What is a Quafaie?


Quafaie (pronounced: kwa FAY) are fantasy creatures that exist in the fantasy writing of Hugh Kemeny, and are created by him. They are primarily in Hugh Kemeny’s Black Phoenix short stories...

To learn more, read this post: What is a Quafaie?

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Interesting Links

I was going through my email and finally looking at the jokes and links people sent me - ones I knew were for fun. I decided to post them here because some are interesting.

a) Mount Everest - 360 Panorama View: http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen2/full22.html
Want to see what it's like from the top of Everest, but don't want to go through all the training and effort to get there? Well this photo allows you to get a 360 degree view from the top (so it claims). One problem, you can't look up or down.

b) 2012's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries: http://www.networkworld.com/slideshow/27499?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2012-01-23#slide1
A quarter of a century! A lot has happened in that time. This photo slide show shows some of the top geeky things that started or happened 25 years ago (in 1987).
There are a couple of the slides I'd like to personally comment on.
- Slide 2: Star Trek: The Next Generation.
"Who would have guessed that southern Alberta would become such a Trekkie hub? . . . the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo" is ". . .  pulling together the first reunion of the principal cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. . . ." These are excerpts from an article I read in the paper yesterday. To read the full article go here: http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/Star+Trek+Next+Generation+cast+reunited+Calgary+Comic+Expo/6070207/story.html

- Slide 12: Foreseeing Siri
Around minute 2 of this video I realized they were foreshadowing a fair amount of Apple's progress into 2011/2012. . . . Not only Siri, but in essence the IPad as well, and other non-Apple luxuries we take for granted, like quick internet searches. At the 1:45 mark you hear the professor ask about a paper published 5 years ago. The 'Siri' precursor calls up an article published in July 2006 . . . doing the math, the events in the video take place in at least 2011. There are other indicators that the video takes place around 2011. Finally, the copyright at the end is 1987!.

c) Miniatur Wunderland: http://devour.com/video/miniatur-wunderland/
The email with this link was titled: "World's Largest Train Set now includes Airplanes." This was no real surprise to me. As interesting as it is, I caught a glimpse of them on the TV show Daily Planet (http://www.discoverychannel.ca/Showpage.aspx?sid=13287) (back before Jay Ingram left the show). Regardless, I thought is was worth posting, because it is a marvelous looking place.

d) The Virtual Academic: a random sentence generator: http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/toys/randomsentence/index.htm
Not just one of those typical random name generator sites, this one supposedly helps you with your term papers . . . though if you suddenly write as follows, I think your instructor might get suspicious:
Pootwattle, the Virtual Academic(TM), says:
"The unanalyzed arbitrariness of narrative authenticity is symptomatic of the linguistic construction of process."
There is also a function for a review of the generated sentence. Here is the review of that sentence:
Smedley, the Virtual Critic(TM), responds:
"Pootwattle's inspection of current critical thinking concerning the relationship between the unanalyzed arbitrariness of narrative authenticity and the linguistic construction of process deserves to be better known."

And now I will leave you with these final words (sentences):

The reading of indeterminacy is often confused with the differentiation of the natural. The ideology of the gendered body may be parsed as the disintegration of panopticism. The disarticulation of communicative rationality is symptomatic of the nostalgia for binary opposition. The reinscription of the eclectic recapitulates the representational validity of the image. The unanalyzed arbitrariness of narrative authenticity is symptomatic of the linguistic construction of process.


Daily Inspiration

Within each of us is a hidden store of determination. Determination to keep us in the race when all seems lost.

- Roger Dawson
inspire daily calendar Tue 31 Jan 2012



I was student teaching in a first-grade class and we had just begun subtraction. One day I started a math lesson by asking for a word that starts with an "s" and means "taking away." One girl raised her hand and answered, "Stealing."
- Veronica Enns on www.teachernet.com

Teachers daily calendar Fri 6 Feb 2009

Monday, January 30, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.
- Dale Carnegie
inspire daily calendar Mon 30 Jan 2012

Playground Poetry
Take a peach, take a pear
Take your teacher's underwear
Chew it up, spit it out
Now you've got sauerkraut!
Teachers daily calendar Thu 5 Feb 2009

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Teacher: Did you think band class would be all fun?
Student: Yes, I only came here to play.
Teachers daily calendar Tue 3 Feb 2009
 
 
Teacher Tip
 To keep chalkboards clean, wrap a lotion-infused tissue around your eraser and erase the board. It picks up calk dust better than a plain eraser. You can also keep your eraser clean by wiping it periodically with a lotion-infused tissue.
- Works4Me on www.nea.org
Teachers daily calendar Mon 2 Feb 2009 

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Daily Inspiration

I am not what I ought to be, nor what I want to be, not what I am going to be, but thankful that I am wont what I use to be.
- John Wooden
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 28/29 Jan 2012


Most Memorable Teachers
The reason I liked Mr. Price so much was because he had a wealth of knowledge about everything. He had stories and little tales that weren't in textbooks. He wasn't just reading along with us. He added a lot of insight and actually made history fun.
- Pro baseball player Chris Burke regarding teacher John Price, St. Xavier High School, Louisville, Kentucky, on www.nea.org
Teachers daily calendar Mon 2 Feb 2009

