Tag: enthusiasm

And we’re backish, 2025 edition

On By Luther M. SilerIn TeachingLeave a comment

Pictured: a fuzzlewumpywuggins, because they always make everything better.

Tomorrow is the first teacher day back. Morning rah-rah nonsense until 10, then some classroom time, lunch and our first staff meeting. I could do without the rah-rah meeting, but whatever. Tuesday I have training for the new curriculum (as far as I know, we still don’t have textbooks, and we’ve been instructed to bring the teacher manuals that we also don’t have to the meeting) and then four hours of Open House, which is going to make a whole lot of people completely crazy because their rooms are not gonna be done yet. It’ll be a twelve hour day.

Wednesday, as far as I know right now, is entirely in-classroom work. I am wholly certain that I will find plenty to do. Then, presuming the bathrooms are ready, the kids are back Thursday and Friday.

Physically, I’m ready. Emotionally, it’s been a weird weekend. I’ll be fine, I always am, but I’m in full-blown “wasted the whole summer” mode right now and I don’t really want to be there.

A thought

On By Luther M. SilerIn PoliticsLeave a comment

I’ve talked about the Democratic primary here a few times, but what I haven’t mentioned is that Indiana’s Republicans are in quite a kerfluffle about whether they want to be represented by anthrax, syphilis or mad cow disease come this fall. And it hit me this morning: South Bend is a Dem stronghold, or at least the Indiana equivalent of one, but it’s not like Republicans are hard to find around here.

I have seen ONE house with a sign out front for any of the current Republican candidates. I drove past a bunch of polling places on my way to work. Not one sign for the Senate primary.

That is not normal.

I mean, it’s awesome, but it’s definitely not normal.

#Review: SOVEREIGN, by April Daniels

On By Luther M. SilerIn Reading, Reviews1 Comment

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You may, perhaps, recall my exuberant review of April Daniels’ Dreadnought  from back in February.  I bought that book early and was kind of taken by surprise by it when it showed up in my mailbox, and then I was taken by surprise a second time when I enjoyed it as much as I did.  And it’s not only still on my shortlist for the best books of 2017, right now it’s still easily the best book I’ve read all year.

The sequel, Sovereign, showed up in my mailbox on Wednesday.  I preordered this motherfucker the second I found out it was available.  Thursday night, despite having slept all day and being generally exhausted, I made the terrible mistake of starting the book before bed, and as a result did not get nearly as much sleep as I wanted to.  Friday I woke up, took the boy to day care, came home, made myself breakfast, sat down in my recliner, and didn’t move again until I’d finished the book.  Partway through all that, I sent the following Tweet:

And I was telling the truth!  I did, indeed, have shit I wanted to do yesterday!  Shit involving my own books!  And I did absolutely none of it, because once I picked up Sovereign there was absolutely nothing else in my life that I needed to do other than finish that gatdamb book as quickly as I could.  April Daniels is the real deal, Goddammit, and now she’s written both of my two favorite books of the year.  I love this world, I love Danielle Tozer, I love the way this book does everything Book 2 in a series needs to do while setting up the third book quite nicely, and every single damn one of you needs to go pick up both of these books and read them right now because they are fantastic.  I wish I was half as good as Daniels is at this stuff.  Half.  I don’t know when the third book is coming out, but I plan to literally be the first person to preorder it when it does.

Why are you still here?  Go buy books, dammit.