Live Free Learn Free Blog » 2006 » October <title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-content/themes/thirteen/style.css" type="text/css" media="screen" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS 2.0" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/xml" title="RSS .92" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/rss/" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Atom 0.3" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/atom/" /> <link rel="pingback" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/xmlrpc.php" /> <style type="text/css"> </style> <link rel='archives' title='August 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/03/' /> <link rel='archives' title='January 2007' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2007/01/' /> <link rel='archives' title='December 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/12/' /> <link rel='archives' title='November 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/11/' /> <link rel='archives' title='October 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/' /> <link rel='archives' title='September 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/09/' /> <link rel='archives' title='August 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='May 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/05/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/03/' /> <link rel='archives' title='February 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/02/' /> <link rel='archives' title='January 2006' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/01/' /> <link rel='archives' title='December 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/12/' /> <link rel='archives' title='November 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/11/' /> <link rel='archives' title='October 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/10/' /> <link rel='archives' title='September 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/09/' /> <link rel='archives' title='August 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/08/' /> <link rel='archives' title='July 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/07/' /> <link rel='archives' title='June 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/06/' /> <link rel='archives' title='May 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/05/' /> <link rel='archives' title='April 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/04/' /> <link rel='archives' title='March 2005' href='http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/03/' /> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> </head> <body> <div id="headwrapper"> <div id="header"> <h1 id="title"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog">Live Free Learn Free Blog</a></h1> </div> </div> <div id="wrapper"> <div id="content"> <div class="post" id="post-197"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/31/spooky-cartoonists/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Spooky Cartoonists">Spooky Cartoonists</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 31st, 2006 at 1:21 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>In honor of Halloween, we’re reading through our collections of Charles Addams and Edward Gorey cartoons. NPR just published <a target="_blank" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6407492&ft=1&f=1">an excerpt</a> from <em>Charles Addams: A Cartoonist’s Life</em> by Linda Davis, a book that chronicles the life - and eccentric personality - of Addams:</p> <blockquote><p>Nancy Holmes once told Addams that everyone loved him. He asked how she described him to people. “As very nice,” she said. “Lord, you’re going to ruin my reputation,” he told her. “Why don’t you describe me as having the faint scent of formaldehyde?”</p></blockquote> <p><img alt="addams.jpeg" id="image195" src="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/addams.jpeg" /></p> <p>And Gorey? Well, check out an online version of <a target="_blank" href="http://users.aol.com/emarko/gorey.html"><em>The Ghashlycrumb Tinies</em></a>: “E is for Ernest who choked on a peach; F is for Franny sucked dry by a leech.” Perfect for Halloween.</p> <p><img id="image198" alt="gorey.jpg" src="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/gorey.jpg" /> </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/31/spooky-cartoonists/#respond" title="Comment on Spooky Cartoonists">Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-194"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/31/pokemon-and-muddy-waters/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Pokémon and Muddy Waters">Pokémon and Muddy Waters</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 31st, 2006 at 2:28 am (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>Kenzie just encountered a Marshtomp in a Pokemon video game and told me about one of his attacks: “Muddy Water.” He was surprised when I told him there was a bluesman named Muddy Waters, and we spent quite a while listening to some of his music. It’s amazing the places his interest in Pokemon has taken us.