More Aung San Suu Kyi with U2
May 27, 2011
The U2 360 tour has just resumed in the US with a new video intro to the song One by a familiar face. Now she gets out a bit more!
Thought you might enjoy!
2010 in review
January 2, 2011
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 13,000 times in 2010. That’s about 31 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 40 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 50 posts. There were 58 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 6mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was October 17th with 956 views. The most popular post that day was Random Questions.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were mail.live.com, tutortales.wordpress.com, en.wordpress.com, google.com.au, and alphainventions.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for 12ena1, great expectations belonging, 12ena1 wordpress, 12ena2, and 12ena1 blog.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Random Questions May 2010
251 comments
Practice Questions May 2010
47 comments
Post HSC October 2010
41 comments
Essay Writing 101 May 2010
14 comments
Previously, in Richard III… February 2010
34 comments
Just quickly…
December 15, 2010
Saw U2 last night. A great show. (Not quite as good as ’93 – still a high point of my life. Aaaanyway…)
They performed their song Walk On which was prefaced by a few comments about the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. She had asked Bono to pass on her thanks to U2 fans for their efforts in consciousness-raising and such. I included you among them through your association with me. So thanks from Aung San Suu Kyi. Pic’s a bit blurry but there was video about her imprisonment and release and such.
Thought of you all.
Hope you’re all well.
New Tab
October 18, 2010
A new tab has been added on the menu bar called “Post HSC”. Use it as you see fit!
Good luck!
October 18, 2010
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour’d rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o’erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O’erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill’d with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call’d fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game’s afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’”
William Shakespeare. Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1.
Essay Deadline
October 17, 2010
is now. However, I’m more than happy to continue answering questions and/or giving clarification and/or assuaging your anxieties. If you want me to give anything a bit of a read over, I’m happy to do that too, just no more detailed feedbacked essays if that’s alright.
Hope everyone’s travelling OK.
Has anyone
October 17, 2010
helped Mollygill out with the trial questions? i don’t have them to hand. If you’ve got them, would you be so kind as to post them here? Ta. Grazie. Danke. Merci.
Our blog
October 17, 2010
Not sure how clear the image is, but that big column is, unsurprisingly, visits to the site on the 14th October. It’s also the busiest day ever on the blog. 454 hits.
A few other interesting stats:
11,777 visits. 44 posts. 643 comments. 160 views so far today. Most visited post: Random Questions. Least visited: Meta-textuality.
What an achievement!
As you were.
Congratulations! Now…
October 15, 2010
The next few days.
I’ll able to respond to things this evening. Tomorrow, however, Kate’s at work so I won’t really be able to do much until Anna’s afternoon sleep (if at all). My stepsister’s engagement party is on Saturday night.
Why the social update? It means that Sunday’s probably my main day for looking at things. Which is, as I’m sure you’re aware, the day before the exam. So, blog questions are probably the most effective ways of doing things this weekend. I can do emailed essays. However, there are many of you, only one of me, and many of you have been handing in several essays on the one question or variations thereof. Perhaps if I can ask that you limit your submissions so I can help everyone; maybe one essay per module? Your best one! This’ll help me to do what I can to distribute help evenly.
About today. Don’t do too much in the way of post mortems; it’s done. The general vibe seemed to be that everyone felt OK about the paper. I liked it. (Of course, the only prediction I dared make about the number of related texts turned out to be wrong. Never again try to predict the Board!)
Some quick reading for your enjoyment:
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/english_adv_p2_rubrics.html
These are the rubrics for Monday. These are what each module’s question will be assessing your ability to do. Doing all these things already? Consider the HSC owned.
Congratulations for today, wonderful people.
Right then…
October 14, 2010
“We defy augury…
If it be now, ’tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now;
if it be not now, yet it will come:
the readiness is all.”
William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Act V. Scene II.
Take it easy this evening, folks. No more essays. If you like, have a read of the texts or read over your notes. I’m online tonight and I’ll be there in the morning if you’ve got any questions but, really, you’re all ready.
That said, some last minute advice:
Be positive; you’re all smart and creative and adaptable and exceptionally well-taught people who will do very, very, very well.
The exam question(s) will be exactly the same irrespective of how much you freak out. if in doubt, find Mollygill. She’s already done an exam and has lived to tell the tale.
Get some sleep. No energy drinks. (Vittoria coffee if you must.)
Despite my jokes to the contrary, the examiners aren’t evil; they’ll want you write as much as you can. Oblige them.
The clumsy and awkward expression “not belonging” can be easily and more gracefully substituted with “isolation” or “alienation”. Stephan will have a couple more in the morning if you’re stuck.
Even if the question says “Don’t refer to language techniques”, REFER TO LANGUAGE TECHNIQUES!
Pretty sure that’s it. I love you all. See you in the morning.
