Iamb what iamb.

Alas, my Facebook page cannot withstand
The influx of the posts I wish to share
To recognize the birth of the great man,
The one we call the Bard–that is, Shakespeare.

So here I'll save the posts that caught my eye
On this, the day we celebrate his birth
Four hundred fifty years ago. And I
Am thankful for the time he was on earth.

Seems most of these were shared via Facebook,
And one came from a search of my YouTube.
On Twitter I have yet to take a look,
but I'll post tweets (unless they're from a rube).

So I did not intend to write a sonnet,
But it's hard to stop once you get started on it.


From Bell Shakespeare (Australia):




From the great Roy Peter Clark, via Poynter
The Shakespeare sentence that changed my life
"Since many of us will not be residents of this distracted globe when Will’s big 5-0-0 comes around, we should do our best to praise him now, and as often as we can for as long as we can. There is no one like him."



Shakespeare quotes a la Cakewrecks
Where There's a Will
"It's Talk Like Shakespeare Day! So, instead of making Much Ado About Wrecking, we're just going to let the Bard himself insult the cakes."


Via Twitter (@JRhodesPianist)

A quiz from the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre

Take the quiz here!

Peace, Good Tickle-Brain (comic strip)

found here: Happy 450th Birthday, Shakespeare!

plus many other Shakespeare-related comics--great stuff!


From The Independent (UK)
Everyday phrases that came from the Bard


Classroom Ideas from NCTE
In 1564, William Shakespeare was born on this day

From CNN

Where were you?

I was in my classroom, and because second period is my conference time, I was all alone. But thanks to TV and all the Facebook status updates, I felt very much connected to my fellow Americans when President Barack Obama raised his right hand.

Later, when my intro journalism students arrived, we explored sundry media websites, comparing coverage. It's always interesting to surf on a big news day, and it's flat-out fun when it's for a happy event and not a natural disaster or other tragedy. Here are some of the nifty pages we found:

NY Times: Books

The writing teacher in me loved this tribute to the transforming power of words. My students found some other features interesting, like this one from SI.com about Obama and basketball. (Loved the headline: "The Audacity of Hoops.")

Newseum: Today's Front Pages

This regular feature of the Newseum's site gives students their own window to the world. They were able to see front pages from tons of papers in the United States and abroad. Fun stuff—and Wednesday's front pages should be even more interesting.

Washington Post: Inauguration Central

We especially enjoyed the Survival Guide with its Google Earth rendering of the Mall, Capitol, parade route and White House. It provided some geographic context, especially for those who have never been to D.C.

NY Times: Inaugural Words

This gimmick was a favorite! You can click on the presidents' pictures across the top to see word clouds for each president's inaugural address. Also included are links to the NYT archives and the full text of each speech.

I know I'll always remember this historic day; I'm hoping my students will, too!

You oughta be on posters.

By now I guess everyone's seen Shepard Fairey's Obama "Hope" poster. Thanks to a magazine's website, now everyone can put themselves in those now iconic red, white and blue tones.

Too much fun!

Good sports.

from ESPN.com

Here's a feel-good story from the world of sports, and—believe it or not—it's free of Longhorns, Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars!

The Ultimate Act of Sportsmanship

Recommended reading.

Preacher Mike: Love Hillary

"I’m not suggesting you should vote for Hillary. I’m not saying I’ll vote for her. But I don’t get the hatred. Vigorous political disagreement? Yes. Hatred? No."