Refuse Avenue (new poem—an homage to Dylan)

[The following poem is a Dylanesque homage, and is most certainly a nod to “Desolation Row”. But it is also intended to stand on its own.]

Refuse Avenue

I hear they’re making it into a movie
From the book based off of the trial
The pearl stilettos auctioned off
The blood run down the aisle
Enter the captive jury
On the brink of a crucial vote
To whom our hearts belong this week
And who must jump the boat
The picketers collide in the cross-hairs
The gutters are starting to brew
As the boys and I spend a penny
Down on Refuse Avenue
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Teaching Satire Using YouTube

I try to teach “A Modest Proposal” to every senior class I have. I love their reactions to the proposal itself. What really gets me is how few of the students understand that the entire proposal is a satirical piece, that he is being facetious.
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Book Review: Created Equal by Joshua Berman

“All men are created equal.”

It’s one of the foundational beliefs of our country, one that nobody dares question. But some things we sometimes can’t help but question: What does it mean to be equal? If we are born different, how are we still equal? Where did we get the idea that all men [and women] are created equal? This question becomes important when we consider that when this phrase was written into the US Constitution, “men” was defined as white, land-owning males. So how we define equality and how we put it into practice are important questions. And for some reason, we have this idea that the idea of everyone being equal is new. Like, within the past 200 years new.
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Nerdy Bereans: Bullying Against Nerds (or anybody) Should Never Happen in Churches

“You’re such a nerd.”

I was one of those kids who was bullied from time to time in school, often because I fit the description of a nerd. And although I wish I could say otherwise, sometimes this bullying took place not just “in the world”, but in and among my own Christian friends.
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