Friday, January 27, 2012

Daily Inspiration

The successful always has a number of projects planned, to which he looks forward. Anyone of them could change the course of his life overnight.
- Mark Caine
inspire daily calendar Fri 27 Jan 2012


As a substitute, it is often difficult to be fully prepared for lessons that are to be taught. After teaching a lesson on estimating by rounding, one student raised his hand with a serious and confused look on his face. He asked, "Isn't this just a way of lying?"
- Michelle K. Diefenderfer on www.teachernet.com
Teachers daily calendar Sat 30 Jan / Sun 1 Feb 2009

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Daily Inspiration


Success doesn't come to you...you go to it.
- Marva Collins
inspire daily calendar Thu 26 Jan 2012


I do not teach children, I give them joy.
- Isadore Duncan
Teachers daily calendar Fri 30 Jan 2009

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Daily Inspiration

It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up again.
- Vince Lombardi
inspire daily calendar Wed 25 Jan 2012


Wanted: One teacher. Must be able to listen, even when mad. Must have a sense of humor; must not make students feel bad about themselves; must be fair and not treat some students better than others; must know how to make schoolwork interesting; must keep some students from picking on others; must let students take a break sometimes; must get to know students; must encourage students when they have a hard time; must tell students if they do a good job or try really hard; must not scream; must not call home unless it's really important; must smile; must help students with their problems if they ask; must not talk about students to other people; must be patient; must really know what they are teaching; if it's a lady, it would be good if she was pretty.
- Job description created by eighth- and ninth-grade students, recalled by Lisa Delpit in Fires in the Bathroom by Kathleen Cushman
Teachers daily calendar Thur 29 Jan 2009

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change someone else's life forever.
- Margaret Cho
inspire daily calendar Tue 24 Jan 2012


Come to the edge, he said. They said: 
We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. 
They came. He pushed them,  
And they flew.
- Guillaume Apollinaire
Teachers daily calendar Wed 28 Jan 2009







1) Card of the day (the important aspects of the day ahead):
The High Priestess:

Secrets, hidden feelings, intuition, the healer, feminine power, silent potential, the unconscious, hidden motivation, mysterious influences, developing talents.
 -      A secret needs to be revealed
-      Trust in your intuition
-      Seeing beyond what is obvious
-      Remembering something of significance
 2) Attend to this (personal issues that will require attention):
 Six of Swords:

New perspective, recovery, travel.
 -      Moving away from trouble
-      Getting over difficulties
-      Heading on to better times
-      Having to change location
-      Mental or physical journey
-      Leaving the past behind
-      Beginning to be more positive about life

3) What to look out for (feelings, desires or reactions that could arise):
King of Swords:

Articulate, direct, just, assertive, analytical.
 -      Actively gets to grips with the situation
-      Objective outlook on life
-      Has high standards
-      Fair judgement
-      Patriarchal values
-      Capable and prudent
-      Intellectually adept

Monday, January 23, 2012

Daily Inspiration

No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.
- William Blake
inspire daily calendar Mon 23 Jan 2012

Tiny children want to learn to the degree that they are unable to distinguish learning from fun. They keep this attitude until we adults convince them that learning is not fun.
- Glenn Doman, How to Teach Your Baby to Read: The Gentle Revolution
Teachers daily calendar Tue 27 Jan 2009

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Naked Activities


This past week I participated in two different nudist activities.

On Wednesday I started an 8 week naked men's yoga class.
I had only done yoga a hand full of times before, none of them naked. The times I remember include:
- Once at the Talisman Centre in Calgary when I lived there and had a membership to the rec centre.
- Twice while on a spiritual retreat at the Rimrock Resort Hotel in Banff. The yoga there was out in a small clearing amongst the trees and nature - it was a small group, about 3 to 5 of us I think. That retreat was also the first time I was naked in a group setting (that's a story for another time).

The naked yoga on Wednesday was arranged by the Buck Naked Boys Club (BNBC) of Edmonton. There was about 17 guys there, with a wide variety of experience. The instructor was excellent, at least so I thought from my limited exposure to yoga.
My only, personal, complaint, would be that I happened to pick a spot on the floor where a small draft was coming through; a draft bringing in the cold winter weather that we had last week (between -30 C and -40 C with the wind chill).
The second class is this coming Wednesday. I am looking forward to it, and to getting there much earlier than I did last week (to get a better spot).


The second activity, was a nude swim.
As a fundraiser for PanFest, the organizers host nude swims at one of the community pools (after hours). These are co-ed events.
The BNBC passed on information about these nude swims since to rent a pool and have one of their own costs a fair amount, and the members of PanFest are quite open to have anyone interested in joining come along. Provided they behave in an appropriate manner (like at any social gathering, nude or not).
There seemed to be a fair number of people at the swim, and a nice mix too (20s to older, body shapes, and background). Before even getting into the change room I met some of the members of the board for PanFest, and asked them about PanFest. Check out their website for a start on the information: http://www.panfest.ca/
Once in the pool, I relaxed in the large hot tub, chatting more with the new people I met, and with some of the guys from BNBC. I also had some fun with the people I met tossing small beach balls into a basketball hoop on the side of the pool.
I didn't swim laps or swing on the rope, as some people did, mostly because I had a new set of contact lenses in. Next time I will try and remember to wear an old pair so if any chlorine gets in my eye and bothers me, I can ditch the lens.

