, lost it, and replaced it. "I wish I had a river I could skate away on."

When I lived in Boston I auditioned for and was able to perform, for one weekend only!, at the Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Festival Chorus. Seiji Ozawa conducted Mahler's 3rd (with women's chorus - why I was there) Jessye Norman was soloist. Between standing on stage in the Shed during rehearsals and performance, watching Ozawa conduct (the orchestra and curiously -me), being steps from Norman, and hearing the Mahler, I can understand the ecstatic mystic experience.

Can't wait to read more.
Kate Tabors last blog post..7 things meme
At January 19, 2009, Dean Shareski wrote:
I"m sure you know but Joni Mitchell is also from Saskatchewan. In fact, she did an 8th grade english assignment on her and we arranged to spend the afternoon with Joni's parents. I still have the interview somewhere. Her own music is highly influenced by her.
Dean Shareskis last blog post..Ed Tech Posse 5.1
At January 19, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
@Kate - wow. Some of my earliest Mahler recordings were by Ozawa and/or the BSO (Erich Leinsdorf's BSO recording of the First is still my favorite. I _think_ it was the BSO.)

Jessye Norman, too, was an early fave. And you freaking got to sing in the third?! The third mvmt's Midnight Song (based on my man Nietzsche's Zarathustra, no less!) is so beautiful. But not choral, so you sang the Das Knaben Wunderhorn song in the fourth? (And wow, you heard Norman sing the Midnight Song.)

It's been so long since I've listened to it. Maybe I should.

As for Joni, I'm not at all surprised you loved her. She's made for poetry lovers. I didn't "discover" her until I was in my 30s, strangely.

And Nick Cave? Try "The Boatman's Call" and (my favorite, I think - ) "And No More Shall We Part." The 2 lectures are great for lovers of speaking and writing (and religious studies) too.

Prepare to be tagged when I finish this thing ;-)
At January 19, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
@Dean, actually, I only knew she was from Canada. Your pronouns scrambled my brain in your comment, but anything you can offer about that - my god, I'll pay you to tell Joni's mom to read this "proposal" to her ;-) - I'm all ears for. I literally get chills every time I listen (closely) to so many of the songs on "Blue," (and other cd's), even after hundreds of listens. She's in a class of her own, in my book, as a lyricist, vocalist, and songwriter.
At January 19, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
@Charlie, oof, I hope the Cave recommendations to Kate came in time.

As for Mahler? If he's new to you, I think chronological is the best journey. Following his development from beginning to end makes it easier to appreciate his late works, which are his greatest, but also least accessible (even to 'smart' people like you).

Herbert von Karajan's Berlin Phil Symph. 5 is stunning. Leonard Bernstein is solid on them all. And Benjamin Zander does a fantastic version of the Ninth that also includes him talking through how to conduct it (which is also simply him expressing his love for it, detail by detail) that is a treasure in itself.
At January 19, 2009, Dean Shareski wrote:
"pronouns scrambled the brain". Admittedly my comment scratched from my iPhone was not the best device to try and make a lucid comment. I've been fully chastised by a world class English teacher. It's as if my golf game was critiqued by Tiger Woods.

Dean willl try and find the footage and post the said footage on the Internet. (pretty sure I didn't use a pronoun there). ;-)
Dean Shareskis last blog post..Ed Tech Posse 5.1
At January 20, 2009, diane wrote:
My daughter is a second-generation Joni Mitchell fan. You already knew, of course, that Joni is one of the few recognized female Dudes. Liked the way you linked Mahler and the Flying Spaghetti Monster, also.

For dreamy poetic moments, I like Debussy, Impressionist painters, Portrait of Jenny (the movie) and Mallarme's "Afternoon of a Faun." Oh, and T.S. Eliot - his words sing to me.
dianes last blog post..The Form of Information
At January 20, 2009, Kate Tabor wrote:
Yes, I got to sing the Des Knaben Wunderhorn piece. It went by in a blink. I remember not even needing my music. Norman was amazing. Ozawa was like watching a dancer - and the horns! The whole experience was incredible. The night before we had performed Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé (with all those dreadful-to-sing wordless choir passages) under the baton of Charles Dutoit (who was a real jerk to all the musicians in my unschooled opinion). That hour in the Shed did not prepare me for the next day's Mahler. We sat and absorbed the music that came before us. We rose in unison, Ozawa raised his face to us, and we sang: "Es sungen drei Engel einen süßen Gesang - three angels sang a joyful song." My middle school German got me through the pronunciation and it was not a far stretch to understand at a cellular level the idea of the joyful song that never ends and the angel choir. Wow, I haven't thought about that day in a long time. Many thanks for unlocking that memory for me.
Kate Tabors last blog post..7 things meme
At January 20, 2009, Adrienne wrote:
Clay, you didn't mention any jazz on this list - have you heard Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters? Hancock and his producer "arranged the music to interpret or express the emotions of the lyrics." Check the album out here. It is truly a masterpiece. You can also listen to tracks on the Verve website. I often fantasize about doing something similar with other lyrics or poetry, but I'm not a talented enough musician.
Adriennes last blog post..Is It Easy Being Green? My Visit To Green School
At January 21, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
Tee hee. World-class prig, more like (and yes, that "g" was not a typo, and I did not intend to use an old April Fool's word).

You kill me. Post it, man, post it.
At January 21, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
@Diane, so nice of you to fatten my reading and viewing list :)

Joni's a Dudess. I just can't bring myself to call her a Dude.
At January 21, 2009, Clay Burell wrote:
@Adrienne, Now this _is_ Part I. Jazz will come.

I'll _try_ the Hancock, but don't hate me if I report back that it, like most post-Bop jazz (fusion and all of that) didn't do it for me. I like Hancock more just for recognizing Joni's genius.

Plan to listen soon. :)
At January 21, 2009, Jennifer wrote:
Hey Clay,
"The Last Time I Saw Richard" is one of the best stories ever sung. Come to think of it, so is "River". So, for that matter, is "This Flight Tonight", and ... well, you know, I could go on. Blue and Hejira are indeed masterpieces.
If you care to venture into the jazzier side of Joni's songcrafting sometime, take a listen to "Mingus" ('79). It's just as brilliant, if a little bit more jarring to the ears. And I count "Hissing of Summer Lawns" ('75) among my favorite albums of all time.
Just had to write. Mahler? I don't know enough to know. Nick Cave I like, but haven't listened enough to feel very strongly about his lyrics. But I am a huge fan of Joni from way back ... pretty much as soon as I could understand the words, I was hooked.
Jennifer
Jennifer's last blog post..Instructional Technologist, “In Quotes”
At February 18, 2009, Meme Mash Up: 7 things and Music « Living on the Lip of Insanity wrote:
[...] Clay Burell, was tagged for the Seven Things You Might Not Know About Me meme - but felt he had “been there/done that” with an Eight Things meme not too long back. So, he “fiddl[ed] with this one for the sake of self-pleasuring” (he really did say that) and gave “it a musical bent. [...]
At February 23, 2009, Patrick Anderson wrote:
After years of listening to classical music I discovered that my favourite period is the late 19th century with composers like Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner and Vaughan Williams.
At February 24, 2009, Mike Oomens wrote:
Hey Clay,

If Nick and Mahler are God, let me introduce you to the holy trinity...

The Dirty Three - Warren Ellis (violin), Mick Turner (guitar), Jim White (drums).

An instrumental three-piece from Melbourne whose live shows need to be seen to be believed. Will stop you dead in your tracks three days later. A complete live experience - drama, tears, joy and rock'n'roll. With a violin!

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEERfJDBZqA

Warren Ellis actually plays with the Bad Seeds so you've probably heard him already.

Find them and enjoy.

Cheers,

Mike.
Mike Oomenss last blog post..Filmism: Or how a blog improved thinking about Film.

Oedipus, the Wordle

Clay Burell — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 02:13:43 +0000

Talk about a "tragic fall."

Andrea Hernandez tagged me for this Wordle Meme:

1. Create a wordle from your blog’s RSS feed.
2. Blog it and describe your reaction. Any surprises?
3. Tag others to do the same.
4. Link back here and to where you were first tagged.
(I don’t know what “link back here” means, but Technorati is dying anyway.)

