What pets and robots do all day

I am trying to bring Funk the Llama and Cylene the Cyborg into my webcomic a bit more. So, for this story arc, I imagine what these two must do all day. Just as background: Funk lives for soul music and Cylene was created out of discarded computer parts, with a soul music database inside of her. You can read more about Cylene and Funk at my home for Boolean Squared.

Peace (in the house),
Kevin

The Long Lost Days of Vinyl

This is my last comic in the Waiting for Windows story. At school, we had a discussion the other day about vinyl records and record players (they are using them in Social Studies for modern archealogical digs and in a novel we are reading, the family buys a portable record player for the car). So, echoes of those conversations filter into the comic today.

Peace (in the past),
Kevin

Well, kids, the world thanks you …

Here’s the third installment of the boys waiting in line for Windows … (I realized that I could have played up the symmetry of the bug — for the new software and for the flu — missed my chance!)

Peace (in the bugs),
Kevin

Still Waiting for Windows

This is the second comic about my characters waiting in line for the new Windows 7 Operating System. I had to add in something about waiting for the new flu vaccine, too.

Peace (in the OS),
Kevin

Waiting for Windows with Boolean Squared

I know Microsoft came out with its new Operating System this week and I had this image of geeks lining up to be the first to get it — sort of like the old days of standing in line for concert tickets before Ticketmaster pulled a fast one on us all and set up a money-gauging system for music.

I put Boolean and Urth in a line, imagining some sort of take on Waiting for Godot (see? even comics can have high literary goals). There are two or three more comics to this story arc coming this week.

Peace (in the waiting),

Kevin

Not on the backs of our students

I’m nearing the end of this story arc about Boolean, Mr. Teach and the Imagination App Challenge. Here, Mr. Teach gives Principal Penn an update, and Principal Penn’s mind turns to the budget.

Peace (in the creation),
Kevin

School versus World: Boolean Squared

Is it success if a student takes an assignment, runs it with their own way and finds an audience? What about if they don’t follow any of the structure that the teacher puts in place? This is one of the many quandaries faced by Mr. Teach with Boolean.

And of course, there’s a poke at both sides here, too.

Peace (in the forgetting),

Kevin

Pin the Mouse on the Teacher

Here, Mr. Teach finally tries to get at the heart of what Boolean is doing for his project around developing an App for the MeTouch device. Boolean, in turn, pokes some fun at Mr. Teach.

Peace (in the app),
Kevin

Celebrate National Day on Writing!

Today is the official National Day on Writing, spearheaded by the National Council of Teachers of English. It’s a day to celebrate the love of writing in all of its forms and NCTE has established a Gallery of Writing online, where you can explore thousands of pieces of writing now published for this event. You can even still submit writing.

But I encourage you to do something with your students today … something that gets them writing and then, you should write right along with them.

At our school, I decided to create a massive comic strip that I am putting in our cafeteria. I’ll have markers out. And the comic asks: What do you like to write? I imagine it like a graffiti board, of sorts, for our entire school and I want to take pictures of the comic as the day progresses (we’ll see if I have time for that).

The huge comic is about 25 feet long and about two feet high. It’s pretty neat. I can’t wait to see it covered with student writing and drawings and thoughts.

But I also created a Boolean Squared comic for today’s events. And of course, Boolean pushes the boundaries a bit:

Heck: if Boolean can do it, why not me? This is a poem I am just starting in preparation for my 30Poems in 30Days project in November.

<p>I&#8217;m plunging into poetry:<br />
here&#8212;hold my mask as I check my head<br />
for thoughts<br />
that might emerge<br />
from this murky depth</p>

Peace (in the celebration of writing),
Kevin

PS: the poem, converted

I’m plunging into poetry:
here—hold my mask as I check my head
for thoughts
that might emerge
from this murky depth