If You Love to Read

The latest promo for the New York State Reading Association!

A celebration of reading!



One of the easiest videos I've ever done but by far the most popular! Strange how it works, eh?

Organic Chemistry (TGIB)

I love learning and I love parody songs. Thus TGIB (Thank God it's Bio) was born.



I created this music video after a brief stint "literacy coaching" my former Biology teacher. I use quotations around the term "literacy coaching" because I was really only with her for a day, so I didn't do a whole heck of a lot of coaching. I asked her what she might need help with and she said that her students have trouble grasping the concepts in organic chemistry. This video was my attempt to help her out!

My little sister (the other nerd in the video) and I danced around in our old high school and had a blast making this.

When I get my own classroom and start teaching novels, I definitely plan on creating music videos to accompany the units! YES! I can't wait to be a real teacher!

Ira Glass on Storytelling

A kinetic typographical piece in which Ira Glass (the fabulous host of This American Life) explains the phenomenon where beginning artists and writers are often discouraged by the gap they find between their ability and their vision.

I've often struggled with this gap and find great comfort in Ira's words!

Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Totally like whatever, you know? by Taylor Mali

In case you hadn’t noticed,
it has somehow become uncool
to sound like you know what you’re talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you’re saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)’s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren’t, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences—so-­‐called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true, okay,
as opposed to other things are, like, totally, you know, not—
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don’t think I’m uncool just because I’ve noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It’s like what I’ve heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I’m just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we’ve just gotten to the point where it’s just, like . . .
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we’ve become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.

To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

http://taylormali.com/poems-online/totally-like-whatever-you-know/

Noodle, Grandma, and Urine-soaked Revenge

This Monday while driving to class, I was listening to the moth and heard Shalom Auslander tell a hilariously dark story about his visit to Auschwitz called Death Camp Blues. It was twisted yet poignant and made me take note of the story-teller's name for later Googling.

Then, last night, I was compiling some files for a story-telling or podcasting unit (for my hypothetical future classroom) when I came upon another story by Shalom Auslander, one that I'd heard a long time ago but always remembered. It was one of those moments when I was like,

"No way! It's that same guy!"

I first heard the story below a couple summers ago. I can vividly remember the exact portion of the lawn I was mowing when I was listening to it. It's a story that is so outrageously funny it sticks with you. I highly recommend a listen:

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

This short animated film written by William Joyce is one of the most beautiful pieces of art I have seen in a long time. I was deeply moved by the journey Mr. Morris Lessmore is swept (or should I say blown) into.

I could almost smell the musty pages of those glorious winged books!
The scene in which Lessmore brings a book back to life is seriously stunning.

I can't recommend this short film enough!