My reaction? It’s funny what a single 15-page literary essay that you decide to post does to the results of a Wordle. Any guesses on the topic of that essay?

The most interesting thing I see above, besides the nicely serendipitous “falling Oedipus,” is the little word, “Furthermore.” It’s only there because that Oedipus essay was a scholarly study. I avoid “furthermore,” “however,” and all other constipation-indicators in my writing voice today like I avoid, well, constipation (and academic writing). Instead of utilizing “furthermore” and the dreaded “however,” I use “also” and “but.”

This member of the Temple of Reason is glad to see that “science” and “education” elbowed their way into the Oedipal complex (and for the record, I love my Dad and my Mom – but not that way). He’s also glad to see the words “religion” and “gods” with no Abrahamic example in sight.

Okay, who (I know whom, but reject it) to tag?

I think some of the next generation:

21-year-old whiz Post-Punk Nerd S.P. Greenlaw.
High school whiz Teny Eurdekian (of Weltanschaaung).
And let’s throw Old Guy Michael Doyle, the Science Teacher, in there for good measure. (“Clam” will be his biggest word.) He’s younger at heart than most of us.

Feel free to decline, of course. And thanks, Andrea. (Did you notice the Obama change.gov website used Wordle last week or so?)

16 Comments

At December 9, 2008, Meme is such a solipsistic sounding word… « Post-Punk Nerd wrote:
[...] Clay Burell tagged for my very first meme! [...]
At December 9, 2008, spgreenlaw wrote:
This was pretty fun! Thanks for the tag.
spgreenlaws last blog post..Meme is such a solipsistic sounding word…
At December 9, 2008, Michael Doyle wrote:
Ha! Thanks for the tag...I'll play with it this afternoon. Had to go to a wake last night. (I have a hypothesis: the longer your ear hairs grow, the higher the wake:wedding ratio (redundant, yes). The pocket that used to hold directions to receptions now holds funeral cards.)

The thing about clams, the more I get to know them, the more I don't and do want to eat them, and the more I do and don't know about the universe.
Michael Doyles last blog post..The Life of an Antarctica Archipelago redux
At December 10, 2008, Lindsay Price wrote:
I love the falling Oedipus. The other word that jumps out at me right off the bat is fate. Very interesting, very poetic.
At December 10, 2008, Jason Priem wrote:
I like how 'chance' and 'fate' kind of jump out, given that Oedipus has got to be one of the canonical treatments of the topics. Think the Greeks' preoccupation with fate, chance, and humankind's response is, to me, one of the most fascinating aspects of their literature.

If you'd like a tagcloud that might give you a more accurate picture of your feed as a whole, you might try an open-source project I just finished, FeedVis; it lets you zoom in on specific days and see how word use changes over time. You can upload a whole opml full of other feeds, too. Wow, I sound like one of those advertisements for knock-off colognes: "if you like ck1, you love...'El Maximo!' "

Anyway, I'm off to read your Oedipus Rex essay; sounds cool.
Jason Priems last blog post..FeedVis 2.0: custom visualization for your feeds
At December 10, 2008, Teny Eurdekian wrote:
Thanks for the tag! I was wondering where people were creating these personalized poetic-patchworks from. Fall of Achilles would have been interesting too.

"Furthermore" annoys me as well; this summer during an art debate at a pre-college program a student repeated "furthermore" after every statement she made... it was painful to hear! Although I have my own horrid habits in overusing the three "P's" in writing (probably, perhaps, and parenthesis).
At December 10, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Jason, that sounds like an interesting application you created. Let me get some sleep and look into it.

Feel free to tell us more about it - especially if you can see any educational applications it might have in writing classrooms, etc.

El Maximo. Slays me :D

The Oedipus essay, being written for an academic audience, is often not "unsucky." But I do like the info on the historical context at the end. Walter Burkert is an amazing scholar of Greek religion. I drew on him a lot for that section.
At December 10, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Well it's about time you said something, Teny. ;-)

If there's a reason for "probably" and "perhaps," I don't think they're constipated (and as for the third "p," I don't have a problem with it, though that doesn't mean it's not problematic).

You come back now, you hear?
At December 10, 2008, Jason Priem wrote:
The idea behind FeedVis is to help users summarize and find trends in groups of feeds in real time. I think this could be quite useful for a class full of student bloggers.

They could upload the opml with all their feeds, and then use the app to see what the class as a whole is talking about, and how that's changing. The data's updated daily, so they could check their group's tagcloud regularly, to get a feel for how the conversation has changed that day. Then, since clicking on keywords gives them summaries and links to posts, they could use FeedVis to navigate to the posts that interest them.

All of this could be improved, of course; for instance, you could use tags instead of or in addition to simple text word frequency, or you could use a more sophisticated text-mining technique. But this is just a first version. I hope to add to it once I get my grad school applications out of the way later this month. And of course I'm always open to and interested in suggestions.
Jason Priems last blog post..FeedVis 2.0: custom visualization for your feeds
At December 10, 2008, Jason Priem wrote:
Teny's comment probably suggests that he may well be objecting to the first two P's as perennial engines of what is generally agreed to be an academic game of what appears to be endless qualification; perhaps he would be likely to agree that simple, direct statements that actually stake a claim would, it could be argued, make for better writing. Furthermore, it is most likely the case that parentheses (while not a priori improper) seem often to be used (in academic writing) as, according to many observers, a crutch for what could be referred to as lazy, sloppy prose; however, more research on this topic is almost certainly needed.
Jason Priems last blog post..FeedVis 2.0: custom visualization for your feeds
At December 10, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Jason, yer killing me.
At December 11, 2008, Sean Nash wrote:
Heh- I actually did this back on the 1st of November. I think it makes sense mostly. But technology being THAT big? Wow. I think I also got the tags & categories slipped in there the way I did it... which certainly would make a difference.
So here's mine then- http://nashworld.edublogs.org/about/
I'll have to do another. November likely changed things around a bit.
I also see that "however" is fairly large in mine... sucktastic to be sure.
;-)
Sean
Sean Nashs last blog post..Inspire First, Instruct Later
At December 11, 2008, Teny Eurdekian wrote:
Hahaha Jason! Your reply just made my day :D

I'm a girl btw ;)
Teny Eurdekians last blog post..Aristophanes's Speech (from Plato's Symposium)
At December 11, 2008, Jason Priem wrote:
Doh--apologies, Teny.
Jason Priems last blog post..FeedVis 2.0: custom visualization for your feeds
At December 12, 2008, Sean Nash wrote:
You know.... as cool as I think Wordle.net is. And as enthusiastically as I introduced it to my staff (and folks from many many others in the area)... I think it has now jumped the shark in my building.
I saw a huge display on a hallway wall today that was ohhhh so pretty- but lacked cognitive stones.
Ick.
;-(
Sean Nashs last blog post..Inspire First, Instruct Later
At December 12, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Sean, I'm with you on Wordle's low-nutrient value. I've argued more than once that it's eye candy. If it's going to be used as anything more in the classroom, a teacher really has to be on his/her game.

Beyond Brain-Storming to Brain-Flooding: Google Maps for Personal Narrative

Clay Burell — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:11 +0000

John Larkin in Oz nudged me to consider playing with the idea he so creatively played with on his own site: “How Far I Roamed as a Child.”

John’s post gives the full background of the idea, and a nicely visual guided tour of his own childhood using personal photos and satellite imagery from Google Maps. But this excerpt from John’s post brings out the historical and educational thrust of the idea:

[An] article in the Mail online, ‘How children lost the right to roam in four generations‘, is particularly telling. It sets out quite clearly how from one generation to the next children are not roaming as far as their parents and grandparents.

Firing up Google Maps and revisiting my elementary and junior high years’ stomping grounds in Tennessee was a blast – and as John seemed to understand by inviting me to play with his idea, it has all sorts of engaging applications for the writing classroom. One example is all I have time for at the moment, and it’s this: By typing in my childhood home address on Google Maps, then clicking “street view” and zooming and panning around a bit, I found, of all unremarkable things, the street-drainage ditch in front of my house, with its tunnel under the street to the other side, which I crawled through as a child surely hundreds of times – and up the hill from that, in what was once my yard, the grandest hickory tree you could ever imagine, whose autumn leaves I and my brother and sisters and parents and dogs raked into piles (okay, the dogs didn’t rake), dove into, splashed around in like leafy surf, on and on. Here’s a screenshot:

The Ditch, the Hickory, the Memory Flood

Wouldn’t This Work in the Writing Classroom?

