Stones of Erasmus — Just plain good writing, teaching, thinking, doing, making, being, dreaming, seeing, feeling, building, creating, reading
27.3.24
Overcoming Bullying: A Personal Journey of Strength and Advocacy.
19.1.24
Eulogy for Anthony Greig Roselli, Sr. (1950-2024)
Remembering Anthony Roselli: a heartfelt tribute, written by his middle son, Anthony Greig Roselli, Jr., to a life woven with New Orleans' spirit, culinary passion, and memorable adventures.
Eulogy
[Greig]: I'd like to share a few thoughts that I penned down in the parking lot. [laughter]
My father and I fishing at Percy Quin State Park (circa 1984). |
Dad had a way of turning moments into memories, often accompanied by laughter. But the song 'Cats in the Cradle' – it’s a song that now holds a deeper meaning for me.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon / Little boy blue and the man in the moon / ‘When you coming home, dad/son?’ ‘I don't know when / But we'll get together then / You know we'll have a good time then.’
29.12.23
Personal Revelation: Happy Birthday Post (To Me!)
Today is my birthday. I will not reveal my age because you could do a quick Google search and figure it out for yourself. However, I feel young-ish. Happy birthday to me!
16.11.23
What Learning to Program in the 1990s Taught Me About How Computers Work and Why Generative Artificial Intelligence Makes Sense to Me
I requested Dalle-3 to create an illustration depicting my computer science classroom, vividly filled with Commodore computers operating on QBasic. |
26.7.23
Deciphering the Language of Manipulation: From Billboards to Broadcasts
Would you like a yummy hamburger? |
26.4.23
Celebrating 1,000 Posts: Reflecting on My Blogging Journey on Stones of Erasmus (Is it a Milestone Worth Celebrating? Yes! I Think it Is.)
Initially, my blog was a mishmash of embarrassing pieces of poetry and ersatz literary criticism, sprinkled in with some theology and movie reviews. Over time, my blog has evolved and become more focused. Although it still includes some of those early elements, such as movie reviews and records of my visits to random art museums, it now features a lot of educational content related to my teaching career.
One of my earliest obsessions was making things up, and my journey as a teacher has allowed me to indulge that passion. I create digital educational resources such as clip art and lesson plans that I share on my blog. I also write about my creations, sharing my experiences with my readers.
A Writer's Blog As An Excuse To Journal
The Future of Blogging
Another student asked me why I continue to write my blog when long-form writing appears dead. My blog is more permanent than other forms of social media, and I enjoy the idea that more people are likely to stumble upon it, whether through a Google search or a link somewhere. I am always surprised when old posts receive a resurgence, such as a post I wrote years ago about words from Greek mythology or a post I wrote about The Iliad, which has remained popular for some reason. The difference between long-form blogging and other types of content on the internet is that blog writers offer a unique perspective on things. I enjoy reading other blogs, such as those written by nannies or teachers, because they share their personal experiences, which is powerful.
As my blog has evolved, I have also learned some important lessons about writing. One of the most important lessons is to keep writing, even when I do not like it. I easily get discouraged when I get few views or comments on my blog. However, I have learned that if I keep writing, eventually, people will discover my work, and it will find an audience.
Another lesson I have learned is the importance of editing. Writing is a process that takes time to craft a well-written post. I often write several drafts before I am happy with the final version. It is also essential to proofread my work carefully, looking for spelling and grammatical errors. Reading my work out loud is helpful, as this helps me catch mistakes I might have missed otherwise.
Finally, I have learned that blogging is a community activity. Blogging is not just about writing for myself but also about connecting with others with similar interests.
- Grandson and Grandfather: Birthday Portrait
- Story from the Classroom: A Severe Whooshing Sound
- Top Ten Movies in Black & White
- Blaise Pascal On The Contradictory Nature of Human Beings
- Repost from Kurt Vonnegut: Liberal Crap I Don't Want to Hear Anymore
- Book Review: Repulsion as Metaphor
- Travel Postcard: That Time I Visited a Public Library in Saltillo, Mexico
- On Writer's Block — A Journal & Rant
- Thinking About the Roman God Janus On New Year’s Eve
- On St. Ann and Bourbon: A Story of a Mardi Gras Day
16.3.23
Yellow Day: A Series of Portraits in Yellow and Pink (Plucked from the Multiverse)
10.3.23
Throwback Thursday: Pictures from Senior Year in High School (And Others)
30.7.22
Musings and Photos: On First Meetings and How I Sort-Of Allude to Peekaboo in a Serious, Philosophy-Minded Kind of Way
In this post, I free associate about first meetings, love, and God knows what else!
Sometimes you have to lie back down on the concrete to see what's up there.
