Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Reflections”

23 Apr 2024
6 Comments

Bard Bits: Talk Like Shakespeare Day


It’s here. The day you have been waiting for. Yes! It’s Talk Like Shakespeare Day, which happens to coincide with the day historians figure to be both William’s day of birth and day of death: April 23.

As an English teacher I had zero background in Shakespeare as somehow his works were never taught, presented, or discussed in my school days. And this took place in a modern school district!

This meant I came to the classroom on the same playing field as my students: zero knowledge and lacking comprehension. I dove right in and learned as much as I could in order to sound like I knew what I was talking about.

Something clicked because I am a professed Bardinator today and even attended Folger Library’s Hamlet Academy back in 2015. I am also adapting Shakespeare plays into reader’s theatre scripts and they are regular sellers on my Teachers Pays Teachers website.

All in all I’m quite pleased to have traveled the journey, transforming from Shakespeare zilch to Shakespeare rich over the years.

However, to talk like Shakespeare is a talent I am not quite conversant in yet. I did find this nifty website which takes randomly generated sentences and turns them into Shakespearean speech. I am having fun playing with it. Here are some examples:

Crouch before you jump or miss the mark. Our plans right now are hazy.

Becomes—

Crouch bef’re thee jumpeth ‘r misseth the marketh. Our plans even but now art hazy.

Or—

It was done before the boy could see it. Hop over the fence and plunge in.

Becomes—

T wast done bef’re the knave couldst seeth t. Hopeth ov’r the fenceth and plunge in.

image:Tenor
Posted in Reflections, Shakespeare, Teachers, Words and tagged , , , ,
17 Apr 2024

Reader Roundup: March


Spring weather is quick fickle. The days vary between a bit of sun, some drizzle, and even a bit of snow. And that can all in one day.

Since working out in the yard is not quite in readiness, weather wise, I’m trying out new authors and was pleased to discover one five star find out of my hit and miss efforts.

What You Are Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama

Set in Japan the author provides five separate yet overlapping vignettes of people seeking answers. They find answers at their local library through the insights of the felt-making reference librarian.

At turns humorous then philosophical, this compact translation offers a thoughtful read about how to seek change.

Difficult to resist a book about how libraries are a place of answers
Posted in Reflections | Leave a comment
08 Apr 2024
7 Comments

An anniversary is eclipsed…


Today’s focus is on the eclipse, which for some didn’t register as an event because of a)not being in the path of ta-dah or b)dealing with cloudy skies. There is also c)there was an eclipse?

For me the event of focus today was the four year anniversary of my debut picture book Someday We Will.

Yup, four years ago Beaming Books brought out my book in the beginning of April having postponed its publication from the previous fall. FYI: Grandparents Day is the first Sunday in September.

Instead of fall, the idea was Mother’s Day and the summer months of vacations when families visit. Good plan except four years ago about this time the pandemic showed up closing schools, libraries, bookstores, all those places where I might have personally promoted my book. A virtual book launch does not quite have the same impact.

Since then I have tried to make up for lost time and have done some story times with the library and have done a couple of bookstore appearances.

If you have yet to check out Someday We Will I hope you will. It’s a dandy little book for sharing just how special those family visits are, especially the grandparent ones.

As for the eclipse event? I hope your experience was satisfying. I ended tidying up the garage in hopes the clouds would part. They didn’t, but the garage looks better.

The perfect gift for grandparents as well as grandchildren anticipating a visit
Posted in authors, celebrations, children, Family, Nature, Reading, Reflections and tagged , ,
03 Apr 2024
7 Comments

Word Nerd: Silly Words


Such a Word Nerd that I am I subscribe to Dictionary.com to receive their word of the day and to play word related quizzes (I do so like to determine if my grammar knowledge is up to snuff). They recently did their own version of March Madness, except with words, as in which words are favorites in terms of putting a smile on your face. Here is the bracket. What word puts the biggest smile on your face?

It’s difficult to pick, isn’t it?

Posted in Reflections and tagged ,
23 Mar 2024

Bard Bits: Shakespeare Speaks of Spring


Spring supposedly began March 19th. Words fail me when it comes to describing the fickleness of the weather. Shakespeare knows just what to say.

As sun and showers

There had made a lasting Spring.

– Henry VIII Act III, Scene i

The spring is near when green geese are a-breeding.

– Love’s Labour’s Lost Act I, Scene i

Unruly blasts wait on the tender spring;

– Lucrece (Poem)

Yes, last week crocus flowers heralded the arrival of sunny days and I basked in spring’s warmth while reading. Today it’s stoking the fire and watching the grey skies dribble out its watery lament.