The photo above may not do anything for you, and it shouldn’t. But me? I can hear the flung rocks echoing from the tunnel, smell the algae in its puddles, remember the sense of mystery of the world opening out at tunnel’s end. For autobiography and personal narrative, again, this beats the utter hell out of brainstorming with pencil and paper about my childhood. Never in a hundred years would I have even remembered that ditch and tunnel. But now that I do, the related memories wax exponential. That ditch, for example: after a heavy rain, it was a child’s river, and so, with my best friend Gary (who drowned with his father a few summers later), we named that “river,” in a bit of blood-brother name-combining, the “Clary.” Again, just an example of how this goes beyond brain-storming to brain-flooding.

How Far I Roamed

Anyway, like John, man did I roam as a child. I must have walked four or five miles a day on average. Here’s Google Maps, with my first attempt to use Adobe Illustrator for labels and arrows, to show the details (click image for larger view, and note the key in the lower left corner):

How Far I Roamed: Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1960s and '70s

(And for the students out there who read this, let me know: do you roam as far these days? Or have you “lost the right to roam”? And Dad: you can comment too, you know. How far did you roam as a child, on a daily basis?)

If you decide to play with this meme, by the way, please link it to John’s original post. It’s his baby, and it’s a good one.

12 Comments

At August 19, 2008, davidcosand wrote:
I grew up in a very rural setting; my parents still own about 80 acres of Oregon farmland. Some of my favorite memories involve the nighttime "maneuvers" my friends and I would go on. We'd don our stealth clothes and play intricate games of hide and seek in the surrounding fields. My mom always called the neighbors – especially Mr. Arbuckle, who had a quick trigger finger – to let them know that any strange noises were probably the result of boys sneaking around.

Now, as the father of two boys and two girls, I have a hard time imagining giving them the same freedom to be out at all hours of the night without adult supervision. Sure, the world has changed…but I have no doubt that my children are missing out on a rich tapestry of memories.

Reading your post, along with Larkin’s original, I’m inspired with new angles of approach to our class focus on personal and regional histories and the authentic writing tie-ins possible. I’m interested to discover the roaming ranges of my students and what those paths mean to them. I love how real life and the connections of conversation so eloquently inform and deepen learning. Thank you for an exciting new line of instructional possibilities.
At August 19, 2008, Michael Doyle wrote:
Once again, an intriguing post, and one that has both my neocortex and amygdala firing away. I may need two cups of coffee before I'm through.

First, the neocortex:

What's not to love? Brain-flooding based on new technology tied to instructional strategies keeps the schools humming.

Progress! Writing! Google! Budgets justified, curricula met, classes engaged. I'd have to wipe a tear of happiness from my eye as the principal walks in to witness this miracle in the classroom, having interrupted his day when he learned of the miracle in the science wing.

(Despite my crankiness, I have to admit I'll likely try this in the classroom before the year is out--it's a great tool.)

So why is my amygdala doing its own brain-flooding, clouding my brain with emotional energy, emitting vague noises that my neocortex interprets as obscenities? Here it goes:

1) Clay, those of us who wandered in the 60's and 70's have memories tucked away worth flooding. We're grown-ups. Our memories are not screen memories, not ear bud memories.

We wandered all over, and we did wonderful (and wonderfully stupid) things. We played with living and dead animals, we nearly drowned (and some of us did) or nearly got killed on a bike or a sled (and some of us did). We got lost without phones or GPS or even (gasp) a dime to call home. We ate unwashed fruit off the trees. We had our Suicide Hill. We ate apples and homemade popcorn balls made by strangers on Hallowe'en. We mixed blood as blood brothers.

We lived.

Most of us, anyway.

And each of us will die. We are mortal critters.

The myth, the Great Myth, is that the world is more dangerous now. It is safer, far safer, at least in this part of the world, but it can never be truly safe, and we lose something trying to pretend otherwise.

Growing up, kids in our occasionally died growing up--one kid ran his sled under a parked car (no supervision), another kid got killed by an errant bat (no helmet), another broke his neck diving into a tidal creek at low tide (he died a few years later--a fine reminder for the rest of us to get a grip on tides), a classmate died of leukemia, another on a skateboard.

A morbid list, but not a prelude to return to the Olden Days. The point is this: not one abduction by a stranger, not one death from the razor blade hidden in the apple, not one drug pusher said "Hey, kid, try this..."

Our biggest fear was The Stripper, a man who supposedly lived in the woods and would make you take off your clothes. ("Don't walk alone in the woods," pretty good advice when you're eleven.)

Were there sexual predators? Of course. Are there now? Yep, with even better access to children.

2) I read your post, and as I got deeper into it, I'm nodding and thinking, yes, Clay's going to say something pithy and confirm my world view (why else wile away summer morning hours on a machine?)
(You write so well I bet I would enjoy a tech manual on how to replace a timing chain written by you.)

I thought you were going to suggest that we push the children outside, and let them roam again, so that they have brain-floods of thoughts beyond photon memories, memories framed by whatever size screen their family or district could afford.

What I fear now is that kids will find their homes on the "street view" and somehow feel "more" validated.

And the amygdala fires off another neuron or two.

3) Administrators will have to block your site because you advocate unsafe mixing of bodily fluids.

4) I love Google. I fear Google. Having a whole class of students type in this kind of information from various sites is powerful data.

Google's not getting rich just because of a fancy pants search engine. A good chunk of their "value" comes from big investors who get the data thing.

How confused am I? I want to be a Google certified teacher. I use Google in the classroom, and not just the search engine. I get lost for hours playing with a variety of their tools.

Google knows more about me than my mother did. And only a ragged remnant tucked in my amygdala even cares anymore, and my neocortex cannot remember why anymore.

And in another generation, the first generation raised by the generation that spent most of its conscious hours at work or at school or in front of a monitor, will no longer even ask why we do not roam anymore.

(And now a completely off-topic apology--I am sorry I linked your thoughts with John Taylor Gatto's. I might even fix the reference if I am ever caffeinated enough to sustain goal directed activity for more than 47 seconds.)
Michael Doyles last blog post..A Bloomfield menagerie: praying mantis
At August 19, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Sorry both of you to shoot off a brief reply. Busy tonight.

@David, it was nice to roam with you through Oregon past. Nicely written (and so much more evocative than your original Twitter respones ;-) ).

@Doyle, my Apple dictionary says the amygdala is associated with the sense of smell, so I'm sort of lost. But that's okay and not unusual anyway.

The "how far did you roam" frame sort of implies the "get outside and roam" message, or so I hoped.

And Google? A scary beast, yes - but we're all mortal, and to me, I'll add it to the list of fears to ignore in order to enjoy the present. You know, traffic, baseball bats, parked cars, etc.

Funny coincidence: I was reading your latest posts while you were apparently commenting on mine. Such a lovely voice, ~~to unintentionally quote Blake's "Little Lamb."~~. (Update: oops, Blake used "tender," not "lovely." Never mind.)
At August 19, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Oh, and Doyle: I'd love to talk with Gatto. Agree with much of what he says, but just wish he'd consider his basic ideological assumptions more critically than it seems to me he has. Overall, I admire the guy, to be clearer.
At August 19, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Oh and #2: Doyle, can you tell me where I advocate "unsafe mixing of bodily fluids?" I'm laughing as I type!
At August 19, 2008, Michael Doyle wrote:
#1)More about the amygdala soon, I'm off to meet with a teacher about overhauling our curriculum, but for now, know that it is the part of the primitive brain that has long neural connections to the cortex, and is indeed where smell "sensations" pass through (and back) on the way to our "higher" part of our brain, It also appears to be the seat of fear and rage, as much as anything can be seated in our brain.

If you remove a rat's amygdala, it will not run from a cat. (Which brings memories now of my mother singing "...and up on his haunches he sat, singing in the pale moonlight, bring out the goddamn cat" or something like that.;)

#2) Given our generation, I took the "blood-brother name-combining" naming of your stream literally. And, of course, memories rushed in of the moments just before you prick yourself, to mix your blood with your eternal friend, becoming blood brothers.

