Tag Archives: school

The Sword of Damocles is hanging over our heads

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Cora

These past few days, I’ve spent much classroom time explaining to terrified seventh and eighth-graders that yes, what is happening in Japan is horrible and no, there is no direct danger to us at the moment. At least half of … Continue reading →

Posted in General | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bodily Functions in Fiction and Reality

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Cora

Either I have caught some kind of stomach bug or I simply ate something that disagreed with me. I sincerely hope the culprit wasn’t this recipe from the New York Times site that I tried out on Wednesday, because I … Continue reading →

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New Ways of Mispronouncing “Duke”

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Cora

For some reason, Germans have incredible problems pronouncing the word “Duke”, probably because the [dju] combination does not normally occur in German. To date, my favourite mispronunciation happens in the German crime thriller Scotland Yard jagt Dr. Mabuse (Dr. Mabuse … Continue reading →

Posted in Work | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

New Adventures in Teaching

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Cora

I had a couple of weird experiences at school this week. Probably something in the cafeteria food, except that the students don’t eat there if they can prevent it. Or maybe Helmers bakery – where the students are not supposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Work | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Not Feeling So Hot Linkdump

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Cora

I’m not feeling too hot today. Schools are hotbeds for all sorts of bugs, unfortunately, but usually I manage to avoid them. Yesterday, however, one of my students came back after several days sick at home with what looked like … Continue reading →

Posted in Links, Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Voice, Style and Grammar

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Cora

I’m tired and busy, so here’s a neat writing link: Kristine Kathryn Rusch on voice and why it is important for writers and storytellers. The first half of the post is about the Borders bankruptcy, you have to scroll down … Continue reading →

Posted in Work, Writing | Tagged , | 2 Comments

“But she can’t live there” – Cultural Assumptions and Kids

Posted on February 4, 2011 by Cora

Yesterday was a pretty good if busy day. Last night, I attended the monthly translators’ meet-up at Leo’s Restaurant. I had pasta with spicy tuna sauce, red wine and Italian hot chocolate (hot chocolate with a dash of amaretto) not … Continue reading →

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Strunk, White and Sex

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Cora

I dug out a long abandoned short story with the idea of reviving and finishing it and got a lot of writing done. So here are some writing links: The Financial Times discusses style guides and what does and does … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

A Hustle moment and some links

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Cora

At school today, I was practicing asking for and giving directions with the kids. First we used a practice map of a made-up town stuffed full with all sorts of interesting places to go and then the London tube map. … Continue reading →

Posted in Links, Work | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Three Times Hallelujah and Your Mama

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Cora

Today, I chanced to hear the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen three times in a single day. Which is quite unusual, because even though there are umpteen thousand cover versions, it isn’t played all that often. The first time was … Continue reading →

Posted in Personal, TV, Work | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments