Friday Fragments, Episode #111

Welcome to Friday Fragments, the place to unload the bits and pieces of your week

that were too small to be stand-alone posts, but too good to toss.

My Friday Fragments this week are "chunky" in style, so I only have five of them. Here goes!

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Some day, when I have the time, I'm going to read/view the BlogHer 2010 Keynote speeches, because when I went in 2009, the Keynotes were my favorite part of the conference. You can find them here. I've saved mine to my Delicious account.

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I've been back at school for almost two weeks now, and I have to honestly say that I absolutely love my job. What a treat it is to work with sixth graders; such open attitudes, eager faces, enthusiasm. Even considering the things I can't talk about on this blog, I really couldn't have a better job.

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My school is having a contest to earn technology for the school and for a teacher whose homeroom collects the most of these by the end of the school year:

The school earns money to purchase technology, and the teacher of the winning homeroom wins an IPad to use in her classroom. So...if you happen to have a bunch of soup labels or Box Tops for Education "stamps" and no one to give them to, I would love to take them off your hands. Just sayin'.  (I don't expect anyone to pay the shipping for the other stuff, but I figure the cost of mailing the paper stuff would be cheap! I figure it can't hurt to ask.)  Also, all schools in the U.S. (at least) have access to the same funds, so if you prefer, look into helping your neighboring school; I know they'll appreciate it!

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Do you like the name you chose for your blog?  I love Half-Past Kissin' Time and have never regretted choosing it. On that note, in case you've avoided buying your own domain name because you think it's probably too expensive, you should know that it costs me less than $10 a year to own mine. You could even change your blog's name by routing it through a new name like this:  www.newnameofyourblog.com   I used Go-Daddy and found the process to be fairly easy. When I hit a snag, their round-the-clock, live customer service responded quickly and efficiently (in clear English!)  I highly recommend Go-Daddy.  [BTW, I gain nothing if you purchase your domain from this recommendation. I'm just doing it to be nice.]

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I was very, very moved by this brief podcast of a grandfather and his wife reflecting on his Alzheimers.  In fact, I bawled my eyes out, not because I know anyone with the disease (I don't) but because the thought of my grandchildren growing up without Mr.4444 for a grandpa made me lose it. (Let's just say he has some vices.) Please don't comment on the vices thing; that's not my point. My point is that this podcast is beautiful. And just when I'd finished wiping my tears from that video, I had to go and watch Danny and Annie, which also inspired "The Ugly Cry," as my sister, Michelle, puts it. Keep the tissue handy.

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Here's your chance to link up your own Friday Fragments (chunky, diced, pureed, your choice!) ALL OTHER LINKS WILL BE DELETED--To learn the rules of Friday Fragments, please click here.