Trip Proud Journey!!

Someone contacted me about the expression "trip proud" and said that she had heard "journey proud" instead. I did a search for this phrase and came up with all kinds of information including four books by that title! I also found links saying that it is indeed old-fashioned, and "very Southern." One of the books I think I want: Journey Proud: Recollections of a Fifties Woman, which is about politics as well as the time referenced. There was also a link to a use by a Houston Chronicle columnist:
http://blogs.chron.com/cookstour/archives/2006/03/journey_proud.html
The thing that seems amazing to me about THAT is that Leon Hale, who I mentioned in the previous entry, is also a columnist for the Chronicle. He was the one saying "trip proud." AND I came across this very humorous definition from Urban Dictionary that is not entirely what I had in mind but...well, here it is and euuu: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=journey+proud
What a fun diversion when I should be packing for my trip! I may be trip proud, and I am, but I am simultaneously in denial. Off to pack and brave the Wal-Mart hordes. If you live in a small town, this is a necessary stop before a trip for incidentals, etc., alas.

Trip Proud Countdown

One of my favorite newspaper columnists, Texan Leon Hale, once wrote about having the condition called "trip proud" whereby you are very excited and jazzed up about an upcoming journey. It is appropriate for me, since I am two days away from a trip to New York City and Washington DC, teaching a travel study class. We will be staying in dorms at Columbia University and American University, respectively. Yep, I am excited! I am also wondering if this expression is unique to Texas. The only other reference I could find to it on the Internet was a travel blog, and the woman writing it is a Texan. Anyway, here I am, wide awake since 4 AM today. I have been grading papers and answering emails. Gonna need a nap later! Think I will post to LM_NET and see if people are familiar with this saying. Will report back if so.

Learning from my students

One major perk of my job is that I learn so much from my students. I actually started this post back in April when reading assignments. Students have to do annotated lists of websites. I get great sites that way, myself! The first couple are from back then, and now I am grading the SAME assignment for a summer class. So I am adding. This is a hodgepodge but all are sites that were new to me and especially appealing:

• Librarians at the Gate (a cool blog): http://librariansatthegate.blogspot.com/

• Librarian's Guide to Etiquette: http://libetiquette.blogspot.com/
• Wiki: Library 2.0 in 15 minutes a day
• Milkweed Cafe--This site does include some commercial products as well as information about butterflies, but I liked that part too. And I never KNEW that Luna moths don't even have a proboscis because they DON'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO EAT! That made me oddly sad for them. http://www.milkweedcafe.com/
• Wicked, interactive science site. OK I went just because of the title, and bet kids would too. It does have cute sound effects and I was humbled by my poor score on the electricity quiz. Will not divulge score: http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/quizit/feature_quizits_s.php

More to come in future postings...

Life As We Knew It

I just finished listening to the audiotape of this book by Susan Beth Pfeffer. I was glad to have a long enough drive this past Sunday returning home from visiting my dad to get to the end, as this book really did suck me in. Evidently I am not the only person to feel this way. Here is the link to one blog about it:
http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2006/11/life_as_we_knew.html

After you suspend belief about the initial event (asteroid hits moon, pushes it closer to Earth), you get caught up in the escalating aftermath and struggle for survival. This instant change to the relationship between Earth and moon resulted in terrible consequences that were both immediate and ongoing--tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.... Miranda's life and that of her family spiral into a desperate struggle to survive as the days, weeks, and months go by. This book would be great for getting kids to think about:

• climate change
• how lucky we all really are to live where we do
• importance of family
• survival preparedness

and other topics. It would be a fun book club selection. I wish it were not so, but suspect that some people will object to a couple of things in the book that are very inconsequential but do reflect Pfeffer's views on politics and religious demagoguery. The president at the time is from Texas, and Miranda's mom refers to him as "that idiot" a couple of times. Also, there is a pastor in the book who is a bad guy and exploits one of her friends. I wonder if anybody who has read the book has comments about these minor issues? They would certainly not keep me from recommending the book highly to any young reader, or from booktalking or adding the book to lists. Don't miss this one!