2010 in Review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,900 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 36 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 60 posts. There were 93 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 63mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was December 2nd with 65 views. The most popular post that day was Purves, Pedagogy, and Pop Culture.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, youtube.com, lessgentlemen.com, en.wordpress.com, and images.yandex.ru.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for fire animation, butterfly eye, butterfly eyes, powerpuff boys, and feminists.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Purves, Pedagogy, and Pop Culture April 2010
Ai Yai Yai I’m a Little Butterfly April 2009
About Me January 2009
3 comments
“The Great Interpretive Debate: Barthes vs. Nabokov” April 2010
2 comments
“Exploring the Island of Dr. Moreau” February 2009
1 comment
Revising Writing, the Student…and the Teacher
Reading Response to Chapter 17 of Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research
In “The Literacy Demands of Entering the University” author Kathleen Blake Yancey assesses twenty-first century literacy and how well it prepares students for the world of academia in college: “Thus, while college literacy is variously defined across very diverse sites, at the beginning of the 21st century in the United States it involves a postsecondary culture of composing, reading, thinking, resourcing, reflecting, creating, and revisioning—of writing and of student” (269).
Yancey also acknowledges the pedagogical difficulties of teaching a class that contains students who may not be interested at all in even pursuing a college degree. How should curriculum be structured in order prepare students for life outside of school? If there are students who are not interested in going to college, is it fair for teachers to water down the curriculum, even though there are students in the class who want to pursue higher education?
Yancy brings up a good analysis of the AP program and the pros and cons of assuming that this prepares students for the rigors of college. It seems that one of her assumptions is that “[i]f college credits represent college literacy, then college literacy is delivered in high school” (258). Or at least it should be in an AP classroom. Reading several accounts of my clssmates, however, I found that this is, unfortunately, not always true. Often times how well a student does in an AP class or on an AP test is not a good benchmark for how well they will be acclimated to the college setting. Fortunately, in my case, I had wonderful AP English teachers throughout high school and an innate desire to excel in my studies. I took both the AP English Language exam and the AP English Literature exam during my junior year and made fives—the highest possible score—on both exams. I thoguth the assessment and preparation that went on in my classrooms did a wonderful job of preparing me for college.
Bringing this discussion full-circle, I’d like to go back to Yancey’s quote: “Thus, while college literacy is variously defined across very diverse sites, at the beginning of the 21st century in the United States it involves a postsecondary culture of composing, reading, thinking, resourcing, reflecting, creating, and revisioning—of writing and of student” (269). Yancey cites the importance of revising both writing and the student, in the way s/he thinks, analyzes, reads, and writes in order to prepare them for the rigors of university life. Perhaps even more important is the revising of the teacher in order to be a good example and advisor for a body of students that is constantly evolving throughout the generations. In several of my classmate’s accounts that I have read, it seems unfair that they did not have teachers that could have prepared them adequately for college life.
Not only should teachers think of revising their students and students’ writing, but they should also think about revising themselves and tailoring the curriculum they teach each year so that it suits each new body of students more beneficially. Being an effective teacher is not about following antiquated pedagogical processes, it is about constantly evolving as a teacher in order to both engage students and to give them the skills they need to succeed in whatever path they choose to pursue.
I think we all could take a note from John Keating.
Oh, So You’re Not Gonna Hire Me Because I’m…Illiterate
Reading Response to Chapter 16 of Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research
In “Preparing Adolescents for the Literacy Demands of the 21st-Century Workplace” Anne Beaufort writes about the importance of preparing students not only for the academic realm of the classroom but also for life in the workforce.
Too often, students do not see the importance of mastering the art of reading, writing, and analysis because they see no relevance or use of these skills outside the classroom.
When student are not prepared for the workforce they risk becoming caricatures of the woman below: *Disclaimer: This video may contain material that is vulgar, offensive, or racist to some people. If you feel that it may offend your delicate sensibilities, please do not watch.
Illiterate people come off as ignorant. This video illustrates the truth of one of Beaufort’s main points: “The higher one wishes to rise on the job ladder, the more written communication skills are required” (Beaufort 239). Students need to learn that there is a time and place for being colloquial and a time and place for being formal. Part of being successful in the workforce entails being literate—knowing how to present one-self as an eloquent, knowledgeable, capable worker. The woman in the video was obviously not taught well by her teachers. (And she obviously did not have a teacher who was part of the UTeach program.)
Yet a quick, easy fix for making students see the relevance of English in their lives is to bring in real-world applications to the classroom. Holding resume-writing workshops, mock business proposals, mock grant proposals, and work genre writing—such writing formal, short, informative emails—can be fun ways to bring the real world into the classroom.
