So whatcha..whatcha ..whatcha want??

Tis the season to be most giving in affections and gifts. So, my gift to you is the gift of listening not just hearing. You may ask yourself or the stranger sitting next to you " but aren't listening and hearing the same...stupid silly teacher."  Alas, they are not. Hearing is a basic function of your ears dealing with vibrations and such ( I could go into much more depth than this, but really I don't want to come off showy.) Listening is actively focusing on what the person is saying and deriving meaning from it. So my gift to you, essentially, is focusing on the words coming out of your mouth or, in this case, your finger tips.  You all know I love music...all sorts of music. So tell me what band and song you would like to see posted on this blog in the new year. I will try my hardest to get as many up as I can and continue to use them in class when time allows.

So make like a Beastie Boy and tell me whatcha want.....

Mischley

Due 12/23...State of Massachusetts by The Dropkick Murphys...analyze and CRANK IT UP!!!

What's the social commentary here, folks?

P.S. This blog and it's owner are not responsible for any spontaneous moshing that may occur during analysis of posted song.


Video.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzF0hHb7xMc

Lyrics....

State of Massachusetts

She had excuses and she chose to use them,

She was the victim of unspeakable abuses,

Her husband was violent, malicious, and distant,

Her kids now belong to the state of Massachusetts

Due 12/17......Run by Collective Soul ( MY FAVES!!!!!!!!!)

Video...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpB-Sa04yBc&feature=related


Lyrics...

Run

Are these times contagious

I've never been this bored before

Is this the prize I've waited for

"Panic Switch".....due 12/10

Video....   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG8fugqFn9Q


Lyrics...... 

Panic Switch

time is never worth my time

blue shine bleeds into my eyes

i still sleep on the right side

but white noise can't leave the scene behind

F Block Only

Hello all.....

Start spreading the word via text, mouth, sky writer, whatever you choose that the Renaissance test is being moved to Wednesday, December 8th due to my absence the other day. We will review the remainder of the poems on Monday and I will field any questions you have pertaining to any poets/poems.

My head is stuffy and my cold medicine has quit working, so that's all I gots for now....

Mischley

Tis the Season to feel "Crazy".....due 12-3

Analyze and enjoy...


lyrics....  http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/gnarls-barkley-lyrics/crazy-lyrics.html


video...     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHioCC3yCo&feature=related

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Yum...yum...yum.... eat and be merry or whatever you're supposed to be on Turkey Day...check out the Charlie Brown video I attached by going to the AP class link and clicking....

Enjoy!

Wildcats are sort of like Thundercats if you squint really hard....

APers.......Very Important!!

Dear Apers....

I have recognized the fact that you have soooooooo much more work to do blog-wise than the Honors peeps, so I am in the process of creating  another blog which will link to this one. Hopefully, this will lessen up the postings on the primary blog and get rid of the confusion and searching for all.

I'll let you know when it's up and ready.


Advanced Placement Blog

It's been "One Week" since you analyzed a song....due 11/19

Hey y'all....

Everyone keeps saying to me "Mischley...the songs are so depressing..what'sa wronga witha you?" (say that part like you're Mario...it sounds better).

Soooo, I give you a song that I heart very much...BNL has great uplifting , crazy, mad funny songs....look for some allusions and have fun!


Video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC_q9KPczAg&ob=av2e

Lyrics.....
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/barenakedladies/oneweek.html

APers only.... No Kitty for You!

Jacob's 180....

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/038.html

Macbeth with Sir Patrick Stewart? Beam me up, Scotty!!

What could be better than  one of my favorite Enterprise captains from Star Trek playing the role of my favorite Shakespearean character....I'm so happy, I could cry...no, I will cry...hear it comes....

Here's a little modern day teaser of the the play we will be studying in a few weeks.....enjoy the deliciousness that is MACBETH....

" Addicted" to song analysis and...KELLY CLARKSON!! Due 11/12

Music/ Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rx20pWkyac

Lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kellyclarkson/addicted.html


Just plain funny....

APers ONLY.....

If you fail to answer the the 180s we missed in class, your 180 (if we do not get to it in class) will not be posted. Instead, I will post a cute video, such as the one above, which will help to alleviate the class' distress and utter disgust at your failing to help out peers in need. I mean, really, I defy you to remain angry at a selfish peer when faced with such cuteness. Therefore, I will be checking to see that you are helping each other out.


Please enjoy the delightful video know as "Surprised Kitty".

