#the meowing laugh... not transcribing that

[danielpowell]

When you close your eyes and count, backwards from five Aren't you glad to be alive ?

[nbspacegay]

With my apartment came free an evil orange cat. He is Huge and fluffy and extremely poorly socialized

Two years ago when i was on concussion 3 or 4 I heard a cat meowing outside my window. This was concerning because I live in an apartment building on a floor that is not at all in proximity to the ground. Briefly, forgetting all five years of my psycbology degree, I wondered if my concussion was causing me to hallucinate.

It was not.

There was this big ol cat on the balcony. I let him inside because what else was I going to do. Then I had another problem in that he would start screaming like a human man any time he was approached. I have had cats for Years I have never heard a sound like that come out of anything but a human. Anyways my wonderful roommate went and knocked on the neighbours door and it turned out he'd just slid under the divider between our balconies.

Y'all I was so determined to tame this cat like a girl in a horse movie who needs a mustange to win the big race so she can save peepaws farm. This did not come to pass.

Then followed years of looney toons bullshit antics on the part of the cat as the neighbours tried desperately to keep him on their side of the balcony and he, trickster god and devil that he is, kept escaping to our side. I distinctly remember one morning, not having forfeited the balcony to the cat yet, I was out in my knee high rubber boots (protection from the cat) boxers and if i recall correctly either shirtless or in a fully see through tank top. 100 percent nipples out except I don't have any. And my neighbour craning his neck around the divider to talk to me about the cat. I have literally no memory of what that conversation entailed except me, floundering, saying the cat was very sweet and then me and my neighbour both visibly grimacing because this cat is as bloodthirsty as they come and I had just told an obvious bald faced lie.

Anyways fast forward a few months and the cat learns how to open our balcony door. We jam it shut and he tears a hole in the screen. Sometimes you turn around and someone elses cat is coming out of your closet with pure murderous intent, hissing and spitting. He is so determined to get into our apartment that both my roommate and I have caught him clawing at the fully closed and locked glass sliding door.

fast forward to last fall and the cat has taken to yowling outside my bedroom window in the afternoons and at 1 am nearly every morning. Once, my roommate, referencing phantom of the opera, says "sing to me my angel of music" in the musical this is followed by the lead doing some really impressive vocal gymnastics which are best transcribed as "OoOooOooooOOOO" at a steadily increasing volume. This is the funniest thing i have ever fucking heard. I have transcribed a conversation the cat and i had a a result.

Cat: OoOooOooooOOOO

Me: Sing for me my angel of music

Cat: OoOooOooooOOOO

Me; Sing! my angel!!

Cat: O0oOo0O

Me: SING!!!!!

Cat O0O0O0O0000

It was a conversation he and I would go on to have many more times before winter when he, as usual, disappeared from my life for several months.

Over the winter, I unlearned my hardwon tolerance for my angel of music. When he returned, it was with a vengeance. No longer content to scream at me twice a day, he commenced with a new plot to psychologically torture me by screaming outside my window at night. At first only once or twice then it became hourly. I didn't say anything to him because I wanted some leave and quiet for once in my life please I'm begging. One very hot night, I wake up and close my window, convinced the cat is about to hurtle through it and kill me in my sleep. I laugh it off as a nightmare. The next night I wake up from an odd sort of thwap. I look out my window and this cat has leapt four feet straight into the air to sink his claws into my screen. He screams at me when I slide my window shut. This happens several times a night for about a week or so. I start trying (and failing) to take a picture of this behaviour for my roommate. Last night, I started talking to him softly because and I won't lie, I was trying to convince him to jump up, but instead he just meowed softly a few times and left. I had forgotten this cat had any other settings beside screaming and hissing.

I thought about that one tumblr post about how small talk is like a little social call and response to say 'are you there?' 'yes Im here with you' I thought about how I hadn't been telling my angel of music to sing recently. I thought about how maybe the cat was yelling into the night, once an hour 'hey, are you there?' only to be met with silence and maybe all I needed to do this whole time was simply to say 'yes, I'm here with you'

It is the middle of the night and i have just had a realization.

[nagipops]

hii I love your blogs sooo much you're really talented (I just needed to say it sorry) so straight to the point, I already made 2 requests to you and I really enjoyed your writing so I would like to make another again. As I'm clueless about what to request I'll just ask for random hcs for konoha 11, idk if it's too much but if so then you can do with Neji (I love him so much), Kakashi and Naruto. Thank you in advance and sorry anything ^^

RANDOM KONOHA 11 HEADCANONS!

FEATURING: naruto, sakura, shikamaru, ino, choji, neji, rock lee, tenten, kiba, hinata, and shino

WARNINGS: mentions alcohol, drugs, food, bugs, and the tiniest nsfw mention if you get the joke. hehe

A/N: AHHHH ANONN this seriously made my day, im so so glad you enjoy my work!! 💖

NARUTO

you know how we all have “the chair”, where we throw all of our dirty clothes onto?

yeah, imagine that, but from the seat to the fricking ceiling

its just a GINORMOUS MOUND of clothes, you wonder how he even goes through that many clothes so quickly???

definitely shoves it under his bed whenever guests come over (somehow)

holds chopsticks really weirdly. but it works.

asked tenten to put his hair into space buns to mimic his sexy jutsu and went around flirting with the village

jiraiya was so proud of him T-T

comes up with the WORST pickup lines

they’re so bad, its almost charming. almost

has gone AWOL multiple times, disappearing from everywhere, just everywhere

it scared you a little, so you searched the entire village for him

you finally found him sitting on the ledge of a cliff, gazing out at the vast sea

concerned and panicked, you cried out to ask him what was wrong

he turned to you with a crestfallen, devastated look on his face and said,

“i bought shrimp ramen instead of chicken ramen.”

you’ve never searched for him after his disappearance ever again.

SAKURA

100% makes origami shurikens and chucks them at you

they are deathly precise and deathly sharp. seriously, how are these not illegal weapons yet???

writes threatening motivational notes to herself on the mirror

“u got this!” “make sure to smack naruto today!” “ino sucks!”

her backpack would always be way too high up on her back. idk why but. it would

does her hair all nice and pretty before she goes out but once she arrives to her destination SHE KEEP. TAKING. IT OUT. and redoing it over and over and over again

like it’s impossible to make eye contact with her because she’s holding a bobby pin between her teeth while braiding her hair

her guilty pleasure would be hostess treats

ding dongs are her favorite. don’t ask me how i know, i just know.

eats the yellow starbursts just to spite naruto and all her haters

loves small lap dogs, she think’s they’re so cute and cuddly

but she especially loves chihuahuas

they’re so feisty and naruto HATES them, so of course she had to go and get one for herself

dresses the poor dog up in little bonnets and jackets and ties its tiny fuzzy hairs into pigtails

she and the chihuahua are not that much unlike <3

SHIKAMARU

this man is a god at shogi but he absolutely SUCKSSSS at cup pong.

is this an ick? idk. but he is absolute trash at this game.

it gets even worse when he’s got a couple drinks in him

tries to calculate the velocity and acceleration and angle and shit but his shot is always a good two feet off BYE 😭

just mutters an “aw, shit” before awaiting his turn again

hates checkers, loves chess

“checkers is for WUSSIES” - shikamaru nara

i said this in another post, but he is Very Good at whistling

like that’s his hidden talent

can copy any tune with the perfect pitch and rhythm

speaking of, he can do really cool tricks with his tongue

like making a four leaf clover, touching the bridge of his nose with it, flipping it upside down, you name it

he has slanted, scrawled handwriting, to the point where it’s almost illegible

wbk he cheats in school SO OFTEN. but he never gets caught. he’s not stupid, he just couldn’t care less about his classes.

thinks weed and e-cigs are stupid, cigarettes are where it’s at

you just can’t replicate the feeling of taking a drag from a cig after a long, tiring day

plus he looks hella cool while doing it B)

INO

teaches the boyz™️ how to braid their hair

like they all gather in a circle around this feisty fashionista and fail attempt to braid their hair

sakura was just fuming in the sidelines

“OI, INO-PIG, THAT’S A DUTCH BRAID, NOT A FRENCH BRAID!!”

yeah, ino 🙄

the only one that can actually do it is neji because a) this man is talented af and b) he’s got the long hairrr

ino probably envies his thick, sleek hair because hE’S a bOy

also asks everyone for their blood type and zodiac signs and tells them if they’re compatible with her or not

and definitely judges you for your sign 😣

“oh, you’re a gemini? hmm, what a shame...”

makes bouquets for her favorite people and kin assigns everyone a flower

only assigns the pretty nice ones to the people she likes (sorry sakura, you’re out of luck)

one of her favorite hobbies is crafting! she’s really good with details and small things so she loves making those miniature dollhouses and stuff

also really good at watercoloring. especially painting flowers and landscapes

also i feel like she would be really good at playing any instrument because of her skilled hands

can play a badass flute solo. period.

CHOJI

would honestly rather die than get anywhere NEAR an asparagus

he just thinks they’re so gross and bitter and NOT SALTY

he always eats his yakiniku a little bit undercooked because he’s way too impatient to wait for it to cook fully. who do you think he is??

whenever he cloud gazes with shikamaru, when asked what he thinks a cloud looks like, he just says some sort of food

“oi, choji, what does that one look like to you?”

“a... yakiniku grill... with... pineapple rings on it! ooh, and a wagyu steak right there!”

he thinks pringles are an abomination to society. where’s the crisp? where’s the grease? where’s the saltiness?!!!

asks ino to teach him how to do his hair all fancy and the two of them devote an entire day learning different hairstyles

it’s his new favorite thing to do now :D

he really likes crayons!!!!

like he’ll write with them, draw with them, color with them, do everything with them

he’s even tried to eat them. he said they tasted good.

definitely had the 128 crayon pack WITH THE BUILT-IN SHARPENER, and everyone thought he was the coolest kid in town

he ate it UP, he even scored some bbq dates with the ladies

i also feel like he loves basketball, and he has a MEAN slam dunk

like his vertical isn’t that high, but the man can REACH

he loves when people laugh at him when he challenges them to a 1v1 and then proceeds to absolutely destroy them <3

NEJI

he seems like a cucumber kind of guy.

just cucumber

like i feel like he puts it in everything; soba, salads, sandwiches, his face, yeah

it’s mellow and cool, just like him!

speaking of, i feel like he lives for spa days and facials

it just lets him be alone in his little cucumber scented world for an hour or two and he gets damn clear skin from it as well

seriously he has PERFECT skin. flawless. not a single blemish. his cheeks feel like baby butts they’re so smooth.

i feel like he’d be a god at solving rubik’s cubes, don’t ask me why

like if anyone scrambled theirs on accident they would just take it to neji and he’d solve it in the blink of an eye

CAT PERSON!!! loves the little meow meows

who are we kidding, neji basically is a cat; agile, aloof, does silly things without trying to, very cute

he just feels akin to the little fuzzballs and he thinks petting cats are extremely therapeutic. good for the soul

he is a golf man. he would take his juniors golfing and everyone thinks he’s uncool. cmon neji let them go to the skate park at least T-T

also very good at karaoke, definitely surprised everyone once he got a few drinks in him since he started serenading you

LIGHTWEIGHT!!! do not get more than one shot of alcohol in him. he will go berserk.

i also feel like he’d really love photography; not taking pictures of people, but of nature

he loves taking a quiet stroll through a pretty forest and snapping pictures of all the unique flora and fauna

it’s so serene ︶ ‿ ︶

ROCK LEE

100% milly rocks everywhere

gai got in on it too once he asked what lee was doing

“is that what all the youthful cool kids do these days!”

they also dab together. a lot

DO NOT BE SEEN WITH THESE TWO!!! you are not associated with them.

definitely is the one breakdancing in the middle of the dance circle at a high school party

he’s mad skilled at it too

headspins and windmills galore

challenged naruto to a dance-off and completely OBLITERATED him

lee then asked if naruto wanted a rematch, this time with one hand tied behind lee’s back

naruto obliged, and he STILL lost

RIP naruto and his fangirls, they all scrambled to lee afterwards T-T

i feel like his favorite subject is science

not the boring physics equations and laws and theories but the fun EXPERIMENTS

definitely has singed all of his hair off one time and he went to gai blubbering to help him grow back his precious hair

but he loves experimenting with different combinations and chemicals to get different reactions each time

created a potent love potion and carried it around with him all day one day

and it was actually working

girls were flocking to him left and right, staring at his lips and his face

he was so abashed at the sudden attention

heck, it even worked on sakura

“oi, lee-san!”

“hehe, yes, sakura-san?”

her eyes shifted downwards to his lips and his heart thumped harder

“hey... lee-san?”

“what is it?”

“you have something on your lip. we’ve been trying to tell you all day but you just winked and blew kisses at us.”

legend has it lee has still not recovered to this day.

TENTEN

has THE prettiest handwriting. and she can write SUPER fast

it’s like a superpower

like she transcribed five pages of a report in less than two minutes with perfect handwriting

naruto is so jealous.

she is also super good at origami! those diligent, accurate hands aren’t just for throwing things

taught sakura how to make shurikens but does NOT endorse any violent uses of them

she can replicate all of her weapons with paper and they can actually function, it’s so cool

made paper kunai knives one day and the wholeee village wanted to get their hands on them

i feel like she’d listen to mitski. idk i just get those vibes

LOVES BIG DOGS!! especially fluffy wuffy samoyeds

like man’s best friend?? no, GIRL’S BEST FRIEND!!

hugs and cuddles and squishes all the big dogs

she thinks small dogs are spawns of satan

sakura and her have definitely quarreled over this

but at the end of the day, all dogs are adorable fur babies, so she lets it slide :,)

KIBA

kiba always looks SO GOOD in photos you take of him, candid or not

like you could just whip out a camera and snap a photo of him at any given moment and he would look perfect

you framed a picture of him yelling at akamaru for peeing inside the house

it’s pure artwork

i feel like he tries to swagger around with his hands shoved in his pockets but it fails MISERABLY and the girls are wondering if he broke his leg or something 😭

kiba just walk normally. for the love of god please just walk normally.

he tries to slump back in his chair really low but one time he slouched way too low so he slipped off of his chair and onto the ground LMFAOOOO

he just wallowed there... in shame...

also.. he LOVES when the girls put makeup on him!!

he tries to act like he hates it. but it secretly gives him so much confidence

not to mention the girls hyping him up are a huge ego boost

okay the inside of his jacket hood is the warmest. thing. EVER!!!

seriously, no wonder this dude is so happy-go-lucky all the time, he’s living in literal heaven 24/7

it’s like you’re sleeping on a cloud inside a warm, cozy bed during a cold winter morning

10/10 would recommend letting him give you his sweatshirt when you’re chillin with a hair tie ❤️

HINATA

always smells like lavender soap. always

also has the cutest pencil pouches with little puppy faces and kawaii things

oH and she has those mini yoobi highlighters, she thinks they’re so cute (and functional!)

everyone flocks to her to try them out and marvel at the cute tiny highlighters

and they try to steal them from her but she doesn’t even stop them because she’s too timid to 😭

naruto goes BALLISTIC over them

she lets him have all of them <3

tennis girl!!! tennis girl.

all of her opponents always underestimate her because she’s so timid and shy and quiet

but she has a KILLER serve

and then she takes her opponents to the slaughterhouse with a complete shutout ;)

she’s really athletic believe it or not, she can beat most of the boys in a mile run and she has incredible endurance

i feel like she really loves velvet scrunchies

she just thinks they’re so pretty and they keep her hair soft so they’re cute and functional

also takes the PRETTIEST notes!!

color codes, dividers, headers, you name it, it’s all super readable too its insane

everyone asks her for her notes, not to study but just to appreciate the pure artwork that it is ^w^

SHINO

shino is SO easy to prank

“how do you catch an eyemaster?” *cue naruto and kiba snickering*

“eyemaster bait. that is because—”

even when everyone’s laughing their asses off, he still continues to explain his answer since he does NOT GET THE JOKE

tried his hand at writing haikus

here’s his best one so far:

“Bugs are amazing. That is because they are bugs. Bugs are very nice.” - Shino Aburame

VERY proud of it, since it took him weeks to perfect

praise it, pls

had one of those ant farms and bug-catching kits as a kid

and he would fill the kit TO THE BRIM. LIKE IT WAS HEAVY BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY BUGS.

he loves the little chitters of the different bugs

he had jars of different bugs all lined up on a wall shelf in his room

collects silkworms off of trees and sticks them into his pockets (no i definitely did not do this as a kid...)

HELP I FEEL LIKE he would record a timelapse of his ant farm growing and upload it to youtube with a movie maker title screen that says

“my ants”

if you enjoyed this post, likes and reblogs are much appreciated :) feel free to request here, and make sure to read the rules first! have a lovely day everyone <3

[theabominableblogger]

"The Legend of Vox Machina" S1E1-3 Reaction

THAT'S RIGHT- IMMA DO THIS

I do wanna get a few things out of the way though: as a "new" Critter, I am actually not that familiar yet with the first campaign. I do know a lot of the major beats for things through the Briarwood Arc (which this first season is covering) and beyond, but episodes 1-24ish I don't know of so please don't spoil that for me in the replies.

For this reaction series, I will be using the hashtag #purvan's reaction post stolen for the ages so if any of you guys want to find more reactions to this specific series, you can click on the tag in my blog.

On with the show!

AN:  I managed to record my reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post.

"The Terror of Tal'Dorei" Part 1

Found out LAST NIGHT [when I recorded this] that Amazon made a big whoops and released the episodes EARLIER than the allotted time slot. I don't if it was a legitimate mistake on their end or an intentional move. Who knows.

Literally wasted time last night watching Matt rage playing Monopoly with Game Grumps and Sam's Battle Royale. Ez cool.

*smiles when Matt begins to narrate about Tal'Dorei*

Is the wizard Liam?

*jaw immediately drops when the group gets instantly killed*

This animation is really good, holy snot!

The Murder-hobos!

"Do not rest until you bring me the greatest band of mercenaries in all of Tal'Dorei!" Ehhh, varying opinion on that...

They even sound drunk, I'll give them credit!

"Are you offering to help?" *shuts down*

The tabaxi meowed!

Wait, we're starting it off like this?!? Oh wow.

*cracks up at Percy not even trying to dodge*

Did he [Vax] just rob them [the other customers]?

*loudly grimaces when Keyleth vomits in the dog-person's mouth, making them vomit*

"Why does this happen every time we go drinking?!?" Wonder why...

TRINKET!

*gasps when Percy's gun misfires*

*full jaw drop when we cut to Scanlan and the naked woman in bed*

"What is that gnome doing with my daughter?" "It's probably best you don't know." *incomprehensible shocked laughter*

"Does that mean... we've been kicked out of every tavern in Emon?" First world problems?

How did they get their name?

"Pike, ethics are a luxury we can't afford." Oh give her some credit!

"Vex and Vax only care about themselves." "Well [expletive] you." *laughs*

Oh my God, they didn't really have to show that [Scanlan peeing]

"What's the matter with you?!?" That's Matt!

Mercenaries... line line line line line REWARD!

*groans and covers screen when Scanlan's pants drop* I'm didn't see that

That is a giant bear

*Grog loudly belches* Euggh, I don't like that

"It's a rather clever play on words-" "Honestly we don't care." *wheezes*

"Allow me to give you a proper introduction." Oh no we're getting a song?

"He's Vax." "She's Vex." *laughs*

*laughs awkwardly as Scanlan starts rapping and mutes it*

AN: I did go back and listen to the entire song. It rocks. I also have the twin part stuck in my head for the past two days.

Why did I get like... vibes of Galavant and "The Morning Report" from The Lion King in that song?

Yes, get the bear, get the bear! I see you, Khary Payton!

"He got his hand cut off in a bar room brawl." "Oh shit." *laughs*

*Vex senses something mentally in the room* What was that? What was thaaat?

The backgrounds look really pretty

Isn't the Shale Steps like three miles away from Emon though? Is it just a power move to use the skyship?

*laughs* She's [Keyleth] just started talking to the tree!

Matt is literally playing every NPC in this show

"Are you a wizard?" Next campaign

*Keyleth and Vax share a look* Oooh... oohh...

These backgrounds are so pretty!

*gaps when the dragon stomps on the lamb in front of them*

*pretty much in shock for the entirety of the dragon fight*

This is awesome!

*Keyleth starts to summon lightning* Oh let's go, let's go girl!

That is a really intimidating design, oh my gosh.

No, the episode can't be over already!

"Grog, you're hurt." "Nah, it's just a flesh wound." *wheezes*

"This is why I hate traveling with holy people." *wheezes again*

Oh, so her ranger ability is a Spider-Sense? That's awesome.

This music is awesome

*Grog picks up Pike and puts her on his shoulders* Aaww

They're not gonna end the episode there. Nuh uh.

*still fangirling about the animation*

*gasps when they find the town in ruins*

*gasps when Vax finds the family they spoke to earlier dead*

"That was... actually well stated, Grog." "What was?" "Nevermind." *laughs*

*gasps* The silver piece!

"The Terror of Tal'Dorei" Part 2

[Nudity, violence, foul language] No way!

I like the different designs for the background tieflings

*jaw drops when the Captain is DISINTEGRATED VIOLENTLY IN FRAME* They didn't need to show that!

