31 August 2012

Welcome to the first Friday of the new school year–and your first three day weekend. 

Poem of the Day

 

Among the Multitude by Walt Whitman

Among the men and women, the multitude,

Uncle Walt

I perceive one picking me out by secret and divine signs,
Acknowledging none else—not parent, wife, husband, brother, child,
any nearer than I am;
Some are baffled—But that one is not—that one knows me.

Ah, lover and perfect equal!
I meant that you should discover me so, by my faint indirections;
And I, when I meet you, mean to discover you by the like in you.

[pextestim name=”Sentence of the Day: D.H. Lawrence” img=”https://quixoticpedagogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/JlawrenceDH1.jpg”]“The trains roared by like projectiles level on the darkness, fuming and burning, making the valley clang with their passage. They were gone, and the lights of the towns and villages glittered in silence.”[/pextestim]

Fascinating Factoid

 

The Big Think notes that we are on the verge of being able to mine asteroids and the moon:

Since the US-based company Planetary Resources announced its intention to mine asteroids for precious minerals, legal questions have arisen over to what extent the concept of ownership can be applied to space rocks and territory on the moon. “In just under two years, Planetary Resources says it will launch the first of a series of space telescopes into low-Earth orbit in a bid to spot nearby asteroids of a size and mineral composition potentially worth mining.” A Las Vegas-based start up called Moon Express also plans to mine the lunar surface for minerals deposited there by meteorites.

Word Power

 

AESTHETIC: concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste.

Example: When first entering Mr. Pogreba’s room, students often admire the aesthetic quality of its organization.

Events of August 31:

  • In 1897, Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.
  • In 1870, the Italian educator Maria Montessori was born.