Another way to prepare students for the workforce is having them observe good practices and good models of literacy and imitate these practices. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and one way that student can become more easily acclimated to the workforce environment: “From the writers’ vantage points, learning to write successfully on the job involved constant observation of others’ language practices (oral and written), finding out the best grammarian to solicit editing help from, and otherwise being apprenticed into the social practices of the setting….The more teachers can help students to become independent learners, and to learn what tools and social dynamics can be used to aid learning, the more likely students will be attuned to ways of learning in new environments. Moreover, imparting to students the reality that they need to be lifelong learners of writing practices can aid their learning processes” (Beaufort 248).
Headaches and Headlines
Response to Jackie’s Response 
So many good points have been made about the inappropriateness of colloquialism, improper grammar, and misspellings in the workplace. Especially when trying to fill positions of high affluence and power, employers are looking for candidates who can present themselves intelligibly, eloquently, and sophisticatedly.
So many people have astutely pointed out that with the rise in technology and the fast-paced world of instant messaging, the generations of students that come into the classroom continue to drift farther and farther away from the academic English teachers try to instill within them. The text messages and social networking posts that consume a large portion of students’ lives are peppered with slang, abbreviations, misspellings, and numerous emoticons that give teachers headaches and make them cringe. >.< See what I just did there? Haha, jk. I totally meant 2 do tht on prpose.
Interestingly enough, I believe that teachers can turn these problems (and headaches) into solutions. First, teachers should emphasize to students that when they write, they should keep their audience in mind and emphasize the question: “How does your writing reflect how people perceive you?” A teacher may emphasize that the teacher is not the only audience of student-produced work. For example, teachers should provide students with writing prompts that make hypothetical bosses and employers their audience.
Secondly, teachers have the capacity to make learning grammar fun by making students translate text messages into academic English. One of the first-year teachers I met at the high school I teach at did this and his students loved it.
Lastly, I would like to address a point that has been emphasized in the previous threads, namely that students sometimes fail to realize how silly or ignorant people perceive them to be when their quality of work is not up to par with the expectations of a literate society. Showing (edited) clips like the “Headlines” segment from Jay Leno’s Daily Show may be a funny, entertaining way to show students the importance of grammar and good writing.
Comic Con 2010
I never thought I’d have so much fun at a comic convention! Ever. Never ever in a million years. Because initially, I had the preconceived notion that these things were events where uber-nerdy people—who still live in their parents’ basement, who have twenty cats as their only friends, who allow WoW to consume every moment of their life, and who have the social skills of socially-awkward, prepubescent acne factories—gather together to celebrate their status as eternal losers and outcasts. I wish to revoke any previous misconceptions I’ve had about these events and would like to thank my awesome cousin and her artistic husband for hooking me up with a three-day pass to one of the most fun events I’ve been to this year.
Up, Up, and Away: You Swept Me Off My Feet. :3
Initially, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a costume to advertise my status as a geek. But the next day of the convention I made the executive decision that Halloween was not yet over and threw together a homemade superhero-esque outfit. I decided to forgo going as Hawkgirl—a character I had dressed as numerous times for Halloween, birthday parties, and charity benefits—in favor of dressing as Clark Kent.
People asked to take pictures of me and with me. This one weird, kinda creepy guy even asked if he could draw me because he thought I would serve as “a beautiful inspiration and muse” for his artwork. And then he creeped me out more by asking if I could pose with my mouth open. No thanks.
Way better than I could ever do, but I think he overdid it a little on my Angeline Jolie lips. And I never realized how funny-shaped my head is. But I like the touch of the “J” instead of the iconic “S” on the superhero emblem.
I don’t think anyone stole the show as much as my cutie-patootie baby cousin. He was soooo popular with the paparazzi. Another big star of the convention was his dad Eroll See, artist extraordinaire. His artwork is amazing, and it’s even been featured in Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s movie Machete. So proud!
The caliber of work at “Artist Alley,” the area where various comic book artists showcased their work, was amazing. There were so many talented people there.
Many of the stars, depending on how famous (or washed up) they were, required a $15-$40 photography fee. Volunteers were staked out in front of the celebrity booths to wave their hands in front of cameras and photographers that hadn’t paid a royalty. For those of you who know me well, I’m a rebel at heart and snapped a couple of pictures of the stars even though I wasn’t supposed to. Tch. (For any authorities reading this, I’m totally just kidding.)
Fist fighting with Predator. I won, of course. It took the poor guy half an hour just to get through the door because everyone wanted a picture with him. I guess I couldn’t resist, either.
World of Warcraft (I Think) = WoW.
The costume contest was Saturday night. I betcha either the WoW Women or Predator won.
Last but not least, while we were walking back to the car, a hulking figure brushed past us. Upon closer scrutiny, I could make out the identity of the massive figure that had passed us by. Lou Ferrigno. The Original Hulk. Yuh, that’s right. Be jealous.