That was just the intro?!?

Oh this opening's gorgeous

Let's go!

They're setting up for the Conclave at the end of the season, aren't they? $500 says so.

"Doom? We don't know the meaning of the word!" *chuckles*

Look at them [the guards] loving Trinket!

*laughs when Vax flicks Pike's ear on their way down the stairs*

*smiles when Gilmore enters the scene*

Was that Sprinkle?

"Why if it isn't the mysterious Vax'ildan?" Did they just do the "love interest" panning shot on Vax?

*leans back in my seat as Vax and Gilmore flirt and then CONTINUE* I feel like a fourth wheel!

*wheezes and face plants at Tusk Love*

*laughs at Gilmore's disappointed gasp at the silver pieces*

There's a triceratops skull on the shelf

He [Gilmore] just slaps the page. That's awesome

"If we survive this, I owe you dinner." "You owe me more than that, my handsome half-elf." *leans back in seat again* Yeah like chocolate, about 500 gold.... that ass...

"All right you two, foreplay's over." *laughs*

Is that the same Matt NPC? That poor guy.

*cackles as Grog rolls behind the ale cart* Nat 20 Stealth!

"Dreadful taste in art." Wait they said dragons are egomaniacs and Krieg has a portrait of himself in the staircase. It's literally him. He's the dragon.

*gasps when Sir Fince gets freaking impaled*

Oh, the rug! The rug!

"Look for some kind of fulcrum." "Wait, a [expletive] room." "I mean, that's what I heard." *laughs*

*laughs at Vex being salty at Vax complimenting Keyleth*

"Look, they're in the booty!" *laughs* They're so immature!

"Seems excessive for a council member." "Seems excessive for anyone." Percy, you literally have like a Scrooge McDuck vault! Don't talk to me!

*leans back in shock at the GIANT GREEN EYE looking back at Keyleth* What was that?!?

He [Krieg] is the dragon!

*jaw drops at Krieg transforming into his dragon form* THAT WAS SO BALLER!

"Vax, did Gilmore give you any insight on how to kill this thing or did you two flirt the entire time?!?" "Shit! Right, right, uh..." *laughs*

*Brimscythe wipes out the group* It's an illusion!

*jaw drops at the ominous chanting in the soundtrack*

*giggles at Percy Naruto running*

*Vax running around the falling rocks* Oh, slow-mo! Let's go!

*pretty much silently loses her mind as Grog decides to rage*

*laughs* She's [Vex] stealing an armful of gold!

"We got 'em, kid." Aaww...

Who's on the Council of Tal'Dorei? Who's on the Council?

*chuckles at Keyleth ruining the moment between the twins*

*gasps* The Briarwoods!

OK, Sylas, whatchu got?

Whaaaaaat?

*episode ends* WHA-

"The Feast of Realms"

*gasps when we open with a flashback to the De Rolos*

What's with the dog?!?

You can't just open it like that! Are you kidding me?!? I don't even know if I wanna sit through the opening because I want to get to the opening!

*Establishing shot of Greyskull Keep* Oh that looks so pretty!

*laughs as Grog sneak attacks Vax with ball tag*

*Allura walks into the keep* Oof, this place is a bit of a fixer upper

"You have my word nothing will go wrong." Absolutely everything will go wrong

*Scanlan's codpiece* Why?

*wheezes at Grog and Vax's curtsises*

Matt!

"Ahem!" Scanlan, don't.

"What?!? You wanna get freaky with me?!?" Oh no

*gasps when the Briarwoods are announced*

Why are they giving him [Percy] the anime fish eye lens? I don't like that

*silently and openly ogling Vax in his formal wear good lord here's my money sir*

"The safe word is... chenga." *laughs*

*Percy realizes that they have to sit across the Briarwoods* Oh no

Ohhhh nooo

"Shit's about to get real!" Oh no

OH God... are they just pretending that they don't know each other?

"Percy, I [Grog] say you walk over to the Briarwoods, say hello to break the ice, and then punch them in the face." That works.

Oh God, I wanna see that dinner go down, are you kidding me?

OK, Vax, I see you with the little cow lick. I see you, man.

I wonder if Sylas has been feeding off Desmond.

*gasps when Vax uses his snake belt to distract the guards*

Why is she still wearing her gloves while she's eating? C'mon, Delilah, etiquette!

*gasps when Sylas charms Sovereign Uriel*

Oh mah God!

C'mon, Percy, say something.

"Have we... met before?" Oh no

*gasps when Percy breaks his glass out of anger*

Did they really just make a bead joke? Are you kidding me?

Vax, what are you doing? I do not like this.

"LIARS!" Percy!

Percy, Percy, Percy, Percy!

Oh no... Vax... Vax, get out of there! Vax!

*gasps when Vax finds mention of the Whispered One*

You gotta get outta there!

"Gosh, you're a handsome couple.." *wheezes with laughter*

*jaw drops when Sylas charms Vax*

"I'll distract them. You go." Scanlan, I do not trust anything- no

*jaw dropped for pretty much the remaining 7 minutes of the episode*

*laughs when Grog hurls NPC Matt out of the weapons closet*

C'mon, Vax!

"Would you look at that, dear?" LINE! PER! LINE!

I forgot about Craven Edge!

"Thanks, Pike!" Radiant weapon!

*Allura facepalms at Scanlan's song* Same!

*Percy goes after Desmond* Oh no, ohhhhh!

*pretty much in shock for the entire Orthax smoke sequence*

"You fool. Now your soul is forfeit." Oh my God, stop, stop!

NO! No, no no no... NO! YOU CANNOT END IT THERE! NO!

[the-calicos-missteps]

Blind Haruka Nanami - Episode 2

 How the opening, Orpheus Heart, would be changed for blind!Haruka.

The beginning with the boys would still be the same.

In the original, Haruka throws a pen and walks to the window. In this version, she would be sitting at a desk, turning off a voice recorder and tossing it onto the desk with a depressed face.

Hayate would place his head in her lap and she would pet it instead of getting up. Kuppuru would be laying on the desk.

Kuppuru would press a button on the recorder, and HAYATO's face would pop up, as kanji would scroll across the bottom - 'Now playing - Nanairo no Compass.'

Haruka would lean back into her chair, head falling back over the chair as she closed her eyes, Hayato appearing in her mind's eye and she would 'fall' into that pink water like world from the opening.

I like to think this is her ‘inner world’ from her minds eye - since she is legally blind and she sees mostly fuzzy outlines, this blend of color world is her inner world. 

In the original, Kuppuru sends some papers flying and Haruka sees the boys faces on them. For obvious reasons, that would not be helpful here. Instead, inside her inner world, Haruka sees what she images her friends (those who support her-) to look like- including STARISH, Tomo, and her grandmother. 

All of a sudden, she sees a boy in green that she’s never seen before -  and he reaches out to her, physically taking her hand. Quickly leaving her inner world, she’s suddenly pulled past the piano to the open window and is suddenly flying.  

Hayate followed her, and Cecil lets him fly with her as well. 

It takes her merely a second to feel the wind in her hair and the feathers brushing past her skin, and she’s immediately smiling. 

Hayate has his tounge out with a big doggy grin on his face. 

She is being carried by the wind to the boys, and while the boys are doing their thing in the opening, they are all calling out her name as she passes them so she knows exactly who she’s passing. 

Otoya and Tokiya tell her to reach out her hands - which she does, and they both push her high into the air. Hayate is pushed along by the wind. 

And finally, as she turns back around, the notes for the song she previously could not find appear before her. 

Here’s episode two!

When Tomo comes back with the drinks, she sees Hayate play with the mysterious cat. She asks in confusion where exactly the cat come from.

When Haruka tells her that it just appeared in the room and that she really wants to keep it, Tomo sighs and agrees reluctantly, but they MUST keep the cat hidden. 

They then come up with the name Kuppuru together. Tomo tells her she’ll go with her to the local pet shop to get supplies for Kuppuru after class tomorrow. ‘You need a lot of things to care for a cat, Haru-Chan!’ 

Before they go to sleep for the night, Tomo helps Haruka write a letter for her grandmother. Haruka told her what she wanted to write, and Tomo wrote it for her. 

Haruka believes the rule about no romance to be excessive and not needed, but is not bothered by it. After all, who would want to love a blind girl like her? 

Hayate, sensing her distress, puts his head on her foot to provide comfort.

Haruka was bullied as a child due to her blindness. She has low self confidence, but it caused to become opinionated, but she is still inherently kind. Even if those opinions are kept to herself.

She also notes that they specifically say ‘love between the two sexes is outlawed.’ So what about love between the same gender? Is that not apart of the rule? Haruka thinks it’s a little stupid. 

Ringo-Sensei ends up reading his lot drawings out loud, accounting for Haruka. 

When Ringo-Sensei goes to pick a person to play piano, he glosses over Haruka, saying he would have picked her, but she wouldn’t be able to play it. ‘You understand, don’t you Nanami-Chan? It would be a little bit difficult for you, see?’ 

Haruka gets very frustrated and upset at his comment, but doesn’t disagree. She clenches her hands in her lap, and her friends look at her worriedly. 

The class starts making rude comments, about how a girl like her should have never been allowed in the school. ‘What was the headmaster thinking?’ ‘She definitely cheated her way in.’ ‘No way, someone paid for her to get in.’ ‘I bet she can’t even play any instruments.’

Otoya and Tomo step in and tell them off, while Haruka says nothing. Ringo quiets the class and picks another student to play the piece. 

Lunch comes, and it’s raining. Haruka leaves the class immediately, and doesn’t wait for her friends. She’s lost her appetite, and orders Hayate to take her outside near the lake. 

The rain does well to drown out her tears of frustration. Hayate is whining and trying to get her to pet him.

Kuppuru finds them first. He jumps onto Haruka’s lap with a sad meow and she starts petting them both. She smiles self-deprecatingly at them, saying that maybe she really shouldn’t be at this school. 

That’s when Otoya finds her, placing his jacket over head and saying ‘that’s not true at all!’ 

After leading them to the gazebo (Kuppuru hangs out on Haruka’s shoulders) Haruka says wasn’t he embarrassed to have a useless composer. 

Otoya keeps denying the cruel things she keeps saying about herself, things like she’s a failure and she doesn’t belong here, saying that it was all wrong and encouraging her. 

During her tirade, Kuppuru kept licking her face and Hayate her hand. 

Haruka finally breaks and tells him her grievances - beside her grandmother, no one has ever stayed or cared to listen. 

She’s frustrated with Ringo-Sensei and wishes he would just treat her like a normal student. She may be blind but she doesn’t need special treatment! She’s just as competent as any other student! 

She explains that she does know how to play- she just learns music differently from all of them. She’s angry with the class for their insensitive comments. 

She’s also frustrated with herself for being so weak. She’s used to this kind of treatment, she should be used to it by now. But that doesn’t make it easier. 

Otoya does the best he can to comfort her, but is also stupefied because he doesn’t know how to respond to some of this. Haruka appreciates it. 

He then has a grand idea - they can make a pitch to Ringo-Sensei about his treatment of her. If they work together surely their teacher will listen!  He was incredibly enthusiastic about it. 

It was Haruka’s turn to be stupefied. But then she smiled and agreed. They spend the rest of lunch together in the gazebo writing the pitch. 

The end of the day comes. Tomo asks Haruka if she’s ready to go. Haruka asks her wait outside for just a little bit. Tomo is confused, but waits outside the door.

Otoya and Haruka confront Ringo. Ringo is confused why they stayed late. Otoya starts, so Haruka could gather her courage.

Haruka tells that she’s frustated with Ringo’s treatment of her. She may be blind, but she is just like any other student. She does not like being treated differently by Ringo. She tells Ringo that yes, she can play, she just learns it a different way. She is upset with him for calling her our like he has. It makes her feel like she doesn’t belong in this school. 

Ringo is a little gobsmacked by their hot takes. He blinks a few times, before he laughs deeply. Haruka and Otoya are shocked by his reaction, but before they can assume anything, he calls out to them. He wasn’t laughing because he thought their proposal was stupid. He’s laughing because they are the first students ever willing to tell him off. Most are too scared to because he’s a professional and could even stop them from ever debuting. He’s laughing from shock, and that he never expected such a hot take to come from them in particular. 

He apologizes for his treatment of Haruka. He admits he may been laying it on too thick; he also admits to thinking that she would be inherently weaker than the rest, and that reflected in his treatment of her. He promises to do better, and if she feels he isn’t doing good enough, to tell him. After all, as a pro he’s always striving to be better. Plus, he didn’t want to hurt his adorable students! 

Haruka decides she can like him in the future.

Haruka asks if he could give her two copies of the sheet music. He replies sure, but is confused why. She says she’ll prove to the class by the end of the week that she can perform. He smiles and pats her back in encouragement - and immediately pulls back when Hayate growls and lunges forward just a bit. ‘I’ll just keep my encouragement over here then... haha...’ Haruka reprimands Hayate. 

However, he reminds them that she also needs to write a song, so maybe she could- Haruka cuts him off, saying she will get it done all this week.

When they leave the room, it turns out Tomo had been listening in the whole time, and she jumps on Haruka when she gets out and congratulates her on standing up to their teacher. 

When she starts to lead Haruka away for the pet stop, Otoya asks if he can tag along. Tomo sticks her tongue out at him and says its a girl only event. A jealous Tomo just pushes them quickly out the school while a Otoya goes to try and write some lyrics.

She takes Haruka, Kurrupu, and Hayate to the pet shop. They get things like a fancy litter box, bowls and food, toys and treats. 

Haruka makes an additional stop to get one copy of the sheet music transcribed into braille. 

Tomo asks if she was going to do that anyway, why get two copies? Haruka explains that it would take too long for the music to be transcribed to learn it in one week, so Tomo would be helping her learn until it was ready! Tomo laughed fakely, realizing that she wasn’t being given a choice in the matter. The cat even has the gal to seemingly laugh at her! 

Tomochika spends the rest of that day helping Haruka learn the song verse by verse by either telling her the note pattern or singing it for her, but soon she needs to sleep. 

So late at night Haruka begins working on the composition for Otoya. He said he would have some lyrics by the next day, so she needs something too! But... she’s never written music, not really. She’s improvised on the piano, but simply letting music flow when playing is not the same as intentionally writing it out. 

Her voice recorder sits at her desk seemingly staring straight at her, with scrapped melodies filling it’s memory. Haruka... just can’t seem to write a song. 

Tears blur her vision even more than it already is. She just can’t do anything right, can she? She can’t learn a song and she can’t compose one either. Her useless pride got the better of her. 

She falls asleep like this, the exhaustion having got to her. 

When she wakes up from the dream about her grandmother, she walks over their open balcony, recorder in hand. She looks to the moon, hits record, and she sings her heart out into a brand new melody. 

Otoki, who had been walking around to find inspiration, heard the melody and wandered over to the source - only to come across Nanami. It becomes a Romeo and Juliet moment, just with lots of blushing and without the confession and death. 

When Otoya sings, Haruka doesn’t stop starring at him. Otoya asks if something is wrong. She replies no, its just that his singing is beautiful. Otoya thanks her, but is then confused when she says that when he sings, it’s like she can see him clearly, the warmth of soft flames accompanying his music. It’s like the world is bathed in a patchwork of red jewels that refract the light into beautiful rainbows. 

Working together, they manage to get their song, BRAND NEW MELODY, done by the end of the week. With both Tomochika’s and Otoya’s help and the braille music sheet retrieved in the middle of the week, Haruka even managed to learn the piano piece, just in the nick of time.

She plays it for the class, eyes closed the entire time for the flex on her class. At the end, the class sits in stunned silence, and Ringo-Sensei is the first to clap for her. And quickly, the rest of the class joins, Tomo and Otoya being the loudest. 

Insert Maji LOVE 1000% here! That’s the end of episode 2! I know it seems like episode 2 and 3 were combined, but I’ve plans... big plans! 

[savedaredevil]

If we had to choose a favorite moment at FAN EXPO Dallas yesterday, it's gotta be Jeph's answer to the question asked by one of our very own Save Daredevil team members, @catz-miaous​! You have to watch the whole thing to the very end but if you need it, we also have the clip transcribed under the cut!

Meow [SaveDaredevil Member]: You know what I'm gonna ask [Laughs] 

Moderator: You're wearing a SaveDaredevil shirt. There's no way we can't see it. 

Meow: Yes, exactly. Do the Defenders, as we know them, with those actors, do they potentially have a future on Hulu? 

Jeph Loeb: I can't be specific but I wrote a very impassioned letter, which I was really surprised that corporate let me do it. It was just important to me that the fans understood, and I still see every day posts where some genius will say that: Netflix had nothing to do with this. DISNEY wanted all those characters back and that's what happened. That is NOT what happened. Moderator: Isn't it great when people state things as fact? Jeph: Yes, so that's not what happened. As I have said REPEATEDLY, the network always has the right to decide that they don't want to continue... and it's happened on Agent Carter and it happened on a bunch of shows that I've been involved in. Hopefully the odds have been much more on the other side. To be perfectly honest with you, we were really caught off guard because we were making great shows in New York, that people loved, and one by one Netflix decided they just didn't want to do that anymore. Their reasons are their reasons, I have to respect that, but that's all I can really say RIGHT NOW, other than... that's all I can really say. We have stopped making those shows right now. [exaggerated wink]

Meow [equipo SaveDaredevil]: Ustedes saben lo que voy a preguntar [Risa]. 

Moderador: Tienes una camiseta de SaveDaredevil. No hay forma de que no lo sepamos. 

Meow: Sí, Exactamente. ¿Tienen los Defensores, está versi��n, con estos actores, un futuro en Hulu? 

Jeph Loeb: No puedo ser específico, pero escribí una carta muy apasionada, que me sorprende que la empresa me dejara hacerla. Era muy importante para mí que los fans entendieran, y todavía veo todos los días publicaciones donde algún genio dice que Netflix no tuvo nada que ver con esto. Que Disney quería devuelta esos personajes y eso fue lo que pasó. Eso NO fue lo que pasó. Moderador: ¿No es genial cuando las personas declaran cosas como un hecho? Jeph: Sí, y eso no fue lo que pasó. Como he dicho repetidas veces, la cadena de television siempre tiene el derecho de decidir que no quieren continuar... y ha pasado con Agent Carter, y pasó con muchas otras series en las que he estado involucrado. Esperemos que las probabilidades hayan estado mucho más en el otro lado. Para ser completamente honesto con ustedes, realmente nos tomaron por sorpresa porque estábamos haciendo series geniales en Nueva York, las cuales la gente amaba, y una por una Netflix decidió que no quería seguir haciéndolas. Sus razones son sus razones, tengo que respetarlas, pero eso es todo lo que puedo decir EN ESTE MOMENTO, aparte de.... es todo lo que puedo decir. Hemos dejado de hacer estas series por ahora. [guiño exagerado]

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 6x02

You know how sometimes an episode of television feels like really good value? This week’s Younger episode, “Flushed with Love” felt like that to me. There was a LOT going on but it felt like it flowed really well, there was clear set up for the season and I gotta say, the first 7 mins of this ep gave me so many laughs, the writing was on point from the get go. The 23 min (though hello extra 2 mins, I see you) format is tricky at this stage of a series, especially one that has developed characters and relationships the way Younger has, because in order to keep the story moving forward attention needs to be paid to all those elements that have been established. So it will be interesting to see the pacing for the rest of the season, this ep was fast paced but didn’t feel too rushed, though I do hope that every now and then we get to sit in scenes of the upcoming episodes a little longer.

I love a morning in the loft with Liza and Maggie opening scene, there’s something so comforting about it and this ep served us up a good ‘un. Maggie paying out Liza’s outfit (she’s not wrong though), talking about her hook up with Clare’s mum as missionary work (first actual lol) and Maggie’s spidey senses tingling about Clare and her trustworthiness (though Liza is back in the Clare camp for now). It was brief, yet a nice reminder that these two roomies really have a relationship unlike any other on this show (I heart it very hard).

We waste no time getting to Aunt Liza’s first call of duty and that is, of course, baby goods shopping with Josh. This scene was utterly delightful and again, actual lols to be had. One of the many things I love about Younger is that it can venture into the silly or absurd to suit any given situation or character and even when it’s wrapped around something realistic and serious, it just works. This is one of my favourite scenes between Josh and Liza in recent memory, I felt like I saw what their friendship could/would look like (when someone finally puts this limping triangle out of its misery). I cackled at Josh’s, ‘I don’t understand why it comes out before it’s completely assembled’ and seeing him chug that gripe water after dry retching about the umbilical cord stump was pure slapsticky goodness. Of course it would not be a Liza/Josh scene without the reminder of Josh’s heart eyes for Liza, which featured in his lingering gaze as Liza advised against getting mobile as it gets in the way when you lean in for a kiss.  