APers Only... Hand Shadows by Mary Cornish

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/035.html

Look at the post to your right....seriously...look...now...no, really...NOW!

I have decided  that in the spirit of posting and being nosey I want to find out what people like. I will be putting up a weekly poll on random things that make me think or laugh, and you can answer the poll or not. This first poll is a test. Enjoy!!

Oh So Wrong....... Due 11-5-10

Hello!

Time for another friendly game of "ANALYZE...THAT...SONG!"

Yes, I am using another Depeche Mode song for two reasons. One...they really have complex lyrics that make you think and are great for analysis...two...I love their music.

Since we have been practicing how to breakdown songs and poetry, I am expecting a little more insight in your analysis of the song than I did before. Simply stating "the song is sad....it's about people who break up...it makes me feel emo" is not going to cut it. If it's a sad song (TONE) then back it up with proof from diction....syntax...figurative language...etc. Up your game, peeps!

Enjoy!


video with lyrics....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH2UB2uD-tA

lyrics only...

http://www.metrolyrics.com/wrong-lyrics-depeche-mode.html

APers ONLY... The Farewell by Edward Field

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/018.html

APers ONLY... Neglect by R.T. Smith

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/014.html

This Is Halloween...This is Halloween

I heart Jack!

BioShock Infinite - Gameplay.....

I really, really, really can't wait to play this game....enjoy the wonders of a great game.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

Okay..seriously....the awesomeness of this is epic....

AP Only- The Summer I Was Sixteen- Geraldine Connolly

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/003.html

AP Only- Passer-by by Yves Bonnefoy

http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/011.html

APers Only...others need not apply....

Hello Apers!

 I have decided  that, in all fairness, if we do not get to discuss a Poetry 180 in class we will have a discussion online. Time always seems to run out for us, and I want to make sure that , at least initially, everyone gets some of the class's insight, comments, etc to help with rewrites.

We missed two the other day, Passer-by and The Summer I Was Sixteen, but to keep everything organized I will be giving each poem its own post, so the analyzer does not have to sift through posts which have nothing to do with his/her particular analysis.

That is all.

Long Live Cheese!!!!!!!

BEST BLOG EVER (aside from ours...duh.)

Seriously, my head hurts after reading this blog. I have never laughed so hard in my life!! If you like really witty and stupid stories, you have to read this blog....really, it's that funny.


http://www.hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/

Depeche Mode The love thieves, Subtítulos Español

The Poetry is in the music.....or is it the other way? Due 10-29-10

As I collected your lyric sheets the other day, I was struck by how diverse the song choices were...old ones, new one, sad one, happy ones, ones that really can't be belted out in class because I'd have to "beep" you every two words. The tones were all over the place and I LOVE IT!!!!  After my initial dismay over no one picking a Rick Springfield ditty, I once again realized how music and poetry cannot exist without the other...at least in a really great songs. It's amazes me how words set to music can be so powerful, even more so when my mother says to me " I don't think that Eminem guy should really set his wife and house on fire, but it's great imagery. Very powerful stuff." If my ma, the woman who thinks Barry Manilow is a god, can get the artistic feeling out of a rap song, then it makes me wonder what we can get out of a genre we are studying every day. I've said it before, music is simply the magic of poetry set to a wonderball of instrumental creativity.

This week's activity will require you to analyze one of my favorite pieces. I happen to love Depeche Mode as their instrumentals and lyrics just speak to me. It's one of my 80's crushes that I just can't quit. below, i leave you the lyrics to decipher and chew. Above, I leave you the melodies. Please take note of my trying to kill two birds with one stone: you get to hear the song and learn some nifty new Spanish words.

Lucky Number 7... Due 10-22

Hello,

Few things....

When you post you REALLY need to put down your entire name if you have the SAME FIRST NAME as someone else. Seriously, I know in your heads you are thinking " But this answer is so insightful and screams of my essence that it's inconceivable ( shout out to The Princess Bride and Shawn Wallace) that she wouldn't know it's me!" Well, to all the Amanda named, Alex named, and Sam named people out there....YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE!!!  ( Are you feeling the red font; are you?)Some of you are getting better at throwing down the last names, but from now on...no last name= no grade! I can barely remember the names of my own children on a daily basis...I can't read through the computer lines to feel your force...I'm not a Jedi...yet....

