Next installment. . .

What I did after school today!

Came home, let dogs out and in again. Then I called a lady back, the wife if a friend the Hubby works with, she wanted to pick my brain for a minute, 1:11:27 later I got off the phone.

Then I made a thing for this evening and while it was choculating (Yes it is a word, a new one, if Mrs. Bomby can make lavatation and chapelating, I can have choculating! Isn't English fun?) I checked e-mail. There was a really funny one about a guy who responded to telemarketers by acting like he was a cop on the crime scene of a murder and begins to grill the telemarketer like he was a suspect. . . By the time I was done on the computer, the chocolate was fully chocolated and I did whipped cream to go one it. . . won't you be sorry if you don't come tonight? heeheehee

Then I got a call on the prayer chain, called the next person in line and passed it on. The daughter in law of a lady at my church has been double wammied with pneumonia and whooping cough! OWCH! And ick.

By then the hubby was up, and I made him some coffee, sent him out to fix the horses feeder because now there is snow, now they get hay. Fixed feeder + hay = happy horsies!

So. . . that's my afternoon so far! Apparently I am now going to throw a ball for a corgi as she has just tossed it at me!

Concerning Youtube Videos

For those of you technically <(^.^<) inclined, here is a generic method of downloading Youtube videos.
As an after note, you will have to rename the file with an .flv extension.
If you have any further questions about the steps involved (I had to play around before I figured out exactly what the instructions meant), then just email me at tmatthurley@gmail.com.

Always watching...

A Few Fitting Words

Here are just a few well-put phrases, for your viewing pleasure.

“As for IE7, well, suffice it to say that if this were 2002, IE7 would be an adequate browser. However, the last time I looked at a calendar it was in fact 2007.”- AKAJohnDoe

Lol, what a burn on Microsoft!

“A wise person once said, ‘Slow and steady wins the race.’ And then I passed him.”- P. Baird

Joke's on him, eh?

“If pro is the opposite of con, than what is the opposite of progress?”- Mr. Boyd

Hmmmmmm =^)

“A fool and his money are soon partying.”- Anonymous

It's true!

“Do unto others before they do unto you.”- Anonymous

Sound advice...

“Frodo has been last seen on the run from elven rocket luancher”- Xyrom

What?

You can breath now!

Here it is, the eagerly awaited weekly feature!

What I did after school. . .

Came home, got the Hubby and went to Mrs. Moffit's for the full treatment, (AFTER going for coffee)! Came home from there and started some pasta for dinner. Sat down and read the Observer, watched a bit of the BBC news, ate some dinner, read the 2 e-mail messages from my sister, sent the Hubby up for his post-dinner, pre-work nap and went up to Enterprise for the 4-H Livestock Leaders and Superintendents meeting. There we discussed fascinating subjects like Beef Wash Racks, Sheep Scrapie Tags, various Judge suggestions, (I am thrilled, the great judge I requested is coming again, he's wonderful and Fair will go so well! Again!) Continuing discussions of Fair Ground Maintenance, Sound System Issues, Shear Dates, Weigh In Dates, Wool Pool issues, how the county Judging team did at the U of I judging contest, (3rd, 4th, and 5th) and upcoming workshop and training events. A productive meeting in all!

Came home, flashed my lights at the Hubby as we passed each other on the road, feed dogs, let dogs out, let dogs in, turned Mystery on to watch the end of the Inspector Lindley Mysteries, found it was one I'd already seen so turned on some music instead, sat down and began this epic account.

There, I've done my part to further literacy among our students!


On a new note, you might all put Mr. Moffit on your prayer list, his knee is giving him fits again, it is very painful and the thing that can be done to help it, won't cure it.

PAN Day '07

Better late than never.

Yes, today is PAN Day, marking the 2nd anniversary of Providence Academy News. It's been a great two years. I'm sorry, but I don't have any promotions running ;-)

This is how Providence Academy News began as I remember it. On November 11, 2005, I was bored, I guess. It was lunchtime. So, I sat down and created a WordPerfect document. Providence Academy News. The first piece of news was pretty mundane, reporting Matthew, Dusty, and Isaiah getting in trouble.

Since then, the document expanded and some people actually did read it. The next year came WikiProv. But it was hardly used. And then: wikiprov.blogspot.com. Providence Academy News is back.

So, two years. What are your thoughts?

