Christa Allan

Is it shallow of me to hope Peyton Manning smears Rex Gross-man in the Stupid Super Bowl?
Since Peyton’s a home-town guy, even though neither one of us is living in the town we once called home, I’d be delighted if the Saints exacted some vicarious retribution through him. Especially since the NFL fined Reggie Bush [...]

Well, now I understand. It was bluest blue day of the universe. I wonder how many applications WalMart had yesterday?

My writer friend Elizabeth Ludwig is teaching an online course for Lamar University, Death Becomes Her: Basic Elements for Writing a Cozy Mystery.
If you’re interested, the title will take you to her site where there’s another link to take you to an online course registration. Elizabeth visited my Creative Writing class in November, and her [...]

Today is one of those days I wonder how I’d look wearing Wal Mart blue, standing as gatekeeper of the carts while I greet the martsters. I’d probably be able to visit with friends; heck, maybe even make a few new ones. I’d have a wealth of character studies for stories watching everyone cruising in [...]

Hi everyone! My name is Erin  and for some odd reason I was asked to guest blog. I cannot imagine what I would have to say that might be half as interesting as my mom, she is such a phenomenal writer. However, my fears have not prevented me from writing. Please [...]

I’ve finally decided what I want to be on my way to growing up.
At some point, God willing and the levees don’t break, I’ll be a multi-published writer who is entertaining the grandchildren on the lanai of my Kauai summer home while I’m chatting with my agent who’s about to break the news [...]

If you read yesterday’s blog, please know that this is not the title of an upcoming Sundance film. In my “ej-oo-key-shuhn” category there’s an earlier entry on teachers and the sometimes not so fine art of teaching. That would be the part 1.
I received an email that alerted me I could see Freedom Writers, [...]

Based on what’s coming out of the Sundance Film Festival this year, I think some savvy director ought to get a jumpstart for next year and consider making films based on some of the chapters in Leviticus, Song of Solomon, Amnor and Tamar, and Lot and his two daughters.
Two press-generating movies this year are Hounddog [...]

I wonder if Shakespeare would survive a critique group today.  Finding an agent? Unlikely. Self-published? Almost definitely.
MyAPers (Advanced Placement class which recently had an assignment requiring them to find  PEE  [point/evidence/explanation] in their writing) are reading Macbeth.  I  want to fill a bathtub with Shakespeare’s words and simply soak until his language saturates me.  Reading [...]

Pamela Anderson is not happy about the possibility that the Post Office might honor Kentucky Fried Chicken’s founder with a stamp. “Honoring a man whose legacy involves breaking animals’ bones and scalding animals to death in defeathering tanks is contrary to the values of most compassionate citizens, and I hope that you’ll [...]

“Failure in the classroom is often tied to lack of funding, poor teachers or other ills. Here’s a thought: Maybe it’s the failed work ethic of today’s kids. Until reformers see this reality, little will change. ” For once, blame the student says Patrick Welsh of Virgina.

OPINION | January 19, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor: Classroom Distinctions
By TOM MOORE
Every day teachers are blamed for what the system they’re just a part of doesn’t provide.

I didn’t invent these, but wish I had! For more word fun, click here 
Parathon
Meaning: Literary term for a very long paragraph.
Pronounciation: Para-thon
Usage: Parathons are considered bad for good writing.
Root: Paragraph+Marathon
 Dullaby
Meaning: A song, to which people fall asleep.
Pronounciation: Dull+uh-bee
Usage: All lullabies should henceforth be called ‘dullabies’ since they make people fall asleep.
Root: Dull+Lullaby
Enthusiastically [...]

One of the most frustrating aspects of teaching is rarely witnessing a sense of completion, of seeing if any of the seeds I’ve planted have courageously pushed their way through the dirt of indecision and apathy or if they’ve been snatched by dream stealers.
But some days I have teacher moments that are so glorious and [...]

interior, stagnate, foothill, sturgeon, swindler, ministry, insolent, quotient, minstrel, alkaline
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The Oxford Word Challenge Fiendishly Difficult Word Game
Rebuses
Rebuses are groups of letters, numbers, pictures, etc. that represent words or phrases. IOU is a kind of rebus, representing the phrase ‘I owe you’. Most people know a puzzle in the form of a rhyme which starts; [...]

In “Write for Your Life” Anna Quindlen writes, “Wouldn’t all of us love to have a journal, a memoir, a letter, from those we have loved and lost? Shouldn’t all of us leave a bit of that behind?”
I’m certainly hoping my children will answer a resounding, ” Amen, yes, sister!” to [...]

Just when you think there’s almost nothing to write about, you find out that Chuang Chuang, the male panda at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand has to go on a diet. Why, you ask?
If he doesn’t lose weight, he cannot have sex with Lin Hui, the female panda, because he will crush her. [...]

Gotta love this quote from dad:
It’s amazing that he was frozen,” Glen Markham said as he gazed through the nursery window at the squalling newborn. “I thought the only thing you could freeze was a crab. You freeze a crab and defrost it, and it’ll come back to life.”
And if that doesn’t [...]

Be very careful where you leave your cell phone!
Off to an Advanced Placement meeting today. Back to blogging this afternoon. In the meantime, chant this mantra, “Geaux Saints!”

It’s cold. Louisiana cold is any temp below 70 degrees. It’s raining.  On the way to my doctor’s appointment, Sarah informed me, “It’s overcast today.”  When I asked her how she knew that, she told me that she’s psychic. I think she might have a legitimate shot at being a meteorologist. Waiting for Hurricane Katrina, [...]