Back again so soon? I’ve got about a day and a half to fulfill my Pre-New Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve resolution of writing about the entire Here Comes Everybody catalogue before 2018. In case you’re just stepping into the fray, in short, it has been my project over the last three years or soContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume XV–Here Comes Everybody Survives the 20th Century”
Author Archives: michaeljarmer
Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume XIV–31 Years of Here Comes Everybody
Oh my. It’s been almost an entire year since the last time I added an installment to this series. Maybe I will make a New Year’s Resolution not to wait another year before the next one! I did not intend to write about my own music in this series, only tangentially as it related toContinue reading “Notes Toward a Musical Autobiography: Volume XIV–31 Years of Here Comes Everybody”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 9, 2017
I realize now that it might be possible to misunderstand the title of this blog series. I just want to make clear right out of the gate that our narrator is not talking about his penultimate year on the planet. Nope. He’s pretty healthy, save for some high blood pressure (which he is working toContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 9, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 5, 2017
And now for something completely different. I’ve been doing this “Penultimate Year” series now since August, and typically post about once a month, but today the urge to scribble arrived for the second consecutive day. Today, the day after my birthday, felt more like a birthday. I mean, I celebrated a little bit last nightContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 5, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 4, 2017
It’s a Monday and it’s my birthday. None of my students knew and I didn’t bother to tell them. It was a rough day. Last night, I stayed up too late. This morning, and all day really, I was suffering as a result. My cold’s getting better, I think, or, at least, no worse. ButContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: December 4, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: November 29, 2017
I am feeling under the weather. But I am not so far gone as to have to call in sick. I need to keep resting, continue with my abstinence from adult beverages for a couple more days, try not to worry. I got some paperwork from the Oregon Public Employee Retirement System, a request forContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: November 29, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: November 2, 2017
It’s parent/teacher conference day (yippee!), wherein we teachers sit for 7 hours in uncomfortable chairs in front of uncomfortable cafeteria benches in the commons while parent after parent, sometimes with students in tow, line up to have short, five-minute, uncomfortable conversations with us. It’s not as bad as all that. Not all these conversations areContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: November 2, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: October 20, 2017
October 11th of last week was Oregon’s official teacher in-service day. In our school district, the day is unofficial, in that it’s no longer a paid work day. Somehow during negotiations that took place more than a decade ago now, the paid in-service day was bargained away in exchange for some other mysterious but beneficialContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: October 20, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: October 11, 2017
The year is cooking right along, cooking so vigorously along, in fact, that this is only my second entry in this new series I’m calling a Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year. Yes, the year is cooking right along, interrupted briefly on only two occasions and constantly punctuated by a third. WeContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: October 11, 2017”
Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: August 29, 2017
One of my favorite words in the English language is the word “penultimate.” It’s a great word. And this school year I will likely overuse it. Consider yourself forewarned. Today began the (sort of) first day of the (maybe) penultimate school year of my teaching career. I say “sort of” in light of the factContinue reading “Diary of an English Teacher in His Penultimate Year: August 29, 2017”
michael jarmer 