"Reely" Good Quotes

Dumb and Dumber

Create a New Post featuring 4-5 of your favorite MOVIE QUOTES.  These could be funny, sad, smart...whatever stands out to you.  You can type these or use an image featuring the quote.  Make sure you indicate the film the quote is from, and the character if you'd like.

When a Man Loves a Woman

"Reel" Life

Do a  New Post answering ALL the following questions (in at least 400 words) about your preferences in movies.

• Tell us about your favorite movie and why you like it.
• Tell us about the kinds of movies you don't care for usually.
• Tell us about how often and where you usually watch movies.
• Tell us about what you need for movie viewing (environment, food, company, etc.)
• Tell us about what this survey says about you.
• If my life story was made into a movie...(who would play you, what would be 3-4 main plot points/events, happy or sad ending, etc.)

Include images in this post also. Thanks!

When you're finished, leave a quick comment on the movie post and/or movie quotes post of at least 3 of your classmates.

This is... Photo Writing

Happy French Girl and Her Cat, 1959

I'd like you to do a New Post on your own blog with some writing about one of your own photos inspired by Katy Barber's "Photograph 1969." I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you'd like to arrange your words as a poem or a short piece of prose. I'll be looking for a vivid description of what we can actually see in the photo, followed by that "twist" we discussed in class, where you intimate or imply what else is "in" the photo...an understanding, an observation, a hint at something that came later, a bigger idea at play...something more. Please include the photo in your post. 

If you don't have a photo of your own or find that too personal, find a striking or interesting photo that speaks to you on the internet or in a magazine or use one we looked at in class and write about it in this same way instead.  Here are the historic photos I put up, and here are the heartwarming ones.  

Photograph 1969 by Katy Barber

This is my mother
lifting her hair long
like a low whistle
off her neck
These are her fingers
caught in the tangles
of brown and gold caught in
silver earrings
This is my father
reaching through the lens
to touch the edge
of a new family
to touch her opening belly
under her full dress

This is existing
before I exist

This is me growing up
against their lives
him watching for a sharp
breath from her looking out
onto the border of birth
this is bumping us into three

We will move on to a new theme on Monday so please have all work connected to PHOTOS posted by the end of class today or this Sunday night at the latest to receive credit.

Smile for the camera

Please leave a brief but thoughtful COMMENT on this post answering one or more of these questions regarding PHOTOGRAPHY as inspiration:

• Who takes most of the photos in your family and/or group of friends?
• Who is missing in many/most of your photos? The photographer? Someone else?
• How are the photos in your family or your home organized? archived? displayed?
• Are photos important to you? Why?
• One of my family's funnies/weirdest/most interesting photos is of...
• I wish I had a picture of...

Bring a few photos to class tomorrow that you would be willing to write about and maybe even share with the rest of the class...

Flea Market Photos

In a New Post on your blog, please share some new writing of at least 250 words inspired by the antique flea market photos we looked at in class (or another one if you'd rather find your own).  

This could be a fictional short story, a long poem, a set of dialogue, a journal or diary entry in the voice of one of the people pictured, or something else...If you want to also include your profile information for the people, you could.

Include a picture of the picture or another image that fits. Please have this posted by the end of class Wednesday.

If you'd like to check out the work of Ransom Rigg's and his fascination with old photos, visit his website.  I referenced his book Talking Pictures in class.

Photos of the Millennium (so far)

With the advance of cell phones, capturing all aspects of history and everyday life is easier and more accessible than ever.  Think about what your great-grandkids will say about all the images your generation is leaving behind--or will many of the images that tell your story/history vanish into cyberspace somewhere eventually instead of being in a photo album for those grandkids to flip through?

This little dog happened to be strolling down a street just after the Pope had passed by--his little smile and upturned chin make it seem like he believes all the applause and fuss is for him!  Adorable.

Choose one of the photos from the 2000s and write a piece (poem or prose, fiction or nonfiction...your choice) of at least 250 words inspired by the photo. This might be a personal memory you have connected to this event or your thoughts about this moment in history...you decide what you'd like to say. You could also choose one from Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential Photos.

Here's an example of something I wrote referencing an image from the aftermath of 9-11 that has always stayed with me.  

If the CrackTwo link is blocked on the school computers for whatever reason, you could visit another website with "iconic" or important photos from this decade or the last and choose one from there, or you might be able to Google an individual picture if you remember one or have a certain one in mind.  Include the photo you chose and your writing in a New Post on your own blog.

Photo Hunt + Captions + Hashtags

In a New Post on your blog, please share at least 10 of the photos you took during our Photo Hunt. Add a caption of at least 25 words to go with each photo, and include a clever #hashtag with each caption.  You can decide whether to label or otherwise indicate which photo on the list each was supposed to be.

At the end of your post, include a quote that suggests something about paying attention or writers noticing everything or the power of photographs.

Caged Bird-Inspired Piece

"The caged bird sings of freedom." ~Maya Angelou

In a New Post on your own blog by the end of class on Wednesday, please share a poem of at least 10 lines inspired by Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."  You might use the prompts I shared in class as a start.  You might even make a connection to something you saw or thought about at Randy Bacon's gallery yesterday.  Include an image and give your post/poem a creative title of your own making.  

Here are the prompts I shared in class if you need one of these to get started:

I know why...

I know...

I don't know why...

Birds...

Being caged...

Freedom...

Singing...

I sing of...

Flying...

Flying away from..

Something else you thought of as you listened to Maya's Master Class video

Caged Bird

The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom. 

Maya Angelou

Field Trip Tuesday!

Please don't forget to get your permission slip signed tonight and bring it with you to class on Tuesday.  Make a reminder in your phone or whatever you need to do.  You should also bring some money for lunch (lots of great places to try including Maria's, Nonna's, Pickleman's, Jimmy Johns, BYOP, Druff's, Civil, plus others) and if you'd like to get a treat at either Hurts Donut, The Coffee Ethic, or Kingdom Coffee, all of which are near the gallery we will visit.  

So that you may be better informed going into our visit to photographer Randy Bacon's gallery, please visit his website and especially take a look at his projects 7 Billion Ones and The Road We Call Home.  Think about some questions you could ask Mr. Bacon about his craft, the people he's met, the stories he's told through photos, what he might be up to next.

Edited after returning from the field trip:

I hope you all found our visit to Randy's gallery both inspiring and meaningful.  If you'd like to go back to the gallery on your own sometime for a closer look, visiting hours are 1-5 Tuesday-Saturday, later on the First Friday of each month.  Some of you might be compelled to action by the stories Randy shared.  He suggested reaching out to Gathering Friends for the Homeless and following the group on Facebook.  

I specifically noticed this post and thought this might be a way for us to help as a class...What if we tried to gather some of these things in the next couple of weeks?

Whitney Pierson Creehan

October 24 at 4:33pm

hello friends!

we have a lot of folks asking what our needs are or how they can help and we are at that pivotal change of seasons moment where we have a lot of things left from last year and not enough of some things. we also realize that some of you want to gather, some of you want to purchase and some of you like to cook. don't worry, we've got needs for all y'all!! <3

GATHERING/ CLOSET RAIDING:
- men's coats
-men's jackets
-men's jeans waist size 29-34.
-men's flannel shirts
-women's coats (please no fancy ones!)
-women's long sleeve shirts
-large back packs (huge this time of year as the clothes friends wear take up more space).

-sleeping bags. when the cold weather snaps, this is the first request for most of our campers. blankets and light weight bags don't cut it in 40 degree temps and less.

-thermal long underwear (mostly bottoms). these are $6.93 at walmart and a HUGE request by the time late november rolls around . huge huge huge. we try to get anyone living outdoors a set of bottoms and tops. right now we have a good amount of tops because i bought every single one at 3 walmarts on clearance in the late spring :)

-thick socks. always

PURCHASING

-$5 mc donalds or subway gift cards
-mens and womens socks
-large back packs (because we really need them)
-AAA batteries
-9x13 ish tarps
-$20 gas cards to Kum and Go or Conoco
-bus passes in any form!!

-Walmart gift cards

Please leave a comment on this post today answering ALL of the following:

1: something specific Randy said that stuck with you

2: one of the photos/stories that stood out to you

3:  if you would be interested in doing something to help/what you'd be willing to do/bring

Writers Dreaming

Thank you for taking the time to consider author Maya Angelou's ideas about how dreams play into the writing process. Please do a New Post on your blog  with your answers to 4-6 of the questions on the blue handout I gave you. Your post should be a decent length (500 words) if you've provided thoughtful answers. Title the post Writers Dreaming.  Also include an image (of Maya, of something connected to dreaming or an aspect of one of your answers) on this post.

