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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 5h

The reason we are running out of third spaces is a societal distrust of teenagers.

These poor kids we treat like criminals-in-the-making, not allowing them in malls or around parks/playgrounds.

Thank God for libraries.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 18h

Thanks goodness for the internet age.

If the administration had run these plays 50 years ago, they would have had us believing Portland is a gangster paradise and Antifa was some real super villain organization. Old school newspapers could not have kept up.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 1d

--Echidna, a monster (half woman, half snake) who hid alone in a cave. Multiple stories say Echidna was Typhon's "love," and they had many monster children, like Cerberus, the Hydra, and the Chimera. 3/3

Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 1d

--and he was depicted as sky high with 1000 flaming snake heads with 1000 screaming voices and a humanoid torso/legs. Centuries later there's a swap, and he's depicted as a man with wings from the torso up with a serpentine lower half. His love was--2/3

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 1d

Day 78 and 79 of Monsters: Typhon and Echidna! I'm taking tomorrow off, so today we get a twofer--and a monstrous love story. Typhon was a legendary villainous monster who tormented both the gods and humans. He's the son of Gaia alone on some accounts, the son of Kronos by others--1/3

A picture of ancient pottery with a winged man with multiple snake legs.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 1d

I heard that pranks are a big thing during Halloween season, like a gruesome April Fools, and I'm very nice and would not be mean to anyone, but I'm still here for the stories.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

If you want to draw this generic little monster, check out this link. helloartsy.com/how-to-draw-...

How to Draw a Scary Monster - HelloArtsy

Learn how to draw a scary monster by following along with this easy to follow drawing guide!

helloartsy.com

Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

Day 77/99 Days of Monsters: a bugbear! I'm working my way through some general "boogiemen" that were used as scary stories to make children behave. Based on the etymology, bugbear was probably a story about a demon bear who ate naughty children.

How to Draw a Scary Monster - HelloArtsy

Learn how to draw a scary monster by following along with this easy to follow drawing guide!

helloartsy.com

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

Luckily cookies are a delight in all forms!

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

Cooking people:

What's your kitchen kryptonite? The food or recipe that refuses to be cooked properly?

Mine is roasted meat. Even with fancy meat thermometers, I'm always going to take the meat out, cut, shake my head, and end up putting it back in the oven.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

I lf anybody knows anybody in copyright law, maybe buy them a cupcake.

I imagine it's a very confusing world they live in right now.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 2d

I have a theory that the president is watching the Independence Day movie over and over and getting confused that real life cities are under attack.

Someone turn on something rated G.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

"So I have to cite every image I use?"

"Yep--we use APA guidelines for that."

"What if I made the image with A.I. instead? Then I don't have to cite it?"

I know what's what, but, y'all, it is SO HARD to *explain* what's what.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

--in a Night, but they weren't originally a part of the collection. They were added by a translator (who got them from Diyab) centuries later. So there aren't actually legends and stories that far back about "genies" and magic lamps. Bummer. 2/2

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

Day 76/99 Days of Monsters: Djinn! These creatures from Pre-Islamic tradition are considered spirits of fire and air (different from fire-based demons) who weren't automatically good or bad. A lot of the mainstream stories in modern culture (like Aladdin) come from 1001 Tales--1/2

A black and white image of a lamp with a magical whisp emerging from it.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

English degrees get a bad rep--but I can't really explain to people who don't understand.

It's something really special to be in a classroom or in a department where absolutely everyone has loads of creativity/imagination.

Way beyond the norm.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

I mean this reassuringly. Social media is not the whole world. There's lots of other stuff. Sometimes stuff that doesn't even have an algorithm to appease.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 3d

Day 75/99 Days of Monsters: Hraesvelgr! This is the Old Norse legend of a giant eagle who perches at the edge of the world and creates our wind by beating his wings. As long as he doesn't eat the Midgard serpent, that holds the world together by biting its tail, we should be good.

A picture of a giant eagle displaying its wings mid-flap.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 4d

The world has changed in many ways, and it's a little harder to treat people these days.

But I teach a mix of adults and high school college students, and we occasionally need prizes/treats to help buoy the class atmosphere.

Suggestions?

Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 4d

May people love, appreciate, and get as excited about *you* as my high school college class does about the hallway vending machine.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 4d

Book marketing...

Pretty much telling writers, who have developed their written communication to diamond precision, that they will now need to become podcasters or vloggers if they're ever going to get readers.

Like telling a race car driver they must jog if they want to race.

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 5d

--to make ice pictures with (especially on glass). He's sometimes a jolly, helpful character and sometimes a mischief maker. Here's everyone's fav modern version from the movie Rise of the Guardians (also there's a huge Fandom shipping him with Elsa, which I think is absolutely adorable). 2/2

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 5d

Day 74/99 Days of Monsters: Jack Frost! Now, maybe I shouldn't say monster. In some of the stories (Nordic and Russian folklore) he's more like a deity of ice, comparable to "old man winter." However, he's also sometimes shown as a little sprite/elven character that carries a paintbrush-- 1/2

A picture of Jack Frost (animated male character, silver hair).

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 5d

Teaching writing is having a 200 page doc of my 16-weeks of lesson plans and using 150 of those pages by midterm.

The second half of the semester is a lot of "Remember that thing, I taught you? Do it some more."

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Suspiciously Nice Prof @niceprof.bsky.social · 5d

I've internalized so much negativity about the idea of whining and complaining that I'm not always sure what's whining and what's an "actual" problem.

I mean, it's common to complain about a job, but someone quitting still catches me by surprise.