Journalism: Thursday, Period 4, Class 3

[trustshisbarber.livejournal.com]

"Anybody who isn't sitting before the bell rings gets a detention!" Jonah yelled ten seconds before the bell rang. "Just kidding. I enjoy messing with your adolescent minds. Still, you never know when I might give any of you a detention, so stay prepared for it at all times."

"Today we're going to be talking about news briefs. According to the dictionary, a news brief is 'a summary of a news story; also a short news story.' Or, if we're talking about television or radio journalism - which is a medium that isn't nearly as terrible anymore as it had been because you people voted for me, good job - 'a broadcasting blurb.' We're going to focus on the 'short news story' definition. You take a story that's noteworthy but that you can't find interesting enough to write a few paragraphs about, you boil it down to its bare necessities, and you spit out whatever the result is. They should only be a paragraph long, somewhere around a hundred to a hundred and fifty words, give or take. And don't waste a great headline on these. Briefs are usually hidden a few pages into the paper and the headlines are in a much smaller font than your normal headlines. In other words, nobody will ever care what your headline is and will only read the brief if they're the kind of person who would normally read news briefs anyway."

"So, let's do a quick example of a good news brief. I'll take something I don't care enough about to write a lot on. Teenage fashion, for example. I couldn't give a crap about that if I tried and I can guarantee that I will never try so long as I live. Quick headline: Teen Fashion: Still Sucks After Many Decades."

"Now you have to find a way to write a paragraph about this crap. And, yes, you have to do it. A huge part of being a journalist is reporting on crap that you're not at all interested in but that still needs to be reported on. News isn't necessarily what you care about. News is what happened, sometimes with a bit of a spin. But now's not the time for spin. Now's the time for just what happened. And in this case, what happened is that young people have dressed like drunkards in a fabric store for the fifth straight decade."

"So, here's my brief on teenage fashion. AHEM."

FANDOM - Continuing a decades-long tradition of being walking aesthetic disasters, teenagers today continue to obsess over fashions they will be embarrassed about within the next ten years. Just like the hippies and disco kids of the seventies, the giant-permed weirdoes of the eighties, and the grunge and goth kids of the nineties, the children of the naughts will be ashamed to show their future children pictures of their high school days because they won't be able to figure out what possessed them to wear whatever it was they were wearing. "I can't believe I thought I ever looked good with that haircut," any number of students will be quoted as saying by this time next decade.

"That's one hundred and fifteen words. Great length for this kind of thing. But you're amateurs, so I can't expect you to write that much. So your assignment for today is to write an exactly one hundred and five word news brief about a subject that you don't care too much about while still trying to sound like you're at least slightly interested in it. Suggested topics: what celebrities are doing, what other teachers are teaching, the fact that our roads aren't big enough to drive on, animal migration, or anything else you only care enough to write one hundred and five words about. Get to work!"

Cooking Club [Home Ec Classroom, Thursday]

[death-and-pies.livejournal.com]

The power was still out and that kind of stalled Ned's plans for making just about anything during the first meeting of the club. Nonetheless, he was there, bundled up from head to toe and bouncing on his toes to keep warm.

"Hey guys, welcome back," he said, managing a smile. "If you can't tell, it's Ned under all this and welcome back to those who were in the club last semester and welcome to anyone new. Uh, we were going to cook something simple today but the power's out so we can't. Instead, we'll just do introductions and. So, I'm Ned, I'm eighteen, I'm a senior and my least favorite food is spinach."

Ned thought he'd change it up some.

"There are hot drinks on the counter though so feel free to take some of those. And hopefully the power comes back on by next club."

Ned reached for one of the warm drinks himself and used it more to warm his hands than anything.

Library [Thursday, January 22]

[gudspellr-claud.livejournal.com]

As Claudia walked into the library, there was an excuse for the way she looked today: she'd gotten dressed in the dark.

She'd pulled on a leopard-print shirt with a fake-fur collar and cuff, jeans that she'd painted up the side with designs of flowers in puffy paint, and a pair of black stiletto heels. She'd almost wiped out three times going from the dorms to the library, but fashion was worth more than function. Over the entire thing she'd pulled on her biggest, fluffiest, bright purple ski jacket. On anyone else, it'd have been obvious she'd gotten dressed in the dark. On Claudia, it looked great.

She curled herself in a ball on the chair behind the checkout counter between trips to the fireplace to warm up. It was all so very artistic.

Thaumaturgy 101 - Thursday, First Period - 1/22

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

Abigail Irene Garrett was bundled up in her best city coat, traveling dress, and boots. As her students filed in, she pointed them towards the tea and coffee she'd had Mary help her set up before the class had started.

"I'll take the freezing charm off of them in a moment; I just wanted to make sure it was hot for when you all came in," she said to her class with a smile.

"Unfortunately, we're covering a bit of history today so there will be no fireballs," a smile to one of her students who was hopefully there "nor any other warming influences other than the drinks. Hopefully, however, your scholastic spirit will be given plenty of fuel to burn."

She turned to the class with a brief chuckle.

"Don't worry, I know how ridiculous that sounded. I just couldn't resist."

( A history of magic. )

[ocd up!]

Literature, Class 3: Period 3, Thursday, January 22

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

( Cocoa, a Warm Fireplace, and the Art of Storytelling )

Newspaper Staff Meeting, 4 pm, Journalism Room

[the_merriest]

"Okay," Rikku said darkly. "First meeting of the semester, it's gonna be great, blah blah blah. Why is it so freaking cold out?!"

This was possibly going to be a very short meeting.

Phys Ed: Week 3, Period 1 (Fri. 1/23)

[satedan-soldier.livejournal.com]

When students entered the Danger Shop this week, rather than a gym, or even a freezing powerless scape, they would find themselves transported to a lush green hillside. With a whole bunch of sheep. And a whole lot of heat.

As usual, Ronon started talking when he felt like it. "Today you'll work with a partner to shear some sheep. My teammate said this is a traditional gym class for the Scottish people. Call it cultural education or whatever." Ronon gestured to an area with all the necessary equipment for the process. "Grab some tools and some instructions and get started."

Ronon stopped himself from turning away. "Don't forget to dress out. Locker rooms are right behind you." Ronon himself was again wearing his standard leather ensemble with his massive hair pulled back in a band. And the whistle, just because.

Movie Appreciation: Week 3, Period 3 (Fri. 1/23)

[satedan-soldier.livejournal.com]

Upper body draped over the top of a podium next to the large Danger Shop-created auditorium screen, Ronon waited for the film class to file in and take their seats. "Hope you had fun navigating the dark. Might've prepared you a little for class. Everybody likes swords right?" He expected some nodding from the group. "Today's movie is Blind Fury, about a blind guy who's pissed off and takes out bad guys with his cane. It's also a samurai sword."

Ronon cued the lights to dim before the most interesting of the interesting battle scenes from the movie played on the big screen. "Yeah, the kid's annoying as hell, but he offers up something I guess. Your task this week: Take a survey. Find out from three people what they'd be best at if they went blind and why. You can do it in class now or before next week's class. Just be prepared to report back." Oh the irony of Ronon asking for reports. "Get to work."

[ooc: can you guess the theme of the ocd?]