If you're interested in learning more about Maya Angelou, her interesting life and her beloved works, you can start at her official website. I  bought this t-shirt showcasing her autobiography (one of my favorite books) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings from a little store downtown next to Maria's called 5# Apparel. Most of the proceeds the store nets are donated to charities around the world. You can also find the t-shirt and others featuring classic, challenged books (ones that have been put on banned books lists at one time or another) at Out of Print. Click the "Shop" link to get to the t-shirts--the site donates a book to Books for Africa for every purchase made. I'd like to do some thinking next week about books that have made a difference to us as people and as writers, and I wonder if you've read any of the classics featured on their other shirts...

I love that several of you have mentioned you "dream" of becoming professional writers. Leave a comment here telling us why you'd like/not like to be a professional writer and/or what kind of writing you see yourself doing.

Stephenie Meyer said on Oprah that she always heard that was an unrealistic, financially hopeless goal, but I hope that no matter what anyone says, if that's your dream, you go for it. Seems like you'd regret not trying more than you'd regret taking a shot at it...

Dream Marks on my Pillow

Create a New Post on your blog and include some new writing connected to the drawing of a pillow we sketched and discussed in class on Wednesday.  You might include some poetry (maybe your haiku?), but also post a longer bit of prose.  Try for about 200 words at least on this one.  You can copy and paste the image from here, and if you'd like to, you can leave a comment on this post.  I've included some writing I did below.

Dream Marks on My Pillow by Ana Lancu

Last night before bed, I stepped out onto the front porch while Booker T. raced with a predatory growl towards the woods behind our house.  I waited for him to return, a triumphant skip in his step telling me all was safe and sound thanks to him, and from there on the front steps I noticed there was no moon out, or at least not one I could see.  A few stars dotted the sky but the yard was darker than usual and my big black dog crept back up beside me almost camouflaged.

I had been thinking of her off and on all day--my sweet Nanny who left us in June--and another round of loss swept through me there...no moonlight only made me miss her more. I scratched Booker's ears and cried, soft so that no one would hear, as if anyone was listening at that time of night.

I'll never be a little girl again.
I'll never see her shrug her shoulders
the way she always did.
I'll never see her handwriting on a
letter in my mailbox.
I'll never see her listening with interest
to my little boy's chatter the way she
always delighted in whatever I had to say.
I'll never see her again.

Ryan let Macauley sleep with us--a real treat on a school night--and with puffy eyes I slipped into the tiny sliver of our king size bed left for me, my son's now long legs tucked in close to mine and my big black dog in a ball at my feet, my husband miles of blankets and pillows away. Our room was dark and warm and I read only a few pages of my book before I floated into sleep.

And then, she was there...standing on my front walk, reaching out to me with a piece of paper in her hand.  He was there, too, a few feet behind her and to the side in dark blue jeans and the striped shirt he had on in their only picture with Macauley when he was a baby.  I grabbed her and squeezed her and cried for her to stay.  She just stood there and let me, still holding the paper.

I blinked and turned to see the numbers on the clock pushing me to start another day. I stared at the ceiling, making myself remember seeing her, knowing how dreams come and go if you don't commit them to long-term memory...like so many days I spent with her or spent not with her...they just slip away.

I could have cried in the car this evening when I told Ryan on the way to dinner. He said maybe it was a sign but he didn't say of what.  If I cry for her again tonight, will she be there on my front steps when I close my eyes?

This song reminds me of what I wrote...

Dream Threads

"Rappel Upward on Dream Threads" by Joji

In a New Post on your own blog, try the following writing activity using the interesting sentences regarding dreams that you and your classmates came up with on Wednesday.  We'll call these sentences "dream threads," little bits that you've pulled from a bigger piece and that could be "woven" back together in interesting ways.

• Choose one of the sentences to begin your story.  You may use it word for word or alter it slightly if necessary.
• Choose another sentence to end your story.
• Fill in the space in between with a story connecting the two sentences. This will likely be fiction but it doesn't have to be.  It also doesn't need to be especially long and may only be a portion of a bigger, more complicated story--maybe 200 words or so--but it could be. It could also be a poem.
• Put the sentences you took from other people in bold or another color.
• Include at least one image.

Here's our list:

I need really soft music playing when I fall asleep.

Fear was his constant companion on those dark nights.

It is my mind that keeps me up at night.

I have to sleep in total darkness and silence.

Restless nights where the hours seem to drag on for what seems like forever.