Daily Inspiration

Education is always a hot conversation topic around the water cooler. People care about it. They have opinions about it. They praise it, criticize it, and argue about it. And while others are talking about education, teachers are living it. They're where the action is.
- Robert D. Ramsey
Teachers daily calendar Sat/Sun 24/25 Jan 2009
 
 
A good education is the next best thing to a pushy mother.
- Charles Schulz
Teachers daily calendar Mon 26 Jan 2009
 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
- Judy Garland
inspire daily calendar Sat/Sun 21/22 Jan 2012

An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.
- Bill Bernback
Teachers daily calendar Fri 23 Jan 2009

Friday, January 20, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.
- Ingrid Bergman
inspire daily calendar Fri 20 Jan 2012

When I longed to see the world,
A teacher gave me wings
And urged me always to explore
The in and out of things.
- Becky Kelly
Teachers daily calendar Thu 22 Jan 2009

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Friday the 13th.... 5 days late

Friday the thirteenth is usually considered bad luck. For me Friday was fine..... my 'bad luck' came yesterday.... five days late.

Tuesday, I had rehearsals for the play I am producing, and though there were a few questions about the history of the characters, and their motivation (it is a new script that I wrote under my pen name), all seemed to go well.

The play was entered in a one-act festival on the last weekend of February. 

Then yesterday I received an email requesting if our performance time could change. My stage manager informed me that if our performance time changed then they would have to drop out as they made commitments based on the initial time we were given.

Moments after informing the organizer, I got a couple emails that the actors playing the main characters were dropping out because of scheduling and how they felt about the fit with their characters.

Needless to say, with just under a month to go, having difficulty getting actors in the first place, and then the main ones dropping out, I decided to pull out of the festival entirely.


It is frustrating because I now and a bunch of loose ends I have to tie up - people to inform that the show is not happening, and thank them for their support and help behind the scenes.

Daily Inspiration

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character..
- Albert Einstein
inspire daily calendar Thu 19 Jan 2012


When one is out of touch with oneself, one cannot touch others.
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Teachers daily calendar Wed 21 Jan 2009

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Daily Inspiration

Action is the foundational key to all success.
- Pablo Picasso
inspire daily calendar Wed 18 Jan 2012


The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. While recent winners are always great reads, don't forget classics from ten, twenty, or even fifty years ago.
1999: Holes by Louis Sachar
1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman
1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander
1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Teachers daily calendar Tue 20 Jan 2009

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Gay Marriage in Canada

I am a little late in touching on this subject, so if you did not hear the news last week that Canada nullified thousands of same-sex marriages of foreigners performed in Canada, then I'd suggest you just Google "Canada Gay Marriage Reversal" to get the full story. Below is my summary from things I have heard and read about the issue, to hopefully present as clear a picture as I can as a gay Canadian.

The issue about "reversing" the same-sex marriages came about when a lesbian couple wanted a divorce. They were married in Canada in 2005. They do not reside in Canada. This is where the fundamental problem arises.

I am no lawyer, but from what I have learned, most countries recognize marriages performed in foreign countries as legal, provided that such a union is legal in their own country.
So for example, if a gay couple were to get married in Belgium (where it is legal), and to move to Canada, that marriage would be recognized in Canada.
However, if a gay couple were to get married in Canada and move to anywhere else in the world where same-sex marriage is not legal, that marriage would generally not be recognized.
Therefore for many same-sex couples married in Canada but residing elsewhere, they recognize that their marriage is not legal in their home country. Though it may be used to help fight for legality.

Moving along.
Not all marriages are 'happily ever after' including same-sex ones. So it was when the lesbian couple wanted to divorce that caused all the hubbub.
Since they live in a place that does not recognize sane-sex marriage, the women came back to Canada to get a divorce.
Canadian law however requires that a couple must live in Canada for at least a year before a divorce is granted (this is due to all the custody stuff).

Now is where I bring in the last point about marriage, which is the foundation of the comments that the marriage of many same-sex foreigners in Canada is null.
"Private international law of marriage basically says that Canada only recognizes a "tourist" marriage (one where the couple actually has no connection to Canada) if the marriage will be valid in their home jurisdiction." from http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/The_samesex_marriage_matter-11363.aspx

Basically, even though their marriage was done legally in Canada, because they reside in a place where the marriage is not legal, then their marriage is not recognized by Canada.

This is where Canada is starting to change the law, to find ways around this.


For more on this topic please read any of the following:
There is a good radio show about how same-sex marriage in Canada is an international game changer, with more information on same-sex marriage in Canada.
If you are interested in same-sex marriages out side of Canada, I'd suggest you listen to this.
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/01/16/the-influential-reach-of-canadas-same-sex-marriage-laws/