Sigh.

More of this
Less of this
Posted in Nature, Reflections, Seasons, Shakespeare, Spring and tagged , , | Leave a comment
07 Mar 2024
6 Comments

Reader Round Up: February


February usually wants to relinquish its wintery self with more yard than snow pack showing allowing daffodil buds to shyly poke up from the ground. This year’s February started along those lines and then in a fickle moment gave way to snow once again. For three days. Back to a snowladen landscape. I imagine the daffodils are confused.

More snow calls for more reading. Here are the five star reads for February.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

image: Amazon

Having read this fun twist on a murder mystery two years ago and having watched the adaptation (also written by Horowitz) twice, I gave the book another read, especially upon hearing the second Susan Ryeland editor/sleuth novel Moonflower Murders will be coming out in a filmed series. Horowitz’s humorous and clever approach to the mystery genre is a delightful change up and the fact that he can take his novel and make it even better as a filmed version is notable.

Children of the Gold Rush by Claire Rudolph Murphy

image: Amazon

Images of the gold rush era usually bring to mind bearded men hunched over a sluice box diligently working in less than ideal conditions in hopes of striking it rich. While that may be true, there were also women and children who experienced the gold rush in their own way as they accompanied their husbands and fathers. The book is filled with photographs and stories of children who endured and even thrived during their gold rush days. This book primarily centers on the Yukon gold rush. The information provides a greater perspective of this aspect of history.

The Dream Peddler by Martine Fournier Watson

image: Amazon

The title and premise is reminiscent of a Ray Bradbury story. A stranger comes to town selling dreams with the plot focused on the impact of these dreams. Yet, Watson takes a different turn with her story. The dream peddler arrives the same day a boy goes missing and it’s his ability to provide dreams that helps heal the ripples from this tragedy. Unfortunately, his presence stirs up agitation and misunderstanding and truths become veiled in ugly rumor. The author’s lovely, lyrical prose wraps itself around this unique tale of peddler offering dreams for a handful of coins.

Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker

image: Amazon

Set in Montana as WWII starts, Ellen will leave the only life she’s known, that of a daughter of wheat farmers, to attend college in Minnesota. It is there she finds how different the world is from her isolated ranch life, and she finds love with Gil, a privileged young man. However, her eyes are now opened and she draws unsavory opinions about her parents and her Montana life as she sees her world through Gil’s eyes. In order to find peace once again Ellen will have to reconcile her views with the life she has chosen. Ellen’s quotidian life is flavored by her poignant insights and the author’s lyrical prose. A satisfying read in which nothing, but everything happens.

As I type up these reviews the sun is shining and the snow is slowly receding once again. No sign of daffodils yet. Time to go to the library.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , , , ,
29 Feb 2024
3 Comments

How Cliché: Mmm


Make heads nor tails: failing to understand something. Cicero claimed this one, or a similar phrase, as denoting confusion, although he is attributed as saying, “Neither head nor feet.” Tails could refer to the other side of the coin, because before it is flipped and seen no one knows if it will be heads or tails lending itself to confusion as to the exact outcome of matters.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Make no bones about it: no hesitation. An ancient saying that has different possibilities of meaning with one referring to how dice used to be made from bones and when someone threw them in a decisive manner.

March to the beat of a different drummer: to follow beliefs or a style diverging from the usual. A noted source is traced to Thoreau’s Walden: If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it sis because he hears a different drummer.” This idea of individualism was embraced by the 1960s era, especially, and has even been found in the business world where in a New Yorker article, Connie Bruck wrote, “We saw ourselves…as the tough guys, very smart, who were marching to our own drummer.”

Photo by absior u6c5fu6708 on Pexels.com

Mincing words: to speak plainly. Shakespeare used the phrase, “not to mince matters” in his plays, to mean “let’s moderate what is being said.” Over time “matters” became “words.”

Misery loves company: it’s easier to bear pain when shared with others. This idea hails back to ancient Greek and Roman times, and has traveled to modern times and has been broadened as Brian Moore suggests: “If misery loves company, then triumph demands audience.”

Monday-morning quarterback: someone who criticizes after the fact. This phrase is also known as “twenty-twenty hindsight.” When football became popular in the 1930s and mainly available on the weekends, it was not unusual for discussions to take place on Monday where “experts” would review the game, offering their “expertise” how the game should have gone. It now refers to someone who tends to second-guess decisions made.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Moon made of green cheese: response indicating something is outlandish to consider. The idea is attached to how “green” the new moon appears in the night sky.

