Things To Do To Freak People Out

Legendary Puffin commented in the last post that her sister used to drive around with a tissue stuck up her nose to creep people out. This made me laugh and started me thinking: I'm sure there's quite a few things that we could do for a similar effect. We are a people, in this blog community, of incredible latarel intellect, and I think that we could put our heads together and come up with some rippers.

Here's my starting contribution: put the cheesiest smile on your face (ie. showing the most amount of teeth), and walk around all day looking at random people.

"I think that all things, in their way, reflect heavenly truth, the imagination not the least." (C.S. Lewis, Surprised By Joy)

Funny Clip of the Week

I Just Have To Share This With The World

I know it hasn't been that long since my last post, but I just had to show you this. It's one of the funniest things ever. I wish I knew those guys, it'd be great to hang out. Makes me realise that there are so many similarities between every culture in the human race: we're all people :)

Simpsons Quotes

Now normally I think The Simpsons is good, but not as good as other stuff - I've never been able to see it as one of those cool cult cartoons (like Futurama or Family Guy), mainly I think because there's not a soul on earth who hasn't seen every single episode.

However, I watched one I hadn't seen yet tonight (I think it was a new one - for Aus anyway), and it had the best quote I've ever heard on The Simpsons ever. It's Principal Skinner saying:

"I've been taken down a peg! A whole peg!"

I laughed for so long. And so loud. A "whole peg". AHAHAHAAAahahaaaa......

What's your favourite Simpsons quote?

I Just Thought Of the Coolest Name

And this is it:

FREREMIAH FRIAR!!!

I don't care what Chrystal says; that's gonna be the name of my future firstborn! No matter what sex!

The Good Ol' Days

I came across this while reading C.S. Lewis' autobiography, Surprised By Joy (Peebody and a couple of other guys gave it to me for my 21st birthday):

"The deadly power of rushing about wherever I pleased had not yet been given to me. I measured distances by the standard of a man, man walking on his own two feet, not by the standard of the internal combustion engine. I had not been allowed to deflower the very idea of distance; in return I possessed "infinite riches" to what would have been to motorists "a little room". The truest and most horrible claim made for modern transport is that it "annihilates space". It does. It annihilates one of the most glorious gifts we have been given. It is a vile inflation that lowers the value of distance, so that a modern boy travels a hundred miles with less sense of liberation and pilgrimage and adventure than his grandfather got from travelling ten."

I think I agree: while mass transit has had many positive effects on supply and trade, the damage to our society and group identity has been amazing. Sometimes I wish I could know the people around me very, very well and everyone else not at all - or have the people around me that I know very well.

My Phone Broke

:(

My phone broke today - fell on the floor. Screen doesn't work. Murp - how annoying. I might try and get it fixed, depending on how much it costs.

Dumb Jokes!

Hey, I know I haven't been about for a bit, but life is kind've taking priority at the moment: lesson plans + applying for jobs + everything else I normally do = a stressed and busy Danny (that's about as good as maths as I ever plan to get).

I had to start this thread though, because of a conversation Kohl and I had at school today.

I love dumb jokes! For some reason, dumb jokes are even funnier than jokes that are really funny. This has to be my favourite of all time:

Q: What's purple and hums?
A: An electric plum!

Here's another one:

Q: Why did the kid fall off his bike?
A: Cos someone threw a fridge at him!

AARRGGHAHAHAHA! You guys got any more?

This one's for Chickenhead

I found this while looking at a few blogs. Hehehe...

What A Great Lesson...

I just had a fantastic lesson teaching Year 10 kids on the character of gollum:

First we had a discussion about Gollum's history: the fact that he used to be a Hobbit, where he got his precious from, how he lost it to Bilbo, and how he came to be living in the middle of a lake underneath the mountains.

Then I read the bit in The Hobbit where it describes Gollum, and got them to do a vague sketch of what they think he should look like (trying to give their own interpretation rather than rely on what they've seen from the movie). Then I showed them parts of "The Taming of Smeagol", which is an extra in The Two Towers Special Edition which outlines how they conceptualised Gollum visually and audibly (Andy Serkis is a legend).

