I looooooove staying at swanky hotels. I seldom have the cash to do so on my own, but one of my non-euphemism-related employers often puts me up at various Hyatts and Hiltons. Man, I love escaping my semi-squalid lifestyle while enjoying some HD TV, about 6 or 9 pillows, and the absolute joy of having a maid tuck in my blankie. Still, despite my good fortune, I've never been lucky enough to stay at a hotel with its own death ray.  Continue reading...

When it comes to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), Laura Miller of Salon is a naysayer, calling it "a waste of time and energy." She's more impressed by those who commit to read 10 books in 10 different categories. Read Miller's blog post here.

In learning about the Constitution in my American history class in junior high, we learned about the Framers, checks and balances, three branches of government, and all the rest. We learned about the bicameral legislature, i.e., the two chambers of the United States Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate. But after learning all that, I wondered: Where did congressmen fit into the picture with all these representatives and senators? I'd seen campaign signs referring to "Congressman So-and-so"; I'd heard encouragements to "write your congressman!"; who were these congressmen?  Continue reading...

How can students identify the correct homophones to fit the context of quotations taken from Matilda?  Continue reading...

It's time once again for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). As the website explains, it's "for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved." Visit the NaNoWriMo website to learn more.

A sighting of a "corrections institution" has us thinking about the gamut of terms used for the punishment end of the criminal justice system.  Continue reading...

Homographs — words that are spelled the same but have different meanings — are a common source of frustration among ESL and native English speakers alike. What many students do not realize is that sometimes identifying a homograph's part of speech can indicate to readers how that word is pronounced.  Continue reading...