More than meets the eye: seeing only the top part or surface of something that has more depth. Going back to the nineteenth century in England when a fictional detective noted when viewing a dead body that “there is more here than meets the eye.” Today this cliché is pulled out to indicate that a matter needs to be looked at more carefully.

Mum’s the word: keeping something secret. Shakespeare once again. In Henry VI the line reads, “Seal up your lips, and give no words but–mum.” Mum means to keep silent and refers to the “mmm” sound the lips make when pressed together.

Photo by Monstera Production on Pexels.com

Mutual admiration society: shared feeling of regard between individuals. While it might have been a term of sincerity when first used, it is now considered sarcastic.

Mmmm, so many clichés got left on the editing floor. Which “M” phrases were you hoping to see?

Posted in Reflections and tagged ,
27 Feb 2024
1 Comment

Armchair Nature Days


The upside of the rainy days we are experiencing is the snow has melted. Usually this is an inducement to get back outside and start walking once again. However, low temps and blustery winds are keeping me inside.

My YouTube walking workout is not the same as striding along the sidewalk and hiking along trails, but it’ll do for now.

I do miss being outside closer to nature, listening to birdsong, squirrel chatter, and watching the deer slipping in and around our yard. This winter we set out more food than usual for the critters and have reaped the benefits of armchair observing.

Here are a few favorite moments:

Outside my office window. One of our resident squirrels enjoying his bounty.
This guy will sit up in the apple tree as if he is surveying his kingdom.
Starlings have been attempting to bully their way into the feeding fun. Not my favorite bird but they were fairly impressive in their gathering.

*Oh oh, news flash–seven inches of snow expected to come in at 9 pm. Yikes! Hoping spring will rally forth soon.

Posted in Reflections and tagged , ,
20 Feb 2024
8 Comments

Word Nerds: Familiar Friends


While new words are appreciated finds, there are those favorites that are like old friends that I haven’t seen in awhile and suddenly pop up unexpectedly.

smithereens: small pieces; bits. I tend to associate this one with Yosemite Sam who I recall would now and then threaten to blow Bugs Bunny to smithereens.

copacetic: fine; completely satisfactory; okay. This is a great word to toss out when asked to describe how the meeting went.

morass: any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself. This is not how you want to describe the meeting.

egregious: extraordinary in some bad way. This one usually finds its way describing a mistake. All those “e” sounds make it worse than it probably is.

luddite: someone who is opposed or resistant to new technologies or technological change. Since learning about Luddites in English literature it’s fun to see how it is found in today’s world.

Resistance is futile.

collywobbles: a feeling of fear, apprehension, or nervousness. Hah! Used this one the other day and stumped The Hubs—“this is a word?” Indeed it is.

brouhaha: excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event. This one is simply fun to say.

abscond: to depart in a sudden and secret manner. Chocolate tends to do this in our household.

twee: affectedly dainty or quaint. When it’s just too cute or trying to hard to be cute.

Too twee, or not to twee?

natter: to talk incessantly. Yes, this one is not far out of reach. It’s very appropriate in describing how some people like to have conversations in public with their phone speaker fully blaring.

ennui: a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom. Also found this one in English—from the short story “The Most Dangerous Game.”

Find any friends among the above?

Posted in language, Reflections, Words and tagged ,
14 Feb 2024
3 Comments

When the Robin Comes Bobbing Along


Some people go with this critter’s decision that spring is on the way.

image

I go with this one:

Image: Wikipedia

Old Punxsutawney Phil’s record of correct predictions is not impressive. According to the Stormfax Weather Almanac Phil prediction percentage is a mere 39%. He’s seen his shadow more often than not which means a longer winter, with stats showing 84%.

Here are his stats since 1887 when the tradition began:

  • Saw shadow (six more weeks of winter): 107
  • No shadow (early spring): 19
  • Partial shadow: 1
  • No record: 10
  • Did not appear: 1 

On the other hand, when I spot a robin, the first appearance goes on the calendar. The robin knows when to appear and is not going to have a calendar date decide when spring shows up. Robins have a savvy that doesn’t need a whooping crowd and cameras. Robins just know.

After weeks of gloomy gray skies, intermittent snow flurries, dribbly rain, and cold weather, we woke up to blue skies. Honest to goodness cerulean blue, no clouds, some chilly breezes, yet blue sky and sun makes for a great day. The birds and squirrels were frolicking in the yard, merrymaking about the birdfeeders and there in the corner of my eye I spied my first robin of the year. Calendar time!

Posted in Animals, Reflections, Seasons, Spring and tagged , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →