A Cute Project. . .If You Have Extra Time To Spare. . .

This little project would have great decorations at a party in a bowl of fruit, or finger food. Speaking about party, I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about having a bar-b-que/potluck at my house in a couple of weeks. More information to come, and any suggestions for a possible date, would be great. Hard to believe, but I miss all of you. So get busy, and start making some of these toothpick cuties for our PARTY!

Click on the link and have fun. MINI-KOINOBORI

CONGRESS CONSIDERING BAN ON MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK IN LIBRARIES. . .

This was an article from the USAToday yesterday. For those of you going to college in the fall without a computer and hoping to log on to a library computer and check your MySpace and/or Facebook, this might not be possible if Congress has its say. Unfortunately, kids, of all ages, will find a way to access information using their creative, skillful imagination. Read on for information. . .


Poor libraries -- they just want to fill our kids' heads with porn and violence. Is that so wrong? First, libraries were forced to start filtering out obscene content in 2000. Then came the Patriot Act, which granted the government the right to examine the books you checked out and the sites you visited on a library's public computers. Now, lawmakers are trying to ban children from accessing MySpace and Facebook on library PCs in order to keep the kids safe from sexual predators. The heavy-handed legislation -- a bill introduced by Representative Mark Steven Kirk of Illinois -- is, of course, being fought by the American Library Association. The library wants to protect people's privacy saying that it is essential if a community is to utilize the library for intellectual pursuits. Library officials agree with the goal of the bill, but they say that educating kids and parents about the dangers of such sites is the only comprehensive solution to the problem, which is a more than fair point. Kids are crafty and aren't only signing on to MySpace at the library. Heck, any kid with a Sidekick could spend all day talking to predators and there would be no way to know. We think a strong education program and some decent parenting can keep kids safe online, regardless of where they sign on from and what sites they use.

GOT AN E-MAIL. . .FROM FLORENCE, ITALY. . .

I thought you might be interested in reading the e-mail I recently received from Ms. Dunn. Did I ever tell you that I truly believe that in a previous life I lived in Florence, Italy? Yup, it's not just a belief, but a feeling that sweeps over me whenever I stand in front of the beautiful church, the Duomo. Ok, so you think I'm crazy, but the feeling happens EVERY TIME I'm there. . .and who should live nearby now (?????), but Ms. Dunn and Mr. Schwarz. Since I don't have a picture of the two of them, I'm going to show you a few pictures of the Duomo from my vacation last November. What a sight to behold! And to think that Dunn/Schwarz will be seeing it EVERY DAY FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR! I'm so envious!

First the pictures, then the e-mail.

THE E-MAIL:

Thanks for your email Karen. I'm glad you returned safely from your travels to Europe. Axel and I have been in Florence for a week now. We rented an apartment a few blocks east of the Duomo. It is in an 800 year old building, but inside it's nice and modern thanks to IKEA. We have begun the process of looking for teaching jobs, but all of Europe apparently goes on vacation during the month of August, so we have been told we probably won't hear anything until the end of August. So mostly we are trying to transition to life here and trying to avoid the heat and tourists.We'll email periodically to share our experiences. Ciao, m.

AN ARTIST. . .OR AN APE. . .

Take a fun little quiz to see if you can tell whether each painting was created by man or monkey. My score. . .67% correct.

ARTIST OR APE

If this is art, then maybe I have found my next career. So many careers to choose from, but no, I decided to become a teacher, but it's never too late to become an artist. Grandma Moses began painting in her late 70's.

AN E-MAIL OR TWO. . .FROM. . .ROSA GARCIA. . .

dated July 16, 2008

OMG MRS.ROGOFF I CAN'T BELIEVE NOBODY IS REPLAYING OR CHECKING OUT THE BLOG, THEY MUST BE OUT OF TOWN OR THEY DIDN'T PAY THEIR INTERNET ON TIME HAHAHAHAHA,BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE I THINK YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER AND IM SO IMPRESSED ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING FOR US,IT IS SO NICE THAT YOU ARE SHARING WITH US YOUR TRIP TO EUROPE.I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DO THE SAME THING AS THE OTHER TEACHERS THAT ONCE SCHOOL IS OVER THEY FORGET ABOUT THEIR STUDENTS AND WHEN THEY GO ON VACATION THEY DON'T EVEN REMEMBER THEM BUT YOU ARE SO DIFFERENT AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU THE BEST TEACHER EVER.

I DO CHECK THE BLOG EVERY DAY TO SEE IF YOU POST MY PIX AND THE COMMENTS BUT I JUST REALIZED THAT YOU DON'T HAVE PIX OF ME SO IM GOING TO SEND YOU SOME.I TOOK A LOT OF PIX OF MYSELF IN GRADUATION AND I HAVE SOME OF PERLA AND DWEEN TOO.DO YOU WANT ME TO SEND THEM TO YOU TOO?

IM TAKING TWO ENGLISH CLASSES, ONE MATH AND ONE PERSONAL GROWTH OR CAREER PLANING AS THEY CALLED HERE AT CITY COLLEGE.

WELL MRS.ROGOFF I HOPE YOU KEEP HAVING FUN AND I'LL TALK TO YOU LATER.

HUGS AND KISSES.

ROSE


dated July 18, 2008

Oh,thank you so much mrs.Rogoff, i really apreciate that you consider me a tenacious girl (persistent) but let me tell you that every time i feel stressed out i think about you and all the work you had to do for us and how you got it done and i say to myself, " If Mrs. Rogoff would to see you, she would laught at you Rosa because this is nothing comparing to all the work she has done." so i just get my lazy ass up and do the work. well Mrs. Rogoff keep having fun and i will talk to you later and don't worry about what the students think about you sooner or later they will realize how important you are and they will regret thet they didn't apreciate your help. love you Rose

ZULMA ESTUDILLO. . .

* Hey chorizona! Ur the best friend ever and u have the greatest smile ever. Love u. . .
* I still know what you did last summer.
*You are funny, cute, strong, talented, but most of all, a great friend. I am so glad that God let me meet you. Thanks for always staying strong, and helping me in the rough times. I will always treasure all the wonderful moments we spent together, and hopefully our friendship will stay strong no matter how many years pass. I wish you the best in life. I HEART U!
* Very nice and kind.
* Love your fashion sense.
* You’re cool.
* I really enjoyed our conversations in Mr. T’s class. You’re a great person. Good luck in the future.
* Very sweet and fashionable. Going to miss your great smile.
* You are really sweet. I wish you and Luis the best.
* I like ur big ass eyes!!! Jajaja You are like one of my BF forever. I love you like my little sister. . .Don’t ever forget about me or us. . .Thxs for being there 4 me.
* Loving, kind, and too bad not mine. Haha.
* Stay cool.
* Cool, fun gurl to be around.
* Very pretty and fun to be around.
* A good leader.
* I just want to let you know that you are one of the people that I enjoy being around. I am glad that you are a classmate of mine.
* Nice, quiet, and has a nice smile.
* You are the sweetest girl. You are truly a wonderful person and an amazing friend.
* You have a nice smile.
* Ay, mi Zulma!! Well, que te digo, you have been such, but such a great friend to me. From fooling around in Ms. Robinson’s class, to crying in each others arms. Thank you for that. You are a person with such a beautiful personality, besides being on of the prettiest girls on this campus. I hope we remain friends forever.

DID YOU FEEL IT?????

. . .The earthquake in Los Angeles. According to reports, it was the strongest earthquake to strike a populated are in Southern California in more than a decade. Late this morning the 5.4-magnitude quake — considered moderate — was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and as far east as Las Vegas, 230 miles away. Nearly 30 aftershocks quickly followed, the largest estimated at 3.8.

The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County city of 80,000 built mostly in the early 1990s with the latest in earthquake-resistant technology.

My daughter, who works in Washington, D.C., heard about the quake and immediately called to see if I was ok. I had just gotten out of the shower and was blowing my hair dry when the quake occurred, so I didn't feel a thing. I was totally clueless when she called.

Just when people forget that California has the potential for a really big quake, there's a reminder like today to be prepared. I guess Crawford will be doing a duck-and-cover drill sometime in the fall. Aren't you lucky that you won't be there to crawl under those little tables?

THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION. . .

. . .which hat did Eric buy in Innsbruck, posted way back HERE. And I bet you thought Eric bought that teeny tiny hat. . .NOPE. . .the one below. Doesn't he look like a true European. . .I mean tourist!!!!!

HOCKNEYIZED. . .MASQUERADE MASKS FROM VENICE. . .

Another fun thing to do with FLICKR, BIG HUGE LABS. This technique of photo-collage is based on David Hockney, a British artist, who now lives and works in Los Angeles. Hockney is an important contributor to the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, and is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century. I'm going back to FLICKR and play some more.

PAPER PLANES. . .ANOTHER FUN WASTE OF TIME. . .

. . .Using 3-D animation, this site will show you how to fold a variety of paper planes. Even if you don't want to make planes, this is a great little show to watch. Click on the link and have fun!