There’s something potentially powerful in a first meeting, So, which is why, if you watch like, um, Pre-K students or Kindergarten students, there's a struggle, a challenge in adapting to others because it's strange. It's not mother’s face; it's not home. It's not the womb. It's not the place where you grew up. It's not, it's not that, you know, and that's why like child psychologists or developmental psychologists will talk about like, um, the experiences of the young child, right before they go to school, where they, where they, um, experienced this back and forth between I'm scared; I'm safe; I'm welcomed. I'm, uh, I'm terrified; I'm. . . I'm taken in; I'm comforted, right? So this, like, gets encapsulated in the childhood game of like peekaboo. I'm here. I'm not there. So presence and absence. Um, and for me, you know, I can tap into some deep psychic stuff, you know, like something, this, I can feel, like a child, when that love object is absent. I mean, it's such a strong visceral feeling, which is why I think first love for a teenager or a young adult can be so powerful and rip you apart. I mean, I can remember just longing for somebody who I was in love with, you know, wanting to be with them. And when I wasn't with them, it just was this physical feeling of absence. Um, so that's real. I mean, that's like kick to the gut emotion. Um, and perhaps you get out into the world — for me, moving from small town Louisiana to Europa to a Benedictine monastery (yes, that happened), to New York and the world again, I'm not sure what happens, but you get used to the pain — of that — of this — world. Offers or you take, or you look for; or, you pine. Are you able, you're able to sort of like sublimate, whatever you lost, what will you able to like, not replace, but you're able to sort of like transmute, whatever you lost into something new. Right? That's what art is. That's what creativity is and all that kind of stuff. Um, but going back to this original idea of like, when the, the potential power in a first meeting, right, the potential power there is, and just meeting someone for the first time, you know, um, uh, it can be such a satisfactory experience, right?
Photos (Read From Left and Clockwise): Women in Red Dresses in Flushing; Getting off the LIRR in Port Washington; Two Dead Fish; A Fishmonger and His Assistant |
25.7.22
Journal Entry #2502022: I Woke Up This Morning on a Hot, Summer Day in Queens and I Fiddled
On Astoria Boulevard in Queens, there is a mural of a 7 subway train car; The author notes, "As I waited for my take-out, I snapped a picture of the fish in the aquarium. Life is good." |
21.11.21
People Watching on the 42nd Street Shuttle Platform at Grand Central Station in New York City
8.8.21
Travel Postcard: That Time I Visited a Public Library in Saltillo, Mexico
In this post, I write about finding a photograph of me standing in front of a public library in Saltillo, Mexico.
Greig poses in front of a public library in the city of Saltillo in Coahuila, Mexico (c. 1998). |
La Biblioteca Publica del Estado, Coahuila, Saltillo — Image Credit: Photo archived by Gerardo Zárate |
11.7.21
Journey to Willow Lake in Queens (And There and Back Again, Out of the Bog)
In this post, I take a walk to a hiking trail next to Willow Lake in Queens. It's a marshland in the middle of a metropolis.
View of Willow Lake in Queens (Looking Northwest) |
Would you believe me if I told you I'm still in New York City but surrounded by marshland, wet bugs, bees, and butterflies born from under the weeds of the milkweed plant? I am.
Pat Dolan Trail |
Another view from Willow Lake |
31.5.21
Travel Diary #34598: On A Memorial Day in Oyster Bay, Nassau County on a Wet, Rainy, Cusp-of-Summer Afternoon
And we hung out in a nature preserve. OMG. I felt like a kid. Going down random trails. Even though it was rainy, it was glorious. And I cooked a whole chicken and watched Dangerous Liaisons on HBO Max — the one with Glenn Close and John Malkovich as conniving ex-lovers in nineteenth-century France. It was a fun diversion.
12.5.21
Why Wednesday Is the Day of the Week to Send Messages (Because of Woden, or, as the Greeks Call Him, Hermes)
Wednesday is named for Woden — the Norse parallel for the Greek and Roman messenger god Hermes.
Ephemera
I’m obsessed with messages, epistolary novels, and journeys and undertakings. I never 👎 skip by a note or love letter. Even a torn letter I see on the sidewalk. I'll pick it up. And save it. And I love to eat tears and swallow joy.
My friends say I’m constantly flexing. My students want the school year to end. I’m listening to lots of books on tape and cooking lots of sausages and egg salad.
Achievements
I’m proud of my student @jukycheng, who got accepted into a Summer engineering program at NYU Tandon in Brooklyn. Congrats, Juky!
And I’m also excited for the Summer—those dog days. But I’m into May. With its warm afternoons and occasional showers.
Let's Chat!
How are you holding up? Need a hug? Here’s one. Need a nudge? Here’s one? Need a ride on a white swan? I don’t have that, but drop me a message if you want to chat about YA novels and the best place to walk in New York City.