</p> <p>In other news, tomorrow is Halloween, and he’s decided to go as a “mysterious knight” - a knight shirt, pink tie-dye tights, a long, hooded cloak, and a sword made of <a target="_blank" href="http://construxion.tripod.com/">Construx</a>. What a sight! He looks fabulous. Of course, he’s been wearing the costume for several days, already - to grocery stores, restaurants, game day…. We chose the candy for trick-or-treaters today - Nerds, Dum-Dum lollypops, and Mary Janes (peanut butter and molasses chews). Good stuff. He poured all the candy into a giant pasta serving bowl and set it beside the door, and he laid his clothes for tomorrow night on the bunk bed. He’s set. I’m sure it’ll be a blast, as usual. Look out, neighbors, here we come! </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/31/pokemon-and-muddy-waters/#respond" title="Comment on Pokémon and Muddy Waters">Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-192"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/26/unschoolers-are-urban-legends/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Unschoolers are Urban Legends">Unschoolers are Urban Legends</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 26th, 2006 at 12:56 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>Around 3 AM last night, I came upon the article <a target="_blank" href="http://sacurrent.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17372346">Teach Your Children</a> from San Antonio, and in my cold-induced, foggy-headed stupor, I just had to laugh at this….</p> <blockquote><p>Eager to provide homeschoolers with a support group that did not focus on religion, Kretzschmar formed San Antonio Home Education Resources and Opportunities. Her encounters with other parents have convinced her that distressing stories about so-called “unschoolers” — children who stay at home and zone out in front of the television all day — are, if not an urban legend, at least wildly exaggerated.</p></blockquote> <p>My guess is that the woman in the article told the writer that the “distressing stories” about unschoolers aren’t true - that unschoolers don’t “stay at home and zone out in front of the television all day,” and the writer - who seems a bit biased, in my opinion - turned it into the quote above.</p> <p>I think the sentence can actually be read a few different ways, but for me, the phrase “so-called” implies that the false stories are about these listless, mealy-minded homeschoolers existing in the first place. Anyway, that’s how my editor’s eye read it.</p> <p>I always wanted to be an <a target="_blank" href="http://www.snopes.com/">urban legend</a>! Right up there with the Kentucky fried rat, the hooked lunatic and pop rocks with soda! </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/26/unschoolers-are-urban-legends/#respond" title="Comment on Unschoolers are Urban Legends">Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-191"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/23/mondays/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Mondays">Mondays</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 23rd, 2006 at 12:58 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>Kenzie’s excitedly gathering books, cards, Gameboy games, small Pokemon toys, and snacks, and getting ready for game day - just like he does every Monday. It’s his favorite part of the week. He gets to spend several hours with other homeschoolers talking about his favorite subjects: Pokemon and Yu-gi-oh. They duel, talk strategy, trade, battle each other over various Gameboys, pull out the occasional board game now and then, and generally have a blast. I love that there’s no set schedule or gameplan; kids of all ages just show up and have fun!</p> <p>We usually end up bumming around the city a bit afterward, so we don’t get caught in city-to-suburbs rush hour traffic (a nightmare around here). There are several thrift stores close, and a Half Price Books, so we can always find something enjoyable to do.</p> <p>Ah, Mondays - our favorite day of the week! </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/23/mondays/#respond" title="Comment on Mondays">Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-190"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/fossils-rocks-and-stones/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Fossils, Rocks and Stones">Fossils, Rocks and Stones</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 22nd, 2006 at 6:36 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>Kenzie and I have been playing board games, recently. Yahtzee (okay, a dice - not a board - game), Scrabble, checkers, By Jove, and others. We hadn’t played much for a while, and watching him spell or add or plot now is much different than it was only a few months ago. The Scrabble board is quickly covered, the Yahtzee dice added up in a flash, and my checker pieces jumped and double-jumped. Wow.</p> <p>The fossil fest is coming up, along with the Powwow. You can read about <a target="_blank" href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2005/11/07/powwows-and-fossils/">our adventures last year</a> when we danced on the Powwow arena floor, discovered the joys of fossil collecting, and met too many interesting, passionate people to count. Kenzie’s gearing up. We finally acquired a display box for his fossil and rock collection, and we’ve mounted it on the wall just above his top bunk. He’s categorized them and set them up in the box, and he’s placed a magnifying glass on top. He keeps his rock/gem/mineral field guide handy (especially since he just bought a small boxful of cool rocks and stones), as well as his new fossil book, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Pictorial-Guide-Fossils-Gerard-Ramon/dp/089464713X/sr=1-2/qid=1161559039/ref=sr_1_2/102-9303284-7150502?ie=UTF8&s=books"><em>A Pictorial Guide to Fossils</em></a> by Gerard R. Case, that we found at Half Price Books (nine bucks!). The photos are absolutely amazing, and there are so many that it makes identification simple.