You know what I have heart eyes for? The 4 mins of this episode that starts at Lexington research centre and ends with Quinn asking Kelsey, ‘ARE YOU CRYING?’. The whole sequence is comedic gold. Seeing Diana, Kelsey and Liza sitting at the table together made my heart so happy, but not as happy as Diana taking Kelsey’s ‘since I’m the publisher’ from the start of the scene and using it to wish her luck telling Quinn her book sucks at the end. D. Trout is here to support you Big K but not put up with your ‘tude. This is also the first scene where we begin to see the experience vs. youth idea surface, as Diana tells Kelsey and Liza that it’s nice they think they have a choice about debuting with Quinn’s book. While Kelsey’s inexperience is easy enough to spot, Liza’s ‘I think this is so smart’ comment, just as the focus group feedback starts to roll, is the first reminder that Liza may be a fine editor with great ideas and her life experience sets her in good stead a lot of the time, but she is pretty much as green as they come in the business world. The Claw reader response reel, sweet lawd, I have watched this so many times and LAUGHED (yes, capital letters laughed) because the selection of responses, working their way to Suzzane’s shingles flaring up and Vicky begging to unread the book, are just too funny for words (”strong reactions”).

Thankfully we don’t have to wait long for Kelsey to deliver the news to Quinn because the nightmare continues over lunch aka. hilarity ensues. In case we needed some more convincing that Quinn does what Quinn wants, she immediately railroads the conversation by giving Kelsey and Liza gold business cards holders (that ‘poor Charles’ comment re: a quick exit, this woman just cannot help herself, Claw could not be a more apropos book title *meow*). Seeing Kelsey trying to find her feet in her new role is really interesting in this ep and the contrast between the first meeting and the later one when she makes Quinn sign a napkin contract to leave if the book bombs (boss move on Kelsey’s part, I rate that whole exchange a lot higher than Maggie’s current Uber rating...you’re welcome), demonstrates that Kelsey has the capacity to be a great publisher, but obvs there will be loads of DRAH-MAH to get there this season. But I tell you, if that drama includes being forced to chant in a restaurant full of strangers with a billionaire who may or may not have peaked in high school (Liza’s ‘what is happening’, the birth of ‘Big K’, Quinn sort of shrieking ‘are you crying?’, I just cannot with it all) then I am HERE FOR IT. I love the whole ridiculous scenario so much and once again, it’s flat out absurd but it somehow works and I’m 100% looking forward to Quinn’s next hit, coming this season: Fifty Shades of Cray.

Kelsey’s insecurity kicks into overdrive straight after lunch and this is undoubtedly going to be a recurring theme, as evidenced in the later exchange between Kelsey and Liza when Liza passes on the advice Charles offered in relation to publishing Claw as the first Millennial title under the new regime.  Kelsey chastising Liza for discussing the book with Charles was the first sign that the pressure is getting to her and the immediate accusation that Liza was running her ideas past Charles (as opposed to just talking about her day, you know, as you do with someone you’re in a relationship with) mirrored Kelsey’s reaction to finding out Liza and Charles were together in season 5, when she leapt to the conclusion that Liza was trying to undermine her decision not to publish the Krieger book. 

Kelsey assuming the worst of Liza is something I really struggle with, especially considering Liza has proven time and time again that she has Kelsey’s back. I am still scratching my head at how the whole exchange resulted in Liza feeling the need to give a peace offering to Kelsey at the gender reveal party later, but I will park that for now. Ultimately, I felt sorry for Kelsey as we saw her presume that Liza thinks she’s out of her depth and misconstrue Liza saying she wasn’t strong enough with Quinn regarding the edits to mean that Liza doesn’t think Kelsey is strong enough herself. There has to be a point when Kelsey realises that Liza and co. all want her to succeed and turns to them for the support each can offer (at least I hope there comes a point) so it will certainly be interesting to see that play out.

Even at the fancy clothes event (this is what I have been referring to it as since seeing everyone dressed up in promos etc so I’ll stick with it) Kelsey is feeling like she does not belong (can we just talk about Kelsey’s portrait wedged in between all the unremarkable white-haired white men on the event poster? I want to print that whole display as postcards to send to people for no reason). Zane’s, ‘You’re standing in front of a bar, you’ve never belonged anywhere more in your life’, was both accurate and also a sweet attempt to reassure Kelsey. I’m finding Kelsey’s willingness to show vulnerability to Zane this season quite a contrast to their previous dynamic; last episode she was talking about finding her job harder than expected and this week, she reveals her struggle with impostor syndrome. I’m neither offended or excited by the Zelsey situation so that will be what it is and for those who are into it, I feel like there might be some great moments coming up in that relationship now that they appear to be on again *shrug emoji* Are they? Not sure. I am curious to see whether their relationship allows Kelsey to continue to open up more and give the audience a glimpse into her struggles and fears and I feel like I say this a lot, but I would like to get to continue to get to know Zane.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that my excitement for Liza and Charles being dressed up and out together as an actual couple was through the roof going into this episode. Their entrance, with Charles’ smitten gaze firmly on Liza, followed quickly by the effortless literary exchange that reveals Liza is feeling a little out of her depth at such an event herself = le sigh. What I did not expect though was a) how much I was going love Lauren in this scene, I mean I really do love every time she is on my screen, but her conversation with Diana and Enzo, I could just transcribe it word for word (or you should just watch it again) because the whole thing, including Enzo’s delight and Diana’s horror (just a modern-day Juliet but with poop in her ear), was glorious; and b) Charles telling Liza that she’s taking bullets meant for him and he needs to fix it and the entire apology to Diana that followed. Zane and Charles’ little nods and Charles’ obvious diversion from Liza asking what that was about is duly noted, clearly the mystery around the newest Millennial/40-something team abounds and will no doubt come to a head soon. 

So it may have been a convenient distraction, but Charles cutting through the awkwardness to tell Diana they both know he owes her an apology, only for her to lay it all out as only Diana could, encapsulated the dynamic we’ve seen for the past five season between these two characters perfectly. Even though it’s only been two episodes, I miss their incidental interactions in the office, even if they’re often only fleeting. Obviously I blacked out momentarily when Charles told Diana that he can’t apologise for falling in love with Liza, but I thankfully regained consciousness in time to hear Diana twist Charles’ words and be happy to leave it as her hearing that she would be running Millennial had it been up to Charles. 

I love that Liza continues to confront Charles and challenge him if she disagrees with him and hearing that Charles’ belief in Kelsey is genuine was lovely and I am so pleased that he has been confirmed as an ally and backer of hers. The reality is, we knew that Empirical was in financial trouble last season, Charles was open about that, but his advice around how to handle Quinn’s book was sound, I love that he also acknowledged that maybe Kelsey’s plan will work and I feel like the ‘experience means something’ idea may resurface in a surprising way down the track. Liza’s cogs were clearly turning and the challenge for her is going to be whether she is strong enough to call Kelsey out or stand up to her at times. 

I am glad to see Charles respect that Liza is in a difficult position and his understanding when she asked that they not discuss Millennial was admirable. I adore how dry Charles is when he and Liza are alone, his humour in the way he talks about branching out to other cuisines and of course, the fabulous dead pan agreement that he will not tell Liza about the movie other than a few tidbits and ‘that’s all you get’ *swoon*. Cue Liza once again being unabashedly suggestive and helping herself to dessert. I really appreciate that Younger shows the way characters are different in these private romantic relationships, it’s realistic and reflects the way we show different sides of ourselves when we’re with someone we love and are comfortable with. Of course Liza’s request to keep work talk out of the relationship will no doubt prove problematic as Charles and Zane’s machinations unfold, however it also means that if Charles is not forthcoming in revealing their plans, he may arguably be respecting her wishes. I still hold out hope that whatever drama that needs to play out does so, but that Kelsey, Liza, Charles and Zane ultimately team up again to work together, along with Diana and Lauren. I mean, talk about the A team.

Speaking of A teams, Diana and Enzo (#Dianzo I think we settled on??). Never have I shushed at a character quite like I did Diana as she careened towards the point of no return during her post-event walk with Enzo. It was like watching some kind of horrifying game of insult Jenga, where instead of wooden pieces, every time Diana kept trying to clarify that actually, she just meant she thought she’d be with someone cultured, sophisticated etc, we could see the pieces of Enzo’s heart being slowly extracted before the whole thing broke completely (along with mine). I actually yelled ‘stop talking’ at one point and it was a reminder that Diana’s tendency to be self absorbed and inconsiderate is still well and truly in tact. It did allow for yet another splendid Lauren/Diana interaction the next morning at work, Lauren’s sympathy evident as she referred to Diana by her actual name instead of Diva, and I just love how obsessed Lauren is with Diana. I need to see more of them together and yes please out at a bar. 

Of course the real pay off and Dianzo resolution came towards the end of the episode when we discovered that Diana had written and published their love story herself. Side note: I want Miriam Shor to narrate all my books. Diana and Enzo’s simple yet emotional reunion was so moving, in part because of the accompanying narration but also because Diana’s walls are finally down with Enzo, she’s allowing herself to be in love with him because that’s what she wants and needs. I just love the character development of Diana over the series and I cannot wait to see the Diana and Enzo story unfold over the rest of the season. 

The fastest moving part of this episode was undoubtedly the gender reveal to birth of baby which occurred in the space of about four minutes. When Liza arrived at the party I really got the impression that as she looked over at Josh and Clare, she was simply happy for them. And poor Liza being tasked with holding the balloon for the big reveal only to let it go, that whole situation was so relatable and would definitely be me if I was given that responsibility. Clare did a fantastic job of moving from first contraction to crowning baby in the back of an Uber in mere minutes. I cannot even tell you how ecstatic I am that Maggie was the character put into the back of that car, that scene was so bonkers but the dialogue, from Maggie asking why she was in the splash zone and ‘it’s coming for me’ and telling Josh the breathing’s not working, to Clare’s ‘you and I are the only two women who’ve been inside my mother, we’re bonded’ and of course ‘no baby in my Uber!’, it has to have been one of the most hectic moments ever on this show but jeez was it funny.

The entire outro of this episode, with Diana’s narration tying together all the fragments, was sublime and obviously credit to Don Roos for the stellar writing. I have said it before, but having a young guy so openly yearn to be a father is really refreshing and seeing Josh with his baby was beautiful. This character just desperately wants to love and be loved and I really believe that his daughter will give that to him in a way he deserves. For Liza, seeing Josh with the baby would undoubtedly dredge up all kinds of feelings. I am not naive enough to believe that the writers won’t continue to stoke the ‘Team’ debate, however for now I am going to put my faith in the fact that actually, the story that’s playing out is one that is real and multifaceted. To see an ex, whom you loved, with a baby that you were very clear you did not want, I don’t doubt that there would be a moment of, ‘what would my life have looked like if that had been me?’. It doesn’t mean Liza wants that now, but I do believe that coupled with the words Diana is reading, it is a time of letting go and reflection for Liza.

