National Poetry Month

April is national poetry month. i've never really celebrated before, but i've missed poetry. also, when stuck on what assignment to give my ninth graders after watching a movie about apartheid, i decided on a poem. so they have to write a poem, any kind, about cry freedom. Here's one of my own that has been brewing in my head since friday.

     sit me down at the sea

     and be by me to look out over the world

     lost in horizons and sunsets.

     the bigness of it all, sinking in.

     but not really.

     we pretend to contemplate the universe

     but minds slip back to calendars and tasks.

     so we say, 'one day'.

     one day

     i will sit at the sea

     with no cares in the world, but the world

     and the bigness of it all.

what's up in the world

let me share what's been on my mind lately: the world.

i've always been a geek for world news, other cultures, and anything of an international flavour. i'm a self declared xenophile. now i teach world civilizations and geography, so i take it as part of my job to be up on current world events, history in the making, anniversaries, etc. (eg: i started my unit on the civil war on the 149th anniversary of its beginning.)

as a result of content and curriculum searches i've been exposed to a lot of online stuff like blogs that i've started following. here are a few i thought i'd share:

Millard Fillmore's Bathtub
This guy either grew up in Utah or went to school here. He now teaches in Texas. He's a great resource for social studies, specifically history. he also provides some interesting insight into some current social situations, specifically the texas board of ed.

John Sherffius: Cartoonist
Some of his editorial cartoons are a little cheesy, but for the most part he's right on and very clever.

Information is Beautiful
Visual artist that makes data representations for the Guardian of the UK.

i saw a guy walking along university parkway in orem with a sign saying 'the end is near'. i thought it was hilarious, but he also has a point. with the volcano in iceland, earthquakes in utah, china this week, mexico, chile, etc. i'm sure we'll keep seeing things happen.

lately i've also been frustrated with government. i've been leaning more 'liberal' in the past couple years. but denise said something to me the last time i saw her that has had me thinking: protect your rights even if you don't use them. like protecting the right to bear arms even though i will probably never own a gun or use one. but i really don't like the 'police state' that is rising. am i leaning libertarian? eh, i don't think so. but more than i ever thought i would.