Red Space Rocket

A few months ago in year nine History we were talking about the test that people will have to pass to become an Australian citizen. It was striking how many people in our class were unable to get a passing mark.

This article in the paper talks about the practical impacts of this test from a migrant perspective and I thought might interest some of you.

A sacrifice shouldered, a loyalty pledged beyond words – Opinion – theage.com.au
Alice Pung believes her mother to be more than worthy of Australian citizenship, although she would not be able to pass tomorrow’s test.

NZ Volcano erupts without warning – World – theage.com.au

New Zealand’s Mount Ruapehu volcano has suddenly erupted, spewing mud down a ski slope and forcing police to close nearby roads, officials said.

The minor eruption yesterday evening on central North Island sent two mudflows, or lahars, down the mountain’s slopes, including the Whakapapa ski field, local district council spokesman Paul Wheatcroft said.

Question mark by Emdashes.com

I hope you are all having a nice and restful break. I also hope that all those Macbeth questions and Volcano assignments are getting done.

If you have any questions over the holidays leave them as a comment on this entry and I’ll reply within a day or two.

This means something that does not follow or is a faulty argument.

To say that I cannot flap my wings and fly because it is Thursday is a non sequitur. The first things mentioned (not being able to flap my wings and fly) has nothing to do with the second thing (the day of the week)

Father of the family.

Here’s an example from O Brother Where Art Thou?

Ulysses Everett McGill: I was not hit by a train. Damnit, I am the paterfamilias!

MacBeth by Kungfukitten

In the first scene of Macbeth the witches cry that fair is foul and foul is fair. This is a clue to use that this is a play about upsetting the natural order but also about opposites. There are lots of characters pairs in Macbeth and lots of the are opposite. These opposite are used to spell out good from bad for us.

There are two kings. Brave and beloved Duncan (even Macbeth sings his praises moments before killing him) and Macbeth who is called the tyrant by his own people.

The are two women. Motherly and playful Lady Macduff and murderous and brutal and probably childless Lady Macbeth. One dies a victim of evil and the other dies a victim of living with her own evil actions.

Two men are promised greatness by the witches. Banquo does nothing to bring about the prophesy. Macbeth not only kills King Duncan but keep on killing to make the prophesy come true and stay true.

I am sure there are more pairs. Can anyone reading think if any I have missed?

Download

I have prepared an index to Macbeth which included a brief description of each scene and the page numbers for the Student Shakespeare Edition which we are using. This will be useful to you when writing essays about Macbeth.

Macbeth Index (word document)

This means after death. These days it is mostly used to describe the medical examination to determine the cause of death.

Five harmless folk tunes.
Wednesday lunchtime.
B23

Today’s word means therefore.

It was famously by Descartes in the phrase cogito ergo sum which translates to “I think therefore I am”.

Next terms we will be working on an essay about Macbeth. There is a lot in the play and here are just some of the possible questions that I am thinking about.

1. Did Macbeth know right from wrong? Does this make is actions more or less evil?

2. Macbeth is a play about opposites. Choose one of the following pairs and explain how they behave differently and how they are similar.
King Duncan and Macbeth.
The Thane of Cawdor and Macbeth
Lady Macbeth and Lady McDuff
Banquo and Macbeth

3. The play Macbeth tells us about what makes good and bad kings. What are the defining characteristic of each?

4. Who is responsible for the death of Banquo and why?

5. Who is responsible for the death of King Duncan and why?

Australian Disaster Information Network: Home page

I just found this and thought it might be useful for Geography generally but also for the volcano assignment year ten students are working on at the moment.

Although I am not at school today this is still the last day for students in my English classes to submit a poem for the competition and earn their overt bribe of a family block of chocolate. You can leave your poems at the school office or send me a message.

Whatever you do it needs to be by the end of school today.

I’ll be handing out the chocolate next week.

You will probably know this one by its initials CV. It means the course of life.

Your CV usually shows your educational and work history and you use it to convince people to hire you for a job.