Istanbul

My little sister is about to go to Istanbul:

I heard on the radio that there used to be a Nabisco factory in Istanbul, though back then it was Constantinople. And, fun fact, the Turkish people love to eat hors d'oeuvres served on flakey buttery crackers.

Persuasive

My students wrote Brad a persuasive letter to ask him to come visit them.  They know that every persuasive letter has a least 3 reasons why someone should do what you want them to.  I posted the letter they wrote on my blog.  Then this happened:

Graham first:

Brad,

I want you to come visit Kendal and me in Canada.

You've never been to Ottawa.

We like Canada and Ottawa and think you'd like them too.

There's outdoorsy stuff here and you like outdoorsy stuff.

We want to shake your hand in Canada.

Bring your wife if it would make you come.

Sincerely,

Graham (and Kendal, who's reading over my shoulder)


Then Brad:

That is a damn fine persuasive letter Graham, damn fine. That being said, i fear you, like Kelsy's class would be sorely disappointed if I actually came to visit you. I am all hype and no show.

Ninja

Comment on my mom's blog, after she posted a picture of a Japanese pagoda she saw in Brussels:

If Bruce Lee movies have taught me anything (and I like to think that they have) it is that if you would have ventured into that Japanese style pagoda you would have been confronted by fighters of increasing skill on each successive floor, whom you would have had to beat to advance to the next floor. If you were able to make it to the top floor you would have found Kareem Abdul Jabaar patiently waiting for the day a formidable adversary finally makes it to the top floor. True story. I don't know how he can be at the top of every Japanese pagoda, but I feel like he is. Perhaps someday we will plan a coordinated ascension of two different pagoda's to test the theory (family reunion anyone?). It will however require months of training before hand, and Wane's intricate knowledge of the 5 on 2 technique

Go

Me: "Have you heard my dad's joke about Vincent Van Gogh's brothers. There's one named Winneba..."

Brad: "Is there one named Ta?"

Me: "Tago?"

Brad: "It's a Mexican food...if you have a stuffy nose."

Blind painting

Recently, my mother spent some time in Europe visiting my little sister.  They took a short trip to Paris and stopped by the Louvre, where my mother snapped this picture.

Brad's comment:

I think Vermeer forgot his glasses when he painted the lace maker, because it looks pretty blurry. Or maybe it is supposed to be from the perspective of someone who forgot their glasses. I personally excel at painting things from the perspective of blind people. I have included a small sample of my work below, to see it you need to close your eyes and scroll down, you can touch the screen with your fingers to enhance the effect of the picture. Maybe someday my work will be in the louvre.