today . . .

. . . we listened to The Clash.

The Story of the Clash, Vol. 1.

& this has become "greatest-hits week."

There won't be any new Vol. 2 here, as the band broke up many years ago, & singer/guitarist Joe Strummer died in 2002.

The Clash were among the punk pioneers, & their mixture of pop, punk, reggae, & rock stylings w/ politically-charged--& sometimes absurd--lyrics brought us much joy & thought back in the '70s & 80s.

Key tracks: "Rock the Casbah," "Should I Stay or Should I Go," "Train in Vain," "Lost in the Supermarket,"Janie Jones," "London Calling," & many, many more.

Really, just go check 'em out.

Juniors:
THINK NOW:
Shirley Brice Heath, quoted in Franzen's "Perchance to Dream": 
“‘This is precisely what readers are saying: that reading good fiction is like reading a particularly rich section of a religious text. What religion and good fiction have in common is that the answers aren’t there, there isn’t closure. The language of literary works gives forth something different with each reading. . . . But unpredictability doesn’t mean total relativism. Instead it highlights the persistence with which writers keep coming back to fundamental problems. Your family versus your country, your wife versus your girlfriend.’” (49)



We defined "relativism" & discussed situational ethics.

(pause for fist-pump)

Good discussions, covering Toy Story, Spider-Man, TV & film, life in general.

You guys rock.

For tomorrow: pages 32-38 in the Handbook, "Approaches in Practice."

Enjoy.

Sophomores:
Pronouns, adjectives, verbs.

That's what's happening.

NOTE: I forgot to remind you--though it was clearly written on the board & posted on my TeacherWeb site--to bring your unit 7 definitions today, & about 7 of you did the work.

So . . . we reminded ourselves of formats, you started them in class, & I said I would accept them tomorrow for full credit.

Those of you who turned 'em in today get an extra 2 points.

be cool