When Liza returns to the brownstone (ok, two things quickly, umm how does she get in to the house? I would NOT put it past C. Brooks to have given her a key already but I need confirmation asap. Also, turns out casual Charles is a barefoot guy, which I am struggling with a little because it is Winter and he is sitting reading, surely there’d at least be socks but apparently not), I will admit that I found the exchange between her and Charles a little odd, I can’t really explain why. I really liked Charles’ reaction to the news of a baby girl, his understanding of what it’s like to become a parent felt really evident in his response. I could (most likely am) be completely over-thinking it, but I wonder if Charles asking Liza if she’s happy is because he knows this would be hard for Liza? 

I feel like the fact she needs a hug is a dead give away that she’s needing some TLC and time to process. I truly love a hug, I find them to be more intimate sometimes than a kiss, like a real proper hug and I feel like we don’t get many on TV and the way Liza pulls Charles to her and he holds her does things to my heart. The look on Liza’s face at the end, it is obviously to serve the purpose of stirring up the Josh/Charles debate but you know what? I just want to engage in the narrative as it is written and I do believe that Liza is happy with Charles and is grieving the ‘what could have been’ with Josh in that moment and to me, that’s ok. It will be how these characters and the story move forward from this point that I’m really keen to see.

All in all, I really enjoyed episode 2, it was an episode of extremes in many ways because the funny was oh so funny and the emotional really up and got me at the end there.

Be sure to have your fire blankets ready for next week’s ep, if you’ve seen the sneak peek you know why and if you haven’t just trust me, it will be necessary.

[gendernewtral]

okay im not gonna jump on the person who said this but it doesn’t matter if there’s one of these OMG UNMUTES!! that someone personally think isnt worth unmuting.

you aren’t the authority on what people can and can’t watch. when people don’t transcribe sounds, dialogue, music, etc in a video just because they think it isn’t “worth it” they are explicitly saying that hearing disabled people are only allowed to do what people without hearing disabilities want them to do. they are saying that people needing those captions/transcriptions to understand what’s going on aren’t worth the effort of writing out sounds and transcribing “pointless” videos.

i didn’t address this initially but these transcriptions are also critical for disabled people who can hear. someone with sensitivity to certain sounds needs to know if there will be loud noises, yelling, sirens, etc. someone with trauma related to specific topics or sounds needs to know if they will be triggered by the video before they play it. there are so many disabled people who need these descriptions, and in the fucking least need videos that have ccs in them. but these don’t help people with the disabilities i just described, and assuming that ccs are enough assumes that the people with other disabilities can just cope with not hearing what might be triggering to them. you can do better.

don’t make disabled people dig through the notes of a post, especially if those notes are discussing very triggering content related to the video. if you aren’t disabled, spend two seconds finding a transcribed video or do it yourself. if a cat is just making cute squeaky noises and that’s all the audio, is it really such a burden for a non-disabled person to write:

[audio: the kitten is making squeaky meowing sounds that sound like a bird. there is someone laughing at it off screen.]

no, it isn’t. just help disabled people out.

(for the record: i really appreciate people who do this as much as they can but forget sometimes. i love those people who aren’t super consistent but understand that when they do remember, they are helping disabled people. this post is not about those people.)

hey if there’s ever a post like OMG UNMUTE or THIS IS NOTHING WITHOUT SOUND! transcribe the video or reblog a transcribed version. if you Know that it doesn’t make sense without sound, don’t mock people who can’t hear or process audio by showing them a video they can’t interact with.

[rivienna]

Well, now that I've written that Intro to Allienne, it's time to watch Teen Wolf episode two. 

One day I'll post my audio because these transcripts lose half the awesome when you can't hear my tone of voice, but I don't really feel like going to the effort of editing them tonight.

I was working on a @shitpostsampler while watching this episode. This is transcribed with my accent in tact because you can't hear how hilarious I am.

(there were several spots where I covered my face with my cross stitch because wow no. second hand embarrassment sucks)

A transcript:

This is not the place to be screaming, Scott

He's... okay. 

Still don't remember high school sports so. this part dudn't interest me much. I wonder if Francis had a lacrosse team? I know we had basketball and football. And track, 'cause before I fucked my knee over I was track.

Really Finstock? Sports man. Don't get 'em.

pfftahaha Derek really? You're such a stalker.

Yeah that's wild.

ahahahahahahahaha really that's how you're going to do it. with a fucking extinguishmer? [yes, I did say extinguishmer]

you're totally out of it that's what happened dude.

oh my god scott really. all you care about is your stupid sport. geez. pfft. really mel. [mel: Have you ever taken drugs?] Yes. The correct answer is. I've taken tylenol.

the fuck stilinski? oooh super intense. what's with yer uh. ahahahahah leg man. you're going to go all intense because of the leg?

ahahahahahahahaha jesus christ [???]

yer anger's causing some problems there Derek.

wait. Derek why did you wait until Stiles' message had actually come through? Like. Why?

See. once again. instead of just coming and saying "I can't play" you just... spend the next day being sick. [airquotes] sick [/airquotes] with a migraine.

[my cat meows very loudly] rinoa you ain't helping.

yeeeeeeah. just fake being sick bro.

stutter stutter stumble stutter

ah teenagers. you'd think they'd know how to fake being sick better

what's up ally really lydia. really. wooooow

if he'd just kept his mouth shut and then faked being sick, much easier.

stiles really. stiles, stiles, stiles.

Scott. are you creeping?

Wow. yeah. I would go too Ally. I would go too.

Imma scream at the woooods

says the basketball star [is that just a fanfic thing tho?]

you make such bad choices there scott. which I get why: the fucking peer pressure, but for realsies.

what are you guys doing?

ahahahaha stiles no. stiles. stiles no. please no. please. she does remember you, you're a fucking moron and you really need to stop hitting on her. oh stilinski...

so obviously I missed something while I was talking because I don't know why he's in the morgue.  Oh the other half of Laura's body, right.

St--You coulda just told y'dad. Like. Hey dad, we found a grave.

Wait don't you have to play a game tonight? Why are you digging up a body when you need to be playing a game tonight? or is that the next night?

he's gonna catch you because you guys are both morons. uh-huh. you dumbass boys. you boys... yeah. bad juju you boys.

Stiles are you-- Stiles. [heavy sigh] No.

Ah yeah he actually can't. Scott won't listen to him.

heh. hahahaha. heh. [??? I just. did a weird laugh for two minutes?]

What set you off this time Scotty? Oh. Not good. Boy dun ??? rub off?  [wtf. okay sometimes even I don't understand my accent]

Abusing your privileges there Stiles. 

hah. yeah. This continues to be creepy. Yup. Scotty, you aaaaaaare creepy.

Chris is just like. Please. Please don't touch my daughter.

Seriously. Migraine? Perfect excuse with the way you WINCE.

ahahahaha stiles you're not helping

[What if I hit you-- would you feel any pain then?] Yes he probably would. I kinda think Jackson would have learned how to deal with Finstock by now.

[You going to see some action tonight?] No.

I'm gonna just focus on my cross stitch because. Sports. I say sports rather dismissively, but I do actually like watching sports. As long as that sport is hockey. I am a Canadian stereotype.

Man. Being able to hear people be shitty about you's gotta be hard. My brain just imagines people being shitty about me.

Scott you are just like. being really fucking weird. good thing you've got that helmet on, right?

Oh yeah. Tease the werewolf. I mean, not that you know he's a werewolf, but tease the werewolf. That always turns out great.

You know Mel. You seem really excited despite knowing that your son is SEVERELY asthmatic.

Little too strong there Scotty.

Chris. Chris what the fuck is that face.

He's on lycan~thro~py~

Yeah I'm going to echo you there Stiles.

Chris' face is the best. "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. About my daughter. And what I think is a woof. Pretty sure that's a wolf."

And he's in shift.

Where you going Scotland? hahahahahahahahahaha 

Ally why are you in the locker room?

[mirror shatters with bits of wolfy reflection] Nice CG.

Scoooott. Stop being a dinkass.

It's trying really hard to be creepy, but uh. I'm not creeped out. Which is hilarious because I get creeped out so easily. So easily. Peeking around corners being all creeped out there Ally? [snooty mimic] Scott?

You trying to flirt there Scotts?

REALLY. Her dad is outside, and he wants to kill you. Smoochy face.

hahahahahahahahahah Stiles. Why are you-- Stiles you're such a creeper.

[snotty mimic] Oooh maybe it's not that bad

ahaha Jackson be like. Da fuq?

ahahahahah why are you just hovering. Derek stop hovering. That's not omnious.

Huh. Guess that's the end of the episode.

[succeedly]

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://ift.tt/2ofkiIG

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be emailtheteacher@Iditarod.com and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Contact us about the show: http://ift.tt/1jailTy

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race published first on https://getnewcourse.tumblr.com/

[growthvue]

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://ift.tt/2ofkiIG

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be emailtheteacher@Iditarod.com and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Contact us about the show: http://ift.tt/1jailTy

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race published first on https://getnewdlbusiness.tumblr.com/

[athena29stone]

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be emailtheteacher@Iditarod.com and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e258/

[aira26soonas]

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be emailtheteacher@Iditarod.com and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail

, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e258/

[patriciaanderson357-blog]

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Heidi Sloan on episode 258 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Heidi Sloan is the Iditarod teacher for this year. It starts on March 3 – 18. Get free lesson plans, connect with a musher and get your kids excited.

Check out Jennifer Gonzalez’ 2018 Teacher’s Guide to Technology for more than 200 tools with special tips, videos, and screenshots to get you started.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

***

Enhanced Transcript

Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e258 Date: February 21, 2018

Vicki: Today we’re talking with Heidi Sloan, a Virginia 5th grade teacher who has the privilege of reporting on the Iditarod this year, February 19-22, 2018.

So Heidi, tell us about this opportunity and what you’re going to be doing.

Heidi: The Iditarod is a dog sled race across Alaska commemorating the Iditarod trail and the sled dog tradition of Alaska. Every year I have incorporated the race into my classroom for a long time, and it just builds engagement and motivation with the kids.

They have a whole education department but they choose one teacher a year to go on the race. It’s been a dream of mine for years.

This has been a dream of mine for years

I applied, and I was chosen last April to be the 2018 teacher on the trail. I will be going out and speaking to schools and actually flying by bush plane to all that the mushers have to … and I’ll write that lesson plan, and what’s going on each day from Alaska.

Vicki: So how will people be able to follow these lesson plans and let their students follow along?

How can we follow along?

Heidi: If you go to Iditarod.com, and then click on the Education tab, there’s just a boatload of wonderful lesson plans for every subject. Then my tab once your on the trail. I’ve been posting week for months. I have a lot of ideas and lesson plans for teachers, too. I just put one on. If you’re new to the Iditarod, just getting started, it’s a really good checklist of ways to just jump in with all that you need, just to start. So I would recommend that, too, if you’re new to it.