Or maybe we were just stupid literal kids with too much time on our hands--I think eventually every boy in the neighborhood had mixed blood with every other one within a grade or two in years.

But if I'm an administrator, I'm playing it safe and removing it anyway--cannot have too much safety in this world.

(Shoot...late...hit submit and run!)
Michael Doyles last blog post..A Bloomfield menagerie: praying mantis
At August 20, 2008, Claire Thompson wrote:
This meme really seems to have grabbed people, myself included. When I was a kid my family moved around a bit (each of my dad's promotions meant a new town) so tonight after reading your post I hopped onto Google maps to check out each of my old neighbourhoods. I thought I'd like to see in which town I had the longest walk to school. To figure out the distances quickly I used Gmaps Pedometer. It's a great web app I started using a while ago to figure out how long my run routes are.

I wasn't surprised at my longest walk; 3.6 km (2.3 mi) when I lived in North Vancouver, BC. But I could have sworn that the walk to my elementary school in Prince George BC was longer than 0.7 km (0.4 mi)! I guess the pretty cold winters (-20C was usual) coupled with high snowbanks and short legs skewed my sense of distance ;-)

Anyway, I just wanted to share the Gmaps Pedometer link with those who are interested in taking on this meme. Thanks for the term 'brain flooding', and for the prod to take some walks down memory lane.
Claire Thompsons last blog post..Combatting Teacher Burnout
At August 20, 2008, John Larkin wrote:
Thanks Clay for taking it up. Your stories of the ditch and the drain bring back memories of Cabbage Tree Creek for me. We sued to ride our bikes down a path and into the creek for a few metres up. Crazy. Riding one's bike down the main target hill of the old rifle range was also a bit hairy too. I think I soiled my BVDs on my first effort. After that you could not stop me.
David: Loved reading your story of stealthy adventures. We used to play Phantom Agents as kids. My brother Peter even made some star knives. http://home.alphalink.com.au/~roglen/phantom.htm
Michael: Great stories. Real stuff. Life. Happiness. Tragedy. We used cardboard or masonite sleds to ride down sand, not snow. If there was a hill we would find a way to slide down it.
Claire: Those walks did always seem so long yet as we grow older those same walks become our old friends.
Cheers, John.
At August 20, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Thanks for that, Claire. I just used the pedometer instead of eye-balling the distances and like you, found them shorter than I thought. I guess years and miles grow shorter with age.

There's no way I'm going to fight Adobe Illustrator to correct the text on my map, though ;-)
At August 22, 2008, Jason Green wrote:
Clay,

This was an odd memory stirrer for me, because rather than thinking of my own childhood, I noticed that my first place in Chattanooga (by which point I was married and in my late 20's) was just off your map. BTW, Eastgate is a ghost mall now. Everything has moved northeast around Hamilton Place.
At August 27, 2008, Far From Home « Edumacation Of Moi wrote:
[...] today in a blog I just found, about how far one roamed as a child. The bloggers (John Larkin and Clay Burell)who wrote the original posts are probably in the 30-40 age range, solidly marking them as an older [...]
At August 27, 2008, Your page is now on StumbleUpon! wrote:
[...] Your page is on StumbleUpon [...]

Voluntary Meme: My Deadly “Sins” Revealed

Clay Burell — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:13:53 +0000

I always tell people who tell me that I’m going to hell for being decidedly skeptical about myths from pre-scientific times that a) I’ve read the Bible in its entirety three times, and studied world religions and Church history enough to feel 99% certain the myths are simply myths (and that 1% of doubt is simple intellectual honesty, since I know there’s no absolute proof any god does not exist); and I tell them, b) “If Jesus knew me, he’d think I was a pretty okay guy, because I’m typically not an ass, try to help people, and agree with him that ‘the kingdom’ is already within us, if we’d just wake up to it (not a far cry from most religious messages, read metaphorically instead of literally).”

I’m pleased to announce that I was just told by the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz,

Your sin has been measured. Happily for you, your sin profile leaves room for forgiveness. Your full sinful breakdown below shows you the areas that you must improve, to save yourself from an eternity in hell.

In the spirit of spiritual transparency then, dear reader, I will now share with you a view into the window of my soul, and the degree to which each of the Seven Deadly Sins has possessed it:

Greed:	Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Very Low

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

A naturalist at heart, I’m actually proud that good old natural “lust” – what science and my old dog Fritz would understand as a healthy reproductive instinct, an innocent enough thing when the super-ego* is stronger – is my greatest “sin.” I’m pretty proud – oops! – of the rest of the results. I can forgive myself for them, since I’m human, animal, and naturally far from perfect. (In fact, if I recall correctly, “sin” is based on a Greek word for “missing the target” and thus making a mistake, being imperfect, which has nothing to do with “demons” or “ee-vil,” damnation or salvation, and everything to do with being simply human. In that respect, the results above actually get it pretty right. I do screw up sometimes.) [UPDATE: Be sure to check out Larissa’s corrective comment on the origins of the word “sin” for an even more interesting twist, and call for philological help from Biblical scholars on the Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek story of the word ulitmately translated as “sin.”)

Another “fluff and fun” voluntary meme for our idle summers in the devil’s workshop. If you play along, please drop us a line with your results.

–

*Pre-emptive snarky-comment-prevention strike: I’m not a card-carrying Freudian. Just playing around. Call the super-ego “conscience,” “social decency,” or “humanism” instead, and I won’t protest.

12 Comments

At July 17, 2008, Arthus Erea wrote:
Somehow, there are no surprises here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthuserea/2675236074/
At July 17, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Arthus: An impeccable use of rhetorical understatement. Love it :)
At July 17, 2008, Winawer wrote:
You know, you're *never* going to get anywhere with greed and envy scores that low. Think of the Jonses! How will you emulate them without greed and envy to spur you!? For shame... :-)
Winawers last blog post..Steven Page arrested.
At July 17, 2008, My Seven Deadly Sins… « Mild Opinons wrote:
[...] Seven Deadly Sins… Following the advice of Clay Burell at the Beyond School blog, I took the Seven Deadly Sins quiz to see how my immortal soul is faring. Here’s the [...]
At July 17, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Winawer, I hope those appreciative of a good laugh check out your own sins post, as the closing line is a classic :)
At July 17, 2008, Arthus Erea wrote:
@Clay: hehe. :)

On another note, apture is really starting to annoy me. I can't open links! :(

Even my usual command+click (to open in new tab) doesn't work.
Arthus Ereas last blog post..McCain is an “illiterate”
At July 17, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Arthus:

Thanks for the heads-up. I dinked around and discovered you can open links from Apture popups by clicking on the top title of the popup. Not the most intuitive thing in the world, so I'll contact Apture and pass it along. Should be clearer, you're right.

I can't bring myself to disable Apture yet, b/c I love its potential. Let's hope they fix that wrinkle.
At July 17, 2008, Charlie A. Roy wrote:
@ Clay
I'm surprised to see sloth up there. With you being such a prolific writer and so active on blogs i would have ruled that one out.
Charlie A. Roys last blog post..Finding Balance
At July 17, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Wow, when I took it, I was told I had a chance to change my ways to avoid hell.

But my wife just took it, and it told her that her "fate is sealed" - and then explained that her sloth, gluttony, and greed are what had damned her to eternal hell.

She says, "Just because you don't like to exercise doesn't mean you're slothful; wanting a nicer house doesn't make you mortally greedy; and okay, I like good food! I was honest. So honest people go to hell? That's not fair."

It's just a silly game, but I like her points. (She does need to start exercising, though ;-) )

"Hmmm. I know, I know."
At July 18, 2008, Larissa Parson wrote:
Hey Clay, I checked that etymology for ya (as a former Hellenist I feel compelled to check out what folks attribute to the Greeks...).

According to the OEd, at least: [OE. syn(n, for original *sunj{omac}, related to continental forms with extended stem, viz. OFris. sende, MDu. sonde (Du. zonde), OS. sundea, sundia, OHG. sunt(e)a, sund(e)a (G. sünde), ON. syn{edh}, synd (Icel., Norw., Sw., Da. synd). The stem may be related to that of L. sons, sont-is guilty. In OE. there are examples of the original general sense, ‘offence, wrong-doing, misdeed’.]