</p> <p>Tonight, The Rolling Stones are in Austin for the first time, ever. People are falling all over themselves to spend $95 and up for a ticket (and goodness only knows how much more for concessions). There are traffic jams, wrecks, hordes of pedestrians trying to get to Zilker Park, road closures, etc. There are shuttles bringing concert-goers to the park on a continual basis. There are so many people crammed around the stage that there’s absolutely no way most of them will even get a glimpse of the band members.</p> <p>I love The Stones’ older music, so I’ve been listening to the traffic reports between the <em>all-day, all-Stones</em> programming on the radio. Glad I’m not in the thick of it! I think I’ll stick to the coffeehouse-type concerts my favorite folkies put on. </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/fossils-rocks-and-stones/#respond" title="Comment on Fossils, Rocks and Stones">Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-189"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/dr-phil-hates-homeschoolers/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to Dr. Phil Hates Homeschoolers">Dr. Phil Hates Homeschoolers</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 22nd, 2006 at 12:37 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>Not that this comes as any big surprise. He’s a fairly mainstream kinda guy. But, after reading an account from a mother who was selected to be in the audience during the filming of his upcoming show on homeschoolers, I’m even more concerned for people who learn about homeschooling from such a dubious source. He wasn’t just ill-informed or concerned about socialization and transcripts; he and his staff were actively manipulative.</p> <blockquote><p>“Okay, let’s start with all the things that are wrong with how this episode was handled. Here’s what discourages me the most, and what was the most explosive. It was how the show was taped, how the homeschoolers were treated, and how we were all misled.” Read more at <a target="_blank" href="http://localhs.com/scuttle/2006/10/great-school-debate.asp">The Great School Debate.</a></p></blockquote> <p>I won’t be watching. </p> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/dr-phil-hates-homeschoolers/#comments" title="Comment on Dr. Phil Hates Homeschoolers">2 Comments</a> </p> </div> <div class="post" id="post-188"> <h2 class="posttitle"><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/an-interesting-article/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to An Interesting Article…">An Interesting Article…</a></h2> <p class="postdate"> October 22nd, 2006 at 12:30 pm (<a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/category/unschooling-life/" title="View all posts in Unschooling Life" rel="category tag">Unschooling Life</a>) </p> <div class="postentry"> <p>from the perspective of a college professor on the scholarship committee at <span class="tagline">Appalachian State University</span>.</p> <blockquote><p>“I, like many college professors, yearn for rarer traits — curiosity, passion, a wild streak. Yes, teamwork and leadership skills will help your child to implement someone else’s ideas, and extensive extracurricular activities will foster responsibility. What your child really needs, though, is an inventive, self-reliant, restless spirit.” Read more of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/15769490.htm">Raise Children with a Wild Streak</a>.</p></blockquote> </div> <p class="postmeta"> <a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/2006/10/22/an-interesting-article/#respond" title="Comment on An Interesting Article...">Comments</a> </p> </div> <p> </p> </div> <div id="sidebar"> <ul> <li id="meta"> <h2>Meta</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/wp-login.php">Login</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/feed/" title="Syndicate this site using RSS">Entries <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> <li><a href="http://www.livefreelearnfree.com/blog/comments/feed/" title="The latest comments to all posts in RSS">Comments <abbr title="Really Simple Syndication">RSS</abbr></a></li> </ul> </li> <li id="search"> <form method="get" id="searchform" action="/blog/index.php"> <p> <input type="text" value="" name="s" id="s" /> <input type="submit" id="searchsubmit" class="submit" value="Search" /> </p> </form> </li> </ul> </div> <div id="footer"> <p> <a href="http://wordpress.org" title="Powered by Wordpress, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform.">Powered by Wordpress</a> · Design by <a href="http://beccary.com" title="Theme designed by Beccary">Beccary</a> and <a href="http://weblogs.us" title="Theme sponsored by Weblogs.us">Weblogs.us</a> · <a href="http://validator.w3.org/check/referer" title="This page validates as XHTML 1.0 Transitional"><abbr title="eXtensible HyperText Markup Language">XHTML</abbr></a> · <a href="http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/check/referer" title="This page validates as CSS"><abbr title="Cascading Style Sheets">CSS</abbr></a> </p> </div> </div>  <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> var sc_project=605365; var sc_invisible=1; var sc_partition=4; var sc_security="d224bf47"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js"></script><noscript><a href="http://www.statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c5.statcounter.com/counter.php?sc_project=605365&java=0&security=d224bf47&invisible=1" alt="free stats" border="0"></a> </noscript>  </body> </html>