To the Purse Pilferer
“From the Diary of a Madwoman: Excerpt #63,925”
(i.e. actual excerpts from my diary)
To the godless heathen that broke into my mom’s car—in the CHURCH parking lot, nonetheless—you can go to hell.
Oh the irony, right? Some nimrod broke into my mom’s car and stole her purse while she was at church. Wallet, cash, countless credit cards, checkbook, driver’s license, work badge, work keys, cellphone, everything—gone.
Now the culprit knows where she lives, where she works, where she shops, how many kids she has, the number of times she blinks every minute, and what color pajamas she wears to bed. Okay, so maybe not the last two. But she says it feels like a big part of her life and identity is in that purse.
How do such small, seemingly insignificant objects—plastic cards, pictures, cellphones—comprise a large part of our identities? It’s funny how such big pieces of our lives are strewn about in the little devices and cards we carry with us in our purses, wallets, and pockets. I understand then why people feel so personally violated when they’ve been victims of theft.
Maybe even more ironic than the situation is my reaction to it. It wasn’t even my car that got broken into, but I’m still furious. As a Catholic I’m supposed to turn the other cheek, right? To forgive and forget? Pffffft, maybe that’ll come later. Right now instead of “forgive and forget” I want to “remember and be spiteful about it.”
Even the priest was flabbergasted. He came out of the church wondering why there was a “Crime Scene” police patrol car on his parking lot. My mom told him what happened.
“I’m sorry, Father,” she said. “I guess we’re just going to have to pray for whoever did this.”
The priest glowered and shook his head. “Oh no, my dear. It’s gonna take A LOT MORE than prayer to fix this mess and the criminal who did it.”
I wish the douchebag-of-a-culprit had been as stupid as this guy. I’m going to get my mom windows like that.
Wipeout
“From the Diary of a Madwoman: Excerpt #63,902”
(i.e. actual excerpts from my diary)
I got the raddest (and cheapest) How to Train Your Dragon skateboard about a month ago. Sweet wooden deck, awesome dragon griptape, lime wheels, and the coolest dragon design ever, haha.
I’ve been trying to teach myself how to skateboard over the summer, and had my first major wipeout today.
Isn’t this the sickest board ever? Not juvenile or cheap-looking at all, haha. (Photo by: Jennifer Icaro)
This is EXACTLY how I…didn’t…fall. My spill was less epic then this one, but I wouldn’t put it past me and my clumsiness to pull this insane move next. (Photo: http://www.jonco48.com/blog/skateboarder.jpeg)
I still suck at boarding, but I can cruise a couple of feet without looking like a complete idiot. Today, I went a little too fast, let the board slip out from underneath me, and landed on my ankle in a weird position. I think I might have sprained it. Ooops. No big. I’ve sprained it before when I was a kid without even noticing it. I wasn’t even aware that my ankle was swollen until my mom pointed it out about a week later. My ankle still pops to this day if I walk down the stairs. Maybe it didn’t heal properly or something. Huh.
Part of my foray into skateboarding began with inspiration from this video. Initially I wanted to longboard, but it got too expensive. How can you beat a $15 How to Train Your Dragon skateboard over a $200 Sector Nine longboard?
How can you not love this? Everything here is euphoric: the music (The Dodos=best band ever), the imagery, the stunts, the metaphoric freedom and bad-assery that boarding stands for. I want to feel the wind in my hair as I cruise along the winding, tarmaced roads. I want to do crazy scar-inducing tricks until the blood from my knees paints the sidewalk red. I want to board during sunset with rad shirtless men, haha. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rXwBmGyMRo)
I’ve been frequenting Zumiez lately to get pointers from some of the boarders there. They never fail to shower me with help and undivided attention. They’re not even mad that I never buy anything when I come in, and most of them know me by name now, haha. One time one of the guys there let me ride his board and held my hand the whole time. Another time I came in just wanting to learn how to stop properly. My methods of stopping beforehand consisted of running into brick walls and lamp-posts. One of the guys there laughed at my questionable methods and let me ride his board back and forth across the store for a whole hour until I learned how to stop properly.
I’ve only told a few people about my new foray into skateboarding because I’m tired of the “WHY?” question that follows. For instance, the first time I came in asking for help at Zumiez, I got the clichéd reaction of, “I never would’ve pinned you down as the type of girl that would want to learn how to skateboard…coming in here all pretty like that. You look too delicate to board…yada yada yada. Why skateboarding?” The guy’s stereotypical judgment that I’m not “that type” is the exact reason why I’ve always wanted to board. It’s something soooo outside my comfort zone, something that no one would ever expect me to do. A big part of me doing this is to prove people wrong. That I’m NOT just a delicate little goody two shoes who studies all day. I can be edgy and adventurous and bad to the bone, too. Kind of. Maybe. Sometimes? I dunno. Maybe a simpler reason of why I’ve always wanted to learn is because it’s the coolest thing ever.