BTW, the Greek for "missing the mark" (and by extension failing at something, making an error of judgment, etc.) is (in transliteration) hamartano^ (here's a fuller definition: http://tinyurl.com/5f32pw). The idea of sin in the sense you suggest may be from the Greeks. But the word itself isn't. :)

Larissa
At July 18, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Larissa,

Thanks for the fact check for this lazy bum ;-) .

I followed it, and here's an intriguing thing (that sort of explains my "If I recall correctly" in the post - something felt off as I wrote that):

The word "hamartia" - loosely taught as "tragic flaw" when teaching drama - is a derivation of the word "hamartano" that you referenced. It's translated as "sin" on the Perseus tool you linked to.

The word "sin" is Old English going back to earlier Germanic origins, if I get your OED clip right.

Since the Bible was translated from Hebrew and Aramaic ino Greek for wider readership - (Koine, right? It's been 20 years since I've revisited this cool stuff) - I have to ask: were the early translators of the Bible into English using a Greek translation, which means they translated "harmartia" into "sin"?

Which means a descriptive word - Greek "harmartia" ="error" - becomes a metaphysically-charged word - "sin" - in the hands of the Renaissance translators into English. Turning Oedipus from a guy who just got unlucky due to fate's cold indifference to our moral qualities, and/or his own human personality flaws, into....a damned sinner.

So weird, so fun, to think about all this stuff. Thanks for the assist. Would love some light shed on this one!
At December 5, 2008, Betty Bunhead Blog: Voluntary Meme: My Seven Deadly Sins and Shakespeare wrote:
[...] Meme: My Seven Deadly Sins and Shakespeare Clay Burell had this intriguing voluntary meme on his blog today. Since I tend to slide into the 'idle hands'/sloth mode in the summer, I thought [...]

Meaningful Meme: Your “Bullied Then, Successful Now” Stories

Clay Burell — Fri, 09 May 2008 15:09:53 +0000

I received this comment recently on my podcast post, “My Suicidal High School Years: A Happy Ending Bullying Story.” The comment is from a teen named Jack, who is experiencing now what I experienced 30 years ago. I’m sharing it because it’s evidence that the meme I’m about to propose – voluntary, as usual – could have more social value than the bevy of “Stop Bullying!” messages we most often see in response to this ugly subject. Here’s Jack:

Clay,

I googled bullying stories because I wanted something to help me through troubles that I am currently facing in ninth grade. “Stop bullying!” sites really didn’t help me. This was just the kind of story I was looking for. I get called names feverishly because I didn’t make the best impression first semester. I try not to care what other people think of me but it feels like I am always watching my back.

Anyways, this story was very interesting indeed. Thanks a lot for sharing. It helped substantially. [Emphasis added.]

I’ve already thanked Jack, but I want to thank him again. He confirms that for him, at least, “Stop Bullying” messages may be nice and all, but they don’t do much to comfort those trying to cope with being bullied.

I’m not saying anti-anything messages have no positive value. I’m just saying they often fail to help the victims of the thing being opposed. Telling bullies not to bully may be worth the effort, though it’s apparently predicated on the dubious belief that it’s effective to appeal to the compassionate side of bullies, who in my experience have almost always been a pretty heartless bunch. Bullies enjoy psycho-social benefits from bullying – profits, in a sense – in the same way arms dealers do from selling weapons. Appeals to delicate instincts require delicate audiences, and delicacy is a thing usually absent from these hardened types.

But as Jack testifies, just hearing Bullied Success Stories – that survival is worth it and life gets better? That’s a speech-act worth performing.

So the Meme: Share Your “Bullied Then, Successful Now” Stories

I did it in my podcast, a 30 minute story – literally, a story – of my experience of three years of bullying in high school. It’s actually just an mp3 of the class session in which I told the story to my students (there was bullying going on in that grade). I just fired up GarageBand and recorded it as I shared it with my class.

That’s one way to do it. Other ways:

a blog post
a webcam video
a Skypecast
a Comic Life or photo-essay
a VoiceThread
[your idea here]

If none of those work for you, but you have a story to tell, you can also leave a comment or drop me an email volunteering for a Skype conference call, where we can take more of a group story-telling session. I can do the editing and turn it into a podcast.

I hope this makes sense to you. It does to me. Jack’s comment strengthened my belief that, short of somehow stopping bullying – and come on, it’s been with us as long as war – one of the most helpful things we can do is offer ourselves, and our stories, as living proof that the nightmare can be survived, and this dream called life can become sweeter as it moves into adulthood.

I often throw dreamy ideas like this out on this blog, and they land with a thud. This one seems a likely candidate as the latest in that series. But I hope not. My bullying podcast gets a surprising number of visits from people googling “real life bullying stories” and such, and it gets downloaded quite a bit too.

So there is a need.

And instead of putting more energy into “stop bullying” sermons (which I’m not saying we should stop), we can maybe devote it to stories of hope.

I know it’s a busy time, so if you can only get around to it later – this summer, even – that’s fine. Just link here whenever it’s done. If we get enough of these, we can make a permanent site for them on a wiki, or even a dedicated blog.

And by the way: this offer is open to any students out there with anything to say as well. I’d love to host a Skype conference call about this topic.

Photo: Locker by Steven Fernandez

34 Comments

At May 10, 2008, oreneta wrote:
I came across this blog today, and if you click on the "my story" link, about his experiences growing up....I think it might fit the bill.

This is an absolutely fantastic meme.
orenetas last blog post..Oreneta aground
At May 10, 2008, Linda wrote:
Clay,
I will be writing my own bully story on my blog.
I will link to you when I post it. Having gone through it as well, it makes me a defender of the victim, be it student, teacher, or fellow member of our PLN. I am highly sensitive to the earmarks of bully behavior. It makes me outrageously angry that people still "give this behavior a pass".
Lindas last blog post..Saint Cyberus, Patron Saint of the Internet
At May 10, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Thanks both. @Oreneta, there's no link in your comment to the site you referenced. One more time?
At May 10, 2008, Rodd Lucier wrote:
Clay,

I heard your story a few weeks ago, and though I was moved, it wasn't until I read today's post that I felt compelled to act. Your story brought back memories for me that frankly, I'd rather have let lie dormant. I agree that stories of survival can be empowering, and look forward to sharing some thoughts and personal experiences in an upcoming podcast. I'll be sure to link back to this post where I suspect your meme will find plenty of company...
Rodd Luciers last blog post..Fore Great Things about Golf!
At May 10, 2008, Linda Bilak’ Blog » Bullied then, successful now. wrote:
[...] there is an audience for the stories that we all have hidden. He has asked for us to create a thoughtful meme of our tales. We have them, many of us, in our past. They are there still like a scar from [...]
At May 10, 2008, Pat Hensley wrote:
I wrote about how I was bullied by an elementary school teacher adn then a gang when I was in Jr. High in my my personal blog: http://loonyhiker.blogspot.com/2008/03/school-revisited.html
I believe this is what inspired me to become a teacher because I know what to look for and can understand how students feel when bullied. Thanks for bringing this out in the open because I think many educators have their own story to tell.
Pat Hensleys last blog post..Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 05/09/08
At May 10, 2008, oreneta wrote:
I do that ALL the time...sorry, let me get the link...

here it is...

http://jason-thejasonshow.blogspot.com/

I have linked to your site and also asked people to send in stories, hopefully some folks will.
orenetas last blog post..A lifted post
At May 11, 2008, diane wrote:
Clay,

As always, thanks for getting me to reflect and respond.
http://tinyurl.com/5wbuqw

diane
dianes last blog post..A Meaningful Meme: Bullying
At May 11, 2008, My bullying success story. « Mild Opinons wrote:
[...] bullying success story. Through the usual maze of the Internet, I wound up at a post on the Beyond School blog in which Clay Burell proposes a new internet meme. Not many people read this blog, so [...]
At May 11, 2008, Arthus Erea wrote:
Since I'm still in high school, I can't exactly talk about "successful now" since I'm still in the "bullied then" time...