PAPER PLANES

THE BLOG READABILITY TEST. . .

. . .What level of education is required to understand MY blog? I found this web site today and thought you might find this very interesting. It scans the vocabulary used in my blog entries and quickly calculates the reading level required to understand the text. It sounds like the STAR testing that all of you took a few years back that tells you whether you are reading at grade level.


I'm feeling good about my blog now that I KNOW that all of you high school graduates should have the reading comprehension level required. So, with no further conversation, here is the result of the test. Drum roll please. . .

100 DAYS TO GO. . .

. . .Obama's Lead Over McCain Grows in Poll


Barack Obama now leads John McCain among national registered voters by a 49% to 40% margin in Gallup Poll Daily tracking conducted July 24-26.

Are YOU following the Presidential candidates as they move toward the November 4, 2008, election?

This blog is NOT a politial platform, and I am not trying to convince you to vote for the candidate of my choice, but my hope is that you become aware and knowledgeable so that you can use your constitutional rights to vote this year. In my Contemporary Voices and AVID classes this past year I encouraged my students to read the newspaper on a daily basis, listen to the news on television, and know the candidates and their positions on important world issues.

This will be your first opportunity to make decisions that will affect you, and me, for the next 4 years. 4 years from now you will be educated, either with a skill or a college degree, and you will be moving toward achieving your dreams of a strong future. The government believes in you, so much so, that it will give you money, FAFSA for example, to help finance your college education, or job training. Choose the candidate that will protect your rights.

Vote for either candidate, but be an informed voter. You have 100 days to make your decision.

Vote in November, and vote with confidence and understanding of the issues. YOU can make a difference. Each ONE of us can make a difference.

MY DESKTOP CALENDAR. . .

I realize that it's almost the end of the month (hey, I've been on vacation), so this morning, since I once again woke up at the crack of dawn, I realized that it was time to up-date my desktop calendar. Every month SMASHING MAGAZINE offers some very creative calendars, for free, so if you want something useful, and really KEWL, then check out their site. Of the many offered this month, I decided on this awesome blue and yellow beach calendar. Take a look by clicking on this SMASHING MAGAZINE link.

RECYCLING PAYS. . .

REMEMBER THESE 9 BAGS FROM MY LAST POST?????? THEY WERE WORTH A GRAND TOTAL OF. . . . .$76.20! Read it and weep!!!! Thank you, thank you, and thank you for helping me save bottles and cans.

WHAT ELSE DID I DO EARLY THIS MORNING. . .RECYCLE. . .

9 trashbags in the car. . .8 trashbags still sitting in my backyard. Every time I saw an empty bottle in Europe I wanted to put it into my suitcase and take it home with me. Ask Jessica if you don't believe me! Obsessive. . compulsive. . .I'm soooooo sick!

After I take every bag to the recycling center, I will tell you the amount of money WE made for next year's scholarship. Thank you to everyone who contributed to my campaign.

MONEY FOR THE POOR KIDS!!!!!

WOKE UP EARLY. . .WASTED TIME. . .AGAIN

MUSEUM ART. . .MADE FROM GRADUATION PICTURES

I found this crazy web site that lets me take one of my pictures and see it in a museum.

I need to find something better to do than waste my time doing these crazy things.

But hey, it's summer. I don't have to work! I can relax and doing absolutely nothing!

I think I'll add some more pictures into my "museum".

I'm filling up my museum with some great pictures!

Another masterpiece!

Museum link

Jackson Elementary Is Closed. . .

80 years, and 50,000 students later, Jackson Elementary closed as of Monday. In September, the kids will go to the new elementary school, Mary Lanyon Fay Elementary, that was built across the street from Colina Park.

When I first moved to San Diego in 1959, I went to Jackson from April to June for the 4th grade, and then moved to Hardy Elementary for the 5th and 6th grade. When I began junior high school at Horace Mann, I once again met all my old Jackson friends. I know many Crawford students attended Jackson and I thought you might like to read the article that was in the newspaper last Saturday. Check out the picture of Andrew Jackson Elementary School, when the school was first open. Can you believe the school is even older than Mrs. Rogoff???!!!!!

Click on the link to read the article. Jackson Elementary

THE ALPS. . .MT. PILATUS. . .

In order to get to Mt. Pilatus you have to take a boat down Lake Lucerne, then take the cog-wheel train up the mountain. Then to decend the mountain you need to take a gondola. The entire trip takes approximately 5 hours and the experience is breath-taking. It's well worth the time even though we are in Lucerne for two-nights and one full day.

LUCERNE. . .