Then we watched excerpts from Lord of the Rings that featured Gollum, including his introduction, his capture by Frodo and Sam, compassion from Frodo and suspicion from Sam, Gollum/Smeagol's conversation with himself where Smeagol tells Gollum to "Go away and never come back!", and the bit where Smeagol thinks that Frodo has betrayed him, and so he welcomes back Gollum into himself. The kids were typing furiously, taking notes on every little thing. They lapped it up :)

Then we listen to the song "Gollum's Song", sung by Emiliana Torrini (on the special edition version). If you don't know it or cant remember, it is this amazing dirge sung in this waily, creepy voice, which talks about everything that has happened to Gollum from his perspective. It set the perfect mood: so, so, so sad.

Then I got the kids to write a newspaper report on "The Tragedy of Gollum", while I left the song playing in the background. It was a really incredible atmosphere.

Hooray!

L33t Interweb Abbreviations!

Let's name all our favourites! I'll start us off:

gtg: got to go
brb: be right back
afk: away from keyboard
gg: good game
gj: good job

My New Favourite Smiley!

Here it is:



{:-)


I made it up! Yay!

My Teaching Philosophy

I had to write it down for my CV - I'm glad I did, cos I like it. Check it out:

I strongly believe that having the right learning climate in the classroom is the most important aspect of teaching; when students feel encouraged, accepted, capable and inspired they will produce their best work. I believe that in order to achieve these goals, the students must see the teacher as an ally in their learning experience. I believe that the relationship between teacher and student is the most critical component to good learning – when a teacher has their students’ respect and admiration, the content that the teacher wishes to deliver will always fall on good soil.

I Need a Break... OUCH! Not That Kind!

I've been working Trojan-like over the past week for my placement at Donvale, and I'm feeling pooped to the dickens. I've got quite a few lesson plans to do, and considering I'm teaching The Hobbit to my Year 10's, I can't help but plan awesomely fun, but very very detailed, lesson plans so they get the most out of it (I'm bringing in excerpts from the LotR trilogy to show how people have represeted Gollum, and a bit of his background - coolest character ever). Combine this stuff with the fact that I'm giving a message and doing a drama for '5 - 2 - 9' (youth program at church) and a vox pop segment for the night service at church on Sunday, and you have a very busy, tired Danny. I'm feeling good about it though, I think I can pull it off, and it'll be over soon. My wife has been the best chick in the world too, supporting me by making dinner, cleaning dishes and making me lunch; I have to be the luckiest guy in the world.

Kep reading, it gets more interesting.

On top of all this stuff, I discovered recently from my doctor that I broke my rib a little while back. This is the story: I was wrestling with Chrystal one day (about 3 months ago) and I twisted myself in a weird way and heard an audible 'SNAP' from my chest. Pretty intense pain followed. For the next months after that, I had the worst sleep (lying down was painful, getting up even more so), hated changing from 3rd to 2nd in the manual car (the angle made things hurt), but couldn't be bothered to go to the doctor to get it checked out. My theory was "Ah well, what's the doctor gonna do? You can't exactly plaster it up".
Anyway, it got better after about a month. Then I went to a Grand Final thingy at Dan Hoyne, Matt Baker and Glen Jessop's place, and we all had a kick of the footy at a nearby park. Bad move. I ended up on the second-bottom of a stacks on (very fun, mind you), and came back up again with a very painful side.
I got quite sick of it after that, so I did go to see the doctor, and they gave me my previously predicted response of "Can't do much. Sorry.", but they did tell me that the rib was actually broken.

So there you go, now I know what a broken rib feels like. I can tick that box in my list of 'life experiences'. I'm looking forward to another kind of break in about two weeks...

Lyrics Game!

Ok, in this game, someone has to give lyrics to a song (try not to make it too obscure) and everyone else has to guess which song and what band. The right guesser can then give lyrics of their own for other to guess! Hints can be given if people are struggling.

I'll start us off:

Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of angels...