I've picked up many colloquialisms over the years, and it is often humorous when people say what they hear, even if it doesn't make sense. For example, I once overheard someone say that something was happening "for all intensive purposes*."

That made me smile. Those purposes sure do get intense at times.

Of course, I can merely smile because I've had my fair share of misquotes.

I have long loved the phrase "by the by." It feels far more proper/pompous to say, "I'm a pompous person, by the by," instead of "by the way." "By the by" also seems to require a British accent--which I can't do--which just makes the whole thing even better.

Last night, my wife finally convinced me to start reading "Perelandra" out loud to her. Within a few pages, C.S. Lewis has penned "by the bye."

<wha?>

So, I looked it up. It seems that "by the bye" is the older way of writing "by the by." Which is odd, by the bye, because shouldn't there be some sort of meaning attached to these words that would render one nonsensical?

Apparently not.

No wonder English is so confusing.

So there you have it. I learned something new... sort of. I guess it isn't exactly "new," per se, more that I learned something more.

Also, turns out that bears don't hibernate. Wasn't aware of that.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

*Should be: "...for all intents and purposes": As in, this happened because someone purposed and intended that it should.

Something struck me as odd today: We, as homeschoolers, end up on either side of a huge spectrum in people's minds, but never in the middle.

I read a post where Spunky (aka Karen Braun) points out that we must shake the urge to compare ourselves with other "perfect" homeschoolers. Spectrum side right: Homeschoolers are perfect.

Then I read a post from Dana Hanley refuting the implied claim that homeschooled children are untaught and destined to be criminals. Spectrum side left: Homeschoolers are putrid.

But hang on... either we're perfect parents or raising hoodlums?

Putrid or Perfect

That feel weird to anyone else?

But now I realize that this kind of dichotomy is rather rampant. Most "hot button" topics are discussed this way: Politics, religion, education, finances, government, etc. No wonder I get so confused at times. Are proponents of one side so blind that they can't see the potential pitfalls or growth areas? Are the detractors so ignorant that they refuse to see the good?

Perhaps.

Or maybe it's just easier to talk and write in generalities. Maybe it's more effective/fun/scathing to write in absolutes and hyperbole.

Maybe not as many people actually cleave to these extremes as us writers like to put down in black and white. Because, for me as a homeschooled Christian with political views of my own, while I may write and talk in such a way as to perhaps overstate my position, I'm actually fairly reasonable at times.

May we carefully consider how we talk and write and discuss issues and topics, especially around children. May we teach them to be even more even handed and level headed than we have been. And perhaps then, inflammatory rhetoric in the future will be seen as what it is: A lot of hot air someone is trying to vent, and damaging assumptions will be ignored.

Thoughts?

In other news, I have now added a "Share This" button at the bottom of my posts. If you're one of those really "with it" people--I am not, so don't worry if you aren't either--please feel free to Digg, Stumble or otherwise share the posts of mine that you like. I'm always on the lookout for more people who may find this blog interesting as well.

Thanks!

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Registered Trademarks, Reviews and Research.

If you're super astute, or have too much time on your hands so that you spend your days looking at every pixel on this blog, you may have noticed that I've recently added a few Registered Trademark--®--symbols to the sidebar. It turns out that we're supposed to note that our product (Sonlight^®) is a registered trademark more often.

So, since I'm trying to do my part as an official Sonlight blogger, I've added them. But don't worry: I know this is a blog and I'm not going to start slapping that symbol everywhere on this blog.

Really. I'm not.

®

In other news, I just had my first "Review" as a Sonlight employee. Yep, until recently, I wasn't a full-time employee, so I didn't get none of them fancy re-views.

Turns out I'm doing an okay job--I have yet to make anyone really angry in the blogosphere. So: so far, so good. If you think I'm doing an okay job, be sure to let me know in the comments. That way, if I ever get in trouble I can tell my superiors: Well, all two of my readers think I'm great! <smile>

...to which, of course, they would reply: You're supposed to have more than two readers, Luke.

Ouch. Can't argue with that hypothetical exchange.

I've also been looking into other Social Media/Networking tools. I'm still working out the kinks for applying them to this blog, but I hope to implement them soon. I even get to go to a special seminar thingy tomorrow. I'm pretty excited!

Talk at y'all tomorrow. Please feel free to talk back.

I listen.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

Once a month we have lunch as a company. I'm currently munching on a few chips from one such event today.

I've always enjoyed lunch. Even way back when I was "testing" Sonlight I had a lunch sack--which I never used, since lunch was is in the kitchen--that said, "My favorite subject is Lunch." That really wasn't even true, but I thought it was hilarious.

I'm like that.

I'm also Commutative Man, for those wondering. Here's another glimpse of my fantastic acting abilities and costume design. Yes, I own blue spandex. Yes, I've worn them in public with a red speedo over them.