So, thinking jedis= thinking of Luke= thinking of heroes=thinking "hey, I just gave them a cool mock heroic poem on a skeeter. We should do something with that." (See the train of thought...note that it does end up at the station...sometimes...unless it's derailed by thoughts of food or my new video game.)

What I would like you to do is reread Updike's Mosquito and add your thoughts and feeling concerning the poem. Make sure to read what others have left and comment off the posts before you. Additionally, if you had to create a mock heroic on something usually viewed as insignificant, what would it be?

On the fine wire of his whine he walked

Unseen in the ominous bedroom dark

A traitor to his camouflage, he talked

A thirsty blue streak distinct as a spark,

I was to him a fragrant lake of blood

From which he had to sip a drop or die

A reservoir, a lavish field of food

I lay awake, unconscious of my size

We seem fair-matched opponents, soft he dropped

Down like a anchor on his thread of song

His nose sank thankfully in; then i slapped

At the sting on my arm, cunning and strong

A cunning, strong gargantua. i struck

This lover pinned in the feast of my flesh

Lulled by my blood, relaxed, half-sated, stuck

Engrossed in the gross rivers of myself

Success, without a cry the creature died

Became a fleck of fluff upon the sheet

The small welt of remorse subsides as side

By side we, murderer and murdered, sleep.

Post #6... Part Deux!!!! The Sequel!!!

Hello!

I was flipping through the TV channels and realized how many sequels are out there. Some are awesome (Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Chipmunks..the Squeekual). However, many are just so baaaaddddd.  Let's see...I Know What You Did Last Summer Again, The Matrix Reloaded, Caddy Shack II, Staying Alive...yes, I realize you have no idea what half of these are, but I have been scarred by the atrocities found within these films and feel it would be an injustice to all to keep quiet any longer.

Getting back to the point, I started to think about books with sequels such as Alice Through the Looking Glass, Harry Potter and such. If some of these sequels turned into such classics, why aren't there more sequels out there?

 I think it would be awesome to read "Boo...My Life as a CIA Operative" where we learn that Boo Radley wasn't really a prisoner in his own house but really a CIA operative stomping out racial injustice throughout the world. The whole gentle giant image was a sham as he was stealthy and killed Mr. Ewell with one fatal blow to the jugular as Scout was rolling around in her ham suit. No one being the wiser, he was the man the presidents called when they needed a hush-hush assassination across country lines.What better disguise than a mild mannered simpleton? Scout in her determination to understand Boo begins to uncover his secret identity and Boo is faced with the biggest decision of his life: kill Scout before she knows too much and blows his cover or bring her into the CIA fold.....OMG..this would be AWESOME!!!!! I would totally read this.

Sorry, I got excited for a moment...anyways...what novel do you think needs a sequel and what would it be about? Be creative as I am testing your levels of creativity and imagination. Dazzle me....you can do it! [Insert jazz hands here]

Enjoy!

I'ma be, I'ma be......post #5...a..be

Inspiration hits me at odd moments. I felt inspired by a thought that popped into my noggin, so I thought I'd share it with you. For a brief moment (super brief..seriously...like a flash) I thought to myself "Self, if you weren't a teacher, whatever would you be?" Welllllll, there's so much stuff to do out there, so after wondering for uno momento, I thought....writer and game reviewer for a magazine or company, such as XBOX, Game Informer, or G4. Okay, actually, I really didn't have to think at all about that. It's my not-so secret love....that and ballroom dancing and NSync, which now is not a secret at all.

So, pick a character in any piece of literature you've read and give them another job. Would Scout be a butcher because she's such a ham? Get it...a ham? You know...because she dressed like one in the play at ...nevermind. What about Juliet? An aspiring actress because of her bouts of drama? I could totally see her on General Hospital....not that I watch that junk or anything. As usual, make sure to back up your choice.

Have fun!

Depeche mode - Precious

So Depeche Mode really has to top off my favorite songs. Whatever song it is, they have amazing beautiful, strong lyrics with great music. They can be upbeat or moody; weird or sensitive; sometimes a combination of all. Enjoy the tone they set because it's a winner every time.

Post Four!

Now that we are in the swing of things I am curious as to what you expect to get from English class this year.

Better writing skills?

Amazing analytical skills?

Is there something you feel you're lacking and want to learn?

Any questions for me that you were too shy to ask before?

What? Tell me....I'm dying to know.

P.S. I might be tired when I see y'all on Monday. I am trying to cram in Season 2 of Fringe....the awesomeness of this show is inspiring.

