February 2011

  • Keep Shining – Together We Are Fireworks

    Commercial radio is often full of songs that don’t have much substance to them. The lyrics often seem empty or hollow. Artits are quick to make catchy sounding records that have very little to offer other than a nice beat and an infectious rhythm. Every now and then, though, a song comes along that makes […]


  • How to Find Time to Write (Guest Post)

    How do fiction writers find time to write? When looking over their daily schedules, it often seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. Even with a busy schedule, writers can always find small bits of time to craft that fabulous novel. Let’s take a look at some tips that should help you […]


  • 1000th Post Celebration

    I hereby declare this Silent Cacophony Day!  Let’s observe this day as an international holiday. Why? Because today marks a milestone here for this blog. This is my 1000th post. It’s exciting to have reached this many posts in four years. I started this blog as a vehicle to establish myself as a serious writer. […]


  • Teaching Tip – Get Organized

    One thing I have learned from all my years of teaching is that it pays to be prepared. Believe it or not, I wasn’t always this organized. I always made sure that I photocopied any material or worksheets I needed well ahead of time. However, on one more than one occasion, I simply could not […]


  • Gnomeo is a Gno-gno (I mean No-no)

    When I first heard about this film, I was completely repulsed by the idea. Romeo and Juliet retold with a bunch of garden gnomes. Wait, it’s a animated film for children? The ending has been sanitized too? The star-crossed lover’s don’t die? Are you kidding me? The film is called Gnomeo and Juliet. Okay, I […]


  • Teaching Tip: Quieting Down a Rowdy Class (Guest Post)

    Image via Wikipedia Elementary-aged children are easily excited and it can be difficult to quiet them down once something has really gotten them rambunctious. Once a distraction has set in and gotten everyone giggling, it’s definitely a challenge to get the class hunkered down into a productive task again. To help you out (and spare […]


  • Best Math Ever

    One love is less than three. Okay, I don’t really know what that means mathematically, but it’s still cute for Valentine’s Day. And it made my girlfriend smile last week when I sent her that text message. Hope you have a good one!


  • Happy Valentine’s Day My Love


  • Recommended Reads – The Shack

    Cover of The Shack The Shack is the debut novel from William P. Young and the latest book to end up on My Recommended Reads list. Like many of the books on the list, I discovered it quite randomly at the public library and was completely blown away by what I found. The story revolves […]


  • Teaching Tip: Multi-Syllable Rhymes

    Image via Wikipedia When people think of poets, they don’t often think of rappers, but Eminem gets a lot of attention for how he puts his words together. People who don’t even like rap, admire him for his skill. I know what you are thinking – Eminem in a Teaching Tip Tuesday post? – Has […]