MathTacular2 Trailer

Back to the topic of food--if you can still stomach the subject after that visual of me:

While filming the MathTacular series, Amber--our director, producer, and Justin's perpetual friend... not to mention pictured above--would often say, "Hunger is the enemy." Any time things started to get a little tense of set, we'd stop and have a bite instead of biting each other.

Food is one of those things that can really bring people together. I mean, if you're ever in the jungles of Onomatopoeia and you hear a twig Snap, what could be more comforting than the less-than-stealthy bushman offering you a grub?

Okay, bad example.

The point remains: If school or something else isn't going so well, perhaps it's time to take a few minutes for a snack.

We had it scheduled at our house. "Tea Time" was at 10:00 and 3:00 every day. I'm not sure how much it helped, since I was a blissfully ignorant child, but I'm guessing things went a little smoother because of it.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

As a writer interested in improving, I have subscribed to Daphne Gray-Grant's free Power Writing newsletter. Her tips have been helpful and fun to read. However, I often have to fight the urge to keep my self expression instead of adopting these improvements.

Her latest tip suggests that we drop cliches, but that got my brain turning.

• Since blogs are less formal, we like colloquialisms, cliches, catch-phrases and contractions. (Some of us also approve of alliterations and acronyms, kwim?)
• While I write to promote Sonlight and get the word out about this great product, I'm not exactly in marketing. I'm here to build friendships, to show myself honest and trustworthy, and learn what makes other homeschoolers tick. So, if I'm not crystal clear and to the point in my ramblings... that's almost good. It shows that I'm a person, not a corporation trying to sell something. I'm not. I'm here to let people know about Sonlight, my experience with it, and to find ways to make it even better for families everywhere.
• There's something about a well-placed cliche that makes me smirk. And I do like to smirk.

All that to say: You may see some cliches crop up here and there on this blog. Sorry, Daphne.

My, my, but this post is getting long. I'll try to rapidly bring this to a close:

Another topic that fascinates me is that of Epistemology: how we know what we know. I bumped into a article today about carbon dating (you know, the whole Carbon 14/12C/13C thing... okay, me either). I followed the article's logic fairly well, but by the end I was pretty much lost. And I think the problem was that the author started to rely generalizations and stereotypes--another form of cliche--rather than reason, logic or good argumentation.

The same seems to be true of politics.

And a lot of religious discussion.

So, I'm going to agree with Daphne here: Let's cut the cliches. At least, for the most part.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

A huge "Thank You!" to all of you who wished me a happy birthday yesterday. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. It made my day.

And I totally asked for all the "You rock"s; hope nobody minded too much. <sheepish grin> For all my bravado, I still have significant need of encouragement. So, thanks for indulging me.

And while I'm thanking people, I feel like I should give a big thanks to the men and women who have served to help others after 9/11 and continue to fight for our freedoms.

I remember hearing about the "bombing" of the Two Towers while walking across my sunny college campus. It was almost two and a half years after Columbine, and I was jaded. The events of 9/11 were all anyone talked about for weeks, just like the shooting that happened a few miles from my school. Several kids from my youth group attended Columbine. So, the towers collapsing wasn't nearly as close to home.

I am grateful for the many people who gave of their lives on this day 7 years ago and in the following aftermath.

But another issue weighs on my heart today: I think of those who have recently lost children. My heart breaks for those families. I wish I had words, but I don't. These rather disjointed thoughts remind me of the passage in Romans 12:15 where we are told to rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

That can be very hard to do, especially when we have those around us on opposite sides of the spectrum. But we get to practice this all the time in the blogosphere and when we pray for each other.

So, again, thanks for all well-wishes on my birthday. It really made my day. And today I am praying for those who have lost loved ones... especially those who have recently lost a child.

I'm praying for you.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father

As a daily blogger I have found a distressing reality. Well, maybe not exactly distressing--more like: bothersome.

Some days I struggle to find something meaningful to say.

Other days, I have a bunch of topics to talk about.

And I can't spread them out because this is a blog and the topics tend to relate to a day, are only interesting right now, and while I could certainly think about some of these things tomorrow, tomorrow is a new day and there may be something more applicable then.

Or not.

Thus, my current quandary.

I can't even decide which topic to mention first.

Today's my birthday. Woo-hoo! And if you want to give me something--and I know you do--you could become a "Follower" of my blog(s). Can't find the cool little graphic on the side? You can use this link to follow this blog.

Followers

Nice. Just tackled two topics in one. Sneaky, sneaky.

I guess I'll shelve the other topics for tomorrow--if I need them--and will simply mention the third topic: My latest article is posted over at Heart of the Matter Online. This one was the hardest for me to write yet. I wrote four drafts before I had something. It wasn't pretty, and I don't even know if I'm communicating clearly and well. But I am really, really passionate about this topic.

So, I'll wait and see how the comments turn out (I haven't had a "You ROCK, Luke!" yet... sad times) and I'll see about perhaps clarifying or expanding the article here.

But for now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my article, and would be thrilled if you gave the new Follower feature on Blogger a try with my blog(s).

Good enough.

~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Expectant Father