shamash says...

The Big Apple Store, Fifth Avenue, NY

We’ve shopped for antiques in Rangoon, silverware in Bangkok, silk in Saigon, but nothing compares to our adventures in the Big Apple.

(photos by shamash)

Bangkok EARCOS ETC 07

  Well, we’re all here at East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools EARCOS 2007 ETC:  the EARCOS teachers' conference where 1,700 of us in Bangkok, Thailand. Teachers at international schools from all over Asia have gathered to be inspired, share our ideas, and network. With keynote speakers such as Ian Jukes, Jean-Francois Rischard, and Dr. Mechai Viravaidya

I’ve truly been inspired!

(That’s me on stage, introducing one of the speakers.)

There are some great teacher blogs out there that are written by international teachers. Check out  Jeff Utecht's The Thinking Stick. He gave a fantastic presentation on how to get started with podcasts, which inspired me to get my kids to use podcasts for their upcoming poetry unit. Another one worth checking out is Doug Johnson's "The Blue Skunk Blog".

Be the change you wish to see in the world

Photos by Zana and Avijit

Above my classroom whiteboard in colored letters, the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Gandhi spans the wall. The letters, cut out of construction paper, are six inches high, and laminated. Lately, though, I haven’t been thinking much about changing the world. I’ve been thinking about research papers, grading, my master's thesis, and the end-of-the-school-year wrap-up.

Not until last night, with the oppressive heat keeping so many of us in this country up until the wee hours of the night (and longing for the monsoon rains to begin), was I so deeply touched by a story that proved that living by this motto one can, indeed, make radical change possible. All it takes is a dream, a bit of integrity, compassion, and a deep love for all people. Photographer Zana Briski, director of Born into Brothels and founder of Kids with Cameras is my latest hero.

For a Laugh

The people over there at Google sure do have a sense of humor. God love 'em.  :-)

Google the word "failure" (without the quotation marks).

Click "I feel lucky."

[Update: via Michiel's comment below, I see that this is a googlebomb. Who knew? Fascinating read!]

A Year in the Life of Shamash

This week, "Shamash Says" turned one year old. There was no candle on a cake, but instead a birth: to twins! Shamash stayed up till the wee hours of the morning creating two sister professional blogs, and they have all their fingers and toes.

"Shamash Says" began as an experiment to see if a non-tech-geek English teacher could maintain a personal blog. A year ago, Shamash barely knew what the word “blog” meant, yet alone how to act on one. So she entered the blogosphere a bit naïve, and completely unprepared for how blogging would revolutionize her life.

To this day, Shamash knows the names and faces of but two friends who blog. The rest: she met in the blogosphere.

Here’s what happened this past year.

Shamash Makes University News

Seems the University of Wisconson Whitewater found one of my blog entries worthy of posting at their site. Check out the September 20th entry: "Is an Academic Blog 'Scholarly'?". What a nice Saturday-morning-over-coffee-surprise to see a link to my blog, especially since I spent a lot of time researching my claim.

-This might be especially interesting to my COHORTS who had to listen to my rant! ;-)

10,000th Hit

Sometime last night, Shamash Says had it's 10,000th hit. My regular readers will remember what happened in May, which was somehow more significant than this number. I'm not sure why. The 10,000th hit came via this yahoo search. Thanks to all of you who take time to read Shamash Says, and especially those who take the time to comment. Blog on!

Monsoon iPod: a Diamond in the Rain

The best things in life come in small packages. This chick don't want no diamond. Just give her something else that's small, compact, expensive, portable, and something that she'll wear everywhere. She be happy, then. Even during monsoon season.

What You See Is Not What You Get

Via I See Invisible People comes an enlightening view of before and after pictures: Glenn Feron - The Art of Retouching, a photo gallery of beautiful women. Cellulite, wrinkles, bulges, blemishes: gone. I've had my fun with Photoshop, but these photos show the ever-widening distance between reality and fantasy.

The Pod

pod n. a stream-lined external housing

Peas in a pod?

It wasn't all fun and games, but some of it was.