Buy an old typewriter for a big pile of money

Regular readers of our blog remember us mentioning Cormac McCarthy here (saw "The Road." Was underwhelmed, though it's a perfectly ok film.).

Well, we just saw, via one of our fave blogs Pop Candy, that the typewriter used to write the book is going on the auction block.

If you've got a cool fifteen or twenty grand laying about, you can own the typewriter McCarthy bought in a pawn shop.

Take a look here, and save your pennies up!

Movie Maniacs

We didn't go see the blockbuster, record-setting movie over the weekend because we prefer our vampires to be blood-thirsty monsters as opposed to emo-chic teenagers who can't quite open their eyes all the way.

But a few of us around Teacher's Brunch HQ in foggy-morning Auburn Hills, MI are pretty geeked for this coming weekend's opening of "The Road."

Any other literature-based films we should keep an eye out for?

Thanks for the laughs, Soupy

While it's true that Teacher's Discovery is a national (even international) company, regular readers of our blog know that we are proud of our Michigan and Metro-Detroit roots.

So those of us here at Teacher's Brunch HQ in cold and rainy Auburn Hills, MI join with everyone in mourning the passing of a TV icon we in Detroit like to consider one of our own, Soupy Sales.

No, Soupy didn't start in Detroit, and he wasn't even from Detroit, but he was here as he approached the cusp of his success. He always maintained a generous attachment to our fair state, and the people of Michigan reciprocated.

Maybe today in his honor, instead of eating a pie, we should all throw one. That would be good for the waistline, and the funny bone.

"I Can Be Anything": "Reading Rainbow" calls it quits

Venerable children's show "Reading Rainbow" has ceased production after 26 years, making it the third-longest running children's show in PBS history.

Below is the "RR"'s iconic theme song.

Sing along.

You know you can.

You know you want to.

R.I.P., John Hughes

Word is out that director, screenwriter, and Michigan-native John Hughes passed away yesterday while on a visit to New York City.

For many teachers, we imagine his films helped to define and shape their own school experiences. Certainly, many of his films touched those of us here at Teacher's Brunch HQ.

Who didn't want to be Ferris Bueller? Smart, popular, nice, with devoted friends and family and a pretty-fancy-for-its-time computer? Ferris was an Id tempered with boyish innocence and good humor, bucking the system without breaking the system. You might not trust him with your car, but you would trust him with your life.

As kids we rooted for him. As teachers we admonish him, while silently rooting for him.

In a world full of regrets, Ferris said "The question isn't 'what are we going to do,' the question is 'what aren't we going to do?'"

A rather nice legacy to leave behind.

R.I.P. Les Lye

Those of us from a certain generation here at Teacher's Brunch HQ in soggy Auburn Hills, MI are mourning the passing of a defining actor from our youth (if we had cable tv, of course).

We might not have known his name, but Les Lye, who passed away Tuesday, portrayed nearly every adult male on the Nickelodeon sketch show "You Can't Do That On Television."

At its best, "YCDTOTV" was about a lot of different teenage anxieties--divorce, dating pressures, drug use, and school issues. Les Lye, in his role as the everyday antagonist against the teenage heroes, represented bosses, teachers, parents, and just about every other authority figure you might imagine.

As kids growing up watching Lye's work, we imagined going up against him, and that vented our youthful frustration we experienced in real life.

Something about Lye's characters, though, always made us feel safe in an odd way. Like as bad as our parents were that day, or our teachers, or our bosses, they were NEVER as bad as the guys on "YCDTOTV." And Lye infused each character he played with a back story that we didn't really understand at the time, but appreciate as we look back. Without getting too arty about a show that included loads of flatulence jokes and green slime, Lye exuded pathos.

That said, Lye's characters were just good fun (when we were kids). So, a nod of the cap to him and his work. Let's hope he doesn't have to eat at Barth's in the sky.

Dungeons and Dragons Co-Creator Dies

Some of us around the TB HQ in chilly-morninged but nice-afternooned Auburn Hills, MI are mourning the passing of Dungeons and Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson. He now joins his fellow co-creator, Gary Gygax, in an afterlife we hope is full of merry adventuring and the occasional bugbear.

Dungeons and Dragons attracted a lot of attention--mostly negative--in the 70s and 80s, but has since quietly provided many teenagers, and more than a few adults, a welcome respite from the ordinary and everyday. D&D came first in many ways, and its influence is still being felt. How many of your students play Magic? Or Pokemon? Or Warhammer? How many saw or read "The Hobbit" and already had a pretty good idea of what an elf was like?

In schools across America, teachers lament the video-gaming of our young people. Before Atari, D&D supplied kids with their daily recommended allowance of other person fun. And it was all done using books and math!

In truth, D&D has a several applications in today's schools. Why not challenge your students to "quest," in writing, for a famous historical or mythological artifact? Sort of like Indiana Jones in essay form. The more "quests" your students successfully complete, i.e. the more solidly written papers they submit, the more powerful their character becomes. What happens after that is up to you!

Here's the story about Mr. Arenson's passing. Dip your sword out of respect.

French Cultural Trivia Games--Two Varieties to Satisfy Any Appetite!

Hello, French Teachers!

Complimenting our two varieties of games to help you teach vocabulary, we've just released two games to help you teach French culture.



The first game, French Cultural Trivia: Easy, covers the basics of life in France, along with some French history, geography, and basic French questions. We think it's perfect for a first- or second-year class.



If you're interested, you can download a PC users version using this link: here.

Teachers using Macs can download the sample French Cultural Trivia: Easy game here.

If you'd like to buy it, the French Cultural Trivia Game: Easy can be ordered from our parent site here.


Of course, we wouldn't want to stop with Easy, so we made a more challenging version of it, too.

French Cultural Trivia: Difficult uses the same format as the easy version, so it's a great continuation for more advanced, returning students.

It includes different questions about France and its people, food, geography, and life.



A PC trial for the difficult version is here.

Mac-ers amongst us will find a sample here.

As with all of our Teacher's Brunch games, you'll find these really shine in classrooms with interactive whiteboards. Students can get out of their seats and race to "buzz-in" before the other team, then consult with their own team to make sure their choice from the four options is correct.

No interactive whiteboard? Try it with just a projector. Or, use the games in computer lab work.

However you use them, they're fun and informative. A great way to spend some of that technology stimulus money, made and developed completely in the U.S.A.!