About Me

 The Whale     They finally gave Brendan Fraser his much deserved award for best actor. This film was one of the most beautifully depressing pieces of art I have ever seen. It follows Charlie (Brendan Fraser), a college English teacher who, after the death of his boyfriend, has become obese from binge eating and is going to die within a week from congestive heart failure. Before he dies, he tries to communicate with his daughter Ellie, whom he left when she was 8 years old. Charlie's daughter is a mess of anger and resents school and people. She doesn't want to see her dad, but is inclined to stay when he offers her all the money he has and to write her essays for her so she may graduate high school. This story is beautifully crafted and questions faith, humanity, and writing honest truths. Brendan Fraser has always been a phenomenal actor, one of my favorite roles being Robot Man from Doom Patrol , a role where can't emote and still steals the show and pulls heartstrings,

 Amulet: A Graphic Novel Series by Kazu Kibuishi     Reading New Kid  by Jerry Craft took me on a trip down memory lane when I reread the first two Amulet books because Craft's main character talked about his love for them. I read the first two: The Stonekeeper and The Stonekeeper's Curse  back in middle school many years ago and forgot just how good they were. Even as an adult, the death scene of the father nearly made me cry. The storyline is a fun adventure following young siblings on a path of destiny with magic, friends, enemies, and some characters who are in-between. The art is also stunning. The full-page panels had me sitting back in my chair, trying to grasp the concept of perspective. The panels are also spaced evenly to give more or less visual to a scene, depending on which length is better to enjoy the story. They're a fun read, and I was able to get the full series (8 books) for $30. I can't wait to finally finish this series, since I didn't have the

 Nidhogg ( Níðhöggr )     God of War  Ragnarök offers players a chance to ally with (and more importantly fight) some of the most important gods and creatures in Norse mythology. Although getting killed by Thor just to have him bring you back to life because he's not done playing is pretty amazing, the fight with Nidhogg (need-hog) really takes the cake.     Until this boss-fight, I had never heard of this extremely important creature in Norse mythology. Nidhogg is a dragon who gnaws at the roots of Yggrasil (The World Tree), which keeps the Nine Realms intact. By chewing its roots, Nidhogg is instilling chaos and attempting to destroy the cosmos. To counteract him, an eagle sits atop The World Tree while the squirrel Ratatoskr protects the balance.     The video game makes this creature even more formidable. When players first meet Nidhogg, Freya has just severed the roots tying her to Vanaheim. When the last root is cut, Nidhogg tears a hole through the fabric of the cosmos and t

 Applying Digital Technology (How and Why)     When trying to prove whether something is good or bad, right or wrong, the best thing you can do is either be "on the fence" or research the opposite of your feelings or preconceived notion. The main answer I sought from this project was whether it mattered that these changes in digital technology were having lasting effects on linguistics. Does is matter that I don't use punctuation at the end of my texts? Should I really care that students are writing half-sentences with incomplete thoughts? Do grammar mistakes make a difference when auto-correct exists? The answer is yes and no. I know, that answer sucks. If you came here to read a scholarly article because of the structure and vocabulary in my posts, you're in the wrong spot. I have come to the conclusion that the rules of language are changing, and will change forever. You've been reading for awhile, rest here and think before continuing.     Much like the techno

 The Differences Between Digital and Physical Writing  I Need to Figure Out How to Make a T-Chart on Blogger     Digital writing and physical writing both have their places in today's world, but it's important to distinguish their differences and why those differences matter.  Digital Writing: creates a different structure for the narrative and changes the roles of the writer and reader engages students while entertaining them (via video or audio) allows teachers to find multiple ways to frontload information before a lesson through digital media, e-grammar has emerged  allows for both the consumption and participation of media the Internet is a digital archive and doesn't hold the sentimental value of a book typing requires greater memory function for remembering the position of keys and how to strike them for the desired words, numbers, phrases, or characters more convenient Physical Writing: requires more complex thought does not use autocorrect provides more interperson

 The New, Digital Classroom   Change is Inevitable     Digital technology is evolving at such a rapid rate, that it would be a disservice to not teach students about it. One article I found, published in 2015, surveyed 12 language teachers and 10 4th-grade students on their opinions of technology in the classroom. Every 4th-grade student being surveyed had computers, tablets, phones, Fakebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. They are well-equated with digital media and devices with Internet access. This article claims that, "children can improve their language and cultural awareness and can be faster through intercultural communication" ( øltera *, 2015). New, digital media grants access to unlimited resources, which, when applied properly, have proven to be an essential asset to classrooms.       The COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of an event that changed classrooms forever - both in physical and educational structure. With increased levels of Educational Technology,