There is a slight chill in the air.

Thoughts about my grandmother make me not able to fall asleep.

I am unable to focus on one of the 10,000 thoughts running through my head.

I was in space.

Other priorities get in the way and I risk my own mental health.

We talk restlessly until the sun rises over the trees.

My cousin is the closest person to me.

I can't find anyone and I've been searching for years.

And I realize I am no longer alone.

I've seen him before--I have since I was young--but I've never truly met him.

I think about possible situations and have conversations with whoever I am thinking about.

A cold room puts you into the deepest sleep.

That's when I realized it's my favorite sound in the world.

Last night I had a crazy dream.

They're the kind of dreams that take a little piece of your soul every time you close your eyes.

The wooden tracks fall steadily apart, and I am falling.

The floor underneath me drops, leaving me at the mercy of the wind, like a spider dangling from a single thread.

The wind picks up and rattles the windows.

As I lay there restless under a heap of blankets my mind wanders helplessly.

I look back up at the clock:   Five more hours, I tell myself.

If I Were in Charge of the World...

In the spirit of DREAMING big, do some thinking about how you might shape the world if you could...what you would change or eliminate, what you would add or emphasize, what you would want for yourself and all of those you share this big place with...

Using the "If I Were in Charge of the World" poem by Judith Viorst as a starting point and a template, gather some of these ideas you have about what you'd like to see in a world of your own dreams or making. Polish and share your poem in a New Post on your own blog by the end of class Thursday. Include at least one image, maybe several.  

Another optional musical bonus I thought of putting this together...

Color Collage Poem

In a New Post on your own blog, please post a poem of 8 or more lines inspired by some aspect of your magazine cut-out collage in your journal featuring the paint chip shade you selected.  

The color may or may not make an appearance in your writing.  Your poem might describe a place, an event, a memory, a feeling, a person, or a combination of those.  It might take the form of a Narrative Poem, a Free Verse Poem, a Rhymed Poem, an Acrostic Poem, or a series of 3 or more Haiku Poems.  

Please include an image to go along with your writing and title your post Color Collage Poem. Include an Author's Note about the origin of your idea. Please post this poem by the end of class on Friday.

Please have all posts and commenting connected to OBJECTS and COLOR completed before we move on to a new theme (DREAMS!) next week.  Once we move on to a new theme you won't be able to receive credit for work from the previous one...

Color Story

In a New Post (of at least 300 words, with at least one image and a creative title) on your blog by the end of class on Thursday, write a short story (fiction or non-fiction narrative) that begins with a sentence that includes the word BLUE.

Start each of the paragraphs (at least 4 total for your story) following with  a sentence using a different COLOR word.  Include at least one image.  If you need more than 4 paragraphs to tell your story, that's fine.  

Use the COLOR word only once in each paragraph, but suggest the color in as many ways as possible. Highlight the details you've used in the color they're suggesting.

For example:

The world had turned GREY. Nothing but mud and asphalt surrounded the unpainted house, little more than a box made of concrete blocks. Charlie, dressed in faded work pants, rubber boots, and a thick wool sweater, steadied himself with a hand on the top rail of a weathered cedar fence. Behind him, nothing but ash-coloured sky, bare trees, and plumes of smoke belching from the factory in the distance. A lone sparrow rested on a branch, one beady eye watching.

Once everyone has had a chance to post today, read as many of your classmates' pieces as you can and leave them a brief, positive comment naming one line or phrase you found especially descriptive or well-written.  

Here's a link to an example of a Color Story from one of my past students that might inspire you...

Paint Chip Poems

Please polish and post the paint chip inspired pieces (alliteration!) you came up with in your journal during class on Tuesday.  You may group them all in one post or do a separate post for each one.  Include an image for each piece.  Let me show you how to do this if you don't know--it's easy and important to add visual interest to your work.

You can post all your poems, but at minimum please post these (in any order you choose):

• 3 haikus 
• an acrostic using a paint color name
• an 8+ line free verse poem that uses the 4 paint color names
• an 8+ line narrative poem using the paint name as a title or in a line

If you finish with this assignment, click around on the info at HGTV about the Psychology of Color, how different colors affect our moods.   There are various color quizzes out there you could try, too.  Or you could continue to customize your blog with gadgets (quotes, images, tools) on your sidebar, or update your profile.  You could also check out what your classmates are posting today and leave them the kind of friendly, specific, supportive comments we are going for.  Thanks!