Just deleted my first hate mail/comment just now. It feels so weird to think that someone would be so irate that he’d take the time and energy to leave a hate-filled comment on a blog like mine. In a way though, I kind of see it as a bit of a triumph. What did Gandhi […]

I had been dreading this week! Six days, non-stop. Not easy. I’m still processing it. On Monday I visited a small town outside Toronto. No Muslims in the school that I could see, only one or two brown kids! Part of me wondered if they’d cancel, considering the devastating attacks in Paris the Friday before. […]

That fuzzy muzzy feeling when you’ve had enough sleep but you’re still woozy because of the time of day. Hope it gets over soon. Got back in from Sharjah yesterday afternoon and I’m still digesting the trip. The best attitude to have in such a situation is a ‘just to go with the flow’ a […]

It’s a testament to how strange this world has become that not only do I need to get police checks and clearances in order to step into a school and talk to kids, I have to get insurance in case I inadvertently do something to them. Like what? Fall on them or something? I’ve heard of […]

Came across an interesting Ted Talk. I ended up reading the transcript instead of watching it. I find I often get more from reading something than listening to it. It was actually about marketability and it said what a lot of people are saying these days, that in order to get noticed in this day […]

Doesn’t mean your own life has to suffer. We’ve been saying that a LOT around the homestead. I mean who wouldn’t be appalled at what’s going on all over the world? There’s carnage and bloodshed and dying and starving all over the place. I’m trying really really hard not to hate rich people! And I’m […]

I know it’s been a while since my last post. Been thinking of things to blog about but I’ve often been too busy to blog. And then something really sent me for a loop. Every once in a while that will happen. You’ll be coasting along and something impacts you with enough force to change […]

Things have calmed down somewhat with regards to the infamous comments of Daniel Handler during the National Book Award ceremonies where he pointed out that Jacqueline Woodson was allergic to watermelon, ‘make of that what you will’. Jacqueline Woodson then posted a very interesting open letter in the New York Times talking about how hurtful […]

Hmm. In light of that mini-speech I gave at the NCTE, I’m starting to think, hey, what’s so wrong with being on the porch? I’m feeling a little disillusioned with pop culture. Last night I was watching Toy Story 3. It’s not the first time I watched it. It’s the third time, and yeah, there […]

I just came back from attending a fabulous panel discussion that opened up the NCTE conference in Washing D.C. I was on a panel being moderated by Rudine Bishop, and my fellow panelists were Christopher Myers, Matt de la Pena, and Mitali Perkins. For the following two days all kinds of attendees came up to […]