That being said, I'd be interested to participate in a Skype conversation.
Arthus Ereas last blog post..Review of AJAX and PHP: Building Responsive Web Applications
At May 11, 2008, Linda wrote:
Clay,
While I haven't discussed this much as an adult, the comments are very therapeutic.
Lindas last blog post..Bullied then, successful now.
At May 11, 2008, Charlie A. Roy wrote:
@Clay
I listened to your podcast again this morning and I agree with most of the commenters that it is a powerful way to help those in a similar situation. My question is what programs or tactics actually work to stop bullying? I've been a dean, grade school, and high school principal and I've yet to find a program that is completely effective. Any thoughts or any thoughts from your readers on programs that actually work?
Charlie A. Roys last blog post..Grades, grades, and more grades!
At May 11, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@All: Thanks so much for cooperating.

I want to urge everyone to read the trackback post, "My Bullying Success Story," on Mild Opinions above.

What I love about that post is the tone. It's not maudlin or depressing, is very well-written, and reflects on the experience with a dash of humor that speaks volumes about how "over it" we can be after entering the adult world, and enjoying the freedom to find others like us and avoid the idiots we were forced to mix with daily in the 12-year-incarceration called "school."

@Charlie,

I'm curious to hear feedback on your question too, and welcome input in further comments. At the same time, I think there's a "bevy" of sites with information about how to stop bullying, and some of them surely give good guidance in that effort.

My focus here is, again (and I see you acknowledge your understanding of this, so it's not like I'm saying you don't get it), is: Let's just give a human face to adults who are so over those rough years by telling our stories to the students who are still in the thick of them. (I keep thinking video would be more effective for this one!)

Thanks again, all.
Clay Burells last blog post..Meaningful Meme: Your “Bullied Then, Successful Now” Stories
At May 11, 2008, Joon wrote:
I heard your story.
It's surprising how many people in this world are just followers....
I hope I am not being a hypocrite.
At May 12, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@All,

Until Ben Bleckley's trackback propagates, I want to just post a link to his contribution to this project. Charlie, I think you'll want to probe Bill for more information after reading it (and my comment there).

So here's the link to Ben's post.

Thanks for that, Ben. And let me know if you want to try that ftp thing :)

@Arthus: Amazing. Had no idea. I'll let you know when that skypecast is being planned.
At May 12, 2008, Sarah wrote:
I don't have anything major to share from personal experience--I was bullied during my growing up years by some rock-throwing lugs on the walk home from school, but I was a big time tattler, so they moved on after a few days, hurling a "baby can't take it, gonna tell her mommy" as they left. Yep, I sure was gonna tell. I still remember the shaky, terrified feeling though.

I read an article recently saying that bullying was an addictive behavior, and that bullies literally got a "high" from their actions. In other words, reason or appealing to their "other side" isn't going to work in stopping them. I firmly believe this.

In my experience with middle school girls, the bullying is subtle and hard to catch or punish. It's more about what they don't do rather than what they do (ie--not sitting with someone, not talking to them, not making them one of your IM buddies). I make my classroom open during free times for students to come in and hang out. I give extra credit for decorating a bulletin board, tidying supplies, etc. This gives the girls who aren't quite ready to hang with the peers yet a safe place to go.

I believe that the difference between a tough experience and a permanently damaging one is having one or two people in the victim's life to whom they feel connected and whom they know understands them and cares about them.
At May 12, 2008, Charlie A. Roy wrote:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hHBOMuONSWA&feature=user
thought you might like this. It is from a student of mine. Ties into the whole bullying dilemma and allowing students to be who they want to be not the masks they put on. A little dark for my taste but powerful.
Charlie A. Roys last blog post..Early Exams? To grant or not to grant?
At May 12, 2008, Ben Bleckley wrote:
Clay,

Great meme - this is the reason I teach. My story is posted here.

Thanks for posting the trackback, I tried to post this last night, but my computer has a nasty habit of crashing randomly. Thank you Firefox for "Restore Previous Session"

@Charlie: I have very little classroom experience, so please take my thoughts with a very large grain of salt. I believe the best way to deter bullying is through careful classroom community building. Getting everyone to really know each other, I think, makes a big difference. I had a professor in college at Colorado State University, Terry Denniston, who unfortunately doesn't blog, but might be willing to do a phone call. I also did some professional development at Fort Collins High School, and there's a science teacher there whose name I don't remember, but he teaches a joint class of students with special needs and general students where he spends the first month or so on classroom community building. He also, to my knowledge, does not have a blog, but would probably be willing to talk about that kind of stuff. Shoot me an e-mail if you want to talk more and I can try to track down some e-mail addresses or phone numbers. Or maybe you've tried this and it doesn't quite do the trick - either way, I would be interested in your insights. benbleckley at gmail
Ben Bleckleys last blog post..Bullied Then, Successful Now
At May 12, 2008, Rodd Lucier wrote:
Today's Teacher 2.0 Podcast: "Bullied Like You"
http://media.libsyn.com/media/thecleversheep/teacher66.mp3
Rodd Luciers last blog post..Take Ownership of Your Identity
At May 13, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Rodd, Great podcast. The second entry to identify the BUS as a dangerous place for kids.

@Ben, Thanks for jumping in.

@Sarah, Rodd said something similar about simply talking to others - those one or two friends - about the experience. I had a couple of marginalized, independent friends in high school during my own experience, but don't think I was comfortable talking to them about all this (though I'm sure they knew about it) because it was so shameful to talk about the name-calling and public humiliation, etc. Just hanging out with them was definitely good, though. (It's not like it was a 24/7 torment anyway - maybe because these friends were there to take the mind off it.)

An interesting question I see emerging is: Is it better to bring things to a head by standing up to it early? Or can that backfire?

As I say in my podcast, when I finally did get in a fistfight in the cafeteria with a guy about my physical equal - and he started it with a sucker-punch to my jaw with no warning - that changed things for the better ever after. BUT: I got suspended, along with the instigator. IF I'd had the first thought about college applications (which, being way too distracted by the miseries, I didn't), that suspension could have had horrible effects on my college admissions hopes.

So it's a complicated question, isn't it?

I like your open door policy, Sarah. It's always good for those who need a place to feel liked, safe, and welcome.
At May 13, 2008, John Larkin wrote:
Hi Clay,

Nice idea. One day I would like to write a book about an experience in my life. Sure, there was some bullying as a kid at high school but that was reasonably conventional. The most challenging bullying experience of my life was as an adult. Not that long ago.
An employer bullied me. I could write a volume about what happened.

I have hinted at it here and there in my blog posts and comments across the education network out there. I had been on a quite a high following some academic and professional success in the nineties. Several national and shared international awards.

Anyway, I found myself with this company... words fail me just now. Myself and other colleagues were not always paid, we were overworked, understaffed and mistreated. Working from 6 in the morning till after midnight. I started suffering severe anxiety and depression. Could not sleep, showered all hours of the night (trying to rid myself of the dread that was washing all over me), considered climbing over the railing of a 9th floor balcony, lost all of my self esteem. Began questioning my self worth and value. Negative self talk.
Collapsed on the way to work, ended up in hospital, more bullying from the boss even at that stage. Resigned. That was a better alternative considering that a severe physical and/or nervous breakdown was the other.

Sought help to get my life back. Obtained some good professional help. Went on some medication for about six months. Weaned myself off that after some research. I did a lot of reading about what had happened to me. Began the recovery process. I am still on that journey. I always will be on that journey.

I still have a few acquired mannerisms and habits I have not managed to completely eliminate. Annoys the hell out of me. My students notice it and I tell them the story. Blogging helps. Still building up the self esteem. Still getting better. Lost so much through that experience. Intangible stuff. Hard to describe. There is a deep and significant sadness within me that surfaces from time to time. Those who know me well have seen it. I still haven't quite achieved that moment where I feel I have completely shaken it off. Part of me, a significant part of me, was ripped out of my soul and psyche and I still have not recovered all of it.

Professionally, the work at ICUS eLearning, Nanyang Technological University and the PD workshops that I give have helped me to rebuild that which is me to some extents. Some of my present colleagues and students have helped as well.

One day I will write about it in more detail. Why it happened. I know the story will save others a lot of grief. I have shared the story with the parents and students at school. That was liberating. Generated tears and smiles both on and off the stage. I do not worry about what others think, on this topic at least. It needs to get out there.