Go to: http://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Vicki: What do your students think about this opportunity?

How are your students feeling about you going?

Heidi: They’re very excited. They’re a little apprehensive that I’ll be gone for five weeks, because it’s actually March 22nd that I get back.

Vicki: Ohhhhh! So it’s February 19 through MARCH 22nd? Sorry, so they’re going to be following this for a while!

Heidi: The race actually begins on March 3rd. That will be the weekend to be watching, but they’re excited. They love learning about the Iditarod. It’s so new to kids, especially in the south. They just have no concept of the cold and snow and all the neat things that go into mushing dogs. They do get excited, and it really helps them want to read the articles and do the math problems and make the — that have to do with it. It just wraps rather easily into our curriculum.

Vicki: Heidi, what are some of the best things to teach, using the Iditarod as kind of a backdrop?

How does the Iditarod fit in with a regular curriculum?

Heidi: There’s a lot of character education that you can pull out of it — determination, loyalty, leadership, all that kind of stuff definitely can be pulled in. I do a lot with that.

Even in geometry, you can work with the dogs’ harnesses and measure the angles. There are a lot of fun things to do with math.

I do a STEM project where the kids have to come up with a little dog house that has a certain amount of volume in it, using crackers and frosting. There are just all kinds of neat things you can do with that.

There are a lot of articles that the mushers write at the EDU of Iditarod does. You can have your kids read the articles.

There are just so many fun things.

How can people reach you while you are there?

Vicki: So Heidi, will people be able to tweet you? Will classrooms be able to tweet you questions?

Heidi: My internet is sort of spotty, because I’ll be in the interior of Alaska…

Vicki: Ohhhh…

Heidi: Probably the best way to reach me would be emailtheteacher@Iditarod.com and I will be able to email back sometimes and possibly even send a little Skype video or something to teachers. So if they want to see the dogs, or see what’s going on, I’ll do my best.

When and how can teachers apply to be able to do what you are doing?

Vicki: So when do applications open to apply for 2019? That’s going to be the first question that some folks ask after they take a look at all your lesson plans.

Heidi: They have actually selected some finalists for 2019, so the next up would be 2020. So they are due December 1st.

If you click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab, it tells about how you can apply as well and what the requirements are. It’s the thrill of a lifetime, so if anybody is interested, I would just say, “Go for it!”

Vicki: And Alaska is just such a beautiful state. I’ve been there and spoken at their conference. So many beautiful, wonderful educators there. And it’s just… just… the beauty is tremendous.

Heidi: Yes, yes it is. It’s just pristine. I’ve been getting a lesson ready for the Alaskan schools, comparing Virginia kids to Alaskan kids. Things that Virginia kids never see, like snow machines or moose.

Vicki: Well, until this winter, right? (laughs)

Heidi: (laughs) That’s right!

Vicki: This winter’s been wild.

Where would teachers begin if they have no experience teaching this?

OK, so how does a teacher get started? You said you have posted a lesson plan on getting started with teaching about the Iditarod. But tell us again where to go and how you think that we should start.

Heidi: Go to Iditarod.com and click on the “Teacher on the Trail” tab along the side. On there is “New to the Iditarod” is what I think I titled the post.

Basically, it gives some book ideas for read-alouds to get started and getting your kids familiar with the race.

It’s got some math activities. It’s got activities on researching the rules, which is good reading research practice, and that helps them understand.

I’ve got a packet in there that helps them find a musher that they can follow and cheer for, and what they can look for on the website once the race starts.

I’ve got ideas on graphing the temperature and things like that all along the race, and doing activities with the checkpoints. Those are some of the things that you can just get started, and then you can build from it as time goes on.

I always say, “Start small, and you can always add to it later.”

Vicki: So what is the most surprising thing that you’ve learned about the Iditarod?

What has surprised you the most?

Heidi: Hmmmm. I love the Alaskan people. A lot of the mushers are from Alaska or foreign countries like Norway and Sweden. I like their adventurous spirit.

I love how difficult the Iditarod is. People don’t realize. You’re going down mountain cliffs. You’re going over frozen rivers that sometimes have water on them.

Just the bitter cold and the “Do it yourself” type of attitude. I just love that, and how the mushers help each other along the trail.

All that has been a wonderful learning experience for me.

Vicki: So, the Iditarod is coming up, March 3 through March 22.

We will have all the resources for you. We can follow Heidi.

Heidi, thank you for coming on, so that we can have a voice and of course your picture that we

can include this exciting opportunity for teachers to be able to take some fun lesson plans and kind of get to know exactly what’s going on. This is just a great teaching opportunity.

And I love how this event has actually having a teacher to really engage teachers and students. I think it’s a fantastic model I hope a lot of events will follow this model.

Heidi: Thank you so much, Vicki, for the opportunity to share.

Contact us about the show: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/contact/

Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford kymberlimulford@gmail.com

Bio as submitted

I am a 5th grade teacher who loves to motivate and engage my students in February and March by using the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race as a tool to help teach math, reading, science, writing, and geography. I want to make learning relevant and make sure my students learn something new each day. This year I was selected to be Iditarod Teacher on the Trail

, the one teacher who gets to actually go on the race to be a reporter of sorts for teachers and students around the world. I love sharing motivating ideas with teachers!

Blog: https://iditarod.com/edu/category/teacher-on-the-trail/

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post Iditarod Teacher: How to Connect and Learn from the Iditarod Race appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

[ralph31ortiz]

8 Great Gifts for Administrators

Dr. Frank Buck on episode 197 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Dr. Frank Buck, author of Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders, talks about what to get administrators (and what not to give them.) We have an entertaining chat about all the ideas to make this holiday season very special for your administrator.

Today’s Sponsor: Bloomz is the tool I chose for parent/teacher communication. To find out why read www.coolcatteacher.com/bloomz or go to bloomz.com to get started setting up your school or classroom now! December and January are great months to roll out Bloomz with your parents, so you can start 2018 strong.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Below is an enhanced transcript, modified for your reading pleasure. For guests and hyperlinks to resources, scroll down.

Giveaway Contest

Task Clone Give Away

***

Enhanced Transcript

8 Great Gifts for Administrators

Link to show: www.coolcatteacher.com/e197

Vicki: Today we’re talking with my dear friend Dr. Frank Buck. @DrFrankBuck

We’ve had productivity shows. We’ve had shows where we have talked about all kinds of tools and tips. But today, we’re going to talk about EIGHT GREAT GIFTS for Admins.

And one not-so-great gift.

So, Frank… Where do we start in getting a gift for our administrator?

Frank: Well, let’s start with the not-so-great gift.

No: Ties

PLEASE don’t give the principal another Christmas tie. As an elementary principal, I could wear a different Christmas tie every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas and not get them all worn.

Vicki, I’d actually have to start on Labor Day in order to get them all in. So, no Christmas ties.

Vicki: (laughs)

Yes: Children’s Writing and Artwork

Frank: But let me start with my first “DO GIVE,” and this was something given by the kids in second grade one year. Every child wrote their own chapter book.

Now, it was about the school, and all of the chapters were standardized, but the children wrote their story, they illustrated the story, and Chapter 8 was called the “The Man in Charge.” That was me.

And unbeknownst to me, before they bound the books, the teachers took everybody’s Chapter 8, made a good clear color copy, had the children autograph it, bound it in a book, and gave it to me.

Vicki: Awwwwww….

Frank: Right now, those children are about to graduate from high school. But I still have that bound book right in the entranceway.

So, number one… something that the kids made.

Vicki: I love that! That is so touching! Isn’t it?

Frank: Yeah. Yeah. That’s my favorite.

Vicki: Yeah.

Yes: (Delayed) Homemade Baked Goods

Frank: And number two… to kind of keep in the spirit of things that are made rather than things that are bought… BAKED GOODS!

A lot of our listeners are great bakers. Pies and cakes.

But give the principal a certificate for one. Don’t give them a cake now, because you and I both know what schools are like in December. There’s food EVERYWHERE! The problem is that there’s not enough flat surfaces to put out all of the food.

But if you go back in March and April, and the cupboards are BARE. So give the certificate, which the principal can then exchange in March or April, for that cake. They’ll love every morsel of it!

Vicki: They will. And if they give it to you anyway… (laughs)

Yes: A Subscription to a Cool Tech Tool

Frank: So number three… (laughs)… absolutely, absolutely.

Number three… If you’re talking to me, we’re going to talk about tech at some point. So number three is a gift of a Premium Evernote Subscription. I can’t talk enough about Evernote. I used the free one for a long time, but it makes all the difference in the world, getting the premium version. It’s around $70 a year. Maybe we can put a little link in the Shownotes that a teacher can go to to really get the information on how to give a gift subscription of Evernote.

Vicki: Love that. Well…

Yes: Task Clone to Link Evernote and their Calendar

Frank: Number four… If the principal maybe already uses Evernote and uses a digital task list, like ToodleDo or Asana or Todoist… any of the major ones.

There is a wonderful service that not enough people know about yet. It’s called Task Clone. It lets Evernote work together with that digital task list, and it’s only like $15.00 a year. It’s wonderful!

And the developer e-mailed me yesterday, and said he’s willing to give five free gift subscriptions. So we can talk about maybe how we can award those to five lucky people, and put that in the Shownotes. But it is a wonderful, wonderful service.

Vicki: We will do that give-away! What a way to celebrate!

Enter the giveaway here.

OK, what’s our fifth?

Frank: OK. Number five. I would just hope we’d call this, “Better Tools.”

Yes: Better (Tool) Accessories

Think about your principal and what they sort of carry around with them all the time.

Like if there’s that laptop that they always have under their arm, but the sleeve that it’s in is sort of ratty. What about a nice leather sleeve that they would really be proud of?

Or if they use a paper journal, but it’s sort of like a spiral notebook that’s really ratty? Maybe invest in a nice paper journal, so that when they pull it out, it really looks professional.

And then other people say, “Where did you get that?” And they can say, “My faculty gave that to me.”

Vicki: Just noticing what they love, you know?

Frank: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Yes: Hobby Helpers

And then number six… Think about a hobby that the administrator has. Absolutely nothing to do with school. Give them something related to that hobby.

So you might need to call somebody who’s kind of in that arena to ask them, “What’s the latest and greatest thing that’s come out that the administrator might not yet have. And then get them that.

So that’s my number six tip.

Vicki: Great! OK, what’s next?

Yes: Autographed Book by a Favorite Author

Frank: Number seven.

Who is your administrator’s favorite author? Who is that person that they’re always talking about. Get a book by that person, and get the author to not only autograph it, but write a really nice message that makes it sound like they know your principal. It maybe includes a couple of things that are near and dear to your principal’s heart.