I uploaded a copy of the PDF to our Bravenet free website. It's a direct link, unlike the Box.net link. So, here is the PDF. Enjoy!

Hmmm, the links seem to be having problems. Blogger probably will fix the problem. Until then, here's the PDF:
wikiprov.bravehost.com/Providence Academy News.pdf

The time has come for joy and feasting...

Huzzah! The dell technician has been here and gone, leaving my laptop a better computer =^)

1. He arrives, bearing a new motherboard and new speakers.
2. He tears the laptop into pieces, pulling out the existing motherboard and speakers.
3. He installs the new motherboard and speakers.
4. He bids adieu and starts to pull out of the driveway.
5. I boot up the computer and note that the wireless is not connected.
6. I note that the wireless switch/wifi catcher is jammed in the 'catch networks' mode (neither on nor off).
7. I run frantically down the driveway to arrest his departure.
8. He comes back into the house and attempts to slide the wireless switch into place by opening the case slightly.
9. It doesn't work.
10. With a sigh, he dismembers the laptop once more, fixes the problem and reassembles it.
11. He leaves.

And now, I have yet to experience the stuttering problem ;-)
But the best part is: I had always been less than pleased with the performance of my headphone jacks- they crackled and whined, but I accepted it as normal laptop jack performance. However, after the motherboard was replaced, the sound through my headphones is glorious! Thus confirming my suspicion that all of the problems were stemming from a faulty sound card.
Let mirthful laughter abound!!
Joy to the world, peace and goodwill toward men and Dell!!
Let there be wine and feasting!!
Jesus has crushed the Dragon's head, and we are invited to his Wedding feast!!
He has led captivity captive, and will bring His bride, the Church, into a new kingdom, a kingdom undefiled and that shall not pass away!!
Amen.

(Yes, I am very happy.)

Weekly Feature?

We can start a weekly feature, "What I did after school" on various days, that will save the comments from (hopefully) all being the same.

I went home, read e-mail listened to and deleted the annoying telemarketer's hang ups on the answering machine, washed a big old smelly black dog, cooked and ate dinner while watching the beginning of 'The Russians Are Coming' (Everyone to get from street!) went to orchestra, played a whole into my lip, came home, read a post that guilted me into posting something and soon I will have my book in hand, head on pillow, pre-sleep!

Exciting life!

Who's next?

Werewolf?

I found some interesting effects with my webcam software...

PAN's Identity

I am happy to see that the Monday Note is now being called just that: the Monday Note ("Monday Not" today). We have our identity back. Yaaayy!

So, I hear that the school website is going to be redone. And I hear that the senior class this year is designing web pages instead of writing a senior thesis? Or is that just a rumor? Help me out here, please.

Oh... and I hear that in the next trimester there is going to be an elective of web design. I'm looking forward to that, mostly because I don't know a lot about designing web pages. However, I have a copy of KompoZer, so I have interface power!! [grin]

Next topic: please write. I beg you! I entreat you! We need writers, readers, commenters, and anything else! So, yeah, we'd appreciate it...

And we'd appreciate if everybody knew about this blog. So, I will try and prepare a short snippet and submit it to Julie, our wonderful secretary (opinions welcome ;-) for inclusion in next week's Monday Note.

Perhaps someday we'll get out of this rut. Maybe we'll even have a domain name on the school website someday? blog.providenceacademy.net? Or is that too long?

And, for now, to make our main page look cleaner, I'm going to create a post with the student and teacher blog links that we have and put that in the links instead of all the individual ones.

See you soon.

Clowns: Matthew's Paper

Here is a paper I wrote for Senior Thesis class, for your viewing pleasure.
This is a rough draft.


Matthew

Mr. Buck

Senior Thesis

31 October 2007

Clowns

What has a white face, a red nose, and a bad haircut? No, it’s not a scared drunkard with an incompetent barber. It’s a clown! Clowns twist balloons, act silly and generally amuse people. Most people like clowns, but some people actually fear or hate them (Evil Clowns). Clowns are often a part of circuses, shows, drama, and birthday parties. The history of clowning began in early Egypt, and clowns have played an important role in theater and show business ever since.
The history of clowning may have begun as early as 2500 BC, when a clown is supposed to have performed in Egypt. The earliest clowns probably existed as court jesters; they were found not only in the courts of Europe, but in those of China and even the Aztec Nation. Jesters were kept in the courts of kings to provide amusement; however, jesters could have a great influence on national policies. Sometimes, the jester was the only one who could get away with criticizing the king or disobeying him. Thus, some jesters, by virtue of having a degree of leniency in the king’s eyes, have saved lives and altered the course of history.
Clowns also found their way onto the stage. In ancient Greece and early Rome, clowns began to develop as foolish characters who were the brunt of the jokes and abuse
(A Brief History of Clowning). The clown character was further developed through the Commedia del Arte, a theatrical group that began in Italy, and spread throughout Europe. It was in the Commedia del Arte that the traditional Harlequin (joker) came into being (Johnson). There were many traveling shows and theatrical groups, but the first bona fide circus didn’t appear until 1768 (Raymond).
The circus was introduced in England by Philip Astley. In this circus, he also created the first circus clown act, called Billy Buttons, in which the unfortunate clown had great difficulty in riding a horse. This act has become traditional in all circuses (Raymond). Circuses became sort of the ultimate traveling show, effectively replacing the traveling entertainment troupes of the Medieval and Renaissance time periods. The first known female American clown was Amelia Butler, who performed with Nixon’s Great American Circus and Kemp’s Mammoth English Circus in 1858 (Raymond). As clowns became more integrated into shows and acts, certain definite character types developed.
The three main types of clowns are the Whiteface, Auguste, and Tramp characters. The Whiteface clown is the most refined of the three types. They have all visible skin covered with white makeup, and are generally much more coordinated and stylish in appearance that the Auguste or Tramp clowns. The Auguste clown is the most ludicrous and comical of clowns; Auguste clowns are clumsy, foolish and bumbling. They wear silly, outrageous clothes, and are often the brunt of the joke. The Tramp clown is the down-and-out bum. Usually downtrodden and silent, he gets kicked around, and nothing ever goes right for him; he just accepts it as his lot in life (Montgomery).
Emmett Kelly Sr. was a famous example of a Tramp clown. He was born in Kansas, and began performing in the circus as a trapeze artist, and occasionally as a Whiteface clown. He tried to introduce a Tramp clown character called Weary Willy, but the circus management discouraged the idea because they thought the Tramp character too scruffy and dirty. During the Great Depression, however, the Tramp character held much more appeal for the common people, and Weary Willy became famous worldwide (Raymond).
Otto Greibling was another famous clown. Born in Germany, he started performing with the circus in America as a bareback rider. He was also a Tramp clown; however, he did only silent performances. Ironically, when he had to have his larynx removed at age 70, he performed the remaining two years of his life silently, on and off of the stage
(1989 inductees Clown Hall of Fame). Some other famous clowns include Lou Jacobs, famous for his silly antics, John Wayne Gacy, famous as an artist and serial killer, and Red Skelton, famous as Freddy the Freeloader, a Tramp clown (Famous clowns).
There is another group of clowns that receive less recognition, but perhaps deserve more. Rodeo clowns are the comic relief in rodeos, where there is a lot of intense action and violence; the clowns play an important part. In fact, a bad rodeo clown can overshadow a lot of good riding; the clown makes or breaks the rodeo. Traditionally, rodeo clowns have had the purpose of distracting the bull in the event that a rider should become endangered; the clown would buy time for the downed rider to reach safety. Now, for the most part, professional bullfighters, sort of like matadors, have taken on that job, leaving the clowns for entertainment value. Rodeo clowns often resemble Auguste clowns in make-up style; in clothing they usually wear exaggerated cowboy clothes, and sometimes a barrel (Rodeo clowns).
Clearly, from the early Egyptians, throughout the rise and fall of dynasties and kingdoms, from age to age, clowns have played an invaluable role in society. Jesters have altered the fate of individuals and nations. Clowns, acting the buffoon, have provided the comic relief in plays since plays began. Bards, minstrels and traveling performers have provided much-needed entertainment in remote communities. In a world that God has conquered, “The righteous shall are bold as a lion,” and we, like God, can laugh at all our foes, which include anxiety and dullness (Proverbs 28:1). The power to amuse is a gift of God, which clowns have put to good use.

Information is Coming

Sometime soon here I'm going to make a post here giving detailed contact information for everyone in the school. Of course, It's not going to be complete at first. But just comment and we'll add the information.

School's pretty cool, so let's just keep groovin'.

Toodles!