english@kkc

Here is an internet quiz that you may like to take. At the Blue Pryamid site there is a book quiz that can tell you what book you are. I took it and my results are below.

I am Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense of humour is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You could coin a phrase that replaces the word “paradox” for millions of people.

Damien Rice is a favourite of mine and I hope you enjoy this clip. The video is a speed painting created in photoshop which may be of interest to art and design students. I admit it isn’t of huge relevance to English students but it is lovely music.

Many students find it difficult to find a book to read and Literature Map is a great site to help them. When you enter the name of an author that you like, it will make a cloud-like map to give you some other authors that you might like. The closer two writers are, the more likely someone will like both of them.

http://www.literature-map.com

Win a block of chocolate by posting an answer to the following question. It is a question about a film that some of you may have seen. Look at the song verse below and then answer the three part question that follows.

Some things in life are bad

They can really make you mad

Other things just make you swear and curse

When you are chewing on life’s gristle

Don’t grumble, give a whistle

And this’ll help things turn out for the best…

1. Name the song title.
2. Name the songwriter.
3. Name the movie it comes from.

And in case you were wondering the picture is a wee hint.

Students often ask for a list of recommended films. The link below will take you to the C4 100 Greatest Films List. When you click on a film title it will take you to a review of the film and this may be of help to the Year 12 students who are writing film reviews.

The 100 Greatest Films

One of the films on the C4 list is Jaws and this film has been parodied in the link below. If you know the film you will enjoy this!

http://www.angryalien.com/0804/jawsbunnies.asp

Keep smiling!

As you may have discussed in class, ‘literally’ is one of the most misused words in the English language. Here are some examples from the ‘Literally’ weblog:

Professional tennis player Serena Williams said:

“I was really excited that I went ahead to play Hobart because I was really rusty, and I can see the rust shedding from my game literally.”

Allergies at the Dinner Table reported:

“One of the symptoms of food allergy is dread, Mindlin explains. She knows something is very wrong and literally tries to jump out of skin. It’s unbearable to watch.”

Now prepare to cringe… this is a correct usage of ‘literally’ but it isn’t for the faint of heart:

Villanova basketball star Allan Ray had his eyeball literally poked out of its socket by an opposing player in a game.

Apparently the medical term for having one’s eye literally poked out of the socket is “globe luxation.” And the delicate procedure by which doctors replace a luxated globe?

Doctors apply some topical painkillers, hold back your lashes, and poke your eyeball into its socket by pressing on the white part with gloved fingers. In some cases, they’ll use a simple tool like a bent paperclip to shoehorn it back into place! I hope you will try to keep an eye out for other correct uses of literally.

Any misuses of literally that you would like to post?

Got the Monday blues? Here’s something to cheer you up.

The first student to send me a post telling me the title of the book being alluded to in the photo below will receive a delicious chocolate bar.

I’m trying to avoid the lolcat craze - but this one is pretty cute!