Now I think that the easiest way to do that is… Most of these people speak at conventions. So somehow be able to grab a book from the bookstore, grab the speaker in the hall, and say, “Hey… would you consider autographing the book…” And have something written out for them so that in just a minute or so, they can do that. Your principal would love it.

And by the way, I would be delighted — not because I am the greatest author in the world, but I’d be delighted to kick you in a copy of my book, autograph it and write a message just like I’ve said, for some lucky listener.

Vicki: And the book is a great book for helping administrators get organized. And sometimes, authors will, on their website, give you the opportunity to order signed books there, if they’re still living. So that’s another place to check.

Yes: Leave a Legacy

OK, what’s our eighth?

Frank: The eighth and final tip… If your administrator has as much grey hair as I have, and they’re toward the end of their career, and they have just about everything, then think about a gift that is going to help that principal leave a legacy.

It might be… if there’ a brick project out there, where you can buy a brick that’s going to have that principal’s name and the dates that they were principal… That’s a good one.

Maybe commission a portrait that’s going to hang in the school for the rest of eternity.

Name something in the principal’s honor. Something that, when that principal is no longer the principal of that school, that’s going to let the teachers and the parents and the students for decades to come still remember that person.

So that’s number eight.

Vicki: My headmaster, that I loved dearly, Graham Lowe… We named the gym after him my senior year, when I was on student government. We surprised them! How do you hang a cement thing on the wall and surprise them?

Frank: (laughs)

Vicki: But I remember it too.

When you honor people you care about, it’s a great memory for both of you. What a fitting way to really give a gift.

Name an award after them. Do something special that helps them live on in people’s minds and hearts, and celebrate who they are, and what they’ve done.

Frank: (agrees) It helps them leave that legacy.

Vicki: I love it.

Frank: I hope that this gives your listeners some ideas so that we can give a gift that’s really going to matter.

And it’s not going to be another Christmas tie.

Vicki: No more Christmas ties!

Thank you, Frank!

  Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

kymberlimulford@gmail.com

  Dr. Frank Buck: Bio as submitted

Frank Buck is a veteran school administrator, public speaker, productivity coach, and author of Get Organized!: Time Management for School Leaders. He has spoken to audiences throughout the United States and internationally to help busy professionals achieve total control over their time and the peace of mind that nothing is falling through the cracks.

Blog: Frank Buck Consulting

Twitter: @DrFrankBuck

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post 8 Great Gifts for Administrators appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

from Cool Cat Teacher BlogCool Cat Teacher Blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/e197/

[succeedly]

8 Great Gifts for Administrators

Dr. Frank Buck on episode 197 of the 10-Minute Teacher Podcast

From the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis

Follow @coolcatteacher on Twitter

Dr. Frank Buck, author of Get Organized: Time Management for School Leaders, talks about what to get administrators (and what not to give them.) We have an entertaining chat about all the ideas to make this holiday season very special for your administrator.

Today’s Sponsor: Bloomz is the tool I chose for parent/teacher communication. To find out why read http://ift.tt/2f0btkq or go to bloomz.com to get started setting up your school or classroom now! December and January are great months to roll out Bloomz with your parents, so you can start 2018 strong.

Listen Now

Listen to the show on iTunes or Stitcher

Stream by clicking here.

Below is an enhanced transcript, modified for your reading pleasure. For guests and hyperlinks to resources, scroll down.

Giveaway Contest

Task Clone Give Away

***

Enhanced Transcript

8 Great Gifts for Administrators

Link to show: http://ift.tt/2zLTlo1

Vicki: Today we’re talking with my dear friend Dr. Frank Buck. @DrFrankBuck

We’ve had productivity shows. We’ve had shows where we have talked about all kinds of tools and tips. But today, we’re going to talk about EIGHT GREAT GIFTS for Admins.

And one not-so-great gift.

So, Frank… Where do we start in getting a gift for our administrator?

Frank: Well, let’s start with the not-so-great gift.

No: Ties

PLEASE don’t give the principal another Christmas tie. As an elementary principal, I could wear a different Christmas tie every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas and not get them all worn.

Vicki, I’d actually have to start on Labor Day in order to get them all in. So, no Christmas ties.

Vicki: (laughs)

Yes: Children’s Writing and Artwork

Frank: But let me start with my first “DO GIVE,” and this was something given by the kids in second grade one year. Every child wrote their own chapter book.

Now, it was about the school, and all of the chapters were standardized, but the children wrote their story, they illustrated the story, and Chapter 8 was called the “The Man in Charge.” That was me.

And unbeknownst to me, before they bound the books, the teachers took everybody’s Chapter 8, made a good clear color copy, had the children autograph it, bound it in a book, and gave it to me.

Vicki: Awwwwww….

Frank: Right now, those children are about to graduate from high school. But I still have that bound book right in the entranceway.

So, number one… something that the kids made.

Vicki: I love that! That is so touching! Isn’t it?

Frank: Yeah. Yeah. That’s my favorite.

Vicki: Yeah.

Yes: (Delayed) Homemade Baked Goods

Frank: And number two… to kind of keep in the spirit of things that are made rather than things that are bought… BAKED GOODS!

A lot of our listeners are great bakers. Pies and cakes.

But give the principal a certificate for one. Don’t give them a cake now, because you and I both know what schools are like in December. There’s food EVERYWHERE! The problem is that there’s not enough flat surfaces to put out all of the food.

But if you go back in March and April, and the cupboards are BARE. So give the certificate, which the principal can then exchange in March or April, for that cake. They’ll love every morsel of it!

Vicki: They will. And if they give it to you anyway… (laughs)

Yes: A Subscription to a Cool Tech Tool

Frank: So number three… (laughs)… absolutely, absolutely.

Number three… If you’re talking to me, we’re going to talk about tech at some point. So number three is a gift of a Premium Evernote Subscription. I can’t talk enough about Evernote. I used the free one for a long time, but it makes all the difference in the world, getting the premium version. It’s around $70 a year. Maybe we can put a little link in the Shownotes that a teacher can go to to really get the information on how to give a gift subscription of Evernote.

Vicki: Love that. Well…

Yes: Task Clone to Link Evernote and their Calendar

Frank: Number four… If the principal maybe already uses Evernote and uses a digital task list, like ToodleDo or Asana or Todoist… any of the major ones.

There is a wonderful service that not enough people know about yet. It’s called Task Clone. It lets Evernote work together with that digital task list, and it’s only like $15.00 a year. It’s wonderful!

And the developer e-mailed me yesterday, and said he’s willing to give five free gift subscriptions. So we can talk about maybe how we can award those to five lucky people, and put that in the Shownotes. But it is a wonderful, wonderful service.

Vicki: We will do that give-away! What a way to celebrate!

Enter the giveaway here.

OK, what’s our fifth?

Frank: OK. Number five. I would just hope we’d call this, “Better Tools.”

Yes: Better (Tool) Accessories

Think about your principal and what they sort of carry around with them all the time.

Like if there’s that laptop that they always have under their arm, but the sleeve that it’s in is sort of ratty. What about a nice leather sleeve that they would really be proud of?

Or if they use a paper journal, but it’s sort of like a spiral notebook that’s really ratty? Maybe invest in a nice paper journal, so that when they pull it out, it really looks professional.

And then other people say, “Where did you get that?” And they can say, “My faculty gave that to me.”

Vicki: Just noticing what they love, you know?

Frank: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Yes: Hobby Helpers

And then number six… Think about a hobby that the administrator has. Absolutely nothing to do with school. Give them something related to that hobby.

So you might need to call somebody who’s kind of in that arena to ask them, “What’s the latest and greatest thing that’s come out that the administrator might not yet have. And then get them that.

So that’s my number six tip.

Vicki: Great! OK, what’s next?

Yes: Autographed Book by a Favorite Author

Frank: Number seven.

Who is your administrator’s favorite author? Who is that person that they’re always talking about. Get a book by that person, and get the author to not only autograph it, but write a really nice message that makes it sound like they know your principal. It maybe includes a couple of things that are near and dear to your principal’s heart.

Now I think that the easiest way to do that is… Most of these people speak at conventions. So somehow be able to grab a book from the bookstore, grab the speaker in the hall, and say, “Hey… would you consider autographing the book…” And have something written out for them so that in just a minute or so, they can do that. Your principal would love it.

And by the way, I would be delighted — not because I am the greatest author in the world, but I’d be delighted to kick you in a copy of my book, autograph it and write a message just like I’ve said, for some lucky listener.

Vicki: And the book is a great book for helping administrators get organized. And sometimes, authors will, on their website, give you the opportunity to order signed books there, if they’re still living. So that’s another place to check.

Yes: Leave a Legacy

OK, what’s our eighth?

Frank: The eighth and final tip… If your administrator has as much grey hair as I have, and they’re toward the end of their career, and they have just about everything, then think about a gift that is going to help that principal leave a legacy.

It might be… if there’ a brick project out there, where you can buy a brick that’s going to have that principal’s name and the dates that they were principal… That’s a good one.

Maybe commission a portrait that’s going to hang in the school for the rest of eternity.

Name something in the principal’s honor. Something that, when that principal is no longer the principal of that school, that’s going to let the teachers and the parents and the students for decades to come still remember that person.

So that’s number eight.

Vicki: My headmaster, that I loved dearly, Graham Lowe… We named the gym after him my senior year, when I was on student government. We surprised them! How do you hang a cement thing on the wall and surprise them?

Frank: (laughs)

Vicki: But I remember it too.

When you honor people you care about, it’s a great memory for both of you. What a fitting way to really give a gift.

Name an award after them. Do something special that helps them live on in people’s minds and hearts, and celebrate who they are, and what they’ve done.

Frank: (agrees) It helps them leave that legacy.

Vicki: I love it.

Frank: I hope that this gives your listeners some ideas so that we can give a gift that’s really going to matter.

And it’s not going to be another Christmas tie.

Vicki: No more Christmas ties!

Thank you, Frank!

  Transcribed by Kymberli Mulford

kymberlimulford@gmail.com

  Dr. Frank Buck: Bio as submitted

Frank Buck is a veteran school administrator, public speaker, productivity coach, and author of Get Organized!: Time Management for School Leaders. He has spoken to audiences throughout the United States and internationally to help busy professionals achieve total control over their time and the peace of mind that nothing is falling through the cracks.

Blog: Frank Buck Consulting

Twitter: @DrFrankBuck

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored podcast episode.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via cash payment, gift, or something else of value to include a reference to their product. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I can recommend. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” This company has no impact on the editorial content of the show.

The post 8 Great Gifts for Administrators appeared first on Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher helping educators be excellent every day. Meow!

8 Great Gifts for Administrators published first on http://ift.tt/2jn9f0m