Post for All...Numero Tres! That's three in Spanish, right?

Good morning..or night....depending on when you read this.

Since we are going to be getting into some AWESOME poetry this year, I feel the need to inspire the masses with song. Don't worry...I will not be breaking out in song (though I did do a mean rendition of the Charleston in the library the other day....you know, the one "made in Carolina"?)  Anyways, songs are poetry set to music, correct?  What better to soothe the savage beast than discussing our favorite songs and how they make us feel.

Sooooo....tell the people your favorite song, the tone it sets, and how/why it sets that tone. Be specific and use backup from the song...you know backup...the stuff needed to prove your points.

That's all, folks!

DO ME A FAVOR PLEASE!!!!!!!!

HEY ALL!

Sorry...didn't mean to shout that, and we all know "tone is everything". Could you please make it so I know EXACTLY who you are when you post...I have about 4 "ALEX"s in my classes and a couple of "KAT"s...make sure I know exactly who you are so I can give credit.

On a sadder note, let's have a moment of silence for my XBOX 360. It no longer has the will to run discs for me. I can still do some onlining, but the red ring of death is looming ahead. Can you see it's bright color? I bet if you squint really hard you can. We had planned to bury it next to the hamster ( RIP- Ruby Doo) in the garden, but I think the neighbors would get weirded out if the town cat dug it up and dragged its mechanical corpse down the street. I love my XBOX 360 and know in my heart that it can never be replaced with another.....until the holidays when they come out with a sweet bundle package of console, kinect, hardware, and accompanying games.


It is what it is, people. Live long and prosper!

Post #2 for all

Hello Wee Bees!

I have to say I really enjoyed reading your responses to our first ever post. Some were detailed; some were funny; all showed an understanding of the novels and I have to say for a bunch of people who really didn't like Great Expectations, you had some pretty deep discussions about it. If you haven't answered the first post yet, I highly suggest you do. This is your first and last notice that they MUST be answered by the end of school on any given Friday. Gives me some good reading for my long, boring weekends away from y'all!

Anywho, you'll be proud to know that I have decided to move into the age of really new technology and purchased myself a Droid X this weekend....so much power....so many megapixels.....so many apps to discover. As I salivated over the seemingly endless choice of apps out there ( do I go with Pandora or the one that let's me organize my shopping list? Hey! Leave me alone! Do you have any idea what a three year will do if you forget her favorite snack? It's not pretty.), I began to wonder what other people would pick and if it was a true reflection of their personality. This led me to think of what my phone would say about me if anyone ever found it, which led to the prompt for this week.

Choose any character in a novel you've read thus far this year and tell me what apps you'd find on their phone. The apps can be real or imagined, but explain what the app is and why this character would have it. For example, if I found Forrest Gump's phone he'd probably have an app for shrimp recipes and the best chocolate shops in the states....wait, do they have a chocolate app?

 I gotta go....

Postings for All

Hola!

Let's get this blog started. Make sure you read the previous post so you know what's going on. Eyes wide open, people, wide open!

Our first topic of discussion for the year will be character endings....what did you think of the ending of your summer reading? Did you feel  at one with your character walking off into the sunset or did you think the author completely missed the boat and a golden opportunity to fully develop the character? Was it a great injustice that Magwitch died the way he did or was it perfect? Should Miss Havisham have started dating again by enrolling in Match.com or is it fine that she went out in a "blaze" of glory? The list is endless.

Sooooooo...choose a character's ending and discuss. Make sure to address your angst or happiness.

Mischley

A Brand New Day

Buenos dias!


I hope you all had a great summer filled with fun, sun, and books. It's now time to get back into the grind in what will be your last high school English class. How lucky are you that you get to end your English career with me? Really, you are lucky. I'm quite wonderful with a side of sarcastic and a dash of quirky.

Basically, this blog will be utilized in the same manner it has been in the past. You can even check some of the prior blogs to see how this rolls. I will be asking you a series of questions throughout the weeks  and you need to answer them with some thought. Actually, you are graded on your answers. Are you being thoughtful? Critical in your analysis? Honest? Funny? ( I love me some funny, people!) I will also be putting any additional information , funny links, additional poems, etc on the blog for discussion. I will  let you know when the blog applies only to AP, only to Honors, or all.

Soooo....keep it clean.....keep it respectful....keep it real....have fun!

Live long and prosper....

Mischley