Well. Here I am commenting on your blog. How legendary is that Clay? Two teachers, miles apart, yet with so much in common. I guess you have probably now figured out why I consider Nick Cave's album, The Boatman Calls, to be my favourite.

Your blog is part of the recovery process as well Clay. Thank you.

Cheers, John. ^_^
At May 13, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
John,

I don't know why, but I think of Leonard Cohen's
Ring the bells
that still can ring.
Forget
your perfect offerings.
There is a crack
in everything -
That's how the light gets in.

And of Aeschylus's choral refrain from the Oresteia, our oldest complete Greek tragedy, if memory serves, which has stuck with me since my first read of it at 20, in 1982:
For Zeus the Helmsman lays it down as Law,
that we must suffer,
suffer,
suffer -
into Truth.

The Cohen and the Aeschylus combined point to something worth pointing at, in my book.

I'm so enjoying getting to know you in all the ways we're doing that. Here's to sharing a cold beverage at a nice outdoor table some surprising future day.

Clay
At May 13, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
By the way, John - I forgot to add: Please return serve with whatever verses from the Boatman's Call that do it for you.

It's probably my favorite too: "People Ain't No Good" and "Into My Arms" especially come to mind.
At May 14, 2008, Bullying - two viewpoints. « SpeakEasy in Mons wrote:
[...] the usual maze of the Internet, I wound up at a post on the Beyond School blog in which Clay Burell proposes a new internet meme. Not many people read this blog, so I’m [...]
At May 14, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Just a note: The trackback above to "Bullying - Two Viewpoints" has a very interesting suggestion of how bullying should be dealt with in schools. I left my thoughts in a comment there. I thought it was worth a read for its naturalistic and zoological point of view. Being mammals, after all, we shouldn't find the zoological viewpoint that far-fetched.
Clay Burells last blog post..The Most Important Edu Website I Know: Education for Well-Being Strikes Again
At May 14, 2008, diane wrote:
Linda & Pat,

In my experience, it is more often girls than boys that are bullied, both f2f and online. Sometimes it is subtle, a variation on the social shunning that Linda experienced, sometimes it is as horrific as the beating Pat describes.

No matter the level of intensity, it is always traumatic. Some emerge stronger, as these ladies did, but others are damaged or destroyed.

You have each transformed a very negative series of events into a personal mandate for change. I honor your refusal to let bullies destroy your lives or the lives of others.

diane
dianes last blog post..She Never Existed Before: Mother's Day 2008
At May 15, 2008, a victim's mum wrote:
I'd love to be able to share a story of 'bullied then, fine now' or even to use my everyday internet persona. I won't because this isn't about me. My daughter was bullied at school on and off from the age of 7 right through school. Mostly about her dyslexia and her weight. She was never fat or stupid and even if she had been what gave them that right? Margaret Attood's book Cats Eyes gives a glimpse of the sort of things sweet little girls inflict on their victims. She's in her 20s now. She had her first breakdown at 18, she's had two periods in hospital since then. She swings between total depression, feelings of worthlessness and violent over reactions to anything that might for a moment be a threat. The damage seems irrevocable.
At May 15, 2008, Linda wrote:
@a victim's mum I am so sorry your daughter went through that.Made my heart ache to read that.
Lindas last blog post..Bullied then, successful now.
At May 16, 2008, Paul C wrote:
Hi Clay,
Meaningful meme. I reflected on it on my site and referred to a recent University of Toronto study of cyberbullying.
Best regards
Paul Cs last blog post..Bullied Then; Successful Now
At May 17, 2008, Web 2.0: Designs in Education: Using stories to cope with bullying wrote:
[...] School uses the digital story method in an effective way to deal with bullying in school. His post "Meaningful Meme: Your “Bullied Then, Successful Now Stories" provides his own story of being bullied in high school. Posted by Mike Frerichs at 6:01 AM [...]
At May 17, 2008, Journeys: A Meaningful Meme: Bullying wrote:
[...] stanislaus is beaten by his brother" by antmooseClay Burell has once again challenged bloggers to think, respond, and make a difference.In "A Meaningful Meme: [...]
At May 17, 2008, Bullying then… wrote:
[...] days back Clay Burell began a meme, Bullying then, Successful Now. I responded with a comment on Clay’s blog. I recounted an experience that still impacts upon [...]
At May 17, 2008, John Larkin wrote:
Clay, thank you for the response. You were spot on with the reference to "People Ain't No Good" and "Into My Arms" by Nick Cave. Aeschylus' words ring true as well.

One thing the whole experience taught me was that life is a lot more important than work. I often make reference to slowing down, relaxing and taking it easy in my comments elsewhere and in my blog. I see other bloggers out there who I feel are working way too hard.

I remember the morning I rang some one for help back then. I introduced myself and simply said, "I have had a traumatic experience". That was exactly what I felt.

I have posted the Nick Cave lyrics on my own blog here.

http://blog.larkin.net.au/2008/05/17/bullying-then/

Did not want to crowd out the comments on this page.

Cheers, John.
At July 11, 2008, quoteflections: Bullied Then; Successful Now wrote:
[...] of parents thought their child would tell them about bullying but only 8% who were bullied didClay Burell in Beyond School reflects on the two years of bullying he received in high school. He created a 30 minute podcast [...]

From TweetClouds to TagCrowds – Another Voluntary Meme

Clay Burell — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:09:37 +0000

[Update: I added a complete novel you should be able to guess, just to give you an idea of what this would look like (h/t to Adrienne for the spark).]

Going Deeper with Post-Clouds

Since a lot of people seemed to enjoy the TweetClouds as Windows of the Soul meme, I thought this bit of serendipity snagged from some tweeted link might interest you as well. It might even have some classroom use as a reflective tool for student bloggers.

It’s called TagCrowd. In a nutshell, it takes any text and creates a tag cloud based on the text’s word frequency.

I decided to make a Tag Crowd of all posts on this blog for this month of April. I think I’ll make it an end-of-month ritual from now on. It will serve as a visual snapshot of my month’s obsessions. So here’s

April ’08 on Beyond School*:

–at a glance, I can see this was the month of Ali, Lolita, Project Global Cooling, Diigo, Speech v. Talking, Twitter, and a Debate about Writing. That pretty much sums April up. Kind of cool. (What would REALLY be cool is feeding all posts and comments from an entire blog, but I know of no easy way to generate a text doc from an XML export. Anybody?)

The site suggests more uses – including educational ones – here:

TagCrowd is taking tag clouds far beyond their original function:

as topic summaries for speeches and written works

for visual analysis of survey data

as brand clouds that let companies see how they are perceived by the world

for data mining a text corpus

for helping writers and students reflect on their work

as name tags for conferences, cocktail parties or wherever new collaborations start

as resumes in a single glance

as visual poetry

The list goes on and continues to grow.

Update: Here’s that novel, complete 100-odd pages of text (but see Adrienne’s comment for a better idea).

It’s a voluntary meme, like the last one. No poetry involved.

*FYI: I couldn’t get the embed code to work on WP 2.5, so I just took a screenshot.

5 Comments

At April 30, 2008, Adrienne wrote:
Hmm, I'm diggin' this idea. Wish I had known about it when I was doing word traces with gr.10 in Macbeth. Would be cool to copy / paste all of Act 2 into this little tool, then ask: "What's really happening in this act?" I'm going to give it a shot with a few different texts. I like the idea of this more than the TweetCloud poetry only b/c this really focuses on a "complete" text. I am thinking of heaps of implications for teaching / learning. That and I'm relatively new to Twitter, so I didn't think my tweet cloud was an accurate representation (not enough fodder).
At April 30, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Hi Adrienne,

I hear you. I just put all of Animal Farm in at once to see what it would look like - but I like your idea of chapter by chapter or act by act better.

I'll go ahead and update the post with the Orwell tag-cloud just to share.

Have you thought about how it could work with student blogging?
Clay Burells last blog post..From TweetClouds to TagCrowds - Another Voluntary Meme
At April 30, 2008, TagCrowd - A Meme and an Idea | Pockets of Change wrote:
[...] again to Clay for this cool tool. Here is what Act 2 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth looks like, using [...]
At April 30, 2008, Adrienne wrote:
To be honest, students at our school are so far behind the game when it comes to student blogging, I'm not really sure. However, having said that, my 7th graders will be blogging for their next unit and so I am hoping that I'll have a better answer for you later. (Last year was the first time I had my MS-ers blog; it was a very interesting journey and I'll be building upon ideas this year.)