It’s been nearly two months and I have barely made any progress. Maybe it’s because I never have time to practice. Orrrrrr, maybe it’s because I’m the biggest klutz ever. At the rate I’m going, I’ll never be able to skate like a pro until I’m seventy years old. That’s okay; I’ll keep at it.
Can you believe I took this at midnight? I board at night so no one can see me do my awesome face plants. (Photo by: Me)
Yeah, baby. Me in fifty years. Once a boarder, always a boarder. (Photo: http://www.nerdtests.com/picsarea/39d2c2f029d389a5dd393df90f6711c7.jpg)
“Hit-On-And-Runs, Elevators, and Stick Figures”
“From the Diary of a Madwoman: Excerpt #63,895”
(i.e. actual excerpts from my diary)
I had the most off-kilter day today. Driving douchebags, broken elevators, opal cupcakes, creepy stick figures, and ANOTHER animal bite.
First off, I was the victim of a hit-on-and-run today. Nope, I’m not talking about a “hit-and-run” where someone rams into my car and speeds off. I’m talking about a “hit-on-and-run” where some guy drives next to me, smiles, gives me the well-known guy nod, and makes obscene “CALL ME” gestures in an attempt to get my attention. That’s the fifth time it’s happened to me out on the road.
This time the pitiful players trying to get my attention were two guys driving a yellow Penske rental truck. They drove the huge bohemouth next to me for several blocks, but I tried not to pay any attention. After several minutes of driving side by side, they honked. I ignored it and pretended to be bopping along to the nonexistent music in my car. As they continued driving alongside me they honked again, and I finally looked their way. They waved playfully at me, and I just smiled and kept on driving. They rolled down their windows and continued stalking me. I turned left into my destination point while they drove straight ahead. As they drove past, the driver made a “CALL ME” sign with his fingers and the passenger winked my way.
Haha, it would have totally made my day, if not for the creepiness factor of getting hit on via highway. I find the old-fashioned face-to-face approach more appealing. I can’t deny, though, that I’m still totally flattered…I always am when stuff like this happens.
Going to work, I stupidly decided to take the elevator in the parking garage. Puh, never again. I got stuck for fifteen minutes on the stupid thing. I wasn’t alone; there was a family of three there with me, and they made things more bearable. They tried prying the door open, only to discover that we were halfway in between the floors. We had to use the telephone call button and ask for assistance. While waiting, I tried to call my workplace to tell them I’d probably be late, but of course my phone couldn’t pick up any signal. It was hot in that cramped thing. One of my fellow elevator buddies asked what James Bond would do, and I told him climb through the roof of the elevator. He offered to give me a boost up, hahaha.
When the maintance guy finally came, he knocked on the door from the outside. “Come in!” another of my fellow elevator buddies shouted as a joke.
The elevator started moving slowly up, groaning and sighing miserably under the weight it had to carry. Then it went kachunk and stopped halfway again. “SHIT!!!!” the maintenance guy cursed loudly from the other side.
“Uhhhhhhh, that’s not something I wanna hear if I’m stuck on an elevator,” I said. Fifteen sweltering minutes later, they finally fixed the elevator. That’s the last time I ever ride that thing.
After work our manager brought us cupcakes! I got a vanilla bean cupcake with sparkly blue glitter frosting. Yummmmm. Yay for fitting sessions and opal day!!!
When we left we found a creepy stick figure man drawn on the condensation of the store’s glass doors. Then when I got home I found a non-mosquito-looking bite on my arm. It’s itchy and it’s making elliptical-shaped bumps appear in parallel clumps all along my forearm. Why do things like biting me?!? I hope nothing happens to my arm. It better still be attached to my body when I wake up in the morning. I kinda need it. :/
Okay, the end. This was written at four in the morning, so of course my paragraphs are disorganized and helter-skelter, I probably forgot to write about another weird thing that happened to me today, and there are probably a bajillion spelling errors. C’est la vie.
“I Am a Sexy Sofa”
I’m starting to fall in love with the dress I was originally embarrassed by. The vintage chiffon ruffle mini-dress with creamy beige and dusty pink roses looked better on the model than on me when I first tried it on. I felt like an elderly old lady or a gaudy floral couch.
My sister even laughed at me when I came down the stairs and called me granny. She asked if I needed help finding my spectacles or crossing the street. I felt weird and uncomfortable wearing it out.
Ironically, however, this dress got me a bazillion compliments at work. Even though I really do look like a grandmother couch in my dress, at least I feel a lot more confident in it. Now that’s one sofa I’d totally lay…on.
Jenny Icaro © Photography 2010