Check out what I've done with Act 2 of Macbeth over here.
Adriennes last blog post..Are you the 10th person?
At May 2, 2008, creativity/machine wrote:
[...] Net » Blog Archive » Bored of Facebook? on Why I’m deleting my Facebook accountFrom TweetClouds to TagCrowds - Another Voluntary Meme | Beyond School on tagcloud of my phdHot Myspace Layouts on further to the myspace/facebook class debatePassport to [...]

Some TGIF Fluff: Tweetclouds as Windows of the Soul

Clay Burell — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:25:21 +0000

It’s almost 6 p.m. here in Seoul, and that’s bedtime for this nocturne. Before curling up in Morpheus’ arms, I want to throw this screenshot of my Tweetcloud up here (thanks to Cathy Nelson for sharing that one). It’s an interesting little thing, this tag cloud of your most frequent tweet words. The largest words are most frequent from your tweet history, the medium fairly frequent, the smallest less so, but apparently still frequent enough to gain a space on your cloud.

The temptation to see it as a window to your soul – or your Twit-soul, anyway – seems a respectably objective hypothesis that, better still, opens up a bit of fun. So here’s the cloud, followed by a little playful (but sometimes pregnant?) poetasting:

The “self-promoter” (i.e., guy who likes to share his thoughts and seek yours in reply) inevitably tops the cloud with “New Post.” (Shamelessly) Guilty. (But note: We can promote others too, as below )

But I’m happy to see the next most frequent tag is “Thanks,” next to the thanked-for “@dmcordell.”

There’s lots of poetry there too. I especially like:

From the obsessive AP Lit teacher:

Check classroom – college coming.

From the secular naturalist mystic:

Day’s delicious design.

From the army veteran who ain’t above a little spicy naughtiness now and then:

Doing @dswaters? Easy.

(Sue, I think I know you enough to know you’ll ROFL at that one! )

From the 1001 Flat World Tales and Project Global Cooling guy:

Getting global, going google.

From the best teacher in me:

Learn learning.

From the guy who loves passionate students worldwide:

Life, @lindseak! Look! Love!

From the guy who likes the virtual cocktail parties:

Need network! Play, pln!

From the blogging evangelist:

Post posts, ppl!

From the Church of Poetry acolyte:

Reading real right.

From the guy who pines from Korea for his life’s love, China:

Send Seoul Shanghai.

From the guy who reads Dean:

Share @shareski.

From the guy who reads Sylvia‘s tweets from late-night jazz clubs:

Sleep, @smartinez.

From the guy who tried to pull his network into his classroom:

Sorry, @sschwister: story (student stuff). Sure.

From the guy who knows a true teacher:

@taylorteacher, teach teachers teaching.

From the guy who knows a smart librarian of the futur(a):

@technolibrary: tell.

From the guy who knows mashups:

Things think.

From the guy who blogs (almost) daily:

Thinking time today.

From the guy looking for young fires wanting kindling:

Wait. Want. Watch.

From the lonely groom in exile:

Wedding week.

From the guy who Will makes chuckle:

Weird wiki, @willrich45!

From the wannabee Whitmanesque bard:

Wish! Wonder! Work, world!

From the guy who just passed 500 posts in 16 months, after 25 years of writing almost nothing:

Write years.

If you want to play likewise, call it a voluntary meme. Link back here so we can also see your “twit soul.”

16 Comments

At April 24, 2008, Christopher Sessums wrote:
Hey wait! You're having entirely too much fun here.
You must now go and read two hours of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy.

Salut!
Christopher Sessumss last blog post..Losing Our Minds: Web 2.0 & The Between Years
At April 24, 2008, Sue Waters wrote:
"Doing @dswaters? Easy" really does fit me as I often miss the punchline.

But one thing that really stands out is what is missing from your twitter cloud compared to mine and Dean Shareski. We've both been married a really long time and our partner features high in our tweets. Now I know that some are interpreting dominant tags as a sign of love with any term -- in the case of our partners names it's more likely an expression of fear (certainly in my case). E.g. Dean being told off about housework or me in trouble. I'm actually thinking of how I can do variations of his name so it doesn't appear so highly (now this is getting warped).

Pleasing to note wedding featured well in yours :)
At April 24, 2008, tankilo wrote:
I've been looking up other people in my area and will then look at the first page of 10 posts to see if they say anything interesting or not. In theory I could use this to scan all their posts and find out what (over time) they comment on the most.
tankilos last blog post..tankilo: @yxes Blackberry Tutorial http://tinyurl.com/et9wr I use SMS on my bb but installed twitterberry as well http://tinyurl.com/2zeqxx enjoy!
At April 25, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
@Christopher: Nothing like a little Dostoievski in the Springtime. ("Always Forward!" -- wait, is that the 1st Infantry Div. motto, or my old MI one? You tell me, battle buddy.)

@Sue: I wonder if "to do someone" is only an American idiom? If so, you missed that naughty punchline too :P Interesting comment about the "spouse" tag. Eeek.

@Tankilo: Yes, it's a good little tool.
At April 25, 2008, Cathy Nelson wrote:
Now I have to go back and do mine while including the @. I'm a little afraid of that....look for it. I feel a new blog post coming!
Cathy Nelsons last blog post..Do you recognize these southern voices?
At April 25, 2008, *** ICT U Can!: Tag cloud meme wrote:
[...] I have found the most interesting is that of the tweet clouds I have seen so far, (Allanah, Clay, Cathy and mine) all have one prominent word in common "Thanks".Join in the fun, what does your [...]
At April 25, 2008, Tweet Cloud X2 | Cathy Nelson's Professional Thoughts wrote:
[...] reading Clay Burell today and seeing his Tweet Cloud, I decided to rerun mine from earlier. Why would I want to [...]
At April 25, 2008, Sue Waters wrote:
No Clay :) to do someone is not an American idiom.

It may surprise you (but not really as we have sort of talked about this before) that language (both written and spoken) is a constant struggle for me. Which is probably even more amazing since I'm a blogger. Interpreting the true meaning of what is really being said for me is like being in a battle zone which is why I are well known to miss the punchlines. But people don't realise this is why because unless you have this problem you don't appreciate the constant struggle. Language seems so easy so how could it be so hard for some?
Sue Waterss last blog post..My Post On Facebook You’ve Been Waiting For
At April 25, 2008, diane wrote:
Clay,

When have I not wanted to play? Here's my contribution to cloud-cuckoo land http://tinyurl.com/62ow4c

diane
dianes last blog post..Both Sides Now
At April 27, 2008, Participating in online communities « Connecting Through Conversations wrote:
[...] This whole writing blogging issue is interesting and is something I pointed out on Clay Burell’s tweetcloud post. [...]
At April 27, 2008, I float on tag clouds and blog fog « Love and Logic wrote:
[...] I float on tag clouds and blog fog Inspired by Clay [...]
At April 27, 2008, tom wrote:
Beautiful, like magnet poetry. Here are a couple of mine:

PBL life cycle:
"projects puttered... results ripened...school sharing

local organic goodness purveyors:
"fantastic farmers: folks following fresh"
toms last blog post..Goverment says too many exams harmful; gives more exams
At April 27, 2008, Clay Burell wrote:
Nice, Tom :)
At April 29, 2008, EdTech Workshop: Tweet Cloud Poetry Meme wrote:
[...] usual, I am a few days/weeks/months....years??? behind the wave, but I am joining the fun of the found word poetry with my tweetcloud. Can you tell that I am completely burnt out? There are so many important thoughts being [...]
At April 30, 2008, From TweetClouds to TagCrowds - Another Voluntary Meme | Beyond School wrote:
[...] a lot of people seemed to enjoy the TweetClouds as Windows of the Soul meme, I thought this bit of serendipity snagged from some tweeted link might interest you as well. [...]
At May 1, 2008, The Tempered Radical: April 2008 wrote:
[...] was reading Clay Burell's blog the other day and came across a fun diversion. He's decided to use his Tweet Cloud as a source for random [...]